Arizona Republicans: Destroying Arizona One Law At A Time

Elected Republicans in Arizona have done a lot of damage over the years.  Besides constantly cutting taxes they have:

Cut off new enrollment for adults without children in the state’s Medicaid program AHCCCS.

Voted against extending unemployment benefits to be paid for by the Federal government.

Created quasi-private “charter” schools in the name of “school choice”.

Created tax credits for those who donate to “scholarship funds” for private and parochial schools.

Enacted the infamous “living while brown” law known as SB1070.

Raided special funds of the Department of Transportation, forcing the closure of Arizona’s rest stops.

Raided special funds of the State’s park department forcing the closure of most of the state parks.

Sold off the state capital buildings in a complex lease-buy-back scheme.

Cut public school funding.

And that’s just some of the damage that elected Republicans have done to Arizona.  But Republicans aren’t content with the damage they have done.  Now that they face the prospect of losing their death grip on the Arizona legislature this November, they are hell bent inflicting even more damage upon Arizona.

One state legislator has introduced a bill requiring public schools to offer as an elective a course on the Bible and its influence on Western society.  Another legislator has introduced a bill requiring that a class devoted to the “free markets” be passed in order for a student to graduate from public schools.  Yet another legislator has proposed increasing the tax credit given to those who donate to private and parochial school “scholarship funds”.  It should be noted that the same legislator is the head of such an “scholarship” organization.

Speaker Andy Tobin is pushing to have his secretly designed redistricting maps approved by voters in a special election.  Other legislators are pushing to put up for vote the elimination of the AIRC and to allow the legislature once again to determine redistricting maps.

Now the Republicans want to strip all public employees at every level of government in the state of their right to collectively bargain.  It is not enough that Arizona is a so called “right to work” state.  No, they want to destroy the last major unions in the state, the public unions.  Firefighters, police, teachers, etc would all be disallowed from collectively bargain.  Plus, union dues could no longer be automatically deducted from their paychecks.

Elected Republicans know that any damage they do before the elections this November won’t be easily repaired or reversed, if at all.  They know that because constitutionally it takes a super majority of both house of the legislature for any tax increase, that their tax cuts will stand.  They know that because taxes can’t be reversed that their cuts to public education and the social safety net will stand.

So, the damage will continue and the future of Arizona isn’t looking so good.

Arizona Bully of 2011 Nominee: The AIRC Attempted Coup Co-Conspirators

Politics is a blood sport and not for the faint of heart.  In Arizona, this is especially true.  Even though Republicans make up only 35% of registered voters, they hold a super majority in the legislature, all elected state offices and 6 of 8 congressional seats.  Though a majority of those registered as independents or “no party affiliation” are conservative, the Republicans have managed their impressive feat through their stranglehold on congressional and legislative districts.

In 2000, the voters of Arizona sought to change all that by taking the process of redistricting out of the hands of the legislature and putting into the hands of an “independent” redistricting commission.  Arizona Republicans have made no secret their hatred for the voter mandated process as they appear to convey it is their “god given” right to rule Arizona.  In 2011, Republicans and their “tea party” movement members basically declared war on the AIRC, culminating with the attempted removal of Chairwoman Colleen Mathis.  Luckily the Supreme Court halted the attempted coup and the AIRC has been able to go about their voter mandated business.

But it is not the entire Republican Party I am nominating as an Arizona Bully of 2011.  No, I am naming the co-conspirators in the attempted coup of the AIRC: Governor Jan Brewer, Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne and the Arizona State Senate Republicans.  Congrats everyone!

Debunking the "Forced" Primary Myth

The biggest common myth being thrown around during the AIRC (Arizona INDEPENDENT Redistricting Commission) drama is that the AIRC has (willfully) forced first term Congressman Ben Quayle (R-AZ 3^rd) and Congressman David Schweikert (R-AZ 5^th) into a primary battle in 2012.  This is the meme that the Arizona Republican Party, their “tea party” movement adherents and the Arizona Republic would like you to believe.  This dovetails nicely with the meme that the AIRC is being unfair to Republicans by (in the draft redistricting maps) only creating 4 “safe” districts for Republicans, the exact same number of “safe” districts they currently hold.

The problem with this myth that the AIRC is forcing two Republican congressmen to face off in a primary is twofold:

1.            In the eyes of the AIRC, by mandate of the voters, the Arizona 3^rd and 5^th Congressional districts ceased to exist as they are currently mapped the day the volunteer members of the AIRC took their positions.  In point of fact, the members are specifically forbidden to consider where a potential candidate lives.

2.            The United States Constitution provides no requirement that a person running for a particular congressional district has to reside in that district.  This means that a candidate for congress chooses which congressional district they want to run in, even they don’t live in that district.

Neither Congressman Quayle nor Congressman Scweikert is required to run against the other in a primary in any reformulated district.  They just both (at least publicly) desire to run in a district that includes north Scottsdale, a very affluent area.  Currently, only Congressman Schweikert currently represents all of Scottsdale as part of the Arizona 5^th Congressional District, including all of north Scottsdale.  Both candidates (as all incumbents, I would presume) want a “safe” district to run in.  Under the draft district map approved by the AIRC, all of the 3^rd CD and parts of the 5^th CD, including Scottsdale, would become the new 6^th CD.

The “new” 6^th CD would become a fortress for Republicans and that is why both Congressman Quayle and Congressman Schweikert want to run in that district, as formulated under the AIRC draft map.  To give you an idea of how “safe” this proposed new district will be, just look at the current 3^rd CD.  Even though Congressman Quayle’s Democratic opponent, John Hullburd, ran to the right of Mr. Quayle, Mr. Hullburd still lost.  Add in the very Republican northern areas of the current 5^th CD and no Democrat will be able to win the district, which is a shame, because I live in the current 3^rd CD and what is drafted to be the new 6^th CD.

Neither Congressman Quayle nor Congressman Schweikert wants to run on substance.  In fact, neither of them actually want to “run” an election campaign as they would both rather be assured a victory, preferably an easy one.  They just want to run in separate “safe” districts and are more than happy to demonize the AIRC for not “giving” them what they want.  Too bad only bloggers, such as myself, are pointing out the myth that the AIRC is somehow “forcing” Congressman Quayle and Congressman Schweikert to run against each other in a primary.

The Republican Conspiracy Against the AIRC and the Voters of Arizona

After all that has gone on in the last eleven months, especially the last week, does anyone doubt that there is has been a conspiracy (of possibly criminal magnitude) by the Republican Party in Arizona in general and Republican elected officials specifically thwart the will of the voters?  Does anyone doubt that in their zeal to protect the Republican super-majority in the Arizona Legislature that these Republicans conspired to destroy the Arizona INDEPENDENT Redistricting Commission (AIRC) by lodging false claims against the AIRC’s non-Republican members?

Of course, with Attorney General Tom Horne having already launched a witch hunt investigation into the AIRC, don’t look for him to hold his fellow Republicans accountable.  Don’t look to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to investigate this conspiracy either.  With A.G. Holder under fire from Congressional Republicans on many different fronts, he will wimp out of doing what is right to protect himself.

So, that leaves the Arizona voters to fix the mistakes they made in 2000 when they voted to create the AIRC.  In order to take the Legislature completely out of the redistricting process, I propose the following changes to the law constitutional amendment that created the AIRC:

1.  Expand the AIRC from five to nine with three registered Democrats, three registered Republicans and three registered independents to better reflect the party registration percentages of the state.

2.  All members are chosen randomly from a pool of eligible registered voters whom have voluntarily placed themselves into the pool.  The members will be chosen during a live broadcast.

3.  No person may be considered eligible for the pool if they have changed their registered party affiliation within the last three general election cycles.

4.  No person may be considered eligible for the pool if they have held a post in any political party within the last three general election cycles.

5.  The creation of an independent AIRC Inspector General to field and investigate all complaints made against the AIRC and its members.  The Inspector General shall upon finding clear evidence of a law or laws being broken by the AIRC and/or its members bring the matter before the State Supreme Court for prompt adjudication.

I truly feel that if the voters were to approve all five of these recommendations, the AIRC can truly be independent of the Legislature and the political establishment.  Without these recommendations being approved, the voters will forever be powerless against the manipulations and conspiracies of the party in power.  In this case, it is the Republican Party.