Month: September 2018

NEW: AZ Sen. Jon Kyl DID Work For Dark Money Giant JCN In Preparing For This Supreme Court Vacancy

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In an apparent contradiction to earlier comments, Arizona Senator Jon Kyl did provide material assistance in 2017 to the Judicial Crisis Network for the current Supreme Court vacancy. Kyl has not yet responded to repeated requests to clarify the extent of his work for the dark money group that is spending millions of dollars supporting the Brett Kavanaugh nomination.

Arizona’s Politics reported in July on Kyl being named the “sherpa” (or, guide) for Kavanaugh through the confirmation process. Kyl’s role in that trek was interrupted earlier this month when Arizona Governor Doug Ducey tapped Kyl to return to the Senate – this time, to serve out the remainder of Sen. John McCain’s term.

At that time, Arizona’s Politics asked if he was supporting the Kavanaugh nomination on behalf of the Trump Administration, JCN, or both; Kyl answered that he was “working gratis for the White House in my personal (not law firm) capacity.”

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Maricopa County Dem Chair: “Now is our time to take back our state”

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Maricopa County Democratic Party Chairperson Steven Slugocki

After a Democratic surge in the August 28 primary and subsequent rallies to unite and energize party activists, Maricopa County Democratic Party Chairperson Steven Slugocki took time to give his impressions about the primary results and the campaign ahead to turn Arizona blue.

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UA Conference on Redistricting on October 5 & 6

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A Multidisciplinary Public Forum “​Congressional and legislative district boundaries are being hotly debated in many states, with three cases before the US Supreme Court this term and more likely on the horizon. Arizona is at the forefront of this debate, establishing an Independent Redistricting Commission, AIRC, in 2000—one of the first states to do so. … Read more

Protecting the Special Counsel from a ‘slow-motion Saturday night massacre’

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Neal Katyal, the Justice Department lawyer who wrote the rule book for the office of Special Counsel, offers his advice to what may be the next step in the “slow-motion Saturday night massacre” on Thursday, when Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein meets with President Trump. How Rosenstein can protect the Mueller investigation — even if he’s fired:

Thursday’s meeting between Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein and President Trump carries the highest of stakes: Besides special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, Rosenstein is the most important person involved in the investigation of the Trump administration’s possible ties to Russian interference in the 2016 election. That is by design. The special counsel regulations, which I had the privilege of drafting in 1999, make Rosenstein what corporate mavens call a “key man.” If Rosenstein is removed, Trump could very easily cripple the investigation.

The president knows it. Trump’s attorney, Jay Sekulow, this week called for Solicitor General Noel Francisco, who would probably replace Rosenstein in overseeing Mueller’s work if Rosenstein leaves office, to “pause” the investigation and to take “a step back.”

Which is why Rosenstein should prepare for Thursday by sending Congress, through appropriate channels, a description of the evidence of wrongdoing Mueller has already turned up. There’s no way to know what a meeting with the volatile president might bring. And the search for the truth might depend on what steps Rosenstein takes beforehand.

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Do This If You’re Upset that InvestInEd and Outlaw Dirty Money were Kicked off the Ballot

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Are you upset because Invest In Ed & Outlaw Dirty Money were kicked off the Nov 6 ballot by right-wing, activist judges?

Here’s what you can do about it…

If you believe in these ideas:

  • Ensuring transparency in campaign finance reporting,
  • Getting big and dirty money out of politics,
  • Finding sustainable funding for public education,
  • Stopping the tax giveaways and, instead, raising revenue for education,
  • Stopping vouchers for private and religious schools,

There are three important NO votes you can make:

  • No on Prop 126
  • No on Prop 305
  • No on Prop 306

According to state Rep. Pamela Powers Hannley:

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