Arizona & Mississippi: A Tale of Two States and Anti-Gay Religious Bigotry

As most of you know, Arizona's SB1062 was vetoed by Governor Jan Brewer after passage by the Republican dominated Arizona Legislature.  What a lot of you might not know, thanks to our feckless media, is that Mississippi's legislature not only passed a bill almost identical to Arizona's vetoed SB1062, but that Mississippi's Republican Governor Phil Bryant signed it into law last week.

That's right, Mississippi now has legalized religiously based discrimination towards gays and lesbians (and anyone else they don't like).  Now, Mississippi has never been a hotbed of equality towards gays as it doesn't have an employment non-discrimination law nor does it have a housing non-discrimination law.  But this law codifies such discrimination toward gays and lesbians in all aspects of their lives in the state of Mississippi.

But why did Governor Brewer veto such legislation while Governor Bryant signed such legislation into law?  The short answer?  We gays and lesbians, with the help of our allies as well as state and national business interests, were able to shine a powerful spotlight on Arizona.  That spotlight forced Governor Brewer to put the needs of the state above religious bigotry.  It was fairly easy to shine that spotlight on Arizona as it has a recent history of discriminatory laws, such as the infamous "living while brown law", SB1070.

Mississippi was able to fly under the media wire and not be forced into the spotlight because it has no major league sports team, isn't vying to be the home of a new Tesla factory and a host of other high tech companies.  We gays and lesbians had no chance to stop the legislation, even though we all knew about it, even if the so called "liberal" MSM was asleep at the wheel.  We had no allies to bring to bear and assert political pressure.  As much as we wanted to prevent such legislation, let alone it becoming law, it just was never going to be.

Hopefully the courts will be able to strike down this religiously based bigotry law.

Something To Believe In

It seems this presidential election year has been going on forever and its only January 22, 2012!  It doesn’t help that myriad candidates for the Republican nomination have been running since the election of 2008 ended with the victory of then Senator Barak Obama.  It also doesn’t help that there have been 17 (I know, the number seems like it should be much, much higher) Republican debates since May 5, 2011 with the 18^th scheduled for tomorrow night.

Even as someone who has politics running through their veins, I am getting worn out.  Politics is a blood sport, no matter how “civil” we profess we want it to be and in 2011 the blood flowed in many parts of the nation.  The upper Midwest was a key battleground for politics as Republican governors and their very supportive Republican controlled legislatures sought to eliminate the ability of public employees to collectively bargain.  In Wisconsin and Ohio the citizenry fought back and at least in Ohio have won and in Wisconsin Governor Walker is facing a recall election.

In an effort to diminish the ability of voters to participate in elections, many Republican controlled legislatures are attempting to enact draconian “voter identification” laws.  Hell, even federal probationer James O’Keefe looks like he headed a conspiracy to violate both Federal and New Hampshire election law to “prove” the need for voter identification laws.  Of course we all know that the Republicans’ love for voter identification laws is bullshit considering that no one had to provide photo identification to participate in the Iowa Republican Presidential Caucuses.

In Florida anyone receiving government assistance became required to be drug tested until a Federal judge halted the law.  Now it seems Congressional Republicans would like to have even those receiving unemployment insurance benefits to be drug tested.  I wonder if maybe we should require those in Congress and their staff to submit to drug tests.

In Arizona, author of the infamous “papers, please” SB1070 and State Senate President, Russell Pearce, was successfully “recalled” in historic election.  The Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission was attacked from the very start by the shadow group FAIR Trust and state “tea party” movement members, not to mention Governor Brewer and Republicans in the legislature.  AIRC Chairwoman Colleen Mathis was removed by Governor Brewer and Senate Republicans only to be reinstated by the Arizona Supreme Court.  The attacks against the AIRC and Chairwoman Mathis were about preserving the Republican super majority in the Arizona Legislature and the seats of incumbent Congressional Republicans.

In September, the U.S. military formally said goodbye to “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” as gays and lesbians were finally allowed to serve openly for the first time in our nation’s history.  This, of course, caused undue stress for Republican Presidential Nominee Candidates as they promised to reinstate DADT while debate audience members booed a gay Army officer.

But now it is 2012 and President Obama is ramping up his reelection campaign, presenting “gifts” to all the liberals he cheated on when bowing Republican demands in 2011.  First he recessed appointed Richard Cordray to head up the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau as well as Sharon Block, Terence Flynn and Richard Griffin to the National Labor Relations Board.  Then he tabled approval of the Keystone XL permit application until 2013.  Of course, these actions by the President are supposed to make liberals forget the last three years when we were chastised repeatedly for not supporting his milquetoast presidency.

As Senator Jon Kyl is retiring this year, Democrats will nominate someone who is Republican-lite to run against Congressman Jeff Flake and they will do the same in my new Congressional district.  I won’t be alone as a liberal Democrat since even after redistricting there are four “safe” Republican Congressional districts, two “safe” Democratic Congressional districts and three “competitive” districts.  That means that Arizona Democrats will be running Republican-lite candidates in at least seven of Arizona’s nine districts.

I just wish there was at least one candidate I could vote for instead of against their opponent.  I wish there was one candidate come Election Day who truly believed in and acted for the enactment of liberal ideals.  Is it too much to ask for a candidate to give me something to believe in?

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!

National Bully of 2011: The Republican Governors Five

Republican Governors Five

It must be nice to sign legislation that was rammed through a state legislature that does the following:

• ·         Revoke the collective bargaining rights of public employees, especially targeting teachers
• ·         Requiring those receiving state unemployment or welfare assistance to submit to mandatory drug testing at the recipients expense
• ·         Cutting hundreds of millions of dollars in corporate taxes while cutting hundreds of millions from the state’s Medicaid program
• ·         Cutting state unemployment benefits while doling out billions in corporate welfare
• ·         Empowering the governor to take over lesser governments and allowing the special administrator to null and void contracts
• ·         Restricts a woman’s ability to have an abortion

These are just a few of the things that Governors Jan Brewer (AZ), Scott Walker (WI), John Kasich (OH), Rick Scott (FL) and Rick Snyder (MI) have done in the name of “smaller” government and balancing budgets.  They have systematically attacked the social safety net and worker protections of their various states and in turn have rightfully earned the wrath of voters.  Governors Brewer and Walker are facing recall efforts.  Governor Kasich saw his attempts to disenfranchise public workers go down in flames at the polls.

Though each of the named governors could easily be nominated as National Bully of 2011 in their own right, I am collectively nominating the Republican Governors Five as the National Bully of 2011!

Beating Back the Coup: No Time For Rejoicing

On Thursday, the Arizona Supreme Court beat back an attempted coup of the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission by Governor Janice Brewer, the Arizona Senate Republicans as well as Republican Congressmen Ben Quayle and David Schweikert.  As much as we who want competitive legislative and congressional districts wish to rejoice in this victory, we can’t.  The forces against us are well and secretly funded (FAIR Trust comes to mind) not to mention very motivated to preserve the status quo.  They have also gained an important ally: The Arizona Republic.

Those who want a permanent conservative Republican majority (and preferably a super-majority) in the Arizona Legislature and only conservative Republicans in Congress will go to any length to subvert the will of the voters.  As we saw before the Supreme Court reinstated AIRC Chairwoman Colleen Mathis, the conservative forces in this state were trying to pervert the process of choosing her possible replacement.  We also have statements by Republican legislators calling for a referendum to be put on the ballot in time for the Republican primary, where only registered Republicans can vote, that would put the redistricting process back into the grimy hands of the Republican dominated legislature.  Plus, we have the rumblings coming from Governor Brewer’s office that she may attempt to remove Chairwoman Mathis again this week.

The biggest threat to the conservative Republican stranglehold on Arizona is competitive districts.  That is why they are being subversive, devious and totally willing to fuck over the Arizona voters.  They will meet behind closed doors and plot their strategies all the while publicly condemning closed door meetings.  They will post photos of two people walking into a building in Tucson and falsely claim it is the Chairwoman of the AIRC and her “Democratic activist” husband (who by the way is a registered Republican) going to meet Democratic Congressman RaúlGrijalva.  And yes, they will try to use the political process once more to remove Chairwoman Mathis and possibly even the two Democratic commissioners.

We cannot sit back and allow them to stage another coup.  We cannot sit back and allow them to continue to pervert and corrupt the redistricting process approved by the voters.  We must marshal our words and our actions to protect the AIRC.  I for one am working on a voter initiative to strengthen the AIRC by removing the Governor and the Arizona Senate completely from the redistricting equation.  Each body has been given the opportunity to work with the will of the voters and have failed miserably.  They have shown the voters were right in creating the AIRC but were misguided in allowing the legislature even a small part of the process.

No, we must stand strong.   We must ignore the false pleadings of the conservative Arizona Republic Editorial Board for a “cooling off period”.  We must make sure that “tea party” conservatives are not the only ones seen or heard at the upcoming meetings of the AIRC.  We must make sure that Governor Brewer, the Arizona Senate Republicans and both Congressman Quayle and Congressman Schweikert are held accountable for their conspiracy to subvert the will of the voters.  We must remain vigilant.  We must remain steadfast.  And we must remain ready to do what we legally can to preserve the AIRC and its mission.

For if we do not, the past few years will have seemed paradise compared to what will come under permanent conservative Republican rule in Arizona.

Dennis Burke: Democrat for Senate? ***UPDATED***

Dennis Burke, Possible U.S. Senate Candidate

It was announced today the Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) for Arizona, Dennis Burke, has resigned his office, effective today.  To me, I find it rather odd that an AUSA would resign in the middle of his term, especially since he has been spearheading a very high profile investigation into Sheriff Arpaio and Mr. Burke is not involved in any known scandal.

The only conclusion that I can draw is that Andrei Cherny, the head of the Arizona Democratic Party, has recruited Mr. Burke to run for the Senate seat being vacated by retiring Senator Jon Kyl in 2012.  To me, that would be a very logical decision on Mr. Burke's part.  He could just as easily have been recruited to run for the new House seat being created due to the 2010 census, but I just don't see that option being very valid, not considering Mr. Burke's status.

Mr. Burke is not a liberal, but is instead a moderate to conservative Democrat.  That makes him a strong challenger to anyone who the Republicans pick to run for Senator Kyl's seat.  In Arizona, it is much easier for a moderate to conservative Democrat to win a state-wide election, as seen by the election of former Governor Janet Napolitano (now Secretary of Department of Homeland Security), than for a liberal Democrat.  Liberal Democrats are more likely to win in a Congressional or legislative race, especially after redistricting.

Now, one could reasonably ask, why wouldn't Secretary Napolitano want to run for Senator Kyl's seat.  The simple answer is that I think she is very comfortable at DHS and should President Obama win a second term, she would be fairly easily reconfirmed or even confirmed as Attorney General.  The more complicated answer is that many Arizona Democrats feel that Secretary Napolitano abandoned her post as Governor and gave us Governor Jan Brewer.  Many feel this set Arizona and the Democratic Party in Arizona back many years, if not decades.

Of course, all of this speculation.  I don't know for a fact that Mr. Burke will run for the U.S. Senate, but I wouldn't be surprised at all if he did.  What are your thoughts on Mr. Burke's resignation?

***UPDATE***

It now appears that Mr. Burke resigned due to the failed ATF Operation Fast & Furious.

The Destruction of Full Faith and Credit

Those members of Congress, governors and state legislatures who were elected with the vast support of the "tea party" movement and/or are members of the "tea party" movement have never cared about governing.  Nor do they care about making President Obama a one term president, as is Senate Minority Leader's Mitch McConnell’s stated goal.  No, their only goal is to dismantle our government and replace it with one whose sole purpose is to benefit the wealthy, the privileged and corporations.

Yes, for years the ultra-right conservative movement, their theocratic fascist and corporate allies have been slowly moving us in that direction for at least three decades.  It wasn't until the election of 2010 that the damage was able to be done more quickly and widespread.  Ultra-conservative and theocratic fascist Republicans (UC/TF/R) took control of governorships and state legislatures across the nation, foisting upon their respective state's laws that make everything before them look like child's play.

In Arizona, the UC/TF/R dominated legislature approved and UC/TF/R Governor Brewer signed laws that give tax breaks and subsidies for corporations while kicking people off of the state's Medicaid rolls.  In Wisconsin the UC/TF/R dominated legislature and UC/TF/R Governor Walker rammed through elimination of the right of public employees to collectively bargain through their respective unions while also giving out tax breaks to corporations.

UC/TF/R Michigan Governor Snyder signed a law that gave him the authority to effectively dissolve local and county governments by declaring “economic” emergencies.  The law has been used for a “trustee” takeover of some of the poorest school districts with the intent to privatize some of the schools therein and to turn others into charter schools.

The path of joblessness, poverty and destruction across this nation left by the policies of the UC/TF/R is staggering.  Now they are on course to destroy the “full faith and credit” of the United States by demanding massive cuts in our social safety net in order for them to approve raising the non-Constitutionally imposed “debt ceiling”.  In other words, they refuse to pay the bills of the United States unless the poor, working poor and the middle class give up what past generations fought for.

The UC/TF/R wants our government to go into default.  By forcing our government into default on our debts and obligations they destroy a critical portion of our nation’s foundation: Our word.  By destroying our word, they can force not just reductions in the social safety net, but the complete dismantling of that net.  Once the net is destroyed, once the corporations have free reign, once only the wealthy and privilege have access to the newly reformed government, then and only then will the UC/TF/R be happy.

Arizona State Senate Committee Abolishes Medicaid / AHCCCS Program

The adherents of Grover Norquist in the Arizona Senate have escalated the war on the poor and the working poor by voting to abolish Arizona's Medicaid program, AHCCCS.  After 1:00 am on Wednesday morning, the Senate's Appropriation Committee voted 8 to 5 to eliminate AHCCCS and divert the monies to the general fund for other programs.

As I have noted before, Governor Brewer would like to kick up to 300 thousand men, women and children out of AHCCCS in order to provide $538 million a year in new corporate welfare.  Now Senator Andy Biggs (R-Gilbert) has dropped a dirty bomb on the people of Arizona that will eliminate not only health care coverage for the poor and working poor, but it will also eliminate $7.5 billion in matching federal funding.  That is $7.5 billion that the Arizona can ill afford to lose.

This measure is catastrophic to Arizona.  Rural hospitals will be forced to close.  Remaining hospitals will see their emergency rooms fill up and their finances destroyed as those formally in AHCCCS will be forced to seek the much more costly alternative.  This is not to mention the businesses that will refuse to expand or move to Arizona.  Hell, we will be lucky if businesses chose to remain in Arizona if AHCCCS were eliminated.

As much as people like Senator Biggs would like to claim their elimination of AHCCCS is about saving Arizona money, the reality is that it fits their ideology like a glove.  I truly believe that they only want government for the protection of corporations and those that can afford it.  Contrary to that ideology, I believe government is there to protect all of us, especially those who can't afford it.

Let Them Eat Cake - The Second Helping

You can read the original Let Them Eat Cake here.

Courtesy of Fratelli Studios

It didn’t take long for Governor Brewer and the Republican controlled legislature to strike a deal to give more subsidies to corporations on the backs of Arizona’s poor and working poor.  If you remember, Governor Brewer has proposed dropping almost 300 thousand men, women and children from the Arizona’s Medicaid (ACCCHS) rolls in order to cut $540 million from the budget.  Not surprisingly, the new corporate welfare bill will cost an estimated $538 million a year.

WHAT THE FUCK?!  Arizona can afford to give out $538 million a year in tax breaks, tax cuts and other corporate “incentives” yet it can’t afford $540 million a year to make sure that 300 thousand men, women and children don’t go without non-emergency room medical care?  Are we as a state that callous that we would throw that many people to the wolves in order to give more corporate welfare in the name of “job creation”?

Arizona already has some of the lowest corporate income and property taxes in the nation.  We are one of the most business friendly states and one of the most worker unfriendly be an “at will” and “right to work” state.  Maybe we are spending on all of this money on corporations because we can’t entice them here any other way.  I mean, why would a corporation want to invest in creating jobs in a state that doesn’t value public education, public transportation or a social safety net?

Then again, there will be corporations that will jump at the opportunity to partake in corporate welfare at the expense of 300 thousand men, women and children.  Those corporations will wallow in the state’s largesse and provide very little in return.  Those corporations will gladly say, “Let them eat cake”.