AZ Congressional Delegation

Mass Deportation Party files amicus brief in Fifth Circuit immigration appeal

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The Hill reports that the Mass Deportation Party has filed an amicus brief in the immigration appeal before the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. So much for reaching out to Latino voters in 2016. 113 Republicans back lawsuit against Obama’s immigration actions:

ImmigrantsRepublicans in Congress on Monday entered the court battle over President Obama’s latest moves to ease deportations for immigrants living in the country illegally.

Texas and 25 other states have challenged the legality of the unilateral actions, arguing that the president overstepped his executive power with programs halting deportations and granting work permits to certain groups of illegal immigrants.

The Republicans, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (Va.), are siding squarely with the states, arguing Obama’s executive action “changes the law and sets a new policy, exceeding the executive’s constitutional authority and disrupting the delicate balance of powers.”

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Trent Franks is being terrible again

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Crossposted from DemocraticDiva.com

The GOP-led Congress is back with another attempt at banning abortion at 20 weeks. This one is supposed to be an improvement over the one rejected by a few female GOP Reps a couple of months ago over a lack of exceptions for rape and incest. The new version does contain those exceptions but the woman would be required to receive counseling 48 hours prior to the abortion (from a provider approved by the anti-choicers, natch). Gosh, thanks. LifeNews.com explains how the exceptions will be written so as not to leave loopholes for lying harlots to exploit.

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If Montana can do it, why can’t Arizona?

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In news that you did not see reported here in Arizona last week, the Montana legislature passed sweeping campaign finance legislation that will require the disclosure of all donors to any independent group spending money on state-level elections.

The Huffington Post reported, Montana Republicans And Democrats Unite To Ban Dark Money:

dark_moneyThe bipartisan Montana Disclose Act will effectively end the flood of “dark money” — electoral spending by nonprofit groups that do not disclose their donors — that has plagued recent Montana elections.

“Montana elections are about to become the most transparent in the nation, requiring those trying to influence our elections to come out of the dark money shadows,” Gov. Steve Bullock (D), who plans to sign the bill, said in a statement. “Our elections should be decided by Montanans, not shadowy dark money groups.”

The bill will require all groups, no matter their tax status, to disclose their donors if they spend money on electoral communications either targeting or mentioning a candidate within 60 days of an election.

“What Montana shows is that the issue of money in politics is really only a partisan issue in Washington, D.C.,” Adam Smith, spokesman for the campaign finance reform group Every Voice, said. “People can come together — Republicans and Democrats — and pass real effective reforms of the system.”

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Why is Rep. Kyrsten Sinema voting to repeal the estate tax?

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I warned you earlier in the week about the GOP’s Gimmicks-R-Us Shoppe during tax week.

Steve Benen reports, GOP passes massive tax break for millionaires, billionaires:

In recent months, high-profile Republicans, sounding quite a bit like class warriors, have complained bitterly about the wealthy benefiting most from the recent economic recovery. Even House Ways & Means Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), without a hint of irony, complained that recent trends point to “exacerbated inequality.” The far-right congressman added that only “the wealthy are doing really well.”

It’s genuinely impossible to reconcile Republican rhetoric and Republican priorities in light of votes like these.

The House voted Thursday to repeal the estate tax, a longtime priority of Republicans that also spurred Democratic charges that the GOP is in the pockets of the rich. […]

The White House has threatened to veto the measure, and the bill does not appear to have the 60 votes necessary to break a Democratic filibuster and get through the Senate.

The final tally was 240 to 179, with nearly every GOP lawmaker voting for it and nearly every Democrat voting against it.

Yeah, about this “almost every Democrat” . . . our own Kyrsten Sinema, once again, voted with the Greedy Oligarchs and Plutocrats (GOP). This has become a routine habit of Rep. Sinema.

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Rep. Martha McSally endorses Sen. McCain’s Neocon war mongering

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McSallyOn Friday, Rep. Martha McSally (R-Raytheon) attended an invitation-only event hosted by the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance aka the “military-industrial-congressional complex,” at Raytheon, her former employer, along with Neocon war monger Sen. John McCain.

The Arizona Republic reports, McCain, McSally pan Iran deal, praise defense industry:

U.S. Sen. John McCain, fresh off announcing he will run for re-election in 2016, drew promises of support at a meeting of southern Arizona defense hawks Friday, as he praised the state’s missile-defense industry and criticized the Obama administration’s emerging deal with Iran.

McCain was joined by U.S. Rep. Martha McSally, the Tucson freshman and retired A-10 pilot who was the first female airman to fly in combat.

The Republicans said companies such as Raytheon Missile Systems in southern Arizona protect Americans from threats abroad, including North Korea, Iran, Russia and non-state actors. They spoke to a meeting of the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance in Tucson.

McCain said the end of the Cold War was hastened by America’s development of weapons capable of downing enemy missiles. The need for such defenses continues, he said.

“As we speak, it is clear to me — if not to the president of the United States — that the Iranians are bent on the development of nuclear weapons,” McCain said. “Missile defense is not a story of the past. It’s a story of the future.”

McCain criticized the Obama administration’s negotiations with Iran, calling the tentative deal appeasement.

McSally agreed.

“We’ve conceded,” she said. “(Iran is) playing right out of North Korea’s playbook: pretend they’re willing to negotiate and then march toward nuclear weapons.”

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