AZ Congressional Delegation

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

We got rid of this fool back in 2002 when Janet Napolitano defeated him for governor. Now former and newly-elected Rep. Matt Salmon is back in Washington, making a fool of himself and embarrassing Arizona once again. Will we never learn? GOP Rep: ‘It’s About Time’ We Had Another Government Shut Down:

Appearing on CBS’ Face the Nation this morning, Rep. Matt Salmon (R-AZ) enthusiastically called for a government shut down:

SALMON: I was here during the government shutdown in
1995. It was a divided government. we had a Democrat [sic] President of
the United States. We had a Republican Congress. And I believe
that that government shutdown actually gave us the impetus, as we went
forward, to push toward some real serious compromise. I think
it drove Bill Clinton in a different direction, a very bipartisan
direction. In fact, we passed welfare reform for the first time ever,
and we cut the welfare ranks in the last decade and a half by over 50%.
These are good things. We also balanced the budget for the first time in
40 years in 1997, 1998, 1999. And when I left we had an over $230
billion surplus. This was with a Democrat [sic] president, A Republican —

HOST: You think that’s a good idea?

SALMON: Yes, I do. I really do. I think it’s about time!

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

The Washington Post today has a profile of Arizona Congresswoman Kyrsten Sinema in the style section of the newspaper, Kyrsten Sinema: A success story like nobody else’s (excerpt):

Sinema likes to crack herself her up. She likes to crack everyone
else up, too, even though this last tendency — the aspirationally
comedic — is forever getting her in trouble.

“I think there’s this
pressure to get rid of the fun that makes us human,” Sinema says a few
minutes later. “It hasn’t worked on me.”

Sinema is a bracingly
unfiltered talker, a precocious achiever, a high-energy persuader, an
adjunct professor, a lawyer, a marathon runner, a lover of designer
clothes. She is a holder of many, many degrees — this she’s happy to
tell you in a humble-braggy sort of way. And she can be a lot of fun to
hang out with, a rambling, kind of kooky monologist who can pivot from
whimsical and wacky to substantive and earnest without a pause.

By The Writers of BlogForArizona

Since the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary, we at Blog for Arizona have urged Ron Barber to take the lead in Congress in advocating for common sense gun laws. We wrote numerous posts and started a petition that now has over 400 signatures. 

We have watched with deep admiration as Congressman Barber has taken increasingly strong stands on the subject and has occupied an ever more prominent place in the national conversation. His statement on December 19th (posted after the click) is an example of the kind of powerful, personal testimony we hoped to hear from him.

He should know that his constituents and supporters across Arizona, and the nation, stand firmly behind his efforts. Hopefully, this trend will continue, and we have increasing confidence it will. We know that if Ron speaks from his heart at every possible opportunity, millions of Americans will be moved and we just may wind up with sane gun laws as a result.

Read more after the click…

POSTS WILL CONTINUE BELOW

by David Safier Raúl Grijalva gave his usual strong, eloquent statement on the gun regulation issue (Man, can that guy speak, and write). Ron Barber is showing a willingness to take a prominent place in the discussion (I think he was on MSNBC a few minutes ago). And then there's Representative-elect Ann Kirkpatrick. When the … Read more

by David Safier

Congressman Barber talked with Soledad O'Brien on CNN this morning. He spoke strongly against the availability of assault-like weapons and extended clips. He also spoke about providing better services for mental health.

Here's what Barber said about 2 minutes in:

"I want to see legislation enacted that takes away the availability of these kinds of weapons that can do so much harm in a short period of time. . . . For me, as a member of Congress, as a person who has been through a shooting tragedy where the extended clip issue was present, and as a grandfather, I have to stand up and be counted on this, and I'm going to do everything I can to make sure we limit the firepower and that we get services to people with mental illness. We have to do both."

It was a good statement, one I hope Barber will repeat, and personalize as much as he can, on other national news programs.

You can watch the interview below the fold.