Napolitano Girds for Budget Battle
January 17, 2006
Governor Janet Napolitano faces a new session of the Arizona legislature with a large budget surplus and a Rublican majority dominated by ‘small government’ poseurs determined to lay a major tax cut at the feet of their wealthiest constituents. She’s going to have to fight to keep every dollar of revenue flowing to badly underfunded and neglected public purposes, and probably throw a few tax breaks into the mix to sate the ravening dogs of the Right. Her proposed 2007 is a solid start.
I will probably comment further on the Governor’s budget later, but for now, I want to present the Governor’s own words on the budget, which I suspect far too few Democrats, let alone Republicans bother to read. After the jump I pass on her letter to the legislature laying out her budget proposal.
The Governor’s main thrust is to repay the fiscal juggling acts adopted in recent austere years and to enhance core state services: the three major areas of education, prisons and AHCCCS consume 80 percent of Napolitano’s proposed budget. There’s little or no wasteful spending in the Governor’s proposal (though her gesture to the Right of funding for border enforcement, which should be borne by the Feds, is arguably wasteful). It will be interesting to see if the Legislature comes up with a budget of which the same can be said.
Drake v. Grijalva: Wet Noodle v. Cojones
January 17, 2006
Former Mayor of Avondale Ron Drake is having a few problems getting out of the gate in his bid to unseat Congressman Raul Grijalva in CD 7. The first and most obvious is the apparent futility of running at all against an extremely popular Representative in a safe Democratic district. The answer to that conundrum probably lies somewhere between overweening ambition and exhibitionism, and a promise of preference from the AZ GOP in some future office that is within their metier in exchange for a sacrificial dash.
What struck me immediately about Drake’s campaign was the symbolic resonance of his announcement. For some reason Drake’s campaign decided that a Southern Pacific engine would make a dandy backdrop for the historic occassion. What does this say about the campaign?
Robert Shows True Colors
January 17, 2006
The Supreme Court upheld the Oregon assisted suicide law by a 6-3 vote. (PDF of Scalia’s Dissent in which Roberts joined) The minority asserted that federal drug laws override the democratic will of the people of Oregon as expressed by the Oregon legislature. So much for state’s rights. What is stunningly hypocritical about the minority’s
Al Gore Takes the Gloves Off
January 16, 2006
UPDATE: Gore responds to the personal attacks on him by the Administration as a result of his speech: The Administration’s response to my speech illustrates perfectly the need for a special counsel to review the legality of the NSA wiretapping program. The Attorney General is making a political defense of the President without even addressing
Religious Intolerance Would Have Saddened MLK, Too
January 16, 2006
Gabby Announces CD 8 Bid Lauch
January 15, 2006
Gabby has finally announced her official campaign launch. As widely expected, the guest of honor at that event will be Congressman Raul Grijalva. With Gabby’s money (she just announced clearing her first 250K – I doubt if any of her rivals for the nomination can boast even half of that), her DLC and Party connections,
Two Arizona cities among 20 ‘meanest to homeless’ in America
January 15, 2006
National Coalition for the Homeless issued their annual report ‘A Dream Denied: The Criminalization of Homelessness in U.S. Cities’ for 2006 which names Flagstaff (#10) and Phoenix (#17) among the 20 meanest cities in America. Some of the most serious problems that the homeless face are the lack of social services, the lack of affordable
Shadegg Seeks Majority Leader Position
January 13, 2006
John Shadegg, Republican Representative of Arizona’s District 3 has announced his candidacy for the House’s second leadership position, Majority Leader, recently vacated permanently by ethically troubled Tom DeLay (this would be a good time to send a few dollars to Democrat Don Chilton who seeks to unseat Shadegg, BTW). I’m going to make a bold
