World Politics

Joe Arpaio's Endorsement Still Worth Something, if Polls are to Be Trusted

​If public-opinion polls are to be trusted, then Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's endorsement still is worth something to Arizonans.Arpaio's endorsement of some candidates hasn't worked out too well -- like former U.S. Senate candidate J.D. Hayworth, ousted Senate President Russell Pearce ... 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 >>

Rick Perry Bails on Presidential Campaign; Joe Arpaio Picks the Wrong Horse...Again

​If you happen to be running for president, do yourself a favor and avoid Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio like grim death -- for the second time in two presidential elections, Arpaio's horse in the race has crashed and burned.Just two days before the pivotal South Carolina primary, Texas Govern ... More >>

Arizona GOP Presidential Primary Likely Another Race For Second Place; Mitt Romney Holds Double-Digit Lead

​Arizona's GOP presidential primary, like New Hampshire's, will likely be another race for second place -- according to a recently released poll, former Massachusetts Governor (and one-time Joe Arpaio butt-smoocher) Mitt Romney has a double-digit lead over each of his opponents in the "Colt Single ... More >>

Political (Action) Figures: The Republican Candidates' Collectible Matches

​Remember when you stopped rehashing TV and comic book storylines with your action figures, and instead re-cast them to play out real-life drama? Like that one time your dad (played by Hordak) got drunk and totaled the minivan (a great stand-in by Ecto-1) then tried to hide it from your mom (the ... 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

Fagala-Fearing Congressman Trent Franks Backs Michele "Pray Away the Gay" Bachmann in GOP Presidential Primary

​Arizona Congressman Trent Franks -- best known for his fear of homosexuals, his belief that black people were better off under slavery, and tackling the non-existent problem of race/gender-based abortions -- has endorsed his Congressional colleague Michele Bachmann in the GOP presidential prima ... More >>

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 >>

Joe Arpaio Makes It Official: Rick Perry's the Sheriff's Horse in GOP Presidential Primary; Hispanic Groups Already Lashing Out at Perry

​Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio today ended months of speculation about who he'd support in the GOP presidential primary by officially throwing his weight behind Texas Governor Rick Perry.Arpaio is currently in New Hampshire campaigning with Perry, which is where he gave his official nod.  ... 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 >>

Poll: Barack Obama Leads All Republican Presidential Candidates in Arizona

www.punditkitchen.com​If next year's presidential election were held today, President Barack Obama would carry Republican-leaning Arizona, according to a recent poll.According to a Rocky Mountain poll released yesterday, Obama leads all possible Republican candidates in Arizona by at least a five- ... More >>

Occupy Phoenix Folks, Tea Partiers Earn Phoenix "Angriest Cities" (Gulp) Honors

James King​Regardless of political affiliation, people across the country are pissed off about one thing or another, but there's only a few cities that -- as a whole -- are more pissed off than Phoenix, according to a recent ranking of pissed off cities.The Daily Beast website recently ranked Phoe ... More >>

Rick Perry's Texas Is a Fantasy Land

A Court Hearing Reveals Olivia Cortes as a Bumbling Idiot

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 >>

Watch MyFoxPhoenix Inflate Joe Arpaio's Already Soaring Ego *VIDEO*

​Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, as of late, has been not-so-subtly bragging that GOP presidential candidates are (allegedly) calling on him for campaign advice.According to the sheriff, Texas Governor Rick Perry, who is widely considered the front-runner in the race to become the GOP presiden ... More >>

Federal Judge Changes Mind, Let's AG Tom Horne File Long Response in Marijuana Lawsuit

Tom Horne, Arizona Attorney General​ U.S. District Court Judge Susan Bolton let Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne file his extra-long response in Governor Jan Brewer's federal marijuana lawsuit after all.So much for Horne's quip that the response, made to refute the defendants' motion to dism ... More >>

Tom Horne Denied Extra-Long Court Filing in Federal Medical Marijuana Lawsuit

Tom Horne, Arizona Attorney General, says if Arizona US Attorney Dennis Burke wants to give comfort to state workers adminstering the medical marijuana program, he should put it in writing.​ Give me the short version, a federal judge told Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne today in a ruling on ... More >>

Feedback from the Issue of Thursday, July 28, 2011

Tea Party Calls for Redistricting Chair's Head: Republican and Democratic Commissioners Support Her

Republican AZIRC commissioner Scott Freeman supports Mathis, though the Tea Party wants her removedDespite calls from Tea Party activists and some Republicans for the resignation of Colleen Mathis, chairwoman of the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission, both Republican commissioner Scott Fre ... More >>

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie to Allow Marijuana Dispensaries as Governor Jan Brewer Keeps Thwarting Voters

Image: Office of NJ Governor Chris ChristieNew Jersey Governor Chris Christie says he'll allow medical marijuana dispensaries without federal approval. Meanwhile, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer keeps thwarting her state's voters.​New Jersey Governor Chris Christie isn't scare of the feds anymore when ... More >>

Russell Pearce Files Lame Court Challenge to Recall Petitions

Squawk all you want, bully-boy, your days in office are numbered...right up till November 8State Senator Russell Pearce's lawyer Lisa Hauser filed one of the lamest legal challenges in this history of civil actions today. This, to the so-far successful recall effort against Pearce, which has resulte ... More >>

Medical Marijuana Is Under Attack in Arizona Again -- But This Time, Voters and Patients Hold the High Ground

Governor Jan Brewer Issues Order for November 8 Russell Pearce Recall Election

I like Sinema, but she flubbed a couple of facts on OlbermannThough it's mostly a formality, Governor Jan Brewer today officially called a November 8 recall election for state Senate President Russell Pearce.In a terse memo issued on her website, she stated:"Today, in accordance with state law, I is ... More >>

Russell Pearce Denied: AG's Office Says No Corporate Contributions for Pearce's Anti-Recall Committee

Gage SkidmoreNo corporate money for you, boo-boo​More bad news for state Senate President Russell Pearce.One day before the historic announcement by the Arizona Secretary of State's Office that the Pearce recall will go before the voters of Legislative District 18, Arizona's Solicitor General Davi ... More >>

Governor Jan Brewer Says Feds' New Letter on Medical Pot Proves She Took "Proper Course of Action" in Derailing Dispensary Program

Governor Jan Brewer​Governor Jan Brewer believes that a "clarification" by the feds on medical-marijuana programs proves she took the "proper course of action" in halting the voter-approved dispensary program.Brewer and state Attorney General Tom Horne filed a declaratory judgment in federal ... More >>

Jan Brewer's Special Session Adjourns Leaving 45,000 Arizonans in the Lurch

Brewer's "special session" was a major dudThe state Legislature recessed indefinitely today from its special session without making a minor change in state law that would allow some 45,000 jobless Arizonans to continue receiving unemployment checks.Around 15,000 out-of-work Sand Landers will receive ... More >>

Russell Pearce Begs for Corporate Funds, Uses Office on Behalf of Anti-Recall Effort

Pearce, seeking corporate dough to save his hideState Senate President Russell Pearce and the Republican-controlled Legislature couldn't be bothered today to change one word in state law to extend unemployment benefits to 15,000 out-of-work Arizonans, but Pearce has had time to compose a lengthy, fi ... More >>

Jan Brewer's Special Session, and the GOP's Hypocrisy

Senate President Pearce: A life spent sucking on the public spigot...Extending unemployment benefits to around 15,000 Arizonans still looking for work should be a no-brainer, assuming the wingnuts at the state Capitol had a pound of gray matter among 'em.It's federal money that's pumped into the sta ... More >>

Tom Horne, Arizona Attorney General, Worked With Anti-Prop-203 Leader Carolyn Short on Federal Lawsuit Idea

Image: Carolyn Short's Facebook siteCarolyn Short, leader of the "No on 203" movement, admits she's actively trying to defeat the voter-approved medical marijuana law. Tom Horne and Jan Brewer appear to be taking her cues.​ Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne discussed a plan to launc ... More >>

Joe Arpaio Pal Thayer Verschoor to Take Over for Brett Mecum as AZ GOP's Executive Director, Sources Say

Thayer Verschoor​With the ouster of now-former Executive Director of the Arizona Republican Party Brett Mecum, Thayer Verschoor, a veteran of the Arizona Legislature and short-lived communications director for the AZ GOP, is getting a promotion.Sources tell New Times Verschoor has been slated to t ... More >>

ACLU to Defend Medical Marijuana Law Against Legal Attack by Governor Jan Brewer

Governor Jan Brewer followed through today on her threat to attack the voter-approved medical marijuana law.​ Governor Jan Brewer followed through today on her threat to attack Arizona's voter-approved medical marijuana law, but advocates of democracy are fighting back. Numerous defendan ... More >>

Governor Brewer Can't Stop Medical Marijuana Under State Law; Qualified Patients Can Legally Possess Drug Without State Approval

Governor Jan Brewer hopes to derail Arizona's voter-approved medical marijuana law, but qualified patients can legally possess weed with or without state approval. ​ The effort by Arizona Governor Jan Brewer and state Attorney General Tom Horne to steamroll voters in their attempte ... More >>

Governor Brewer Fails to Defend Will of Voters in Attack on Medical Pot; Supports Enforcement of Federal Drugs Laws

Governor Jan Brewer is failing to stand up for Arizona's voters following the Arizona U.S. Attorney's threat to arrest participants of the state's new medical marijuana program.​ Governor Jan Brewer ought to just come out and admit it: She's thwarting the will of voters who approved Ari ... More >>

Arizona Medical Marijuana Program in Trouble: Brewer Halts Dispensary Permits Will Seeking Federal Ruling on Legality -- **Update With Gov's Statement

​ Arizona leaders are preparing to ask to the feds to put a halt to Arizona's medical marijuana program. * UPDATE: Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne says no dispensary permits will be issued until a federal court rules on the legality of the program. He's not sure how long that will take. * ... More >>

Mayoral Candidate Wes Gullett Gets Slapped Down by Tea Party Peeps

realsimple.com Mayoral candidate Wes Gullett wasn't invited to the tea party.​Wes Gullett reached out to some Tea Party members, and his hand was slapped away.The Phoenix lobbyist wrote an e-mail on May 11 to TP peeps seeking support for his mayoral bid -- and asking them to consider talkin ... More >>

Arizona Tea Party Members Officially Reject Tea Party License Plates; New Plates are Counter to Principles

​ Members of the Arizona Tea Party have firmly rejected the idea of the state's new Tea Party license plates. The plates symbolize big government and seem counter to Tea Party principles, a spokesman for a local Tea Party group told the Huffington Post today. You'd think the tea-baggers would ... More >>