Month: February 2013

John Boehner: Worst. Speaker Ever. (Part whatever)

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Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Screenshot-6I have posted numerous times about how the TanMan, Weeper of the House John Boehner, is the Worst. Speaker. Ever. There has not been a speaker this weak and this incompetent in modern American history — and that includes the disgraced former Speaker Newt Gingrich at the end of his reign of error.

The feckless media villagers have been allowing John Boehner to get away with repeatedly stating the stupidest talking point I have ever heard from a congressional leader without calling him out on it. Boehner tells Senate to 'get off their ass;' Reid says GOP 'sitting on their posterior':

“We have moved a bill in the House twice. We should not have to move a third bill before the Senate gets off their ass and begins to do something,” Boehner told reporters in a press conference, repeating a message he had just delivered in a closed-door meeting of the House Republican conference.

“It’s time for the Senate to act,” Boehner said. “It’s not about the House. We’ve acted.”

Is this man really this incompetent? Is he so ignorant that he does not understand the most basic fundamentals of his job?

Academics agree: Performance Funding favors rich schools

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by David Safier I wrote a series of posts about Brewer's Performance Funding model (now SB1444), using a crude numerical analysis to show that the model favors schools with high income students and punishes schools with low income students. (Here's my third post. You can work back from there if you wish.) Now there's a … Read more

Senate breaks the new ‘Three Stooges’ filibuster of Chuck Hagel

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Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

McCain 3 StoogesThe U.S. Senate today broke the filibuster by the new "Three Stooges," John McCain, his puppet boy Little Lindsey Graham, and Kelly Ayotte ("Shemp"). The Washington Post reports, Hagel clears filibuster hurdle, is poised for confirmation:

Chuck Hagel’s bid to become the next defense secretary cleared a
major hurdle Tuesday, beating back a Republican effort to block his
nomination almost two weeks after GOP senators launched a filibuster.

On a 71 to 27 vote, easily clearing the 60-vote threshold, the
former Republican senator is poised for confirmation later Tuesday
afternoon, overcoming Republican objections to his views on Middle East
security.

Eighteen Republicans supported moving to a final vote, joining 53
Democrats. Some of the Republicans who supported ending the Hagel
filibuster — including his chief opponents, Sens. John S. McCain
(R-Ariz.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) — are expected to oppose him on
the final vote, which will only require a simple majority for his
confirmation.

AIRC Update: State and Federal Court Cases Headed for Trial

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Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

The attempts by the Arizona Republican Party Caucus and its secretive redistricting organization FAIR Trust to overturn the redistricting by the Arizona Independent Redistricitng Commission (AIRC) are headed for trial  soon. The Arizona Capitol Times (subscription required) reports, Courts: redistricting lawsuits to move forward, commissioners cannot invoke legislative immunity:

A Feb. 21 ruling by a Maricopa County
Superior Court judge denied a last-chance request by the commission to
throw out a lawsuit [motion to dismiss] that claims the state’s nine congressional districts
were intentionally drawn to give favor to Democrats by packing
Republicans into four districts.

* * *

[A] federal court on Friday denied the
commission’s request to allow commissioners to refuse answering
questions under “legislative privilege” in a suit that claims the
state’s legislative map violates federal laws because of population
deviations among districts.

* * *

A three-judge panel [federal court] will begin hearing the case on March 29.

Both suits are part of broader allegations made by many Republicans
that the commission’s maps were created to favor Democrats with the help
of Colleen Mathis, the chairwoman of the five-person panel.

Arizona Senate approves three election reform bills

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Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Sen. Michele Reagan, R-Scottsdale, who was dreams of becoming the next Secretary of State, is using her newly renamed Senate Elections Committee (how convenient) to push through election reform measures of interest to her and the GOP, but not necessarily designed to address any of the problems that were apparent during the 2012 election. The Arizona Capitol Times (subscription required) reports Election reform bills pass Senate:

Three election-reform bills cleared the Arizona Senate, sending Sen. Michele Reagan’s trio of bills to the House despite objections from Democrats that the bills would infringe on voter rights and undo years of get-out-the vote efforts by activist groups.

Reagan’s bills were approved by senators on 16-12 party line votes Monday afternoon, and would make sweeping changes to the elections process. SB1003 would allow only members of a family or household to turn in one another’s mail in ballots.