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No, your new heartthrob John Kasich is not a moderate!

March 18, 2016 by AZ BlueMeanie

@DonnaDiva I don't understand how you can say that. He is the only reasonable person running in the republican primary

— maureen bennett (@maureenbh) March 12, 2016

What inevitably turns up in my feed whenever I mention Kasich

If there’s one thing some liberals are big saps for, it’s the idea of forging kumbaya friendships with certain Republicans. They’re like nerdy high school kids pathetically grateful that the jocks and cheerleaders are letting them sit at their table for lunch. It’s very annoying but is an ongoing thing that will never go away so long as there are liberals yearning for whatever approbation they can get from people who scorn them. Arizona liberals are especially bad with this, since the political climate here is so demoralizing for Democrats. The hunger for “reasonable” Republicans is so strong that they’ll ascribe such characteristics to guys like Jeff Flake, mistaking his mild-manneredness for moderation, when the truth is that the now-junior Senator of Arizona holds a lot of horrifically right wing positions.

Matt Salmon announces his retirement from Congress: Let the political battle royal begin

February 27, 2016 by AZ BlueMeanie

By Craig McDermott, crossposted from Random Musings

On Thursday, Congressman Matt Salmon announced that he will not be seeking reelection to Congress in 2016.

This wasn’t a sudden move – senior Salmon staffers have been looking for, and finding, soft landing spots for weeks now, and his announcement was followed quickly by an endorsement of Andy Biggs, president of the Arizona State Senate, to be his replacement.

While the Biggs endorsement was (presumably) an attempt to preempt a primary battle for the safe R seat, there are a number of Rs looking at the race, or at least being speculated about for the race.

From AZCentral.com, written by Rebekah L. Sanders –

The GOP embraces ‘Trumpism,’ the new American fascism

February 24, 2016 by AZ BlueMeanie

Donald Trump rolled over his GOP competitors in the Nevada Caucus on Tuesday for his third consecutive win.

This sets up “Super Tuesday” aka the “SEC Primary” on Tuesday, March 1.

According to the RealClearPolitics averaging of state polls, Donald Trump currently leads in Alabama, Georgia, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Virginia, and Vermont. Ted “Calgary” Cruz has a narrow lead in his home state of Texas, and in Arkansas. The caucuses in Alaska, Colorado. and North Dakota do not have any recent polling.

Anti-TPP Rally at McSally’s Office on Friday, Feb 19

February 16, 2016 by Pamela Powers

Don’t get so caught up with the Presidential Primaries and the SCOTUS speculation that you forget about the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) deal that is still on the table in the Congress. This Friday, there will be an anti-TPP rally at Congresswoman Martha McSally’s office. Come on down! Bring your signs and enthusiasm. Here are a … Read more

Top Two Primary intends to demolish Democrats in AZ

January 28, 2016 by AZ BlueMeanie

Crossposted from DemocraticDiva.com

As I drove home Wednesday evening I caught the tail end of a recorded segment on the radio about the Top Two Primary initiative. I heard a man telling KJZZ host Steve Goldstein (I’m paraphrasing) about how Democrats have little power in state government so Hispanic voters would do well to stop aligning themselves with them. I rolled my eyes and continued on but I saw this summary of the interview when I got home:

Arizona’s Latino community is gravitating away from either major political party.

Those were the findings of a recent survey by an organization hoping to reform elections in the state.

About 40 percent of Latinos in Arizona are Independent, a trend that becomes even more pronounced among millennials. According to the survey, more than 75 percent of respondents said Latinos should register as Independent and eschew the established parties. This is good news for supporters of a ballot initiative that would allow independents to run in the primary.

Danny Ortega is a co-chair of the Open and Honest Elections Coalition.

He said Latinos, who were once loyal to democrats, are increasingly disillusioned with the party’s inability to make meaningful progress on immigration, education and other issues.

“They don’t see the party as effective, number one,” Ortega said. “Number two, every state office is controlled by Republicans. The legislature is controlled by Republicans, and so Latinos don’t feel like they are part of the end game.”