New Ron Barber Ad: ‘The Right Way’
May 19, 2012
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
Ron Barber for Congress has released a new ad, a thirty-second spot called “The Right Way.” The ad shows Jesse Kelly, in his own words, talking about his support for reducing the corporate tax rate to zero and his support for the so-called Fair Tax, a 23 percent consumption tax. Ron Barber for Congress Releases New Campaign Ad: “The Right Way” | Ron Barber for Congress:
Download a fact check of the ad here. [PDF]
At the Saddlebrooke Republican Club debate in January, 2010, Kelly said, “We must get the corporate tax rate to zero.”
[Saddlebrooke Republican Club Debate, 1/07/10]
According the non-partisan Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy, the Fair Tax proposal would eliminate all federal corporate taxes.
[P. 1, “The Effects of Replacing Most Federal Taxes with a National Sales Tax: A State-by-State Distributional Analysis,” Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, 9/01/04]
The same study by the ITEP shows that this tax plan would increase federal taxes on 80% of American families by $3,828 per year, while rewarding the richest five percent of American families with a tax cut of over $40,000.
[P. 6, “The Effects of Replacing Most Federal Taxes with a National Sales Tax: A State-by-State Distributional Analysis,” Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, 9/01/04]
On Kelly’s campaign YouTube channel, he uploaded a March, 2010 video in which he said, “A lot of people want to know how I feel about the Fair Tax, this 23% consumption tax that’s out there right now. I’ll tell you right now, I would vote for the Fair Tax. I do support the Fair Tax.”
[Kelly4Congress YouTube Channel, Uploaded 3/5/10]
At the University of Arizona Republican Club debate in April, 2010, Kelly said, “Fair tax, flat-tax, I support them both. They’re both fantastic and a lot better than what we have now.”
[University of Arizona Republican Club Debate, 4/08/10]
Kelly has also trumpeted his support of the so-called Fair Tax on the Jon Justice radio program. In July, 2010, Kelly told Justice, “As far as the Fair Tax goes, I would support the Fair Tax, would sign on as a sponsor immediately to the Fair Tax. […] the Fair Tax has my support one hundred percent.”
In September, 2010 he said, “I’ve also said I would support the Fair Tax because it’s better than what we have now.”
“Now that Southern Arizonans are being reminded of Kelly’s radical statements in favor of a tax policy that will hurt middle class families, we expect Kelly to deny ever having made them,” said Jessica Schultz, spokeswoman for Barber for Congress. “Sadly, that is what Southern Arizona has seen from Jesse Kelly: irresponsible ideas followed by unbelievable denials.”
“Middle class families need someone who will fight for them—not tilt the playing field further in favor of big corporations and the rich,” Barber said. “Unfortunately, Jesse Kelly has shown that he’s just fine with tax increases for the middle class—as long as corporations don’t have to pay their fair share.”
Video below the fold.
Tea-Publican insane clown posse makes Arizona the laughingstock of the nation
May 19, 2012
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
It seems every week there is a new political corruption scandal in Arizona. As I have said before, we should designate one of our prisons just for politicians and the lobbytists they serve.
Then there are the batshit crazy bills promoted by the Birthers-Birchers-Secessionists of the Tea Party in the Arizona legislature that keep late night comedians in business. Our Tea-Publican insane clown posse leadership in Arizona makes Arizona the laughingstock of the nation.
The stupid, it burns!
Laurie Roberts of The Arizona Republic writes today, Once again, Arizona is the nation's laughingstock:
Aaaaaaaaand we're off to the races once again.
The race, that would be, to determine the loopiest, looniest oh-so-laughable state in the land.
Cue Secretary of State Ken Bennett: "I'm not a birther. I believe the president was born in Hawaii or at least I hope he was. But my responsibility as secretary of state is to make sure that the ballots in Arizona are correct and that those people whose names are on the ballot have met the qualifications for the office that they seeking."
So starts the official kickoff to the 2014 gubernatorial campaign, a contest in which every God-fearing, gubernatorial-aspiring Republican will apparently feel the need to court the "tea party."
Is Jesse Kelly So Dumb That He Doesn’t Know Cap and Trade Is Dead?
May 19, 2012
By Michael Bryan
Jesse Kelly's latest salvo criticizes Ron Barber for support of a bill (Waxman-Markey's cap and trade bill) that he's never (that I can find) taken a position on, and which has been as dead as a doornail since 2010.
Gabby Giffords did support and vote for Waxman-Markey when it passed the House in 2009. I assume that Kelly is basing his allegation that Barber supports it on Gabby's vote. That might be a fair assumption, or it might not. But it is certainly deeply irrelevant to any possible current cap and trade bill before the House: there is none.
Is Kelly swinging at a strawman, or is he just stupid? A bit of each, perhaps?
Kelly's ad claims that cap and trade would cost consumers an additional $1000 a year in energy costs and destroy 40,000 jobs. Given that no cap and trade legislation is pending, I suspect that Kelly is freaking himself out by playing Fantasy Congress, only with the Dems in charge. I certainly would like to see Jesse's little nightmare come true…
Kelly's newest ad is simply not relevant to the real world, but let's take a quick look at the numbers anyhow, just to see how accurate his fantasies are.
When Waxman-Markey was still pending legislation with a chance of becoming law, the non-partisan Congression Budget Office scored its likely economic impact, concluding that it would have negligable impact on jobs, and only a very slight impact on energy prices for most consumers because the revenues from cap and trade would be redistributed to consumers to offset price increases. Further, given the likely very substantial costs of climate change in future years, the ecnomic impact of not avoiding those costs by passing such legislation could be catastrophic.
Of course, fossil fuel industry shills (like Kelly) spared no expense in attacking Waxman-Markey as a job killing nightmare that could cost the U.S. as many of 2.4 million jobs. Spread that number out proportionately over the country somehow, and I'm guessing that is where Kelly got his 40K job loss claim. I'm sure some right-wing or energy industry scoring is behind the $1000 annual cost claim. Something like ALEC's hit on cap and trade (though it claims more like $1,500 to $3,000 annual cost). The sort of impacts that Kelly's ad claims are, of course, the most pessimistic estimates by hacks in the pocket of the energy industry.
Independent FactCheck.org indicates that the jobs impact of a cap and trade regime is uncertain and really depends on exactly how the bill is structured and how quickly the green energy sector would expand to replace jobs lost in the dirty energy sector. In any case, the impact would be much more moderate than any of the industry scare scenarios.
So, Kelly is misleading voters again about the effects of Democratic policies on climate change and carbon emissions, just like he does about Obamacare's impact on Medicare. His consistent modus seems to be to scare voters into casting their ballots for him, which is the lowest and most deceitful form of political campaigning: and just so happens to be what wingnuts like Kelly are really good at.
But that's all pretty much beside the point. Waxman-Markey is dead, dead, dead. Republicans and Blue Dog Dems killed it. Barber hasn't taken a position on it, and doesn't really have to. America is (unfortunately) not passing any legislation to address climate change any time soon with the do-nothing GOP in charge of the do-nothing House.
Electing Jesse Kelly, who denies the existence of anthropogenic climate change due to CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions, is certainly going to continue gridlock on this particular issue, among others. So, to the extent that Kelly's ad is really just saying, "vote for me and I will do my best to make Earth look like Venus by ensuring the energy industry pumps out unlimited CO2 emmissions," I guess it might contain a sliver of truth.
See the ad after the click, if you can stomach it…
Update: Tea-Publican tyranny in Michigan – waiting for the courts to decide the fate of democracy
May 18, 2012
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
On Thursday the Michigan Court of Appeals heard oral arguments regarding the petitions for a referendum to repeal Michigan's emergency manager law which has been used to impose martial law in Michigan, dissolving duly elected town councils and school boards and putting them under the control of an unelected emergency manager possessing dictatorial powers, appointed by the governor.
Michigan Live reports Court of Appeals hears emotional, technical arguments in emergency manager ballot dispute:
Attorney Herb Sanders choked up this morning as he delivered a closing statement before the Michigan Court of Appeals in Detroit, his momentary silence contrasting with the chants of protestors 14 floors below.
Sanders, representing the Stand Up For Democracy coalition, urged the court to reverse a decision by the state Board of Canvassers, which kept a referendum to repeal Michigan's controversial emergency manager law off the November ballot because of the font size used on petitions.
"This case is about philosophy and how we're going to govern in Michigan," Sanders told the judges. "You can accept their philosophy, which is to make it difficult for people to petition their government, or you can uphold the Constitution of Michigan and the Constitution of the United States for government by the people, for the people and of the people."
SEND IN YOUR BALLOT!!!
May 18, 2012
by
New posts will continue to appear below this one.
Did you know, when you send in your mail-in ballot, campaigns know? That means they stop calling to tell you to send in your ballot. They can focus on the non-voters, and you get one less annoying phone call. (And once you send it in, you don't have to think about it any more.) So do it!
Dates and early voting locations below the fold.
Fact checking the mendacity of ‘Mittens’
May 18, 2012
Posted by AzBlueMeanie: Time once again for Steve Benen's weekly fact check of the pathological liar, Willard "Mittens" Romney. Chronicling Mitt's Mendacity, Vol. XVIII: Back in February, Paul Krugman argued that Mitt Romney is "running a campaign of almost pathological dishonesty." Was this an intemperate analysis? Perhaps. Three months later, does it seem fair? Put … Read more
D.C. Court of Appeals upholds constitutionality of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act
May 18, 2012
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
Aaahhh, this will give Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne another sad. Court after court — just as they have always done since 1965 – has upheld the constitutionality of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act which requires Justice Department preclearance for election laws in states with a history of racial discrimination like Arizona.
Today,the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld the constitutionality of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, affirming the summary judgment of the D.C. District Court. Press release from The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. D.C. Circuit Upholds Constitutionality of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965:
In Shelby County, Alabama vs. Holder, the court rejected an argument advanced by attorneys for Shelby County, Alabama, that the legislative record did not support the 2006 reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act, identifying numerous examples of modern instances of racial discrimination in voting that sustain Congress's findings.
"The court properly found that this key provision of the Voting Rights Act is still needed to ensure that minorities can fully exercise their constitutional right to vote free from discrimination," said Lawyers' Committee Executive Director Barbara R. Arnwine. "This is an important victory in the defense of Section 5."
Secretary of State Ken Bennett panders to the Birthers-Birchers-Secessionists of the Tea Party
May 18, 2012
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
Secretary of State Ken Bennett is not good at his job. Anyone who has tried to use the candidate committee filings online to keep track of who is running for office knows that Bennett has completely failed to present this information in any usable manner accessible to the public — the reason why it is posted online. Bennett is also slow to update bills that have been signed into law and to post them online.
Then there was his completely WRONG legal opinion in the Rep. Daniel Patterson matter in which LD 29 voters disenfranchised by Secretary of State Ken Bennett (Updated).
Earlier this week it was reported by the Arizona Capitol Times (subscription required) that Bennett created the online signature-gathering system "E-Qual" largely to benefit himself in his run for governor in 2014. Ken Bennett collecting signatures for potential gubernatorial run | Arizona Capitol Times:
Secretary of State Ken Bennett, who helped pioneer the state’s online signature-gathering system for political candidates, has started using the system for his potential gubernatorial race two years away.
Bennett, a former Senate president, has an exploratory committee for governor, which means he can legally collect money and gather signatures to measure the viability of a gubernatorial run. [This is the "Huppenthal Loophole" that eviscerated Arizona's resign-to-run law.]
“Yeah, I guess, you know, this puts me one step closer,” Bennett said today of his online signature-gathering efforts.
Nothing unseemly about using his office to benefit himself, nosiree. Nothing unethical to see here, move along.
But Secretary of State Ken Bennett really outdid himself at the end of this week when he went full "Birther," proving that he is unfit for his job. Arizona Secretary Of State Says It’s ‘Possible’ Obama Won’t Be On Ballot | TPMMuckraker:
The man in charge of running Arizona’s elections has gone to the birthers. Secretary of State Ken Bennett now says he’s not convinced Barack Obama was really born in the United States and so he is threatening to keep the president off the ballot in November.
