AZ Congressional Delegation

Hero Dem candidate in AZ05 responds to anti-choicers in the most delightful way

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Crossposted from DemocraticDiva.com

james woods

Arizona Congressional District 5 is currently represented by Matt Salmon (who, when he ran for Governor in 2002, was considered to be firmly in the GOP establishment but is now a member of the Tea Party Caucus in Congress) and is viewed as an unwinnable district for Democrats. Nonetheless, James Woods has mounted a serious challenge and I don’t think I’ve ever found myself in more agreement with a candidate before.

I have a vision for an America in which we approach governance with the best evidence we have available–not ideology, revelation or religion. Public policy decisions should be made rationally through an unbiased examination of facts, efficacy and outcomes. This gives us the best possible chance of steering the country toward the advancement of prosperity for all. We must thoughtfully avoid the unverified opinions and irrational prejudices in our lawmaking process that thwart our common pursuit of happiness.

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UPDATE: Guatemalan Children Get Six-Month Reprieve on Deportation

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Yesterday, I juxtaposed three immigration stories in my post— the sad news about the murder of 5-10 Honduran refugee children that the US deported recently, the plight of a young Guatemalan mother and her three children who crossed the border alone and are facing deportation, and the callous reaction to the child refugee crisis by … Read more

Disgraceful: Some Deported Refugee Children Already Dead

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Young Guatamalan children who were reunited with their mother in Cincinnati could face deportation. (Photo: The Enquirer)
Young Guatemalan children, who were reunited with their mother in Cincinnati, could face deportation. How can we sentence them to death? (Photo: The Enquirer)

Thousands of refugee children have been fleeing violence and poverty in Central America for almost a year now. Until all Hell broke loose in Ferguson, Missouri last week, the refugee children had the national limelight. (We are on to the next shiny thing.)

Two heart-wrenching stories about the refugee children were released today. First, Think Progress released a story stating that 5-10 of the recently deported children have already been murdered.

Second, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported that group of four young cousins would be facing an immigration judge in Cleveland today and could likely deported– despite having been reunited with family members in the US (pictured above).

Look at the faces of these children. How can we send them back to gang violence and death? Have we become a country of greedy, self-centered bigots? Probably, yes.

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Sorry, Martha McSally, “feminist Republican” IS an oxymoron

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barber mcsally

Roll Call‘s Shira T. Center is covering Arizona’s tight CD2 race and sees a formidable candidate in Martha McSally:

Operatives couldn’t make up a better candidate résumé if they tried: retired Air Force Colonel, first in her class at the U.S. Air War College, the first female fighter pilot in combat who flies the very plane — an A-10 Warthog — that’s economically essential to the 2nd District.

At a time when Republicans wrangle with messaging to female voters, this 48-year-old’s spunk and articulate bite is made for television — and unlike anything the House GOP Conference has seen in a while…

…McSally doesn’t talk like the average congressional candidate, instead dropping phrases like “awesome,” “dorked up,” and “bad-ass airplane” before crowds and in conversations. During a live appearance on Fox News Channel in February 2012, she said she wanted to kick former Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., “in the jimmy” for his position on women serving in combat…

…“I consider myself a feminist Republican, and that’s not an oxymoron,” McSally tells CQ Roll Call in an interview over a vegetarian burrito slightly smaller than a bowling pin.

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CD4 Candidate Mikel Weisser Smacks Down Center for Arizona Policy

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CD4 Candidate Mikel Weisser
CD4 Candidate Mikel Weisser

Recently the AZBlueMeanie posted a story about CD2 Candidate Martha McSally’s non-answers to Cathi Herrod’s Center for Arizona Policy candidate survey. Herrod is a right-wing operative in Arizona, so it’s odd that Tea Party Darling McSally didn’t answer CAP’s survey. (Remember SB1062? That was Cathi’s baby.)

One Congressional candidate who DID answer Herrod’s questions is progressive CD4 Candidate Mikel Weisser. Wow. Weisser offers a collection of no-holds-barred answers to CAP’s anti-science religiosity and their support for discrimination, the subjugation of women, and the prison industrial complex. Below are his answers.

Weisser is running against CAP stooge and incumbent Republican Paul Gosar. Gosar’s answers to this survey here. His answer to #8 sums up his stance on civil rights and equality for women: “All men are equal. Special categories are unnecessary.” (Emphasis added.)

Mikel Weisser’s Answers to Center for Arizona Policy Survey Questions
1. Repealing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

Greedy corporations, irresponsible think tanks and heartless doctors have attacked American patients for too long. Attacks on the ACA have to be stopped.

2. Providing federal funding to Planned Parenthood and other organizations that provide abortions.

Planned parenthood is our most important women’s health organization and its opponents create havoc and misery. Groups like CAP must stop trying to control vaginas.

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