AZ Congressional Delegation

How many more Americans must die for Sen. John McCain’s War in Iraq?

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The editors of The Arizona Republic editorialized on Memorial Day, Shelve the politics on Memorial Day. Apparently Arizona’s angry old man, Sen. John “Surge” McCain, didn’t read the editorial page.

Sen. “Surge” McCain used a solemn Memorial Day event to once again become unhinged and to attack President Obama for “losing” his war in Iraq. (Yes, his war. More on this below.)

In a sometimes testy exchange with reporters following Memorial Day ceremonies at the National Cemetery, McCain calls for return to Iraq:

Sen. John McCain said it’s President Obama’s fault that ISIS has taken control of Iraqi cities where American troops being mourned on Memorial Day had previously died defending.

mccain-boots-on-the-ground-sargentMcCain insisted that the war for Iraq was won after the 2007 troop surge. [That would be John McCain’s “surge” strategy — “I’m a friggin’ military genius I tell ya!”]

And yet the president, in one of the worst decisions of history, pulled all of the troops out,” McCain said.

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McCain brushed aside questions of whether it is possible to win a war in Iraq with a government there that has sometimes proven dysfunctional. [See Defense Secretary Carter: Iraqis lack ‘will to fight’ to defeat Islamic State.]

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Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick to run for U.S. Senate

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This is a surprise. Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick (D-AZ) announced this morning that she will run for the U.S. Senate seat held by Arizona’s angry old man, Neocon war monger Sen. John “Surge” McCain. Here is the email sent to Democratic leadership (modified). This also means that Democrats need to recruit a candidate for CD 1, … Read more

House passes 20-week abortion ban on party-line vote

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Earlier this year the GOP’s number one priority, a 20-week abortion bill, had to be pulled from the calendar after GOP women objected to certain language in the bill regarding rape and incest.

The revised bill is hardly any improvement from the original bill. Nevertheless, the Abortion Bill Passed the House today:

uterus-stateAfter months of delays, House Republicans passed a bill Wednesday that would prohibit abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy — except in cases of rape, incest or threat to the mother’s life.

The bill, which passed 242-184 in a along mostly party lines, was pulled in late January after a number of Republican women protested a rape-reporting requirement, calling it insensitive to rape survivors who did not immediately report a sexual assault. Originally, the bill required that a rape be reported to law enforcement officials for women to be exempt from the 20-week limit. That provision was removed but, as a compromise, the bill now requires rape victims to receive counseling and face a 48-hour waiting period before getting an abortion after 20 weeks.

Thus victimizing a rape victim a second time by the state.

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Center for AZ Policy continues to be terrible

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Crossposted from DemocraticDiva.com Unsurprisingly, Arizona Rep. Trent Franks, who is reviving the 20 week supposed “pain-capable fetus” abortion ban, has the unflagging support of our state’s most prolific God-botherers, the Center for Arizona Policy Note how they claim that 137 post-20 week abortions take place in Arizona with no context outside of “horrors” and Kermit … Read more

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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