In a debate of Congressional Candidates that could determine which political party controls the House of Representatives, Dr. Amish Shah and former Cardinals placekicker Jay Feely exchanged responses on how they would represent Arizona’s First Congressional District.
While both candidates were well prepared (Shah on the facts, Feely on the lying Trump-MAGA talking points) and professional in their presentation, it was clear that Dr. Shah lives in the world of reality while Mr. Feely, on issue after issue, showed that his mind and soul live in the alt right fantasyland.
On the various issues (affordability, healthcare, water, data centers, immigration, Iran, sustainability) Feely endlessly repeated discredited Trump-MAGA taliking points like:
- Inflation had reached 21 percent under Joe Biden. No
- Biden let hordes of illegal immigrants in the country and gave them Medicaid: No
- The Big Beautiful Bill gave four thousand dollars to each American: No
- Obamacare/The Affordable Care Act is a total failure: No
- Iran was on the verge of getting a nuclear weapon: No
- Dr. Shah campaigned for Bernie Sanders: No
- Democrats are for open borders: No
- Dr. Shah endorsed the Green New Deal: No
It is amazing that the moderator, Steven Goldstein, did not fact-check any of this. In fact, he and, to a lesser extent Dr. Shah, seemed to agree on the immigration issue that Biden was terrible on it.
Why did neither of them point out that the among the first pieces of immigration the Biden/Harris Administration offered was Comprehensive Immigration Reform?
Why did neither of them point out that it was Trump who pressured Republicans to stall border security so he could have the campaign issue?
Why did neither point out that Republicans have been consistently blocking immigration reform for decades?
While Dr. Shah rightly pointed out Trump and his ICE forces commit illegal and Unconstitutional acts, like the murders of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, Democrats should not concede the issue of immigration to Republicans. They are stronger and wiser on it than they seem to think.
On the war with Iran, Dr. Shah should have pointed out that the United States would not be in this mess if Trump had not abandoned the Iran nuclear agreement that the Obama/Biden Administration helped negogiate with Iran, the Europeans, China, and Russia.
Otherwise, Dr. Shah scored many points in countering Mr. Feely’s constant spewing of misinformation (lies) about him and public policy, like the harmful impact of the Big Beautiful Bill and the “quagmire” in Iran, while offering solutions on several issues, including:
- Making the tax cuts on tips permanent.
- An all the above approach on energy including more clean and nuclear.
- A public option for people to buy into Medicare to reduce healthcare costs.
- Supporting the bipartisan housing legislation.
On the Mediare buy in, Dr. Shah said:
“It’s a choice for the American People. It will put downward pressure on prices and help make Medicare more solvent.”
In a statement following the debate, DCCC spokesperson Lindsay Reilley wrote:
“Arizonans saw a clear contrast tonight: an independent, Arizona-first leader who fights for his community in Dr. Amish Shah, versus Trump-lackey Jay Feely, who’s made clear he’s only running for Congress to help Donald Trump. Once again, Dr. Shah proved he is the candidate focused on the issues that matter most to Arizonans, like lowering costs, improving health care, defending Medicare and Social Security, protecting Arizonans’ water security, and taking on corruption in Washington. Feely, meanwhile, is only focused on serving Trump and being a rubber stamp for Republicans’ reckless, cost-hiking agenda.”
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