Month: March 2018

The March Madness of King Donald

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The “Friday night news dump” of things the White House wants to delay media scrutiny of until the following week has been raised to an art form in the Trump administration. It has become a Friday night “wheel of fortune” to see which member of the administration is being fired or replaced this Friday.

Prior to Friday night, the breaking news story was retired four-star Army Gen. Barry McCaffrey slamming President Donald Trump as a “serious threat to U.S. national security” for his failure to protect the nation from “active Russian attacks.” McCaffrey accused Trump in a tweet Friday of being “under the sway” of Russian President Vladimir Putin” for some “unknown reason.”

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That lede got buried when Confederate Attorney General Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III, who is supposed to be recused from anything to do with the Russia investigation, fired former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe only 48 hours before he was set to retire, something President Trump had foreshadowed he would do out of spite back in December.

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Deputy Director McCabe was in charge of the FBI’s Russia investigation for a period of time, and he is a key fact witness in the firing of FBI Director James Comey and the obstruction of justice portion of the investigation by Special Counsel Robert Mueller. Sessions has clearly violated his recusal, signaling his willingness to do it again for others at the request of “Dear Leader.”

Sessions short-circuited the normal review process in federal personnel matters in order to carry out the petty vindictiveness of “Dear Leader.” He relied on an Inspector General report and a FBI report that have not yet been made public. Andrew McCabe, a Target of Trump’s F.B.I. Scorn, Is Fired Over Candor Questions:

Andrew G. McCabe, the former F.B.I. deputy director and a frequent target of President Trump’s scorn, was fired Friday after Attorney General Jeff Sessions rejected an appeal that would have let him retire this weekend.

Mr. McCabe is accused in a yet-to-be-released internal report of failing to be forthcoming about a conversation he authorized between F.B.I. officials and a journalist.

In a statement released late Friday, Mr. Sessions said that Mr. McCabe had shown a lack of candor under oath on multiple occasions.

“The F.B.I. expects every employee to adhere to the highest standards of honesty, integrity and accountability,” he said. “I have terminated the employment of Andrew McCabe effective immediately.”

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Political Calendar: Week of March 18, 2018

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Political Calendar for the Week of March 18, 2018:

Annual St. Patricks’ Day Fundraiser

Sunday, March 18, 1:00 p.m.: Legislative Districts 9 and 10 host the Annual St. Patrick’s Day fundraiser at the home of George and Margie Cunningham, 630 N. Alamo Avenue, Tucson, AZ. This is the annual political season kick-off event for Democratic candidates in Pima County. Master of Ceremonies Tucson Mayor Jonathan Rothschild, Keynote Speaker is DNC Vice Chair Congresswoman Grace Meng. Tucson’s best corned beef & cabbage with all the fixings and side dishes, bountiful desserts, soft drinks and beer. Tickets are only $20 per adult if purchased in advance. Children 6-12 $10, under the age of 6 free. Ticket price goes up to $25 at the door, so purchase your tickets early. Purchase tickets secure online at Act Blue. A limited number of tickets will be sold. The NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament will be on the TV for you basketball fans, so you have no reason to miss this fun event.

Monday, March 19, 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). New price: buffet lunch is $10.00 cash, $12 credit; just a drink is $3.50. Featured speaker is Kelly Fyer, candidate for goveronor. Next Week: Congressman Tom O’Halleran for a legislative and campaign update.

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Democrats Energized to Take Back Seats in Glendale’s LD20

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A blue wave is cresting in American politics.
A blue wave is cresting in American politics.

An energetic field of progressive Democratic candidates in Glendale and Phoenix are running to oust right-wing, pro-NRA, anti-abortion incumbents in Republican-leaning legislative district 20.

AZ Senate

  • Douglas Ervin, a pilot and triathlete, is the former Chief Development Architect of AFS Technologies in Phoenix.
  • Larry Herrera is a Traffic Engineering Analyst for the City of Tempe. He ran for state Senate in 2016 but lost to Kimberly Yee.
  • Matthew Marquez is a Field Organizer for the state Democratic Party and is a precinct committeeman.

The Democrats are working to oust the noxious incumbent, Paul Boyer, a state representative running for Senate, who is endorsed by the NRA and Arizona Right to Life. Boyer is tied to the anti-consumer ALEC organization (American Legislative Exchange Council), which writes right-wing model statutes. Notoriously, Boyer supports school vouchers, opposed the expansion of Medicaid and supported legislation that would have legalized discrimination against gay people.

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Governor Ducey bends under pressure from student protestors

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Wednesday’s National School Walkout event at the Arizona Capitol culminated in a two-hour sit-in at the office of Gov. Doug Ducey, who did not come out to meet with the students. Montini: Gov. Doug Ducey disses student protesters … lesson learned.

Gov. Ducey has said he is meeting with various interest groups – not high school students, obviously – and has promised to come up with his own legislative proposals, possibly as early as next week. The governor has hinted that could include something similar to Rep. Randy Friese’s bill on emergency seizure of weapons.

Emulating our Twitter-troll-in-chief, on Thursday Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey goes on tweetstorm over gun control, one day after student sit-in:

Gov. Doug Ducey said Thursday that his plan to improve school safety in Arizona could include tighter gun laws in several areas, a surprising move for a Republican governor in a red state.

In a flurry of afternoon tweets, Ducey outlined what his office said will be the basic components of his plan. Ducey said he is working on a bipartisan bill to tackle the issue.

“We are building an aggressive plan that address all these issues around school safety,” he tweeted. “Arizona can lead the nation in tackling this — and in a way that is non-partisan. We’ve done this on other issues, and we can do it again.”

Ducey’s posts came less than 24 hours after students from the group March for Our Lives Phoenix staged a dramatic sit-in outside his office.

Ducey did not meet with the students, but has talked with other interest groups in recent weeks.

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