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The GOP Clown Car Primary for Governor – Issues: Medicaid Expansion, Common Core, SB 1070

May 15, 2014 by AZ BlueMeanie

I don’t believe it! The media villagers are actually doing something besides reproducing campaign press releases and engaging in “horse race” reporting — they actually showed up at a debate and did some substantive reporting on the GOP candidates for governor.

Unfortunately, we learn that the GOP candidates for governor are lacking in substance. This is a GOP clown car primary for governor.

Joe Ferguson of the Arizona Daily Star attended the Saddlebrooke debate (Cap’n “Atomic Al” Melvin’s crazy base home turf) and filed this report, GOP governor hopefuls mostly of one mind in SaddleBrooke debate:

Unlike his rivals for the GOP gubernatorial nomination, former Mesa Mayor Scott Smith said he supports outgoing Gov. Jan Brewer’s push to expand Medicaid to take advantage of the federal government’s agreement to pay most of the cost.

With the exception of that break from the crowd, six Republicans running to replace Brewer largely agreed with one another during a debate in SaddleBrooke on Wednesday.

House GOP has until August recess to get immigration reform done

May 14, 2014 by AZ BlueMeanie

Two important reports in the Los Angeles Times today on immigration reform efforts. First, Brian Bennett and Christi Parsons report, Slowing deportations could hurt chances for House immigration action:

After some of President Obama’s closest political allies unexpectedly accused him of enforcing immigration laws too aggressively, the president ordered his aides this spring to find ways to ease the pace of deportations.

Now, some of those same advocacy groups are quietly urging the White House to slow that effort down, warning that ordering changes without congressional approval could spook House Republicans and kill any chances of a legislative fix this year.

House Speaker John A. Boehner’s staff has been drafting bills in a bid to offer a Republican response to the comprehensive immigration and border security bill that passed the Senate last June. Boehner has been unable to muster enough support to move any of his bills in the GOP-controlled House, however.

A White House move to scale back deportations would unite House Republicans in opposition and end the push for reform, said Alfonso Aguilar, executive director of the Latino Partnership for Conservative Principles, an advocacy group. “It would kill it right away.”

“Republicans are looking for an excuse not to do it,” agreed Angela Kelley, an immigration expert at the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank with close ties to the White House.

Chamber of Commerce to GOP: pass immigration reform or don’t ‘bother to run a candidate in 2016’

May 13, 2014 by AZ BlueMeanie

U.S. Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Thomas Donohue can’t make the imperative for the GOP any clearer than this: Chamber Of Commerce Head: Without Immigration Reform, Republicans ‘Should Not Bother’ To Run In 2016:

U.S. Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Thomas Donohue said Monday that the Republican Party “should not bother to run a candidate” in the 2016 presidential election unless Congress can pass immigration reform this year. During an event on the economy and infrastructure, Donohue argued that it was necessary for the House to “do something rational” and that the Chamber of Commerce would “put a lot more” heat on Congressional members who are resistant to the idea of reform, Politico first reported.

When asked by a moderator what he deemed a “must pass bill … that’s crucial for the future of the U.S. economy,” Donohue insisted on passing immigration reform:

We’ll be absolutely crazy if we don’t take advantage of having passed an immigration bill out of the Senate. Going back and doing it again might be harder and do something rational in the House and put it together and let’s get the three or four things we really need there. And we’ve got a lot of heat on that and we’re going to put a lot more.

[…] If the Republicans don’t do it, they shouldn’t bother to run a candidate in 2016. I mean, think about that. Think about who the voters are.

Donohue’s comments prompted some audience members to say, ”Wow. Wow!” while the moderator told people to tweet the comments.

CD2 Candidates: Where Do Barber & McSally Stand on the Issues?

May 9, 2014 by Pamela Powers

Ron Barber vs Martha McSally — Venn diagram showing where CD2 Congressional Candidates Ron Barber and Martha McSally agree or disagree. (TPP = Trans-Pacific Partnership)

Progressives have their hair on fire regarding Congressman Ron Barber’s (and Kyrsten Sinema’s) recent votes to help Teapublicans in the House of Representatives create a Congressional ~~witch hunt~~ committee to re-investigate the the terrorist attack in Benghazi in 2012, when Hillary Clinton was Secretary of State. (Seriously, boys, if Benghazi and Monica Lewinsky’s article in Vanity Fair are all you have on Hillary, you’re in trouble. But I digress.)

On Facebook, Democrats and Progressives are vowing never to work or donate to Barber because of his Republican-lite voting record. Some say they may reluctantly vote for him but nothing more! I have often said that women’s issues (healthcare, choice, access to contraception, and equal pay) may save Barber, and that otherwise, he and challenger Martha McSally are pretty close in their views– particularly on the A-10.

Inspired by BfAZ blogger Donna Gratehouse’s Venn diagram earlier today, I offer the above Venn diagram to illustrate what issues Barber and McSally agree and disagree on. [Click on graphic to enlarge.] The information has been gleaned from statements, votes, news stories, and the candidates’ campaign websites. [NOTE: The Venn diagram includes an incomplete list of the “silent” issues. They also both void discussing: the environment; marijuana legalization; private prisons; undocumented workers; unemployment, food stamps, and other social safety net programs; and probably others I haven’t thought of.]

The GOP is ‘the party of maximum deportations’

May 5, 2014 by AZ BlueMeanie

The Arizona Republic today once again editorializes that Congress needs to pass an immigration reform bill this year. Fan the glimmers of immigration hope — Our View: Reform could emerge from Congress in late summer. Let’s press to ensure it does:

As the Senate-passed reform bill creeps toward its first birthday in June, the House continues to insist the omnibus approach won’t work. OK. So break it up.

Utah’s Rep. Mike Lee, a staunch tea party Republican, said recently that “most” House Republicans favor some sort of reform — as long as it is done piecemeal and “step-by-step.”

A piecemeal approach can work. Step-by-step is problematic if it means cherry picking the popular stuff.

Legalizing the current undocumented population remains the most contentious issue. It can’t be left out. A solution could coalesce around legalization that falls short of creating a special path to citizenship.

* * *

Most of all, Congress needs to pass reform. House Republicans should build on the glimmers of hope and produce a bill that moves the nation — and their party — forward.

Did you catch that? The Arizona Republic wants legalization without a pathway to citizenship. What really matters to them is moving the Republican Party forward.