AZ Congressional Delegation

James Woods

Blind Congressional Candidate Buys a Gun, No Questions Asked

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In Arizona, even if you are totally blind, you can buy a gun at a gun show– no questions asked– for as little as $100. James Woods, who is running for Congress against incumbent Republican Matt Salmon (CD5), is a bold progressive candidate. He has made national headlines by sending Woods for Congress condoms labeled … Read more

Doug Ducey

Prop 122 & Backers Ducey & Brnovich Are Too Extreme for Arizona

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Prop 122
Prop 122 would allow any Arizonan, the Arizona Legislature, or local law enforcement (like Sheriff Joe Arpaio) to determine the Constitutionality of federal laws.

Brought to you by the Goldwater Institute and the Koch Brothers, Proposition 122 is the worst idea since the Civil War, and true to form with other Koch Brothers initiatives, it is being sold to us with lies and dark money.

Prop 122 would amend the Arizona Constitution to: 1) confirm that both the state and federal governments must follow the US Constitution; 2) give “Arizona” the right to determine what is Constitutional (instead of the Supreme Court); and 3) give the state government authority to stop all levels of government (state, county, city, town or other political entity) from using personnel or finances to “enforce, administer or cooperate with a federal action or program if the people or their representatives have exercised their authority to restrict such action or use,” quoting Arizona’s Election Guide from the Secretary of State’s office.

In other words, if “the people or their representatives” decide that a federal law is unconstitutional, the state can stop, all levels of government in Arizona from cooperating with the federal government on that law.

This is sedition, it is un-American, and it is backed by our state’s Republican leadership, including gubernatorial candidate Doug Ducey. attorney general candidate Mark Brnovich, Sheriff Joe Arpaio, disgraced former Senate President Russell Pearce, Republican Congressional representatives, and …

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Barber Wins Spirited Debate, as McSally Ducks Questions

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Last night’s televised debate between CD2 Congressman Ron Barber and Republican challenger Martha McSally was livelier than I had anticipated. In the end, it was obvious that Barber had won the debate. He answered the questions with concrete, specific examples and ideas, while McSally displayed great skill in avoiding actually answering most of the questions.

Barber was the real surprise of the evening for me. He came out swinging from the beginning with a bow to women’s right to choose and acknowledgement of the landmark SCOTUS ruling on gay marriage (two things McSally is against). It’s a good thing he led with these issues because they differentiate the two candidates and otherwise would not have been raised. (As Donna Greathouse has pointed out, debate moderators have repeatedly deemed women’s rights as not worthy of one question.)

In the beginning of the debate, both candidates tried to prove they were the most independent (since this highly competitive district has so many independents). Barber touted his record as the “fourth most independent” Congressman, which means he bucks the Democratic Party routinely. In fact, McSally’s charge that Barber does what Minority Leader Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi tells him to rings particularly hollow with most Democrats who wish he would do just that!

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AIRC Update: Garrett Epps on Arizona State Legislature v. Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission

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ArizonaGarrett Epps of The Atlantic weighs in on Arizona State Legislature v. Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission, which is one of the cases set for the U.S. Supreme Court’s “long conference” consideration on September 29. Epps writes, Will the Supreme Court Let Arizona Fight Gerrymandering?:

Constitutional disputes sometimes turn on technical legal terms: What is “due process of law,” for example, or “double jeopardy”? But most of the Constitution isn’t written in legalese, and some important cases are about the meaning of ordinary language.

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Here’s another constitutional conundrum: What does “legislature” mean?

The answer could determine an issue at the heart of our current poisonous politics. Can the voters of a state take control of drawing House districts out of the hands of their elected legislators and entrust it to a bipartisan commission? That’s what Arizona voters did in 2010. Now the legislature is demanding to be allowed back in.

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