Rally to Restore Transplant Funding Feb. 28th

I've posted before about Arizona's draconian decision to de-fund organ transplants. While Gov. Brewer has relented, the state legislature is blocking restoring the funding for transplants. On Feb. 28th, there will be a rally to restore the funding at the state capitol:

Join us for a rally and press conference to

"Restore Transplant Funding"

February 28, 2011 at 11:30am

Arizona State Capitol grounds

sponsored by Democracy for America.

DFA-MaricopaCounty :: Rally to Restore Transplant Funding 2/28

Arizona has some seriously screwed up budget priorities. I've said before that we really need some Wisconsin style democracy here. Examples:

Now, however, Governor Jan Brewer is proposing to kick some 280,000 Arizonans off the state’s Medicaid rolls. Brewer claims such a move is the only way to get the state’s fiscal house in order, as it would save $541.5 million in general funding spending. Brewer also wants to save $79.8 million by dropping 5,200 “seriously mentally ill” people from the state’s Medicaid program. Instead of balancing out these draconian cuts with additional revenue increases or simply not making the cuts in the first place, Brewer instead signed $538 million in corporate tax cuts into law two weeks ago.

http://thinkprogress.org/2011/02/22/gop-governors-misplaced-priorities/

(BTW, that article covers several other states as well)

But the legislature is addressing one vital issue. SB1610, which addresses the vital issue of "What is the official firearm of Arizona?"After the bill's enactment, the official firearm of Arizona will be the Colt Single Action Army Revolver.
Whew! Now we can all rest easy tonight.

(kindly Gov. Jan Brewer)

Kyl Has Priorities

My dumber senator (truly) has his priorities. For instance, along with every other thing on the internet, he doesn’t like online gambling very much. Which is OK; I like online gambling, but I don't have a bunch of casinos lobbying me; simple corruption I can understand. But Jon "I Hate Government" Kyl is using this as an excuse to put a "hold" on a bunch of Treasury nominees. Per Matt Yglesias:

Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) evidently doesn’t like online gambling very much, and in 2006, he helped craft a law banning the processing of online wagers. The law and its corresponding regulations were supposed to go into effect last month, but the Obama administration and the Federal Reserve pushed back the start-date until June.

This, ladies and gentlemen, is your modern United States Senate. If there’s some random crap that nobody cares about, it just takes one Senator with a bee in his bonnet to ruin everything for everyone who would like to live in a country with
a properly administered government. There are six Treasury nominees still awaiting action being held up by Kyl.

You might think it would be a good idea to have an Under Secretary for International Affairs. Kyl disagrees. You might think it would be a good idea to have an Under Secretary for Domestic Finance. Kyl disagrees. You might think it would be a good idea to have an Assistant Secretary for International Markets and Development. Kyl disagrees. You might think it would be a good idea to have an Assistant Secretary for International Economics and Development. Kyl disagrees. You might think it would be a good idea to have an Assistant Secretary for Financial Markets. Kyl disagrees. You might think it would be a good idea to have an Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy. Kyl disagrees.

This kind of thing really has to stop, it’s a ludicrous way to run a country. Amidst a global economic meltdown, we can’t get confirmation for the international economics officials. Not because the senate has a problem with them, but because one guy isn’t happy with the delay of some internet gambling regulations.

http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/archives/2010/01/while-economy-burns-jon-kyl-blocking-treasury-nominees-over-petty-bs.php

I'm of a simple mind: we're in an economic crises, I have no idea how to fix it, but I want more people working to solve the problem. Not saying Treasury should be trusted too far, but they should be allowed to have a full toolbox for the attempt.
And that is the crux of the debate: the dems govern poorly, while the rethugs are against governing at all. It's a lousy choice, but those are the only options at this time.
I don't particularly like Timmy G., but I'd rather he had a full team while tackling our current mess. I'd even give up my online football bets (which have done me well) to have a barely functional government.

The Entertainment Value of a Train Wreck

I've been in the 'political doldrums' lately, watching with intense disinterest as the dysfunctional process loudly fails to serve the public. I frequently find myself wondering how much worse it will get.
Here in Arizona, we get the honor of being represented by two of the worst examples of rethuglican obstructionism in the senate, Jon "I hate government" Kyl and St. Sleazy "Keating Five who?" McCain, which is bad enough. But the 'even further right' rethugs are serious about electing an even worse senator:

Fourteen months ago, John McCain was his party's nominee for president. But, now, as the 2010 midterms loom, the senior Senator from Arizona may find himself locked in a primary battle to hold on to his seat -- and he could be vulnerable.

Last week, former Rep. J.D. Hayworth (R-AZ) signaled on his radio show that he's getting closer and closer to a run at McCain's seat. "We may have moved past due diligence into something that is more than a legal term of art ... something called 'testing the waters.' So stay tuned on that," Hayworth said.

Hayworth is popular with the conservative base because he was a leading right-wing voice in Congress on immigration, until he lost his seat in 2006. (Since then, Hayworth has hosted a talk radio show in Arizona.) McCain has traditionally struggled with this voting bloc, largely because of his past moderate positions on illegal immigration.

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/01/why-the-political-deck-in-arizona-might-be-stacked-against-john-mccain.php?ref=fpa

As much as I dislike St. Sleazy, I cannot imagine a worse senator than J.D. Hayworth. J.D. is a blow-dried sportscaster with the intellectual capacity of an eggplant. He'll spout the right talking points on "god, guns, and gays", but his pet issue is 'immigration'; he really hates brown people. He's upset that there are "mexicans" in Arizona (J.D. don't know much history).
And he could win:

If McCain faces a primary challenge from Hayworth, McCain could be at a distinct disadvantage because of his state's election laws -- namely the closed primary, which allows only registered Republicans to choose the GOP's nominee.

Voting registration figures in Arizona through last spring show that Republicans, Democrats, and independents and minor parties all take about a third of registered voters. McCain has traditionally had a strong appeal with the state's independents -- but they can't vote in the GOP primary, leaving a heavily conservative, anti-illegal immigration base to choose the nominee.

So far, there is no credible democrat running. So if J.D. wins the primary, he could win in the general.

From Bad To Worse?

Living in Arizona, I get to be represented by two of the worst senators in the country (OK, that's just my opinion; there are a lot of lousy senators to choose from). Jon Kyl is slightly less intellectual than the average eggplant, and St. Sleazy McCain appears increasingly senile with each passing day. So, leave it to Arizona republicans to find an even worse option:

A new Rasmussen poll finds that Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) could potentially be in trouble with Republican voters back home in Arizona, where he's often faced criticism from the right for his views on immigration.

In a potential Republican primary for his 2010 re-election, the 2008 GOP nominee for President is in a dead heat with former Rep. J.D. Hayworth, a hard-line conservative who lost his seat in the 2006 Democratic wave.

The numbers: McCain 45%, Hayworth 43%, with a ±4% margin of error. A third candidate who is already in the race, former Minuteman leader Chris Simcox, gets 4%.

From the pollster's analysis: "For McCain, the GOP Primary appears to be his biggest challenge since no major Democrats in the state have stepped forward yet to run against him."

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/11/poll-mccain-in-dead-heat-in-potential-2010-gop-primary-for-re-election.php?ref=fpb

That's right, J. D. Hayworth! A former sportscaster who's even dumber than Kyl (or an eggplant), a congressional loser who's opposed to everything after 1958 (I've met him, and I'm trying to be as kind as I can). Proving that no matter how bad you think it is, it could be worse (and don't get me started on Simcox). At least McCain is (sometimes) coherent.
Sadly, there's no democrat candidate (so far) who has a snowball's chance in Phoenix of winning the senate seat in 2010. Janet Napolitano was our most likely hope until she accepted the homeland security gig. So far, nobody else has come forward who's a serious challenger.
Dear America.
We apologize.
Sincerely,
Arizona Democrats (on the endangered species list since...forever).