The inimitable Jay Smooth explains, via rapper T-Pain and Sean Hannity, why you can’t possibly know more about politics than people who pay attention if you don’t pay attention.
ASU’s Morrison Institute issued a study of the elusive “independent voters” in Arizona. It was commissioned by the Clean Elections Commission and was pretty comprehensive (albeit with what I consider to be some gaps that I’ll get to in a bit) in that it included several focus groups and surveys and it asked what I believe is the pertinent question about this group of voters:
Are independent voters truly an untapped resource that could determine elections, aiding in the transformation of Arizona from a conservative “red state” into a “purple” moderate state or even more progressive “blue state?” Or, with no organization and a track record of poor turnout in both primary and general elections, are independents a much-ado-about-nothing “party” of non-participants?
I’m going with the latter, and not just based on my own frustrating personal experience with these voters. Oh no, thanks to this study we now have empirical evidence to go on. They not only don’t vote:
We know actual voter turnout is significantly lower than survey respondents indicate because voters tend to overstate their voting behavior – primarily because it is socially unacceptable to admit to not voting. Continue reading →
The Arizona Republic’s E.J. Montini focuses on the “Kochtopus” infiltrating research universities with their money to fund institutes and professors of propaganda, like Mr. Slivinski. Tempe Normal, er, Arizona State University is now “Koch Brothers U.”Big news out of Koch Brothers University…ah…ASU:
When a scholarly report out of Arizona State University says the state could phase out the income tax in six to eight years we pay attention.
It makes the papers and gets on TV.
People presume that the information in such a study is unbiased and purely academic, sort of the way universities are supposed to operate.
But they don’t.
The truth is, this particular study comes from what could be called the Goldwater Institute annex of the Koch brothers campus of ASU.
Doug Ducey ran on the promise of eliminating Arizona’s income tax in 2014. It wasn’t taken seriously by most political observers and the candidate himself walked his proposal back and characterized it as an aspiration when pressed on how it was possible to implement it.
“No one’s talking about eliminating the income tax,” he said. “I’ve talked about an ever-improving tax situation, where year after year, we have an improving climate and if we can get it as close to zero as we possible, that’s a positive. Because the nine states that don’t have an income tax have double the job growth of the highest-tax states.”
He later said his talk of driving the income tax rate to zero is a “direction.”
His campaign literature says otherwise. In his “My Pledge to the People of Arizona,” which is online and distributed to voters, Ducey’s No. 1 promise if he’s elected is to “Submit legislation to reduce taxes every year, with the goal of eliminating personal and corporate income taxes in Arizona.”
On April 30, he told The Arizona Republic eliminating the taxes is a “long-term goal, it is one I embrace.”
The Republic asked Ducey on Tuesday evening to clarify the remarks he made during the debate in light of his campaign literature and prior comments. Ducey said, “Elimination is a severe word. Reduction and improvement (in the tax code), people will get that. We will do that over a couple of legislative sessions.”
Now that Ducey has been elected, elimination (that severe word) of the income tax appears to be fully on the table. Keep your eye on a guy named Steven Slivinski. He’s a former “senior economist” for the Goldwater Institute (huge red flag) and he has nabbed himself a spot as a “senior research fellow” at ASU’s (wait for it) Center for the Study of Economic Liberty (freedom!). If you guessed from the name of that endeavor that it was funded by the Koch Brothers without looking it up, you win the door prize.
Last Saturday the ASU Center for the Study of Race and Democracy hosted an event, “Delivering Democracy Lecture 2015”, headlined by Anderson Cooper. I know many people who attended it and, from what I understand, it was a fine presentation. One of the main sponsors was Arizona Public Services (commonly known as APS, the state’s largest private utility company), which was apparently lauded several times during the event for its generosity. Which is interesting because it was only a few months ago, during the 2014 midterms, that APS (under the rubric of “independent expenditure” Save Our Future Now) dumped an astounding amount of dark money into Corporation Commission races to defeat Republican candidate Vernon Parker in the GOP primary and Democratic candidate Sandra Kennedy. What the aforementioned people have in common is that they are both African-American and also that the hit pieces and ads run against both were crudely obvious Willie Horton-style racist characterizations as far as many people (myself included) were concerned. Continue reading →
The non-profit that raises money for Arizona State University accepted money from Arizona Public Service Co. in 2013 and the same year donated to a political group that helped defeat pro-solar candidates in last year’s elections.
The ASU Foundation accepted $181,000 from the non-profit APS Foundation and made a $100,000 donation to a political group called “Save Our Future Now,” which played heavily in the political campaigns last year for the Corporation Commission.
The non-profit, investigative Sunlight Foundation in Washington, D.C., first reported the donations Tuesday, citing public tax records from the non-profits.
Despite Arizona’s reputation as a stalwartly red state, with
a capital R, Democrats are hoping to take back one of the state’s US Senate in November.
Although Democrats have held a percentage of the state’s
Congressional seats for years, the Republican Party has controlled both Arizona
US Senate seats since 1994, when embattled Senator Dennis
Deconcini retired, and Arizona Congressman Jon Kyl won it.
Since
early 2012, former Surgeon General Dr. Richard Carmona has been
crisscrossing the state, campaigning
tirelessly to move that Senate seat to the D column. Over the summer,
Carmona climbed steadily in the polls against Kyl’s heir apparent and
six-term, conservative Congressman Jeff Flake. A recently released poll shows
Independent-turned-Democrat Carmona
leading Flake by four percentage points—a statistical dead heat.
This close—and important—Senate race has attracted the
attention of heavy hitters from both parties. While the Koch Brothers’ Freedom
Works PAC has been pumping money into Flake’s campaign, this week Democrats
sent their secret weapon—President Bill Clinton—to Arizona to help Carmona.
Wednesday night, Carmona and Clinton addressed an estimated
5500 Arizonans at an outdoor rally on the Arizona State University (ASU)
campus.
More details and a videos after the jump.
Following a rousing musical set by Jimmy Eat World and a glowing
introduction by former Phoenix Suns basketball player and current Mayor of
Sacramento Kevin Johnson,
Carmona was obviously pumped up as he took the stage.
“My government made an investment in me, and I’m paying it
off,” Carmona said, alluding to the GI Bill and the community college open
enrollment policy that allowed the Puerto Rican street kid to become surgeon
general and perhaps a US Senator. Carmona explained that one of the reasons he’s
running for the Senate is that he wants to protect our country’s “infrastructure
of opportunity”—veterans’ benefits, Pell Grants, Social Security, Medicare, and
other social safety net programs.
Feeding off of the enthusiasm of the overflow crowd that
spilled out onto the sidewalks, Clinton continued the themes of working
together and investing in the American people.
“Shared prosperity is better than trickledown economics,”
Clinton said repeatedly. “A philosophy that says ‘we’re all in this together’—that’s
what the GI Bill is all about—is better than ‘you’re on your own.’ The more we
expand opportunities for everybody,
the more we build a great middle class.
“In every successful country on Earth today, there is the
realization that we face a blithering array of complex challenges, and in an
environment like that, creative cooperation beats constant conflict every, single time,” he emphasized.
“We’re in this boat together, and we’ve got to row.”
Although Clinton was scheduled to speak only 15 minutes, the
folksy elder statesman was on a roll for 30 minutes, as Carmona stood by
chuckling at Clinton’s jokes and nodding in agreement. Clinton never mentioned
President Barack Obama, but he touched on a multitude of subjects that are
important to the President’s campaign—from the DREAM Act and the importance of
our diverse society to education, student loans, veterans, healthcare reform, job
creation, solar energy, and, of course, the importance of electing Carmona to
the Senate.
Earlier in the evening, Carmona and Flake
finished his first
debate. Flake, who had refused to debate Carmona, more than one time in a Phoenix PBS studio
with no audience, recently acquiesced and agreed to three
debates in Phoenix, Tucson, and Yuma. The coming weeks will be crowded with
dueling campaign ads, debates, and public appearances.
*Please note that this meeting is on the 3rd Sunday of the month, instead of the usual 2nd Sunday. “Carmen Liñero-Lopez with the Feminist Majority will be speaking to us about her work to energize and get out the student … Continue reading →
Pima County Democratic Party Chair Jo Holt will be speaking on “Electing Democrats and Looking forward to the General Election”. The Arizona primary is on August 28, 2018 so don’t forget to vote. Share this:FacebookTwitterMoreEmailTumblrPrintPocketRedditLinkedInGooglePinterestLike this:Like Loading...
Hosted by Presidio San Agustín del Tucson and La Cocina Restaurant & Cantina “Tucson’s official birthday party will take place in the Presidio District on Aug. 20, the City’s actual birthday, from 5-7:30 pm. Hosted by the Tucson/Pima County Historic … Continue reading →
City of Tucson’s Official 242nd Birthday FREE Monday, August 21st at the Presidio San Agustín del Tucson 5:30 pm Gates open Music by Los Changuitos Feos 6:00 – 6:45 pm Flag and Cannon Firing Ceremony 6:45 pm Family-friendly food tasting celebrating the … Continue reading →
Hosted by AEA Latino Outreach and 3 others “It’s time for our candidates to let us know how they specifically plan to fix our broken public education system. Arizona Center for Empowerment is inviting candidates running for governor, the Arizona … Continue reading →
The RSVP Deadline is August 19th The Child Separation Fiasco: How did we get here? The policy of family separation evoked alarm and outrage from the general public this summer. But this practice is merely the latest in a decades-long … Continue reading →
“Brought to you by the Pima County Public Defenders Office and the Reentry Coalition of Pima County. Whether you have a family member who has recently been incarcerated, is serving a long sentence, preparing to release, or has recently released, … Continue reading →
“Join us on August 24 to learn about the current status of the North American Free Trade Agreement, the opportunities in revisiting the agreement, and the current status of negotiations between Canada, Mexico and the United States. Mr. Lopez will also discuss … Continue reading →
August 25, 2018 Special Day Full of Fun and Excitement in Greenlee County, AZ! Contact Greenlee County Democratic Party Chair, Susan Breen, for more information and to let her know you’ll be there. Email: suebreen53@hotmail.com 10:00 AM –Save Our Schools … Continue reading →
“This year for Women’s Equality Day (Aug 25), Tucson NOW and the other organizations involved in the Courageous Conversations event planning are having a fundraising event at Dusty Monk (see flyer above). A portion of the sales will go toward … Continue reading →
AZ Celebrates The 19th Amendment 2018 Sun, August 26, 2018, 2:00 PM – 5:00 PM DESCRIPTION “This year’s program is all about the women. . . the ones who are courageously speaking out about their past abuse and harassment through … Continue reading →
LD 10 Rep. Kirsten Engel will be speaking about the Southwest Key Facility & Family Separation at Arizona’s Border. She was first elected in Nov. 2016 and is facing a 4 Dem primary on August 28, 2018. Share this:FacebookTwitterMoreEmailTumblrPrintPocketRedditLinkedInGooglePinterestLike this:Like Loading...
Hosted by Tucson Refugee and Iskashitaa Refugee Network “Learn the facts about refugee resettlement and gain knowledge on the struggles and successes of a new American: • Who is a Refugee, Asylee or an Immigrant? • Review of Global, National, … Continue reading →
Vote in the Democratic, Republican or Green primaries for several offices this August: all Arizona statewide offices (i.e. Governor, Secretary of State, Attorney General, Treasurer, Superintendent of Public Instruction, two on Corporation Commission, etc.); as well as one U.S. Senate … Continue reading →
“Join the Tucson David Garcia Team, we will be watching the returns come in, eating some delicious food, and celebrating all of our efforts in Tucson! This special night belongs to all of the volunteers and staff of the campaign! … Continue reading →
“You’re invited to our 2018 Primary Night Unity Party! Join us as we come together to celebrate the end of Primary season and the beginning of the 2018 General Election. Sit back, relax, and watch the Primary Election results roll … Continue reading →
“Come celebrate with Kelly Fryer and watch the Primary Election Night results! We are so grateful to all of our supporters who have powered this campaign so far, and hope you can join us on this special night as we … Continue reading →
“Over a year after Steve began his non-stop road trip across Arizona, we will have our victory party right back where we kicked off the campaign, The Arizona Inn! Doors open and 6:30. Come to join us and watch live … Continue reading →
Hosted by Maricopa County Democratic Party andArizona Democratic Party “Come watch Primary Election Results with the Arizona Democratic Party and MCDP! This event is free (contributions welcome). Join us as we learn which candidates will move on to November.” https://www.facebook.com/events/600018750399463/Share … Continue reading →
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ASU’s Morrison Institute pushes Top Two Primary with study on “independent” voters
Crossposted from DemocraticDiva.com
The inimitable Jay Smooth explains, via rapper T-Pain and Sean Hannity, why you can’t possibly know more about politics than people who pay attention if you don’t pay attention.
In case the embedded video doesn’t play.
ASU’s Morrison Institute issued a study of the elusive “independent voters” in Arizona. It was commissioned by the Clean Elections Commission and was pretty comprehensive (albeit with what I consider to be some gaps that I’ll get to in a bit) in that it included several focus groups and surveys and it asked what I believe is the pertinent question about this group of voters:
I’m going with the latter, and not just based on my own frustrating personal experience with these voters. Oh no, thanks to this study we now have empirical evidence to go on. They not only don’t vote:
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Posted in Activism, Arizona State Legislature, Campaigns, Civil Rights, Commentary, Donna Gratehouse, Education, Elections, GOP War On..., IOKIYAR, Legislation, Maricopa, Party Politics, Primaries, Propositions
Tagged ASU, ASU Morrison Institute for Public Policiy, clean election institute, jungle primaries, top two primaries