Here Are the Top 3 Stories You Liked Best – by our Citizen Journalists at Blog for Arizona

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Here is what your donation gets you: top stories that progressive Americans want to read. Following are the top three stories of 2019 so far:

• Donald Trump betrays his supporters with cuts to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid
• On the third day, the Equal Rights Amendment is betrayed by mythical moderate Republican women in the Senate
• Martha McSally: Warrior woman hides from questions, constituents, inconsistencies

#1 Donald Trump betrays his supporters – March 12, 2019. In this story by the AZ BlueMeanie recounts that during the 2016 campaign, Trump broke from Republican orthodoxy by promising not to cut Medicare, Medicaid or Social Security. But in his budget Trump proposed spending $26 billion less on Social Security programs, including a $10 billion cut to the Social Security Disability Insurance program.

Trump said at campaign rallies, “We’re saving Social Security; the Democrats will destroy Social Security. We’re saving Medicare; the Democrats want to destroy Medicare.”

Soon after, voters handed Democrats their biggest wins in U.S. House races since the Watergate era – which, for some reason, the president interpreted as a justification to betray his own assurances to voters.

#2 The ERA is betrayed by mythical moderate Republican women in the State Senate – also by the By AZ BlueMeanie – March 14, 2019.

Democrats attempted to bring the Equal Rights Amendment bill up for debate and a vote on the floor of the Senate.

Despite pledges of support from a handful of mythical moderate Republican women, the procedural maneuver failed on a party-line vote of 13-16 when these mythical moderate Republican women betrayed ERA supporters and voted in lockstep with their party leadership, demonstrating once again that they cannot be believed or trusted to do the right thing. GOP tribalism ruled the day.

Senators Kate Brophy McGee, R-Phoenix and Sen. Michelle Ugenti-Rita, R-Scottsdale, both co-sponsored the resolution in favor of the ERA but voted against suspending the rules to bring the matter to a vote. Sen. Heather Carter, R-Cave Creek, also co-sponsored the resolution but was not on the Senate floor for the vote.

Moving the resolution along would’ve put Arizona one step closer to being the crucial 38th state to ratify the ERA. Thirty-seven states have ratified the amendment to date.

#3 Martha McSally: Warrior woman hides from questions, constituents, inconsistencies – October 28, 2012 (7 years later, this is still a top-read story). Written by Pamela Powers Hannley, she asks, “Whose legacy would better serve Southern Arizona? That of a right-wing, anti-woman, every-man-for-himself, war-monger who never ventured south of his Tucson Foothills office?”

McSally bailed on an interview with Hannley to discuss women’s issues. McSally now claims to fight for women’s rights, while being anti-choice; the multiple inconsistencies in her platform (believing in the “sanctity of life”, while flying 325+ hours as a bomber) pilot; and rumors circulating about her two-year marriage to Donald Henry in 1997 (what’s up with that annulment in Santa Cruz County, when you were married and lived in Pima County?)

McSally also bailed on her constituent event at the former Nimbus brewery. “I waited with about 30 old white folks on the Nimbus patio for 45 minutes. Eventually, McSally staffers said, “Gosh… she’s so busy. She doesn’t have time to come and talk with you all today. Scheduling conflicts, you know… blah, blah, blah.” Since when does a politician in a tight race not have time for a meeting with rich, old white folks?” Hannley writes.

As for McSally’s denial that she is a “cookie-cutter” Republican, if you read her website, that’s exactly what she is! In a nutshell, she’s for lower corporate taxes, she’s anti-choice, she’s for repealing the Affordable Care Act (with no ideas what to do next except to march backward), she’s pro-war, and she uses the Republican talking points about lower taxes and increased privatization.

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NONE of these stories appeared in local newspapers or websites. You had to read the Blog for Arizona to get this information and perspective. And our website analytics tell the truth — we know these are stories you like.

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