With the Arizona Supreme Court’s decision to knock the Invest in Ed and Outlaw Dirty Money initiatives off the November ballot, the stakes in the election became much higher. Progressive and Centrist Democrats need to unite with Independents and disaffected Republicans on a forward-looking program that votes out the reactionary zealots in the Party of the KKK-endorsed candidate starting with the Governor, all the Republican state officeholders, and Republican legislators.
They do not even hide their contempt for democracy, clean elections, or people that are not white. It is time to rally and turn out in November and launch an Arizona Blue Wave.
There is much more agreement than differences on the issues between Centrists and Progressives. Read the profiles of the candidates conducted by the writers of the Blog for Arizona and you will find great unanimity on increased funding for all levels of education including variations of free Pre K, Kindergarten, career pathways/apprenticeships, and community college.
There is great unanimity on reducing child poverty, expanding health care, doing right by our veterans and keeping our schools, homes, communities, safe from violent criminals. All the candidates want to grow our economy with tax and education policies that attract businesses, modernize our infrastructure (roads, highways, light rail, broadband), champion green energy, compensate our people with good paying jobs, and promote community banking.
There is widespread agreement on safeguarding our border with smart technologies and sensible common sense immigration policies. All want sensible water and environmental protection policies.
Finally, the Democratic candidates all believe in Democracy, equality for everyone, a woman’s right to choose, the ballot initiative, and the right of the people to know who is funding political campaigns. While Progressive and Centrist Democrats may differ on the pace of change and the method of funding these initiatives, everyone is united on the direction the state needs to go.
The good news is that the people support the Democratic Vision of governing. Even Republicans, according to a recent article in Vice News, favor single-payer health care by a slim majority. The Republican vision has been a minority view for decades now. That is why they make great efforts to stifle ballot initiatives, block campaign finance disclosure, and run campaigns on urban legends like trickle-down economics and dog whistle scare tactics like being very afraid of hordes of ISIS soldiers or Mexican rape gangs coming across the border.
This is also reinforced by the fact that the Republican way in Arizona in virtually all the social and economic indicators that matter (poverty, education, crime, health care) make this state one of the least appealing to live in. The dreaded blue states that the Republicans routinely chastise are doing better than us on many of these economic and social justice indicators.
The Republicans do not even hide their contempt for democracy, clean elections, or people that are not white. Even our gullible Governor allowed himself to take a picture with White Supremacists and while Mr. Shooter (expelled from the House for harassment), Mr. Mosley (who claimed legislative immunity for speeding), and Mr. Wilson (mother killer) lost their bids for office in yesterday’s primaries, the Republican candidate roster includes people that would restrict democracy, hinder a woman’s right to choose, protect Dark Money interests like the Koch Brothers, promote tax policies that help the rich, and deny the merits of climate change or the dangers in mining for uranium by the Colorado River. There is even a White Supremacist (Mr. Stringer) that managed to win his primary after making racial remarks about Arizona school-age children.
This reactionary backward looking program can be beaten. The reactionary backward looking candidates that support this program can be defeated. It is time to come together, fight for the hearts and minds of the people, turn out on November 6, and turn Arizona Blue by voting for Democrats David Garcia, January Contreras, Katie Hobbs, Kathy Hoffman, Mark Manoil, Bill Pierce, Kyrsten Sinema, Sandra Kennedy, Kiana Sears, and every Democratic federal and state legislative office holder candidate.
GOP is a Cancerous Entity that is Reactionary, Undemocratic, and Xenophobic
With AZ Ranked Badly by Many Measures, Democrats Can Beat Governor Ducey
https://news.vice.com/en_us/article/5948ka/a-slim-majority-of-republicans-now-want-single-payer-too