The Bigger Picture of Arizona

[TSherbs]

After the Hobbs and Mayes wins (Mayes wins recount also), what is your take on what is happening in Arizona overall politically? Yes, the votes have been close, but it's been a while since Democrats have won high-profile seats in Arizona, well...besides Sinema...but then....? I have not read much about Arizona in recent bigger-picture analysis, but I may do so now....

[dneal]

You're watching the uniparty secure control of a state.

[Bold2013]

My in-laws recently moved out of AZ. They said a lot of liberals have been leaving CA and moving in (same thing happening in TX too I suspect).

[Chuck Naill]

My in-laws recently moved out of AZ. They said a lot of liberals have been leaving CA and moving in (same thing happening in TX too I suspect).

It’s about time.

[TSherbs]

Who has written something about this? I haven't been able to find anything yet....

[Chuck Naill]

No idea, but McCain was as good of a politician as you get. Flake had courage. Both were at odds against Trump. Maybe the electorate woke up.

[dneal]

Who has written something about this? I haven't been able to find anything yet....

Are you looking for something like "What's the Matter With Kansas" - but an AZ edition?

Bold hit the nail on the head with California refugees. Texas and Colorado (and Idaho, to a lesser extent) experience the same thing.

The other issue is populist movements vs established parties. The Democrat party fended off the Bernie (and Warren, to a lesser extent) challenge. To some extent they just embraced it (AOC and the rest of the progressives) - but made sure it didn't have any real power.

The GOP got rolled by Trump, but it was already primed for it. Reagan, Ross Perot, TEA party, etc...

If you think in terms of Democrat and Republican, that's outdated. The new paradigm is establishment (or kleptocrats, or "uniparty") vs populism.

Arizona is a good example of the establishment (through old McCain Republicans and current Democrats) defeating populist candidates.

[TSherbs]

Oh yeah, Flake. One of the GOP's victim of the purges.

[Chuck Naill]

Mark Kelly, with his credentials, was a good choice.

[Bold2013]

Crime, cost of living, taxes, traffic, pollution, power issues and hypocritical leaders.

[TSherbs]

Crime, cost of living, taxes, traffic, pollution, power issues and hypocritical leaders.

Meaning, unhappiness with former GOP leadership in the state because of these problems?

[TSherbs]

I wonder if the decline of Trumpism is part of it.

[Bold2013]

Ha ha

[Chuck Naill]

I wonder if the decline of Trumpism is part of it.

Arizona rejected Kari Lake, so the Trump tactic played a role. She said she would have conceded gracefully had she lost.

[Chuck Naill]

I am doing a study on Micah 6. This is an interesting passage.
"Am I still to forget your ill-gotten treasures, you wicked house,
and the short ephah,[c] which is accursed?
11 Shall I acquit someone with dishonest scales,
with a bag of false weights?
12 Your rich people are violent;
your inhabitants are liars
and their tongues speak deceitfully.
13 Therefore, I have begun to destroy you,
to ruin[d] you because of your sins.
14 You will eat but not be satisfied;
your stomach will still be empty.[e]
You will store up but save nothing,
because what you save[f] I will give to the sword.
15 You will plant but not harvest;
you will press olives but not use the oil,
you will crush grapes but not drink the wine."

[TSherbs]

... She said she would have conceded gracefully had she lost.

But then that is a lie. Before the election, she said that she would accept the vote only if she won (same as Trump said). Her "word" is worthless.

[TSherbs]

A study came out recently concluding that the GOP losses in Arizona were the candidates' ties to Trump and other election denialism and extreme rhetoric. Each of those candidates lost overall, and lost a significant number of right-leaning voters who ended up voting for the Democratic opponent:

A gifted WAPO link: https://wapo.st/3JqEmlS

[Chuck Naill]

Perhaps voters are tired of supporting a party that is more focused on getting votes than governing. The Republicans have ridden the abortion horse to death, but have provided little leadership with regarding to immigration and continues to stall "Dreamer" citizenship. They can count on immigration to rally some voters, but surely more and more voters see that once they are elected, they care liitle about solving problems.

From HCR today,

"Actually governing is a lot harder than talking about it. On December 30, House majority leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) promised that the House Republicans would “hit the ground running to do what we promised on the border, crime, energy, inflation, Life, taxpayer protection & more.” He outlined eleven bills the party would bring to the floor in the first two weeks of the new Congress. Half have indeed been voted on by now—the fifth week of Congress—but they were only for show. They will never pass the Senate, and no one is trying to negotiate to pass them. The other half aren’t on the calendar."

There is that phrase showing up again. They are running, but not in any meaningful direction.

It is nice to see Biden's infrastructure bill succeeding.

[TSherbs]

Part of what happened in Arizona was the corrupting influence of political ambition on the GOP former State Attorney General Brnovich, who we are learning suppressed his department's findings of no fraud while he insinuated that he knew of substantial fraud to garner votes in a primary that he was engaged in. In this Post article, here is one example of the kind of thing Brnovich did:

"On Aug. 1, the day before the state’s primary election, Brnovich said his office had finished its investigation of allegations that hundreds of votes had been cast in the name of deceased people. His office found one instance."

One.

These ambitious fucks lie and manipulate and undermine confidence in elections simply for their own gain and grift.

After Brnovich lost the primary, he called those who believed him morons and "grifters" themselves. Wow, this is what happens when you vote for people of no character.

[TSherbs]

Dear lord. Arizona's got some crazies, for sure.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/arizo...-morning-email