(Repost) ‘Ideological Impairment’ Illness

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Reposted from June 14, 2011.

The Arizona Daily Star today has a guest opinion from three
former state legislators who used to represent me on the eastside of
Tucson in the old District 14 – Ruth Solomon, Marion Pickens and
Herschella Horton, all Democrats. That was in better times.

The eastside of Tucson is now represented by polemic ideological
extremists in District 30 – Frank Antenori, David Gowan and Ted Vogt,
all Republicans. This guest opinion, no doubt, was written with these
guys in mind. You can help cure 'ideological impairment' epidemic in Legislature:

Not long ago, members of the Legislature from Southern Arizona,
regardless of political affiliation, worked together to serve the needs
of their communities.

Today, the willingness to collaborate is gone.

Instead of supporting their own communities, some Southern Arizona
legislators appear to have sworn allegiance to leadership from Maricopa
County – allegiance to the same leaders who deny Tucson our fair share
of state taxes, deny us funding for law enforcement and needed funds for
K-12 and higher education, who interfere with our health decisions,
meddle in local education policy and limit our ability to provide
adequately for child welfare.

Answer yes or no to the following:

• Do you want accessible, affordable health care?

• Do you want public schools that prepare children for college or employment?

• Do you want the UA to be a world-class university?

• Do you want children to be safe?

• Do you want the poor to have a chance to raise themselves from poverty?

A "no" answer means you're happy with the way business is being done
in the Legislature. A "yes" answer must mean that you think change is
necessary.

When we represented the former District 14 as Democrats in the
Legislature, we had colleagues who had a certain illness, an illness
known as "ideological impairment" – an illness that prevented civil
discourse, compromise and any ability to work across party lines. It was
an illness hazardous to the health of our state.

Today, this illness has spread to epidemic proportion, but there is a cure. The cure is we the people.

As we approach the 2012 elections think about the following:

• Check facts. Just because you've read it or heard it, it's not
necessarily true. (Remember, U.S. Sen. Jon Kyl's aide recently said that
the senator didn't intend what he said about Planned Parenthood to be
factual.)

• Ask the right questions. Candidates talk the talk, but do they walk
the walk? No one is against good education, but ask a candidate direct
questions about support.

• Once elected, hold them to what they've said.

• Speak out. Tell them what you expect. Tell them when you agree and
when you disagree. Tell them in letters, by telephone, by email and in
person.

• Remember, you can withhold the one thing they want from you – your vote.

• Seek out those who believe that Arizona can be more. Former
Attorney General Grant Woods once said, "Arizona is a wonderful place to
live unless you're a child." It's still true today. Don't let that
stand.

• Finally, join together with others who are sick of our state's being at the bottom, fodder for comedians, an embarrassment.

We know that government can't do it all, but government can do it better.

In short: "Kick 'em all out!"