Competitiveness and the Voting Rights Act

[Note: this article was co-written with retired attorney Jay Simpson.] Redistricting is in the news. While it can be an obscure topic, mostly of interest to a modest number of nerds (us included), it has become national news every day. More people now see how it can fundamentally affect our democracy. As established in the … Read more

Supreme Court Drops the Other Shoe

The coming midterms in Arizona just became more critical. In each election cycle, we are told that “this one is the most important.” It’s easy to be skeptical. But with the recent news from the Supreme Court, there really is a new wrinkle. And there are consequences for us all. In particular: State elected offices … Read more

Hungary and Arizona

What does Hungary’s electoral tsunami mean for Arizona? Hungary is far away, it’s a country, not a U.S. state, and it is different from us in many, many other ways. But we can learn from what just happened there, especially as we contemplate moving past the Trump era. A pro-democracy candidate, Peter Magyar[1] not only defeated Orban, … Read more

Man watching a distant storm while about to step into a deep hole.

All Politics is Local?

Is it? Really? Former Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill Jr. is often credited with the saying “All Politics is Local”, though apparently,he didn’t originate it. Many of the real issues facing people in our districts are in fact local. And yet, even those local matters are significantly affected by far away events. Arizonans’ cost … Read more

The Bully in Chief

Donald Trump is a bully. This much is clear[1]. When he thinks groups or individuals are vulnerable, he talks tough. When they resist, he either backs down or responds so ineffectively that he often loses. The results with law firms he’s attacked, for instance, show this. As Robert Reich has noted, “The law firms Perkins Coie, Jenner … Read more