Republicans in both Arizona and Washington D.C. really have no stomach for governing with the other leading party.
That would require a good faith effort and a recognition that your side is not going to get everything it wants.
The evidence for that.
Both groups do not want to produce serious budgets and negotiate with their Democratic governing partners.
In D.C., House Republicans have yet to provide specifics on what they would like to cut in order to raise the debt ceiling. This is probably because they know the voters, including many in the districts that also supported Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in 2020, would not stomach the spending reductions they are proposing.
In Arizona, Legislative Republicans, in their opening bid in what is likely to be a long and politically drawn-out process, passed their version of the FY 2024 budget out of the Senate Appropriations Committee. Their rather juvenile attempt at fiscal stewardship is little more than a rehashing of the 2023 FY Budget.
Everyone in the world of political reality knows that the Republican budget will never see the light of day in July 2023 or Governor Hobb’s signature on it for that matter.
After the passage of the budget in the State Senate Appropriations Committee, Governor Hobbs and the Senate and House Democratic leaders Raquel Teran and Andres Cano released statements, decrying the Republican’s unserious attempts at governing and immature unwillingness to negotiate in good faith, posting on social media:
My door is open to any legislator who wants to take seriously the very real issues Arizona is facing. But this do-nothing budget does nothing but kick the can down the road. https://t.co/og3a82oM80
— Governor Katie Hobbs (@GovernorHobbs) January 31, 2023
The other leading Democratic leaders also chimed in.
Senate Assistant Democratic Leader Mitzi Epstein posted:
We need support for
Public school funding
Affordable Housing
And
Water.▶Not this weak attempt from Republican Legislative Leaders that shows no vision
– and frankly, no concern for your reality.Instead:
😊 Let's work together to build a real budget to help All Arizona! https://t.co/oLfVbqEaMo— Sen. Mitzi Epstein (@MitziEpstein) January 31, 2023
Senate Democratic Caucus Chair Lea Alston posted:
https://t.co/F1hAEO8NeC pic.twitter.com/9uQKcH1cdy
— Lela Alston (@LelaAlstonAz) January 31, 2023
In another posting, the reader can see Senator Alston, at the vote at the Senate Appropriations Hearing, calling the Republican budget “phony, an opportunity to tell the governor that we don’t want to work with you…It’s irresponsible…that’s not the way we need to do business… I think we need to fairly and openly negotiate with the Governor and the Democrats…This is a Ducey budget. It’s just a power grab and a signal that you don’t want to work with Democrats, you don’t want to work with the Governor.”
The people of Arizona elected us to negotiate & lead, not play partisan games. #azleg
Hear directly from Senator @LelaAlstonAz, Ranking Democrat on the #AzSenateAppropriations committee, on why this “phony, power grab” doesn’t deserve attention or energy: pic.twitter.com/x9cMQj4DMm
— Arizona Senate Democrats (@AZSenateDems) January 31, 2023
The sooner Republicans grow up and realize that they need to negotiate with Governor Hobbs and the Democrats in the Legislature on the budget, the better it will be for Arizona and its people.