Michael Bryan

Michael founded BlogForArizona.net as the Howard Dean presidential campaign blog for Arizona in 2003, and has been blogging ever since. The Blog is now coming up on 20 years of continuous publication, a major achievement for any political blog, which usually have the life-spans of mayflies. Michael is an attorney living in Tucson with his wife Lauren. In 2008, Michael remade BlogForArizona into a collaborative project. Michael is now but one of the contributors to the blog and provides editorial and publishing direction in consultation with the Board of Directors and the other authors. If you want to keep up with the latest Arizona and National political news in an entertaining quick hit of news and opinion, check out the BlogForArizona twitter feed, which Mike largely curates and writes. Michael is also an AAPC member who occassionally consults on political campaigns, strategy and communications.

Nixon and Gore

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I don’t mean to denegrate Gore, or to imply any unethical behavior on his part by a comparison with Richard Nixon. Instead, I intend to illustrate through Nixon’s career an eminently reasonable trajectory in Gore’s political career. There are several parallels between the careers of Nixon and Gore. Both were elected to Congress at a … Read more

MoveOn.org Positive Agenda Party 5/25 @ 6pm

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Please attend a MoveOn.org sponsored Positive Agenda party this Thursday, May 25th @ 6pm. The time is coming to kick GOP butt in ’06 and ’08, and it certainly appears to be up to the grassroots to set a positive agenda to move the Democratic Party forward. Come on down to the Shanty in downtown … Read more

Senate panel backs Hayden CIA confirmation with 4 of 7 Democratic Votes

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UPDATE 5/26/06: The Senate today confirmed Hayden by a 78-15 vote, demonstrating that the majority of Democratic Senators have forgotten their role as constitutional counterweight to the Administration and an investigatory and oversight body. They’re still running scared from a President whom less than 1/3 of Americans continue to support. In short, they’re letting down their party by failing to provide an effective opposition, and worse, they are letting down America.

Senate Intelligence Committee backs NSA’s Gen. Hayden’s CIA confirmation by a 12-3 vote. That means that 4 Democrats, Feinstein, Rockfeller, Levin, and MIkulski, voted to confirm General Hayden, likely giving him exactly the bi-partisan lustre he needs to win confirmation.

The links above are to each Senator’s statement on their votes to recommend confirmation to the full Senate. Every single one of them dodges the real issue that, as Senator Feingold said in his statement on his NO vote, "General Hayden directed an illegal program that put Americans on
American soil under surveillance without the legally required approval
of a judge."

The issue is that Hayden has already proven himself amenable to carrying out illegal directives of the President. He did not resign when asked to break the law, he rolled over and did it. Now the Administration is moving him to the CIA where they can order him to violate American laws and the Constitution again.

I’m disgusted with my party today.

Senators Feingold, Wyden, and Bayh did the right thing and voted against a man, who despite his talents and qualifications, facilitated a massive breach of the public trust and the rule of law. Senator Feingold’s statement explains the case eloquently below the fold…

Who do you support in 2008?

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DailyKos is having a early straw poll on early support for the Democratic nomination in 2008: Daily Kos :: Who do you support in 2008?. The results are trending about as I anticipated. As people search their souls and look over the past 6 years, it has become apparent to the vast majority of Kossacks … Read more