Ron Barber

Sorry, Martha McSally, “feminist Republican” IS an oxymoron

by

barber mcsally

Roll Call‘s Shira T. Center is covering Arizona’s tight CD2 race and sees a formidable candidate in Martha McSally:

Operatives couldn’t make up a better candidate résumé if they tried: retired Air Force Colonel, first in her class at the U.S. Air War College, the first female fighter pilot in combat who flies the very plane — an A-10 Warthog — that’s economically essential to the 2nd District.

At a time when Republicans wrangle with messaging to female voters, this 48-year-old’s spunk and articulate bite is made for television — and unlike anything the House GOP Conference has seen in a while…

…McSally doesn’t talk like the average congressional candidate, instead dropping phrases like “awesome,” “dorked up,” and “bad-ass airplane” before crowds and in conversations. During a live appearance on Fox News Channel in February 2012, she said she wanted to kick former Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., “in the jimmy” for his position on women serving in combat…

…“I consider myself a feminist Republican, and that’s not an oxymoron,” McSally tells CQ Roll Call in an interview over a vegetarian burrito slightly smaller than a bowling pin.

Read more

CD2 Candidates: Where Do Barber & McSally Stand on the Issues?

by
Ron Barber vs Martha McSally
Venn diagram showing where CD2 Congressional Candidates Ron Barber and Martha McSally agree or disagree. (TPP = Trans-Pacific Partnership)

Progressives have their hair on fire regarding Congressman Ron Barber’s (and Kyrsten Sinema’s) recent votes to help Teapublicans in the House of Representatives create a Congressional  witch hunt committee to re-investigate the the terrorist attack in Benghazi in 2012, when Hillary Clinton was Secretary of State. (Seriously, boys, if Benghazi and Monica Lewinsky’s article in Vanity Fair are all you have on Hillary, you’re in trouble. But I digress.)

On Facebook, Democrats and Progressives are vowing never to work or donate to Barber because of his Republican-lite voting record. Some say they may reluctantly vote for him but nothing more! I have often said that women’s issues (healthcare, choice, access to contraception, and equal pay) may save Barber, and that otherwise, he and challenger Martha McSally are pretty close in their views– particularly on the A-10.

Inspired by BfAZ blogger Donna Gratehouse’s Venn diagram earlier today, I offer the above Venn diagram to illustrate what issues Barber and McSally agree and disagree on. [Click on graphic to enlarge.] The information has been gleaned from statements, votes, news stories, and the candidates’ campaign websites. [NOTE: The Venn diagram includes an incomplete list of the “silent” issues. They also both void discussing: the environment; marijuana legalization; private prisons; undocumented workers; unemployment, food stamps, and other social safety net programs; and probably others I haven’t thought of.]

Read more

ACA Update: Are Insurance Companies Ill-Equipped for ‘Obamacare’ Roll-Out?

by
HealthNet stock prices from Bloomberg News. Note the stock price on Nov 8, 2013 was 27.7 (a few days after the ACA began), and the stock price for March 10, 2014 was 35.09.Someone is making money.
HealthNet stock prices from Bloomberg News. Note the stock price on Nov 8, 2013 was 27.7 (a few days after the ACA began), and the stock price for March 10, 2014 was 35.09.Someone is making money.

Since October 2013, Americans have been enrolling for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) on Healthcare.gov or through insurance agents and brokers. With only a few weeks to go before the March 31, 2014 ACA enrollment deadline, the US Department of Health and Human Services has reported that more than 5 million Americans have enrolled for health insurance through the state-based exchanges.

Enrollment in the ACA and in expanded Medicaid has been patchy because states were given too much leeway regarding what care would be available, how people should enroll, and how much money and effort would be invested into educating residents about enrollment. Some states (like California) have well-developed online insurance exchanges of their own, while other states (like Arizona) allowed the federal government to create their ACA exchange websites and did little to educate residents about health insurance enrollment.

During the final weeks, non-profit groups and volunteers in Arizona have been scrambling to enroll people, while the Arizona Republican Party is scrambling to spread misinformation to discourage enrollment– with multiple speaking engagements and mass distribution of an editorial entitled Obamacare: To Enroll Or Not To Enroll? That Is The Question by local doctor, Elizabeth Lee Vliet. And on the national level millions is being spent to dissuade Americans from enrolling, while Republicans in the House offer bait-and-switch alternativesto the ACA which would cost more and cover fewer people.

As both sides of the political spectrum work hard to sway the public, my question is: Are the insurance companies really up to the task of providing care for so many new enrollees? 

Read more

Martha McSally Wants to Go to Washington to Do… Nothing?

by

“Warrior woman”, anti-feminist, and perpetual political candidate Martha McSally wants me to “like” her Facebook page. The only reason someone like me might considering “liking” McSally’s page is to keep tabs on what the stealth candidate with no opinions and no ideas is doing. But I find McSally’s ad featuring an intense, wild-eyed photo of Nancy Pelosi offensive. Let’s face it: … Read more