Category Archives: IOKIYAR

The Arizona Republic endorses Governor Doug Ducey (but of course they do)

Posted on October 19, 2018 by AZ BlueMeanie | 2 comments

To the best of my recollection, The Arizona Republic fka The Arizona Republican has endorsed a Democrat for governor only once – in my lifetime at least – Governor Janet Napolitano for reelection in 2006. And that was only because Republicans nominated Len Munsil from the Center for Arizona Policy for governor that year. A Dominionist who would impose a theocracy in Arizona was a bridge too far even for them.

So it comes as no surprise that The Republic endorses Governor Doug Ducey for reelection. But of course they do.

What I find curious is that there is no discussion of whether Ducey intends to complete another term as governor. There is speculation that he may run for Senator McCain’s senate seat in 2020, or take a position in the Trump administration, or if President Trump does not run for reelection in 2020, to become the next son of Arizona to be a failed candidate for president. “Arizona may be the only state in America where mothers don’t tell their children that someday they can grow up and be president.” – John McCain.

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Posted in AZBlueMeanie, Budgets, Campaigns, Climate Change, Economics, Education, Elections, Endorsements, Ethics, Governor, Healthcare, Immigration, IOKIYAR, Media, Party Politics, Propositions, Taxes

A desperate Martha McSally accuses Kyrsten Sinema of ‘treason’

Posted on October 16, 2018 by AZ BlueMeanie | 5 comments

The one and only senate debate between Martha McSally and Kyrsten Sinema did not fail to disappoint on substance. McSally, in particular, was pre-programmed and stuck to canned responses to attack her opponent. If you have seen her false and misleading TV ads, you pretty much know what Martha McSally had to say. She stuck to the script.

But Militaristic Martha could not contain herself and towards the end of the debate sprung an obviously pre-planned new attack on Kyrsten Sinema, accusing her of “treason.” No, really. She went there. Arizona race gets ugly as Martha McSally accuses Kyrsten Sinema of ‘treason’ over 2003 Taliban comments:

In the closely watched Senate race in Arizona, “treason” was the accusation leveled Monday by Republican Rep. Martha McSally against her Democratic opponent, Rep. Kyrsten Sinema.

In the sole debate of the campaign, McSally, a retired Air Force colonel and combat pilot, asked Sinema to apologize for a 15-year-old radio interview about American intervention in Iraq and Afghanistan, suggesting that her comments were tantamount to levying war against the United States. Sinema responded by accusing the Republican of playing dirty.

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Posted in Arizona Congressional Delegation, Arizona Congressional Races, AZBlueMeanie, Campaigns, Congress, Constitution, Corruption, Debates, Elections, Ethics, International, IOKIYAR, Kyrsten Sinema, Martha McSally, Military, Party Politics, personality cult of Trump, President, Russian Affair, Scandals, Senate, War

Tagged Appeasement, collusion, First Amendment, Iraq War, Russia, traitor, Treason

Health care is the top issue, and GOP candidates campaign on the ‘Big Lie’

Posted on October 12, 2018 by AZ BlueMeanie | Leave a comment

Polling shows that health care is the top priority for Americans, and that Democrats are winning among the segment of the electorate most worried about health care.

POLITICO reported this week about how Republican candidates are actually running ads saying that they support the pre-existing conditions provisions of the Affordable Care Act aka “Obamacare” even after every Republican incumbent in Congress has voted multiple times over a period of several years to repeal Obamacare and voted for House Speaker Paul Ryan’s plan to convert Medicare into a private system with vouchers (coupon care). They are running away from their Obamacare repeal votes by simply lying about it (looking at you Martha McSally). ‘Just ridiculous lies’: Dems incensed over misleading GOP ads on Medicare for All.

The super PAC affiliated with House Speaker Paul Ryan is also accusing Democratic candidates of supporting Bernie Sanders’ $32 billion “Medicare for All“ plan, even if they have taken no position on his proposal or support other options.

The effort to tie swing-district candidates to a single-payer concept — which Democrats are deeply divided on — illustrates the GOP’s major disadvantage on health care after failing last year to pass unpopular Obamacare repeal bills.

“When it comes to core issues that voters are looking at, obviously Democrats have an advantage on health care,” said Republican strategist Ford O’Connell. “So now you’re watching the Republicans sort of move the goalposts.”

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The Sausage Party declares women are an ‘angry mob’ that threatens the privileged white male patriarchy

Posted on October 9, 2018 by AZ BlueMeanie | 1 comment

The transformation of the GOP over the past two weeks has moved at remarkable speed.

President Trump went from declaring Christine Blasey Ford a “very fine woman” and “certainly a very credible witness” after she testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee about her allegation of sexual assault, to just days later using her as a prop at one of his Nuremberg campaign rallies, lying about her testimony and playing the privileged white male as victim card, to chants of “lock her up” from his personality cult of Trump. Trump mocks Christine Blasey Ford’s testimony, tells people to ‘think of your son’.

Trump and his enablers in the GOP then moved on to saying those who made ‘false statements’ about Kavanaugh ‘should be held liable’ and Saying Brett Kavanaugh Was ‘Caught Up In A Hoax’ And ‘Did Nothing Wrong’, to falsely saying Kavanaugh was ‘proven innocent’ at his swearing-in ceremony. The coup de grâce came when Trump apologized ‘on behalf of the nation’ to Kavanaugh “for the terrible pain and suffering” that he and his family endured during his confirmation process.

Not in my name!

In just two weeks, Brett Kavanaugh went from being credibly accused of sexual assault to the privileged white male victim of a hoax who should be able to exact retribution against his female accusers, according to the pussy-grabber-in-chief.

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Posted in Activism, AZBlueMeanie, Campaigns, Civil Rights, Congress, Constitution, Corruption, Courts, Crime, Election Integrity, Elections, Ethics, Gender Equality, GOP War On..., History, IOKIYAR, Justice, Law Enforcement, Party Politics, personality cult of Trump, President, Protest, Racism, Religion, Scandals

Tagged Authoritarianism, culture war, Despot, First Amendment, misogyny, patriarchy, rape culture, sexism, sexual assault, supreme court, tyranny of the minority, white nationalism

A constitution designed to preserve slavery now undermines our democracy

Posted on October 7, 2018 by AZ BlueMeanie | 6 comments

America’s original sin, slavery, continues to define our society and political institutions to this day. This is because the U.S. Constitution, which was designed to preserve slavery, now undermines our democracy.

If Americans believe in democracy — and one of our two major political parties, the Party of Trump fka the Republican Party, decidedly does not — we must move to amend the Constitution to remove the lingering vestiges of slavery and usher in a revival of American democracy.

Voting is a privilege of citizenship under the Constitution. There is no express guarantee in the Constitution that the franchise to vote is a fundamental constitutional right. This has allowed the states to disenfranchise and to discriminate against its citizens denying them their vote in a myriad of creative ways. An amendment guaranteeing the franchise to vote is a fundamental constitutional right is necessary to fight GOP voter suppression efforts.

The electoral college is a lingering vestige of slavery. There is no direct popular vote election of the president and vice president, as in every other modern democracy in the world. Americans vote for electors who then vote to elect the president and vice president. There have been five United States presidential elections in which the electoral college winner lost the popular vote, twice since 2000, favoring Republicans. It is long past time to amend the Constitution to repeal the electoral college and adopt the direct popular vote election of president and vice president as in every other modern democracy in the world. Republicans are likely to oppose repeal of the electoral college because they have lost the popular vote in six of the last seven elections.

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Posted in Arizona State Legislature, AZBlueMeanie, Campaigns, Congress, Constitution, Corruption, Courts, Elections, Ethics, GOP War On..., History, IOKIYAR, Legislation, Party Politics, personality cult of Trump, Primaries, Racism, Scandals, Senate, Voting Rights

Tagged Authoritarianism, Constitutional Amendment, democracy, slavery, tyranny of the minority, U.S. Supreme Court

Kavanaugh confirmation advances to a final vote

Posted on October 5, 2018 by AZ BlueMeanie | 1 comment

Senators voted 51-49 to end debate on Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination, setting up a final vote to confirm Kavanaugh for Saturday afternoon. Kavanaugh advances in key Senate vote:

Kavanaugh’s nomination got a last-minute boost when Jeff Flake (R-AZ), Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Susan Collins (R-ME) voted to end debate on Kavanaugh’s nomination. Manchin was the only Democrat to vote yes.

Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), however, voted against advancing the nomination, the only Republican to do so.

Senate Republicans acknowledged ahead of time that they might not know the outcome of the vote by the time it started — an unusual move for a leadership team that likes to keep a tight grip on floor action.

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This doesn’t guarantee they will each vote to confirm him. Collins (Maine) voted to end debate but isn’t expected to make an announcement on if she will vote to confirm him until 3 p.m., setting up a must-watch moment on the Senate floor.

Republicans hold a slim 51-seat majority in the Senate, which allows them to lose one vote from their conference and still confirm Kavanaugh without Democratic help.

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