Rum, Romanism and Rebellion

At the outset of the current budget fight, I posted that Russell Pearce’s budget proposals included an upper income tax cut as well as a property tax cut of a quarter of a billion dollars. I was mistaken, I was confused when a contact gave me some information and didn’t understand that the “upper income […]

Years ago, I attended a memorial service for Morris Udall. One of the speakers was author and environmental activist Terry Tempest Williams. She pointed to Udall’s Mormon upbringing as a big part of why he became congress’s greatest conservationist. She read some passages that were quite beautiful calls to protect the earth. Many in the […]

Any of you ever see the War Room? At the end, James Carville is looking at Ross Perot’s “concession” (if it can even be called that) and exclaims, “This was the single greatest act of masturbation in history!”

With the Republican heavy hitters out of the CD 1 race, word is out that Corporation Commissioner Kris Mayes has been talking seriously about getting back into the running. “Back in” may be a strong term, since it is hard for me to tell whether she was anything more than “mentioned.”
Something that will be amusing […]

Democratic party activist Donna Branch-Gilby made a short announcement at the Democrats of Greater Tucson luncheon today that she is going to take on Sharon Bronson in the upcoming election.
I like Branch-Gilby, and Bronson doesn’t always make me happy. However, I’m not sure how Branch-Gilby finds the money to run a strong campaign against Bronson. […]

The word out on the dusty streets of this here territory is that former Senator Dennis DeConcini is going to announce his endorsement of Barack Obama.
So, let me get this right, first Ted Kennedy, now DeConcini. Isn’t this about the time that the “party establishment” swings behind the “establishment” candidate?

The talk is that after the South Carolina primary, John Edwards will not drop out. Instead, it is expected that he will release his endorsers from their obligations.
Locally, Edwards biggest booster is Raúl Grijalva. Should Grijalva be “released,” it is expected that he will endorse Barack Obama. Being able to use Grijalva’s considerable grass roots […]

Survey USA has a new poll out that shows Barack Obama leading Hillary Clinton among hispanic voters in South Carolina 53-17. This is, by the way, a larger margin than Obama is leading over all.
I hope this leads to a end the pundit meme that claims that latino voters are reluctant to vote for a […]

At a meeting of Barack Obama supporters last night, I got outed as a blogger by an activist I’ve known for a while. He also challenged me to write about the meeting.
It was one of several meetings held last night in various parts of town for folks who have signed up to work on the campaign. […]

So, I’m thinking…in honor of Roger Stone’s douchebaggery, I will form my own group and draw up a logo for People United To Organize. The acronym is dedicated to Mr. Stone and his ilk.
I’m still ruminating on this…give me some time.
NB - I finally noticed what the logo for “Citizens United…” is…gawd…no shame at all.

Long time Republican Operative and oh-so-class act Roger Stone, who’d need a twelve foot ladder to find the sewer, has started a new 527 to go after Hillary Clinton. His new group has…hmm…an inventive acronym. I won’t repeat it here, but Talking Points Memo and the Weekly Standard both have bits on it.
But hey, the fact […]

I’ve heard some grumbling from Republicans about Janet Napolitano’s plan to raise revenue by installing more cameras to catch speeders. Frankly, I ain’t exactly comfortable with thinking of this as a possible revenue source either.
But, the complaining about this part of the plan would be a little easier for folks like me to handle if it […]

I’m hearing the budget proposal refered to as the Burns-Pearce bill. You guys messed this up. If you wanted to do a tribute to M*A*S*H, at least spell Captain Pierce’s name correctly.
 Sheesh.
Wait, someone just told me that the “Pearce” is refering to Russell Pearce. First of all, it is still spelled wrong, secondly Rusty Pierce […]

I would support John Edwards, except I am intimidated by the size of his stimulus package.

A confusing aspect of Southern Arizona politics: not only did we have a long time State Senator named Luis Gonzales, but there is a Luis Gonzales currently on the Yaqui Tribal Council. To make matters more confusing, Luis Gonzales did work for the Yaqui Tribe. What’s more, Councilmember Gonzales had a wife, Sally Ann, who served […]

I went to the Martin Luther King birthday celebration at Reid Park yesterday, and Ray Carroll was there. He is one of only two Republican officials who seem to want to be seen at that event in the nearly twenty years I’ve been attending, the other being Bob Walkup. Props to him.
The guy at the Black […]

Ray Carroll has been claiming that his pushing for Don Jorgenson over Nancy Young Wright for the District 26 house appointment was because he believes that the board is obligated to always vote for the top vote getter among the precinct committeepeople.
This begs the question of why the authors of the statute thought it appropriate […]

The fruit of righteousness is sown in peace for those who cultivate peace
- James 3:18

Some of you may have noticed the “Swag” tab on the top of the page. I took the plunge and opened a CafePress store. At the Rum, Romanism and Rebellion Dry Goods and Swag Store, you can buy T-shirts with the territorial seal and the name of this here blog. The back of the shirts […]