democrats

Showing each other up.

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Republicans were super giddy when Nancy Pelosi got “caught” going to the hair salon without using a face mask, violating COVID restrictions. Conservatives were celebrating the “gotcha” moment they just scored, but then… Trump’s words. A report by the Atlantic stated that Trump referred to fallen troops as “losers” and “suckers” when he canceled a visit to the Aisle-Marne Cemetery in 2018.

Liberals don’t see the problems; Conservatives, the promise

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Cross-posted from RestoreReason.com.

Recently, I saw a bumper sticker that said, “When the government gives you something, they take something away from someone else.” “Wow”, I thought. “What a cynical way to look at the common good.” Why not view it as “when the government gives you something, it is really your neighbor giving you a helping hand”? The government is after all, nothing more or less than all of us.

And yet, the GOP has managed to convince many Americans that as Ronald Reagan said, “government is not the solution of our problem; government is the problem” and Grover Nordquist said, he wanted to “shrink it down to the size where we can drown it in the bathtub.”

There are however, a multitude of functions that can only be effectively and fairly provided by government. There are many examples of this such as national defense and public education, but basically, I think the primary role of government is to provide for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. William Weld, a former Republican governor of Massachusetts, wrote that,

“Liberals often don’t see the problems, and conservatives don’t see the promise, of government.”

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Watch Citizens Clean Elections Commission debates for So. AZ Legislative District races

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Watch Clean Election debates for  Southern Arizona Legislative races before General Election on Nov. 6, 2018.

If you’re not sure who’s running for State Senate (1 seat) and State House (2 seats) in LD 2, 3, 9, 10, 11, 14 in Southern Arizona,

view the Arizona Clean Elections Commission debates online for these legislative races

at: https://www.azcleanelections.gov/en/past-debates.

LD 2: held on Sept. 24 at Sahuarita High School, Sahuarita

Senator Andrea Dalessandro (D) vs. Shelley Kais (R)

House Reps. Rosanna Gabaldon (D) and Daniel Hernandez, Jr. (D) vs. Republicans Chris Ackerley & Anthony Sizer

LD 3: held on Oct. 17 at PCC West, Tucson

(Senator-elect Sally Gonzales (D) has no opposition in the General  – not part of debate)

House (two open seats): Andres Cano (D) vs. Green candidate Beryl Baker; House candidate Alma Hernandez (D) did not participate

LD 9: held on Oct. 16 at PCC NW, Tucson

Senate (open seat) – former House Rep. Victoria Steele (D) vs. Randy Fleenor (R)

House: Reps. Randy Friese (D) and Pam Powers Hannley (D) vs. Ana Henderson (R)

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#AZLeg Passes Landmark, Bipartisan Opioid Bill

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There were a lot of conversations going on in advance of the Arizona Opioid Epidemic Act.

January 25, 2018 was one of the most dramatic days at the Arizona Legislature, since I was elected.

Not only did we have ~75 Luchadores visiting their Legislators and five extremely aggressive anti-immigrant, pro-Trump protesters heckling them, we also had the big vote on the Arizona Opioid Epidemic Act (SB1001).

We have been working on SB1001/HB2001 for weeks. Unlike much of what we do in the Arizona Legislature, the Arizona Opioid Epidemic Act was a truly bipartisan effort. The governor even gave the Democrats the bill language in advance and asked for our input. The Republicans included us in the bill development process because they needed our votes and because didn’t want us to blow it up on the floor with our speechifying, as we did with the stingy TANF and teacher raises in 2017.

As someone who worked in public health and nicotine addiction treatment for years, I was proud to serve on the Democratic Caucus team that reviewed the bill and offered suggestions for revision. It was very heartening that they included several Democratic ideas in this bill. Four of my suggestions were included: offering treatment instead of jail during an overdose situation, AKA the 911 Good Samaritan bill (HB2101), which has been proposed by Democrats for four years in a row; providing funds to counties for life-saving NARCAN kits (HB2201); providing a non-commercial treatment referral service; and offering treatment in a brief intervention after an overdose scare (when your doctor says, “You didn’t die this time. Maybe you should quit!”). The Democrats also suggested including the Angel Initiative (where addicts can drop off their drugs and ask for treatment, without fear of arrest) and $10 million for drug addiction treatment services for people not on AHCCCS (Medicaid) or private insurance.

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