Year: 2018

Mitch McConnell reneges on DACA debate deal (Updated)

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Well that didn’t take long …

The Septuagenarian Ninja Turtle, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, has one again demonstrated that he is a manipulative liar whose word is worthless and who should not be trusted to honor any promise or agreement he makes. Only one day into the open-ended debate on immigration and DACA that the Turtle Man promised, he has reneged on the deal he made with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.

I have said before that history will not be kind to Mitch McConnell, he will be remembered as one of the worst senators in the history of the U.S. Senate in the pantheon of worst senators.

Joan McCarter at Daily Kos reports:

The Senate debate on immigration has begun and it’s not good. Despite the promise from Majority Leader Mitch McConnell that they would have as much as two weeks of free-wheeling, open amendment debate, he’s already stated his desired outcome: Trump’s complete white supremacist wish list in return for the Dreamers’ path to citizenship. He’s also creating a false threshold for legislation—something that will get 30 Republican votes.

And as for the two weeks of consideration? He sent out his number two guy, the odious Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), to renege on that, giving the Senate essentially two days.

“This is Sen. (Dick) Durbin and Democrats’ opportunity and so far they kind of seem to be a little confused about what they’re planning on doing — but they better get it done quick because it’s this week or not at all,” said Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn.”We need to get it wrapped up by Thursday,” Cornyn said.

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Gov. Ducey fails to lead on renewal of Prop. 301 education sales tax

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Democratic lawmakers last year introduced legislation to extend and expand Prop. 301, the education sales tax set to expire in 2021 unless renewed, but Republican leadership never granted it a public hearing or vote. I posted about Prop. 301 earlier this year. Pass HB 2158 to permanently extend Prop. 301 education funding (excerpts):

The education sales tax, which voters passed in 2000 as Proposition 301, is set to expire in mid-2021.

State Rep. Doug Coleman told The Arizona Republic that House Bill 2158 would essentially “get rid of the cliff” surrounding Prop. 301.

Prop. 301 is a 0.6 cent per dollar education-funding sales tax. Its future has been a point of contention and concern among education and business advocates and state leaders. The money funds things such as teacher salaries and classroom expenses.

The sales tax — and the hundreds of millions of school-funding dollars that come with it — will be gone unless voters approve an extension of the tax in the 2018 or 2020 election or two-thirds of the state’s 90-member Legislature pass legislation to maintain the funding.

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All in the family: 3 Hernandez siblings running for election in 2018

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L to R: Consuelo Hernandez, LD 2 Rep. Daniel Hernandez Jr.,Alma Hernandez – photo taken by their mother (also named Consuelo)

Three siblings in Tucson, all named Hernandez are running for election in 2018. Daniel is running for LD 2 House (re-election), Consuelo for Sunnyside School District Governing Board, Alma for LD 3 House.  They are having a joint fiesta campaign kickoff on February 15 (scroll down to bottom for flyer).

One-term Democrat LD 2 House Rep. Daniel Hernandez Jr, seeking re-election to his House seat. He defeated Republican incumbent Rep. Chris Ackerley 32,651 to 28,506 in Nov. 2016. (The other House Rep. Democrat incumbent Rosanna Gabaldon got 32,495 votes.) Daniel has also served on the Sunnyside School District Governing Board as President, and was the Congressional intern who assisted then CD-8 Congresswoman Gabby Giffords after she was shot in the head, at the Tucson mass shooting on 1/8/11.

His youngest sister Alma is now running for LD 3 House, where there will be 2 open seats, as LD 3 House Rep. Macario Saladate is retiring, and Rep. Sally Gonzales is running for state senate in that same district. Also running for the House in LD 3 now is current LD 3 Senator Olivia Cajero Bedford, and political newcomer (but involved in Dem politics for years) Andres Cano, a Special Staff Assistant to Pima County District 5 Supervisor Richard Elias.

Alma recently got her M.P.H. from the U of Arizona, and has been active in Democratic politics for years. Recently she led Arizonans United for Healthcare working to defeat the repeal of the ACA (Affordable Care Act).

Their middle sister Consuelo is running for Sunnyside School District Governing Board, where her brother currently sits. She is a case worker for the International Rescue Committee in Tucson.  Daniel is not running for re-election on the SUSD board (after 2 terms), so Consuelo is running for one of 2 seats. The other SUSD board member  up for re-election is Eva Carrillo Dong.

All 3 of these siblings went to the Democratic National Convention in July, 2016 as delegates.

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Evil GOP bastards reject the will of the voters on Minimum Wage Initiative (Prop. 206)

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Rep. Paul Gosar is Arizona’s most embarrassing member of Congress, but in the Arizona legislature, there are a multitude of challengers for the title of most embarrassing member of the legislature.

A perennial contender is Sen. Sylvia “Earth is 6,000 years old” Allen (R-Snowflake), a theocratic Dominionist Christian Reconstructionist whose heretical views of Christianity too frequently influence the legislation she advances.

Sen. Allen’s latest dog bone to chew on is the Minimum Wage Initiative (Prop. 206) overwhelmingly approved by Arizona voters in 2016. She believes that you the voters were “immoral” in approving the Minimum Wage Initiative, and she wants to reverse the will of you sinful voters. You’re all going to Hell!

The Arizona Capitol Times reports, Senate committee passes resolution to repeal state’s minimum wage:

A resolution sponsored by Sen. Sylvia Allen, R-Snowflake, would ask voters to undue much of Proposition 206, a citizen-driven initiative that boosted Arizona’s minimum wage from $8.05 to $10 in 2017, $10.50 in 2018 and eventually to $12 by 2020. Allen’s resolution would also repeal mandated paid sick time and a provision that allows domestic violence victims to take paid sick leave to handle issues caused by the violence.

Allen, who in the past has described the notion of minimum wage as “morally flawed,” wants voters to freeze the minimum wage at $10.50, repeal state laws requiring employers to provide paid sick leave, and adopt a new law prohibiting cities, counties or towns from adopting their own minimum wage if it’s higher than the state’s.

Mandating a minimum wage is like “pulling money from one person to give to another person,” she told the Senate Commerce and Public Safety Committee on Monday.

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9 out of 10 pundits agree: insane dentist Paul Gosar ‘is a disgrace to Arizona’

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I recently posted about Arizona’s insane dentist, Rep. Paul Gosar:

Now that Arizona’s most embarrassing member of Congress, Rep. Trent Franks, has resigned in disgrace after soliciting his female staff members to be his sex surrogate (Eeew!), we have a new challenger for the title of Arizona’s most embarrassing member of Congress: Arizona’s insane dentist, Rep. Paul Gosar.

I’m glad to see that the GOP-friendly Arizona Republic editorial board agrees –you see, bipartisanship is possible! – in an editorial. Our View: Rep. Paul Gosar is a disgrace to Arizona. Somebody please unseat him:

Republicans in Congressional District 4 need to find somebody to defeat Paul Gosar in the primary.

His smash-mouth style brings serial embarrassment to our state.

Republicans in this rock-solid GOP district can end Gosar’s regrettable congressional career without losing this seat.

There is a precedent. A model. We’ll get to that later.

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