Posted by AzBlueMeanie: The Arizona Capitol Times reports that the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission has hired Washington, D.C.-based Strategic Telemetry as the commission's mapping consultant. Redistricting panel hires D.C.-based, Democratically connected mapping firm: Advertisement Much as it did last month when it chose attorneys, the panel split 3-2 on the decision to hire Strategic Telemetry, a … Read more

by David [Spon] Safier Dr. Word was thumbing through a Sports Illustrated, something he rarely does, when a word jumped out at him from a full page ad: Sponsafier. Spon-Safier? he asked himself. What is a Spon-Safier? The Safier name is uncommon enough, one rarely sees it in the media. The last occurrence Dr. Word … Read more

Posted by AzBlueMeanie: Daily Kos reports the good news out of Ohio today. Campaign to repeal Ohio's SB 5 delivers more than 1,000,000 signatures: The effort to get a referendum on Ohio's SB 5 needed 231,149 valid signatures from 44 counties. Today, pro-repeal groups marched in Columbus to deliver 1,298,301 petition signatures to the secretary … Read more

Posted by AzBlueMeanie: Via Ezra Klein Tax rates and job creation in one graph: In theory, the GOP is so committed to resisting tax hikes because it’s so committed to creating jobs. “The fact is you can’t tax the very people that we expect to invest in the economy and create jobs,” says Speaker John … Read more

Posted by AzBlueMeanie: I have said it before and I will keep saying it: This shapeshifter, Willard "Mittens" Romney, is a shameless liar. The latest lie that Mittens, as well as many other Tea-Publicans, likes to tell is that "Obama made the recession worse." This, of course, is demonstrably false to any sensient human being. … Read more

Posted by AzBlueMeanie: In a major legal victory for the Obama administration, the first court of appeals level decision in the country has held that the Affordable Care Act is constitutional. Political Animal – 6th Circuit finds Affordable Care Act constitutional: In another legal win for the Affordable Care Act, the 6th Circuit Court of … Read more

Posted by AzBlueMeanie: President Obama called out the deficit peacocks and framed the debate over deficit reduction and raising the federal debt ceiling in his press conference today. Political Animal – Obama puts GOP in a box on debt, taxes, revenue: At a White House press conference this morning, the president did a very effective … Read more