Cranky old AZ Republic columnist Doug MacEachern started off his Monday column with some tantalizing clickbait for the crowd that hates Clean Elections and blames it for everything wrong in the state.
Seen our state Legislature lately? Somewhere, a Democratic political strategist is wincing. But he was hardly alone. Promoters of publicly financed campaigns both in Arizona and nationally sincerely believed it would make elections more egalitarian, more open to regular citizens.
Crossposted at DemocraticDiva.com
ICYMI, and you probably did because it was Memorial Day weekend and it aired on Sunday morning at 8 a.m., you can watch me on the panel with Chip Scutari and Shane Wikfors here. Again, sorry I can’t embed but the videos tend to open immediately when you click on the site if I do.
Crossposted at DemocraticDiva.com
Arizona’s top prosecutor, Attorney General Tom Horne, is in hot water yet again. This time it’s because of revelations by a former staffer in his state office that she was required to spend the majority of her time doing campaign work (which is illegal) and that Horne’s offices has been flagrantly using state employees and resources for campaign efforts. As Horne’s reelection chances grow ever dimmer, it may seem puzzling why he would have taken such a stupid risk with all the other problems (infidelity, hit-and-run, etc.) he has. My theory is that Tom Horne and his top aide Kathleen Winn are simply following the precedent set by Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who has been using taxpayer dollars to run a nonstop PR and reelection campaign for several years now, with impunity.
As I was reading Arizona Daily Star education reporter Alexis Huicochea's Tweets from the latest public school closure hearing on last Saturday, I wondered to myself: How many of these parents– who are now gnashing their teeth about their kid's school– voted Republican or didn't vot at all?
Remember 2010, when the Repulbicans swept all of Arizona's statewide offices and won a super majority in the Arizona Legislature? Things were bad before that, but our state really slid into dark times with Governor Jan "George Wallace in a Skirt" Brewer and her henchmen– Attorney General Tom "Kill MAS" Horne, Public Instruction Head John "Charter Schools" Huppenthal, Secretary of State Ken "Birther" Bennet, and former State Senate President Russell "Get the Messicans" Pearce– in charge. They are the reason that Tucson Unified Schools District (TUSD) has a $17 million short fall. They are the reason TUSD is closing schools, increasing class sizes, and laying off teachers. And, actually, you are the reason, too.
Parents, grandparents, and activists– if you voted for Republican legislators, the governor, and her gang of thieves and/or voted against continuation of the sales tax for education and jobs (prop 204) OR didn't vote at all– shut up about school closures. You got want you wanted– smaller government, impoverished public education, and millions of dollars of corporate welfare. Hurray for the 1%! Screw you, children of Arizona.
Your theme song plays after the jump.
The first of three public forums on the Tucson Unified School District's (TUSD) proposed desegregation plan took place on Monday night.
Fellow BfAZ blogger Dave Safier posted a very detailed first-person account of the forum here this morning, and today's Arizona Daily Star's also offered a thorough account that overlaps somewhat with Safier's but also includes other facts. (KGUN 9 video here.)
Safier writes from the viewpoint– as he admits– of commentator who has "expended thousands of words trying to explain the value of the MAS program". The Star reporter gives a newsier account of the meeting and offers some more basic background.
Why a third article? Here, I offer here some history, a broader analysis of the issues, and a call for action. Read more after the jump.