U.S. State Politics

Republican Blogger Jeff Vath Fought for Sanity in the AZ GOP

Jan Brewer's Third-Term Interpretation of Constitution Challenged by Democrat's Bill

Since Governor Jan Brewer hasn't given up on her interpretation of the Arizona Constitution that two terms really means three terms, Democratic State Senator Steve Gallardo has proposed changing the wording of that section.There's a big problem with Gallardo's proposal -- since he's proposing a chan ... More >>

Raul Grijalva Has a Word or Two for Jan Brewer Over Executive Order on Driver's Licenses

Democratic Congressman Raul Grijalva says it's pretty clear that deferred action beneficiaries should be allowed to apply for driver's licenses.Grijalva, and previously, the ACLU, have disagreed with the executive order issued by Governor Jan Brewer, in which she stated that Deferred Action for Chil ... More >>

Jan Brewer's Order Denying Driver's Licenses for DREAMers Challenged by Bill

While the ACLU is still suing over Governor Jan Brewer's order to deny driver's licenses to participants in the Obama Administration's deferred-action program, a bill has been submitted that would change the current policy.Democratic state Representative Catherine Miranda submitted House Bill 2032, ... More >>

Jan Brewer Protested, 3 Arrested: Video by Dennis Gilman

Kudos to Phoenix videographer Dennis Gilman for his latest video, which captures the drama of yesterday's demonstration at the state Capitol. There, as Governor Jan Brewer gave her state of the state speech to members of the Legislature, a coalition of activists protested Brewer's executive order ... More >>

Hugh Hallman for Governor: Yay or Nay?

Former Tempe Mayor Hugh Hallman says he's thinking about running for governor."Over the next few months, I will be traveling the state of Arizona to speak with and listen to people from all walks of life about what's really important to them in their state government, and how we can address our prio ... More >>

Terry Goddard Wants to Be AG Again? Puh-lease

For Terry Goddard, it must be tough going from Mayor of Phoenix to state Attorney General to gubernatorial candidate to, um, Central Arizona Water Conservation District board member. To be accurate, Terry Goddard has run for governor three times, hoping to emulate his pop Sam Pearson Goddard, Jr., ... More >>

Jan Brewer Times Three? Ten Reasons Jan Should Run for an Unconstitutional Third Term

Jan Brewer cannot run for governor again. There is no wiggle room in the Arizona Constitution. And if she tries, she is guaranteed to kiss the canvas with her plastic-surgery-gone-wrong gob, slapped down by the Arizona Supreme Court. See also: -Jan Brewer's Sniveling New Memoir Laughably Paints He ... More >>

Jan Brewer May Actually Be Serious About Running for (Likely Unconstitutional) Third Term

It appears that Governor Jan Brewer may be serious about seeking a third term, after reading that she said this for (at least) a third time, even though the Arizona Constitution says you only get two terms.The Arizona Republic published its way-too-early list of gubernatorial candidates for the 2014 ... More >>

Jan Brewer "Isn't Interested" in Politics After Mark Kelly Slams Her Comments on Shooting

Yesterday, we reprinted the entire statement prepared by Mark Kelly, husband of former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, which he read at the sentencing of Tucson shooter Jared Loughner.It was a damn good statement that included a pointed remark about Governor Jan Brewer's comments after the shootin ... More >>

Arizona's Legislative Elections: Five Districts to Watch

As is the case with the congressional races in Arizona, not every race for Arizona's legislative seats is competitive -- just 17 of the 30 state Senate races have candidates from both major parties, and 20 of the 30 state House races have at least one Democrat and one Republican.Still, that leaves p ... More >>

Arizona Ballot Propositions: How to Vote Against (or With) Russell Pearce and His Ilk

Here's the thing about the propositions on the ballot for tomorrow's election: for the most part, they're boring, and at the end of the day, you may not really give a damn.Thankfully, people like ousted state Senate President Russell Pearce, Governor Jan Brewer, and the lobbyists from Center for Ari ... More >>

Liberal Democrats Tar Republican Jerry Lewis, Borrowing a Page From Extremists They Claim to Loathe

Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery Gives Warning to Foreign Election Observers

Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery put out a press release to tell foreigners to keep their distance from polling places on election day, consistent with state law.That friendly reminder is in response to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe sending observers to watch the el ... More >>

Feedback from the Issue of Thursday August 30, 2012

Tom Horne: Arizona Medical Marijuana Act Preempted by Federal Law, in Part; Cardholders OK, Dispensaries Could be Nixed by Court

See also: Medical Marijuana Dispensary Lottery Coming Tuesday, and Will Be Streamed Live Online Arizona should not authorize medical-marijuana dispensaries as voters intended because they are against state law, says state Attorney General Tom Horne. But the state's 2010 medical-marijuana law isn' ... More >>

Russell Pearce's Mexican-Bashing E-mails Slammed By Randy Parraz, Others

See Also: Russell Pearce's Racism "Discovered" by Arizona's Media Former Senate President Russell Pearce's racist e-mails, recently made public by the ACLU, were slammed today by politicians and activists at the Arizona State Capitol. Around 20 members of Citizens for a Better Arizona, the group t ... More >>

SB 1070 Fuels a Movement of New Voters

Ask a Mexican on California DREAMing and Mexican Nombres

Ken Bennett, Arizona Secretary of State, Plays to the "Birthers"

Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett, who just recently filed the paperwork for an exploratory committee in the 2014 Arizona gubernatorial race, appears to be the latest Arizona politician to play to the "birther" crowd.In the mess that is Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's "investigation" into ... More >>

"Birther" Bill Is a Favorite of Arizona Voters, According to Poll

Of some of the more controversial ideas tossed around the Arizona Legislature, the "birther" bill is the most popular to voters, according to a poll.The Morrison Institute for Public Policy quizzed Arizona voters on five of the more controversial bills brought up by the right-hand side of the Legisl ... More >>

Jan Brewer Gives the Axe to Planned Parenthood Funding

Abortion still seems to be a top priority for Governor Jan Brewer and the Legislature, as the governor announced the signing of yet another bill that's not making Planned Parenthood happy at all.The governor signed House Bill 2800 into law late last week, which described in the broadest sense by the ... More >>

Russell Pearce: Plot to Give $260K of Taxpayer Cash to Recalled Pol Still Alive?

The Capitol Times' Luigi del Puerto is reporting that the plot to cut a $260,000 check to recalled, disgraced former state Senate President Russell Pearce remains alive at the state Legislature.I've heard the votes are not there in the Senate, but, hell, ya never know. Also, it's not in the bud ... More >>

Russell Pearce Plot: Is His 260K "Reimbursement" Deal Dead?

Is the effort by some GOPers to "reimburse" their erstwhile God, recalled state Senate President Russell Pearce, D.O.A.?Just recently, the Arizona Republican Caucus Tweeted a response to statements made by Democratic state Senator Steve Gallardo that were critical of the right-wing plot to reimburse ... More >>

Russell Pearce's Nemesis Randy Parraz and Fellow CBA Members Blast Pearce's Personal $260K Welfare Plan

If the plot to give 12 point-loser and former state Senate President Russell Pearce $260,000 is squashed (and I'm not convinced that it has been), it will be because of the efforts of Randy Parraz and Citizens for a Better Arizona, the folks that made the Pearce recall a reality in 2011.Sure, before ... More >>

Russell Pearce Wants $260,000 of Your Money, and His Flunkies Want to Give It to Him

Remember when I informed you of the trial balloon being floated by toadies of recalled state Senate President Russell Pearce, lickspittles who long to give their lord and master more than $260,000 of taxpayer funds because he had to endure a recall election, one he lost by a humiliating 12 points?We ... More >>

Russell Pearce's GOP Toadies Want to Give Him $260,000 of Your Money

Of all the trial balloons in the history of politics, this one most deserves to be shot down, stomped, incinerated, and spat on, with the remains dumped in the nearest landfill to rot.Seems there's a cadre of hardcore Russell Pearce-worshippers in the state legislature that want to give the recalled ... More >>

Steve Gallardo to Join Russell Pearce at U.S. Senate Subcommittee Hearing on SB 1070

Next week's U.S. Senate immigration subcommittee hearing on Arizona's Senate Bill 1070 is shaping up to be more exciting than initially billed -- at least as "exciting" as something aired on C-SPAN can get.​Ousted state Senate President Russell Pearce, the author of the bill, has already committed ... More >>

Debbie Lesko's Freedom-Hating Anti-Birth-Control Bill

Republicans. I know some of them are sane here in Sand Land, but you wouldn't know it by their wingnutty hijinks in the state Legislature this year, where they've placed a birther-bill, a late-term abortion ban and a state-funded border militia ahead of doing anything to aid the economy, bring jobs ... More >>

Russell Pearce Is Actually Going to Defend SB 1070 Before Senate Subcommittee

​Ousted state Senate President Russell Pearce is actually going to defend Senate Bill 1070 before a US Senate Subcommittee in April.The spokesman for ​New York Democratic Senator Charles Schumer just sent the information over, saying Pearce will answer questions before the Senate Subcommittee on ... More >>

Jan Brewer Invited to Testify Before Senate Subcommittee on SB 1070. Governor's Apparently Not Thrilled With The Idea

​New York Democratic Senator Charles Schumer sent a letter to Governor Jan Brewer yesterday, asking her to give testimony before his Senate Subcommittee on Immigration about Senate Bill 1070.According to a release from Schumer's office, the point of Brewer's testimony would be "to hear whether she ... More >>

Arizona Medical Marijuana Act's 25-Mile Ban on Growing Pot Challenged in Lawsuit; Another Suit Seeks Different Rule Change

A new lawsuit over Arizona's Medical Marijuana Act targets the provision that bans patients and caregivers from growing pot within 25 miles of an open dispensary.Bill Hayes, a marijuana activist and qualified patient who lives in Surprise, argues in a federal complaint filed yesterday that the provi ... More >>

Governor Brewer to Ponder Medical Marijuana Lawsuit Ruling While Keeping Her Ban on Dispensaries; Supporters of Law Praise Ruling

Governor Jan Brewer and her legal counsel will study today's dismissal of her lawsuit against the medical marijuana law while keeping a ban on dispensaries, a spokesman says.Brewer, with the help of state Attorney General Tom Horne, filed the federal complaint back in May, claiming a letter by a for ... More >>

Kyrsten Sinema Surprises Precisely No One With Announcement That She's Running For Congress

​In a move that doesn't come as much of a shock to anyone familiar with state politics in Arizona, Democratic state Senator Kyrsten Sinema announced today that she's resigning from her Senate seat and running for Congress -- potentially against Congressman Ben Quayle (although, that's unlikely. Mo ... More >>

Fiesta Bowl Fiasco: County Attorney Bill Montgomery to Announce Findings of Investigation Into Elected Officials

​Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery is holding a press conference this morning to announce the findings of an eight-month investigation into elected officials who received gifts from the allegedly corrupt Fiesta Bowl organization.It's unclear what Montgomery will announce -- the Arizona Repu ... More >>

Jan Brewer's Top Sycophant, SRP Lobbyist Russell Smoldon, and ResistALEC's "Sleeping Dragon"

AzResistALECDemonstrators form an anti-ALEC "sleeping dragon" at SRPOne unfortunate aspect of the occupation of the Salt River Project's Tempe headquarters last week was that the activists involved were not able to pull off a similar action at the Westin Kierland Resort, where corporate interests an ... More >>

Tom Horne to Argue Tucson Government Case at Glendale's Thunderbird School Tomorrow

Image: Court videoTom Horne argued a case personally before the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals this summer. Tomorrow, he'll appear before the Arizona Supreme Court on another case.​As an elected official, Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne could make himself as relatively unseen as, well, Gov ... More >>

Jan Brewer's Sniveling New Memoir Laughably Paints Her as a Tough-as-Nails Governor

Fiesta Bowl Fiasco: Former COO Natalie Wisneski Pleads Not Guilty

​Natalie Wisneski, the former chief operating officer for the Fiesta Bowl, was in a Phoenix U.S. District Court this morning where she pleaded not guilty to multiple charges that she was involved in a scam to make illegal campaign contributions to several federal, state, and local political candid ... More >>

Jan Brewer BODY-SLAMMED by Arizona Supreme Court on Redistricting, Again

Man, this drama is getting moldier than a rerun of 21 Jump Street.  This afternoon, the Arizona Supreme Court -- for the second time -- handed Governor Jan Brewer a big fat loss on her attempt to remove Colleen Mathis, chairwoman of the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission, the panel ch ... More >>

Feedback from the Issue of Thursday, November 17th, 2011

Fiesta Bowl Scandal: Former COO Natalie Wisneski Indicted

​Natalie Wisneski, the former chief operating officer for the Fiesta Bowl, has been indicted in federal court on charges that she tried to cover up illegal campaign contributions by bowl employees, and that she filed false financial records, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced today.Wisneski is t ... More >>

Arizona Dems on Steve Pierce, Russell Pearce's Replacement as Senate President: Nothing Will Change "Other Than One Vowel"

Senator Russell...er, we mean Steve Pierce.​State Senator Steve Pierce was pegged by his Republican Senate colleagues to replace ousted former Senator Russell Pearce as the president of the Senate -- and Arizona Democrats aren't thrilled with the GOP's pick.We commented yesterday that Pierce's tak ... More >>

Prediction: State Senator Russell Pearce Will Be Kissing His Political Career Goodbye on November 8

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer Removes Redistricting Chair, Calls Special Session

Our near-illiterate governor, Chuck Coughlin's water-bearer, with her right paw on the state constitution Governor Jan Brewer, no doubt under direct orders from her puppetmaster consultant Chuck Coughlin, has removed Colleen Mathis as chair of the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission, ... More >>

Rick Perry's Texas Is a Fantasy Land

Russell Pearce's Pal Constantin Querard's New Signs and Web Site

Butter wouldn't melt in Constantin Querard's mouth. Querard's one of the sleazy backers of state Senate President Russell Pearce, and as you all now know, he's suspected of being the "brains" behind the sham candidacy of recall queen-for-a-day Olivia Cortes. He also has a history in Arizona pol ... More >>

Russell Pearce's Olivia Cortes Fiasco: Complaint Shot Down by SOS, Lawsuit Will Be Filed Soon

Olivia Cortes: You've got to wonder if she expected this level of scrutiny The complaint filed by Democratic precinct committeeman and former candidate for state Senate in Legislative District 18 Robert McDonald in the ever-widening Russell Pearce/Olivia Cortes scandal has just been shot down by the ... More >>

Tom Horne's Redistricting Investigation Blasted by ex-AG Terry Goddard

I missed ex-Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard's recent appearance on Horizon, wherein he criticized current AG Tom Horne's investigation of the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission, particularly Horne's grandstanding statements to the media about the probe. Oddly, I caught it as I ... More >>

Greg Stanton, Phoenix Mayoral Candidate, Gets Support of Former Mayor Skip Rimsza

commercialappeal.com​In the battle of endorsements by former mayors of future mayor-wannabe's, it looks like it's Greg Stanton 2, Wes Gullett 1-ish.It would be 2 if you include someone who only served as mayor for 10 days. Gullett has been endorsed by former Phoenix mayors Paul Johnson and John Ne ... More >>