by David Safier From the AFL-CIO: Extreme politicians in Arizona have tried to silence the voice of Arizonans who oppose bills attacking firefighters, teachers and other public workers.  They know these bills are unpopular and have fast-tracked them with little public input. But at a public hearing today in Tucson, working families and community members … Read more

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Update to Montana Supreme Court takes a defiant stand against Citizens United v. FEC :

[B]y a 5-2 margin, Montana’s high court determined that the state law survived “strict scrutiny” because Montana’s unique context and history justified the ban in ways not contemplated by Citizens United. In his majority opinion, Chief Justice Mike McGrath dove deep into that history, ranging back over the “tumultuous years … marked by rough contests for political and economic domination primarily in the mining center of Butte, between mining and industrial enterprises controlled by foreign trusts or corporations.” Noting that, back in the last Gilded Age, Montana's wealthy "Copper Kings" bought judges and senators, picked the location of the capital, and owned the media, McGrath pointed to Montana’s vast size, sparse population, low-cost elections, and long history of having its resources plundered by foreign corporate interests to emphasize that the state has a compelling interest in maintaining its ban.

McGrath lays it out this way: “The question then, is when in the last 99 years did Montana lose the power or interest sufficient to support the statute, if it ever did. If the statute has worked to preserve a degree of political and social autonomy is the State required to throw away its protections?” The majority went out of its way to note that unlimited campaign spending on judicial elections is also having a profoundly damaging effect on judicial integrity all around the country.

Three corporations have now filed a petition to the U.S. Supreme Court asking it to strike down, without further briefing and oral argument, the state law on the premise that the Montana Supreme Court in upholding it simply failed to follow the Court’s 2010 ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, freeing corporations (and labor unions) to spend their own money as they wished on political campaigns.

Justice Anthony M. Kennedy has the petition. He has the authority to act on his own on the stay issue, but would have to share with his colleagues any consideration of summarily overturning the state court’s decision; that would take five votes.

Posted by AzBlueMeanie: Announcement from the Raúl Grijalva for Congress campaign:     A WHOLE LOT OF PEOPLE FOR GRIJALVA PRESENT 2012 CAMPAIGN KICKOFF Live Music by Los Gallegos Sunday, February 19, 2012 5:30 pm – 8:30 pm El Casino Ballroom 437 East 26th Street Tucson, AZ 85713 Please RSVP Today Raúl needs you to stand with … Read more

Posted by AzBlueMeanie: Announcement from the Arizona Democratic Party: On March 31, 2012, Democrats will gather to initiate Arizona's first step in a presidential election.  The Arizona Democratic Presidential Preference Caucus will be held for each congressional district in locations outlined below.  Each state that's had either a primary or caucus to date has used … Read more

by David Safier Frankly, I am shocked to hear that Congressman Paul Ryan, who calls himself a conservative Republican and is the author of the Republican House budget plan, makes his staff read books by Alisa Zinov'yevna Rosenbaum. She was born in Russia, then came to this country and used fiction to twist people's minds … Read more