Arizona Daily Star is failing Southern Arizona with its endorsements

October 15, 2012

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

American Chinese restaurant menus have long had columns (Column A, Column B, etc.) for ordering food family style. One could choose one item from Column A, two items from Column B, and so forth. The method became so familiar that choices from “Column A” and “Column B” in anything (business, mathematics, et al.) have often been called a “Chinese menu” system. The Big Apple: “One from column A, one from column B” (Chinese menu ordering).

The Arizona Daily Star is using the “Chinese menu” system in its endorsements of state legislative races: one Democrat and one Republican in House races, the Democrat in Senate races. It is no more principled than this.

LD 2: Ackerley, Gabaldón for state House (Linda Lopez (D) elected at the primary election)

LD 8: We choose Pratt, Bustamante for state House, McGuire for Senate

LD 9: Farley for state Senate; Sidhwa, Orr for House

This is a disservice to the residents of Southern Arizona.

The problem with the current Arizona legislature is that it has a Tea-Publican super-majority, which has allowed for radical extremism to go unchecked. How do we moderate the legislature and make it more responsive to the electorate of Southern Arizona? Even a child has the common sense to tell you: "elect more Democrats — duh!" The Arizona Daily Star doesn't do math.

Out of Sight, Not out of Mind

October 15, 2012

By Karl Reiner President Obama is said to be somewhat distracted, not fully engaged in the tumble of everyday domestic politicking.  He may have his reasons.  One of his daily briefings includes a litany of the problems and threats festering and lurking outside the nation’s borders.  The ongoing problems in Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, global terrorism … Read more

LD 14: ‘Stevens and Gowan are not deserving of re-election’

October 14, 2012

Posted by AzBlueMeanie: The generally GOP-friendly, conservative leaning Sierra Vista Herald surprised me today with a scathing rebuke to Reps. David Stevens and David Gowan, two far-right radical extremist Tea-Publicans. The Herald endorsed the Democratic slate of Rob Leach and Mark Stonebraker, both from Sierra Vista, for the LD 14 House. Our View: LD14 deserves better | The Sierra … Read more

The Daily Star’s ‘Jim Click Pick’

October 14, 2012

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

The Arizona Daily Star published its congressional endorsements today.

For U.S. Senate, the Star edorsed Dr. Richard Carmona. Carmona's bipartisan views will benefit all.

For Congressional District 3, the Star endorsed incumbent Congressman Raúl Grijalva. Grijalva shows best command of issues.

 For Congressional District 2, the Star endorsed incumbent Congressman Ron Barber. Southern Arizona's concerns and people are paramount for Barber.

And then there is the Star's "Jim Click Pick" — they had to throw a bone to one of the Star's top advertisers and GOP bundler, auto dealer Jim Click. For Congressional District 1, the Star endorsed Jonathan "Payday" Paton.

In order to do so, the Arizona Daily Star had to ignore much of its own reporting over the years highly critical of Paton.

Picking Up Where Krugman Left Off

October 14, 2012

Posted by Bob Lord

Paul Krugman's piece on Friday summed up my feelings perfectly about why this election is so critical: 

And here’s the thing: if Mitt Romney wins the election, the G.O.P. will surely consider its economic ideas vindicated. In other words, politically good things may be about to happen to very bad ideas. And if that’s how it plays out, the American people will pay the price.

You can read the entire piece here

Here's what I think is possible if Romney wins and Krugman is correct. We likley will see a right turn immediately after the election, with the Ryan tax plan replacing the Romney tax plan. Why? Because Romney likes the Ryan plan better than his own, he just doesn't have the balls to 100% own it right now. The Ryan plan would exempt all investment income from tax, which is the direction Romney wants to go. HIs own plan takes smaller steps in that same direction. Although Romney has not 100% owned the Ryan plan, he heaped enough praise on it earier on to allow him to claim his election is a mandate for it. And the legislative process works in his favor here, because he can have the Republican House start the process. 

Willful ignorance of economics is reckless and irresponsible

October 14, 2012

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

After reading the endorsements by the state's two largest daily circulation newspapers, The Arizona Republic(an) and the Arizona Daily Star, it is clear that the editors of these newspapers are fully invested in failed GOP economic policies and are out of touch with the Arizona electorate.

Conservatives like to refer to the Arizona Daily Star as the "Red Star" because it is generally progressive on social issues and frequently endorses Democrats. But on economic issues, there is little daylight between the views of The Arizona Daily Star and the Arizona Republic(an). These newspapers enable failed GOP economic policies to survive by giving them the veneer of credibility, to the detriment of all Arizonans.

Ask any Arizona voter what the top issue is in the election this year and they will tell you "JOBS! JOBS! JOBS!" Or as James Carville once famously said, "It's the economy, stupid."

The editors of the state's two largest daily circulation newspapers, The Arizona Republic(an) and the Arizona Daily Star, however, tell us the top issue in the election this year is the federal debt and government spending. This is traditionally an issue upon which Republicans run against when a Democrat is in the White House, but immediately abandon once a Republican is in the White House. As Vice President Dick Cheney famously said after election, "deficits don't matter." (See below).

To endorse a Republican on the basis of the federal debt and government spending, as the Arizona Daily Star did for Jonathan Paton, and The Arizona Republic(an) did for Jeff Flake today is to turn a blind eye to history and to the facts. Ronald Reagan quadrupled the federal debt as president, and George W. Bush doubled it again before blowing up the financial system and our economy with the Bush Great Recession, the worst economic calamity since the Great Depression.

In the case of Jeff Flake, he voted for the Bush tax cuts and putting two wars on the nation's credit card without asking any sacrifice from Americans — except our service men and women — to pay for those wars. (He subsequently voted against veterans benefits.)

When the private sector withdraws from the economy during economic collapse, the government sector must step in to stimulate economic activity and restore stability. This is Economics 101. It is also known as Keynesian economics, which the "geniuses" (sic) who sit on the editorial boards of this state's two major newspapers reject.

The Arizona Republic(an) has frequently editorialized against the federal stimulus packages, which arrested the economic freefall the U.S. economy was in and stabilized the economy, allowing for the return of economic growth.

The Arizona Daily Star writes today that it does not believe that "the government should directly create more jobs to help the economy. Private job creation, not more government spending, is the answer."

Such willful ignorance of basic economics and blind faith in failed GOP economic policies that resulted in the federal debt and the greatest economic calamity since the Great Depression is a great disservice to the readers of these newspapers, and to Arizona voters.

Early Voting Month – return your early ballots!

October 14, 2012

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Early voting runs from Thursday, October 11 to Friday, November 2, 2012. The Last day to request an early ballot by mail is Friday, October 26, 2012. There will be emergency voting on Saturday, November 3, 2012 at some locations, and Monday, November 5, 2012 only at the Downtown location.

PLEASE REMEMBER TO SIGN AND DATE THE AFFIDAVIT ENVELOPE before inserting it into the outer envelope for mailing. Your ballot cannot be counted without a signed and dated affidavit.

If you plan to vote at a voting location on Election Day, please verify your correct voting location before going to vote. See Pima County Recorder's Office or call the Recorder's Office at (520) 724-4330. You will need to show required ID. Pima County Elections Required Identification at the Polls.

Election Day is Tuesday, November 6, 2012.

Early Voting locations:

DOWNTOWN
Recorder’s Main Office
115 N. Church Ave.
520-724-4330
Located downtown in the historic
Old Pink Courthouse with the tiled dome

SITE OPEN: Thursday, 10/11/2012 through Friday 11/2/2012
Monday – Friday
8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

EMERGENCY VOTING:

Saturday, 11/3/2012
9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Monday, 11/5/2012- Downtown Only
8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

EASTSIDE
Recorder’s Eastside Annex
6920 E. Broadway Blvd., Suite D
520-724-4330
Located on the southwest corner of Broadway and Kolb Rd.
behind Bring’s Funeral Home

SITE OPEN: Thursday, 10/11/2012 through Friday 11/2/2012
Monday – Friday
8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

EMERGENCY VOTING:

Saturday, 11/3/2012
9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.