Month: August 2014

Ducey Side Steps Tea Party & Bails on Rally with Palin & d’Souza

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Doug Ducey Bad4AZRepublican Doug Ducey won his party’s nomination for governor last week with dark money from out of state, $3 million of his own cash, and a full Tea Party platform— support for unborn children and corporate persons but not so much for the rest of us.

With backers like Cathi Herrod, Ted Cruz, Sarah Palin, and Sheriff Joe Arpaio, Ducey looked like the Koch Brothers’ Mini-me last week. Ducey’s regressive social policies and “tooth fairy” economic ideas make him one of the most dangerous Tea Party candidates in a long time. He is a cookie-cutter copy of Wisconsin’s Scott Walker, Kansas’ Sam Browback, or New Jersey’s Chris Christie. (Check out these Kansas and NJ budget stories linked here; Brownback and Christie destroyed their states’ budgets with the same Tea Party proposals Ducey is peddling in Arizona.)

The dire scenario in which Ducey becomes Arizona governor (shudder) prompted me to write the Top 10 Reasons Why Doug Ducey Is Too Extreme for Arizona Voters and start a Twitter campaign (@Bad4AZ) to educate people about Ducey’s platform and why he and other Tea Party candidates are #Bad4AZ.  (Check it out Twitter here and website here. Fellow Tweeters, help me out.)

Now Ducey appears to be backing away from the Tea Party. Was it something I said?

Details from AZ Central…

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Palestine: Why Hope Springs Eternal (At Least for Me)

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This is one Tammy urged me to write. And she was right to do so.

As awful as things get in Israel – Palestine, I cling to hope. The reason? If my views could change as dramatically as they have, the views of others can as well. And maybe, just maybe, we’re starting to see that happen.

I traveled to Israel in 1995. I was on the plane from Phoenix to New York the moment Yitzhak Rabin was shot. Too late to turn back, I spent six days in Israel with other guests of a pro-Israel charity. Israel was in mourning, as this country was after JFK’s assassination. Yet the people we met welcomed us. And we of course saw only the best Israel had to offer. No West Bank. No Gaza.

I boarded the El Al flight back to New York very much the Zionist. Then, ironically, on the America West trip to Phoenix from New York. I shared a row with West Bank settlers on their way to Los Angeles, who didn’t do much to conceal their radical views, their hatred of Palestinians, and, yes, their near elation over Rabin’s death.

Nothing changed in me immediately, but perhaps seeds of doubt had been sown.

Fast forward twelve years or so. 

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Fredstock ~ Hotel Congress this Saturday

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Fredstock a Party for Fred DuVal When:    Saturday, September 6, 7:00 p.m. Where:  The patio of the historic Hotel Congress 311 E. Congress Street, Tucson Come meet Fred DuVal and hear some of his ideas for moving our state forward. Live band and a DJ. Cash bar. 30 years from now you will be telling … Read more

Political Calendar: Week of August 31, 2014

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The Political Calendar is posted on Sundays. Please send us notice of your political events prior to the Sunday before your event (7 days would be most helpful). See the calendar icon in the right-hand column of the blog page for easy access to the calendar.

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Political Calendar for the Week of August 31, 2014:

LaborDayArizona AFL-CIO Annual Labor Day Breakfast

Monday, September 1, 8:00 a.m.: Arizona AFL-CIO’s annual Labor Day breakfast, this year honoring retiring U.S. Rep Ed Pastor. This is the traditional kick-off of the Fall political campaigns and will feature candidates for local through statewide offices. Ticket information contact: rfriend@azaflcio.org or call Rebekah Friend at (602) 631-4488.

PALF 18th Annual Labor Day Picnic

Monday, September 1, 10:00 am-2:00 pm.: Pima Area Labor Federation hosts the 18th Annual Labor Day Picnic at the Reid Park bandshell, 22nd Street (at Alvernon Way) in Tucson. PALF Olympics, entertainment, speakers, free soft drinks & hot dogs. Groups interested in tabling the event should contact PALF headquarters at (520) 388-4139.

Monday, September 1, Noon: Democrats of Greater Tucson luncheon, Dragon’s View Restaurant (400 N. Bonita, South of St. Mary’s Road between the Freeway and Grande Avenue, turn South at Furr’s Cafeteria), buffet lunch costs $8.50. No DGT in observance of Labor Day. Next Week: Lucy Messing, former President of Tucson Education Association, and Marybelle McCorkle. former TUSD School Board member on “Leadership challenges for the TUSD School Board.”

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