Month: August 2013

Dems Make Case for Attacking Syria

On By AZ ConservativeIn John SemmensLeave a comment

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Undaunted by polls showing 80 percent of Americans opposed to an attack on Syria and undismayed by the UK Parliament’s rejection of Prime Minister Cameron’s request to join in a US bombardment of that country, key Democrats attempted to make the case for a unilateral US assault.

US Secretary of State John Kerry pointed out that “Assad is a thug and a murderer. He deserves to be punished.” Kerry also cited Assad’s 11 year-old son’s taunt on Facebook as “persuasive evidence of the need for action.”

The secretary insisted that he is “personally convinced” that the Assad Government was behind the chemical attack. “I’ll grant that the opposition has committed it’s share of atrocities,” Kerry said. “But their methods are more primitive—dragging people out of their homes and butchering them in the streets, disemboweling them, beheading them. Gassing people is just not their style. So, I’ve got to assume they didn’t do this.”

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif) Admitted that “there’s a lot we don’t know for sure about what’s going on in Syria. We do know that over a thousand people died in what appears to have been a chemical attack. Based on some You Tube videos, our best guess is that the Assad regime is responsible. Others say the al-Qaeda rebels are. The only way we can figure out who did this is to launch a salvo of missiles into Syria.”

Pelosi dismissed calls for Congress to get involved as “unnecessary.” This stance is a sharp reversal of her opposition to former President Bush’s successful efforts to build a coalition and obtain a Congressional endorsement of his use of force in Iraq. “Bush needed a coalition and Congressional permission because he lacked the moral stature to act alone,” she contended. “President Obama is an acknowledged champion for peace. As a winner of the Nobel Peace Prize he has all the credibility and the credentials he needs to initiate a war in order to promote the ultimate goal of peace in the Middle East.”

State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf conceded that the Administration doesn’t know whether Assad ordered the apparent chemical attack that killed more than a thousand non-combatants, but maintained that “the President has made it clear that he will not tolerate interference or delay of his quest for justice for the victims.”

While it seems likely that Assad will hunker down in a bunker safe from any US bombing sortie, it is unclear how the dictator will be punished. Even if he were somehow to be killed, the rebels who would form the likely successor government have strong links to the al-Qaeda terrorist organization.

Facebook Post Leads to Interrogation

An Arizona man who expressed a fear that America was becoming a police state in a post to his Facebook page was called in for interrogation by FBI agents within hours of making the statement. Faced with the threat of having a SWAT team kick down his door, Blaine Cooper voluntarily complied with a request to report to his local police station for an interview with federal agents.

Cooper described the situation as “unnerving. It turned my vague sense of uneasiness over the country’s drift into tyranny into a palpable reality. They had every Facebook post I had ever made in a huge file, along with all my wife’s information, and parent’s information. They let me go for now, but reminded me that they will still be watching me.”

The FBI’s rapid response to Cooper’s Internet post was credited to the federal government’s XKeyscore program. “Thanks to technology we can be more vigilant that ever,” boasted FBI spokesman John Boot. “Implying that the United States might be a police state is dangerously defamatory. Dissemination of this idea undermines people’s faith in and loyalty to their government. We need to nip it in the bud.”

Boot expressed the hope that “Cooper was significantly impressed by our diligence in this matter and will refrain from future slanders against the reputation and policies of his government.”

In related news, scientists at the University of Washington demonstrated the ability to control another person’s movements via a direct brain-to-brain link. It is hoped that this new breakthrough can overcome the friction of free will that impedes the pathway between issuing a command and achieving obedience on the part of the targeted individual. Up until now, orders could be misunderstood or disobeyed. If this technique can be perfected government can eliminate the intervening consciousness and allow a designated official to directly control the actions of another person.

Pentagon Training Troops to Combat Extremists

Prepping US Armed Forces to cope with extremists doesn’t sound bad until you discover that an example of the type of extremists our troops may have to suppress are people who oppose taxes or tyranny. According to the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute training guide, America’s Founding Fathers were “extremists who unjustly opposed legitimate ruling authorities.”

The training guide says that “In U.S. history, there are many examples of extremist ideologies and movements. The colonists who sought to free themselves from British rule and the Confederate states who sought to secede from the Northern states are just two examples. The colonists’ manifesto, for instance, asserts that rights come from a ‘Creator.’ This is an open invitation to defy the laws handed down by human governing authorities. It is deeply subversive.”

“The grievances cited by this manifesto could be lodged against virtually any governing body,” the guide continued. “It objects to excessive taxation, growing bureaucracy, rule by executive decree, barriers to commerce—all acts routinely embarked upon by governments of every stripe around the world today. It elevates liberty above cooperation with duly appointed government officials. This can only lead to anarchy.”

Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel vigorously defended the guide. “Is ‘give me liberty or give me death’ that different from ‘behead those who insult Islam?’” Hagel asked. “Both entail violent thoughts. We cannot afford to overlook threats just because they emanate from the ‘Yankee Doodle’ side of the political spectrum.”

China Anxious about T-Bond Portfolio

With more frequent reminders coming from the Federal Reserve that its “Quantitative Easing” program will “taper off,” the Chinese gvernment is becoming increasingly alarmed. Should the Fed’s program of buying bonds come to an end interest raters are expected to rise and bond prices to fall.

China’s Minister of Finance Lou Jiwei urged that “the tapering not be too hastily implemented. We have billions of dollars on US Treasury Bonds that we must be given time to unload before their value goes down. The victims of such a move by the United States will not just be domestic capitalist exploiters, but the sovereign government of China. We would have to view it as a hostile act.”

Lou suggested that the decline in bond prices from the Fed’s tapering off policy could be offset by mandating that US banks, pension funds, and mutual funds purchase these securities. “By compelling the monied interests in America to buy these bonds the US Government will solidify their support for the Administration,” Lou argued. “They would be inextricably tied to the success of President Obama and his policies.”

US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew was unsympathetic. “Anyone who lends the US Government money does so at their own risk,” Lew pointed out. “China will have to take its lumps just like anyone else. They can’t expect us to provide them with a safety net while letting everyone else get the shaft.”

DOJ Sues to Stop School Voucher Program

The US Department of Justice asked a federal judge to prohibit school districts in Louisiana from issuing vouchers to students currently enrolled in failing public schools. The vouchers are intended to give these students an escape route while simultaneously inducing schools to improve their performance.

Attorney General Eric Holder didn’t take issue with the desire to improve student outcomes, but counseled that “all must be treated equally. Under the voucher program, students with parents who care about their child’s education will be able to opt out. Students whose parents are indifferent won’t.”

“It is our belief that all must sink or swim together,” Holder continued. “It is fundamentally unfair for some to attain a better status just because they invest their own effort in achieving it. Only by requiring all to suffer from the consequences of poor instruction can we build momentum for the kind of comprehensive reform needed.”

Police Say Fighting Back Caused Elderly Man’s Death

Delbert Belton, an 88 year-old WWII veteran, was beaten to death last week by two teenagers in Spokane, Washington. Spokane Police Chief Frank Straub attributed Belton’s death to his efforts to defend himself.

“All the suspects say they wanted to do was rob Mr. Belton and maybe rough him up a bit,” Straub said. “Rather than give up his wallet and take a few punches, Belton insisted on fighting back. That was his big mistake.”

“Our advice to victims has always been to simply yield to whatever an assailant wants,” Straub added. “Resisting angers the criminal, making it likely that he will hurt you worse. So, whether its robbery, rape, or just a ‘knockout game’ assault, your best bet is to just roll with the punches. That way you may live to see another day. It’s really your only option because the police certainly can’t be counted on to protect you.”

A Satirical Look at Recent News

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Who Really Re-elected Obama President? Who will Elect Ted Cruz?

On By AZ ConservativeIn America, Culture, Elections, Faith & Freedom, Obama, Socialism, The LeftLeave a comment

Who is most responsible for the re-election of Barack Obama? Who is most responsible for the deplorable state of the American nation today? And all the attacks on freedom?

If you said, “Democrats and leftists,” you are incorrect. They actually got their people to the polls.

David Crowe, a pastor in Oregon who is traveling up and down his state calling the faithful to stand up and reclaim their state, says the blame falls on 39 million Christians in America who did not even bother to vote last year.

The implication is that if these 39 million Christians had actually voted, Barack Obama would be a one-term president and reduced to community agitating back home in Illinois. And Mitt and Ann Romney would be living in the White House. Romney would have already rolled back Obamacare and curtailed many of the Democrats’ attacks on life and freedom.

True, not all 39 million would have voted Republican. But enough of them would have, and that would have created a sea change in Washington.

But let’s break down that 39 million ever further.

California, the nation’s most populous state, has about 39 million residents. That number represents approximately 12 percent of the nation’s total population. So let’s extrapolate. Twelve percent of California’s population is about 4.7 million people. Keep that figure in mind for a moment.

Last November, Obama defeated Romney in California by 3 million votes (7.8 million to 4.8 million). Most of the California Christians who did not actually vote would likely have voted for Romney if they had voted.

California’s 54 electoral votes would have lowered Obama’s total from 332 to 278. Just 271 are needed to win an election. But with the majority of the remaining millions of Christian votes carrying other states as well, Romney would have sailed into the presidency.

So let me ask you again: who is most responsible for keeping Obama in office?

Christians.

So here’s the take-away for Ted Cruz in 2016:

  • Throughout your presidential campaign, visit a different church every Sunday
  • Since you can’t personally attend every solid, Bible-based church in the U.S., commit family members and campaign team members to visit a different church every Sunday
  • Right through the November election
  • Implore those Christians who did not vote to get to the polls this time and every time because it will truly make the difference between night and day in America.

No, revival is not going to arrive in America on Air Force One. But a heck of a lot of bad governance, bad legislation and bad judicial appointments will be forestalled with the right person in the White House.

There is actually no reason to wait until 2016. You Christians who did not vote last year simply must exercise your freedom from now on. For as Pastor Crowe reminded us, Founding Father Samuel Adams said:

“Let each citizen remember at the moment he is offering his vote … that he is executing one of the most solemn trusts in human society for which he is accountable to God and his country.”

Amen

Federal Elections Fines McCain $80,000

On By AZ ConservativeIn America, Arizona, Congress, Elections, McCainLeave a comment

From seeingredinaz:

The latest news is that John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign committee has been fined $80,000 by the Federal Election Commission (FEC) for accepting contributions that exceeded federal limits.

The hometown fish wrap known as the Arizona Republic doesn’t regard this important enough for the front page or even back placement in the front section.  Nope.  McCain’s admitted violations of the law rate page three in the Valley and State B section.

His campaign acknowledged incorrectly reporting the dates the contributions were received. Additionally, the required 48-hour disclosure notices for 169 contributions totaling $240,700 that it received prior to the general election was ignored by the McCain-Palin Compliance Fund Inc. and John Schmuckler, the treasurer of both.

In this conciliation agreement with the FEC, McCain’s campaign admitted violating the law by accepting $377,657 in contributions that exceeded legal limits; failed to report correctly the original dates on which $22,257,684 in contributions were received by its joint fundraising representatives; and failed to correctly report re-designations made to the compliance fund.

Were he less reprehensible, it might be tempting to cut the guy some slack. After all, his memory has failed him often, as embarrassingly evidenced here and here. When asked during his presidential race McCain couldn’t even remember how many homes his beer heiress wife, Cindy, owns — and he gets to live in. He hesitatingly told a reporter, “I think….I’ll have my staff get back to you.”

President Justifies Usurpations

On By AZ ConservativeIn Uncategorized1 Comment

John Semmens: Semi-News — A Satirical Look at Recent NewsA Satirical Look at Recent News

The rising tide of extralegal presidential edicts bypassing Congress was justified by Obama himself in remarks during a CNN interview with Chris Cuomo.

According to the president, “most Republicans tell me privately that they’d like to support me, but are afraid of retaliation from Tea Party primary challenges or being lambasted by right-wing talk shows. They’re grateful that I’m taking the ‘hot potatoes’ out of their hands with these executive orders.”

In illustration of his case, Obama pointed to his executive order authorizing subsidies for members of Congress and their staffs to offset the higher health insurance costs of the Affordable Care Act. “Their inadvertent neglect to exempt themselves from the mandates of the Act put them in the same boat as private individuals vis a vis the requirement to purchase compliant coverage,” Obama said. “It was their own fault. I could’ve just sat by and let them take their lumps. That’s what a strict observance of the law would’ve required. My willingness to go outside the narrow confines of the law saved them from the pain of having to pay more without them having to face the embarrassment of explicitly amending the Act to save themselves.”

“Congress has two core responsibilities,” the president maintained. “One is to pass the legislation needed to promote the general welfare. The other is to provide the money the Government needs. When Congress fails to carry out these responsibilities it is up to me to bridge the gap.”

“There is a solid majority on both sides of the aisle for getting things done,” the president continued. “We could let ourselves be stymied by archaic limitations or we can adapt modern methods for meeting the needs of governing in a changing world. Thankfully, the consensus favors a dynamic and flexible approach.”

In related news, Obama deflected criticism of NSA spying on citizens. “Let me assure everyone that the government is not listening to your emails or reading your phone conversations,” Obama asserted. “The claim that we would or even could do such a thing is an absurdity that raises questions about the mental health of those who make the accusations.”

Meanwhile, the NSA’s campaign of intimidation against Dan McCall continues. McCall’s website LibertyManiacs.com lampooned the NSA as “the only part of government that actually listens to the people.” NSA Director, General Keith Alexander, defended the intimidation saying that “the important work we do deserves the respect and support of every American. Mockery merits repercussions.”

Axelrod Says Talk of Impeachment “Dangerous and Disloyal”

Oklahoma Republican Senator Tom Coburn’s suggestion that President Obama may be “perilously close to impeachment” elicited a harsh rebuke from Obama adviser David Axelrod.

“Senator Coburn calls himself a friend of the President, but then stabs him in the back like some sort of latter day Brutus,” Axelrod complained. “His remarks are way out of bounds. They are dangerous and disloyal.”

Axelrod mocked Coburn’s credentials for criticizing the president. “What does an obstetrician know about the law?” he sarcastically wondered. “Every move the President has made has the full support of the nation’s top lawyer, Attorney General Eric Holder. The Senator would be wise to back off to a safe distance. The President will make full use of all the powers at his disposal to sterilize the ‘virus’ infecting our politics and undermining his authority. It would be a shame if any of his ‘friends’ became collateral damage.”

Axelrod cited news that the First Family bought a new puppy in furtherance of his argument. The puppy, like their other pet, is a Portuguese Water Dog. “Is the purchase of a puppy the kind of thing a tyrant would do?” Axelrod asked. “We think that the American people will agree that a man who lays out $2,000 to give an animal a home evinces the type of benevolence and good will they want in a leader. We are confident that this rebuts the negative impressions the President’s detractors are trying to foist on the general public.”

President’s Promise on Health Care “Null and Void”

One of President Obama’s pitches in promoting his Affordable Care Act was the promise that those who were happy with their current coverage could keep it. The statute, however, requires those whose policies are deemed non-compliant to switch to more comprehensive and expensive plans beginning January 1, 2014. Most affected will be healthy people currently enrolled in high-deductible plans.

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius explains that “in our view, high-deductible policies are inadequate for several reasons. The major flaw in the premise of such policies is that the individual is competent to assess his own health. Doctors are the experts in assessing people’s health. We need to move toward a system that shifts the decisions away from untrained individuals and into the hands of trained professionals.”

“A second deficiency of letting individuals choose the amount of coverage they pay for is that most will be too focused on their own needs,” Sebelius contended. “It allows healthy people to escape their fair share of the burden of paying for the insurance of their more sickly fellow citizens. It’s all very well for such a person to smugly say he doesn’t engage in risky behaviors and, therefore, doesn’t need expensive insurance. But who will take care of his peers who do? Who will pay for the abortions, rehabs, surgeries, and the like that are needed by those with less self-discipline?”

“The genius of the Affordable Care Act is that it overturns selfish ‘rugged individualism’ with compassionate collective responsibility,” Sebelius boasted. “It makes America into one big happy family where everyone is harnessed to a common goal of promoting the general welfare. A disgruntled few may chafe under this new responsibility, but like wayward children they will be taught to love and care for their brothers and sisters.”

Congressman Proposes “Indenture Program” for College Students

Distressed by the high cost of college and the high unemployment of college graduates, Representative Charles Rangel (D-NY) recommended “a major revision of how we educate people for the public good. I have heard so many stories of graduates facing crushing debt loads and no prospects of a job that I think it’s time we remake the whole system.”

“First of all, why should a student have to pay for college?” Rangel asked. “We don’t make them pay for elementary or high school. If a college degree is needed for the role a person is to play in our society it is society’s obligation to bear the cost of providing it.”

“A second aspect of the problem is the inapt choice of what to study,” Rangel went on. “Why do we expect 18- year-olds to wisely choose the kinds of knowledge and skills that our society needs? Most of the 18-year-olds I know have no idea on what skills will get them jobs.”

“What we need to do is have experts determine what types of education are needed and get capable students to study subjects that will prepare them to fill the jobs society needs done,” Rangel suggested. “Wiser heads would inventory the youth of the nation, send those deemed able to colleges to study appropriate courses, and assign graduates to fill posts for the good of the country.”

The Congressman said fitting this new idea into his annual effort to reinstate the military draft “would signify a seamless transition from our anarchic ‘every man for himself’ way of doing things to a more cohesive collective effort to do what’s best for the whole. If those who aren’t college material can be drafted into the Army and assigned to defend the nation, why can’t those who are suited to college be drafted for other positions that would best serve our national interest?”

Candidate Promises Bigger Condoms

New York City mayoral hopeful Christine Quinn called the city’s current free condom giveaway program “pitifully inadequate” and pledged to increase the size of condoms if she is elected.

Quinn contended that “the condoms the city is providing are too small and flimsy for African-American homosexual men. The size of the appendages and the narrowness of the orifices that must be penetrated call for a more robust device. Asking these men to make do with the standard size condoms the city provides or, worse, to purchase extra-large, extra-strong versions out of their own pocket is a social injustice that must end.”

It isn’t only homosexual African-American males who can expect to benefit from Quinn’s triumph at the polls. She also promised to make “morning after” abortion pills available to 11-year-olds.

“I can hardly imagine a situation more frightening than being 11 and pregnant,” Quinn imagined. “You can’t go to your parents without getting bawled out or grounded. Safeguarding girls from such a horrifying dilemma will be a top priority of my administration.”

Unsurprisingly, polls show that Quinn has moved ahead of former Congressman Anthony Weiner whose “free pics of his dick” offer has sagged after an initial rise at the outset of the campaign.

911 Caller Sued for Deputy’s Injuries

A Texas woman is being sued for injuries suffered by Harris County Deputy Sheriff Braden Pullen when he responded to her 911 call. The woman didn’t injure the Deputy. The man who was assaulting her did.

“It’s not that we’re unsympathetic to this woman’s plight,” said Pullen’s lawyer, Arnold Doltman. “But the fact of the matter is that she lured Deputy Pullen into a situation where he got shot. If she hadn’t called my client would never have been harmed. She didn’t explicitly say that her assailant was dangerous. There was too much screaming during her 911 call to clearly determine that. So, in our view she is liable for the Deputy’s suffering.”

Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia insisted that this lawsuit shouldn’t deter others from calling 911. “Citizens are entitled to help in emergencies, but we’ve got to balance this against the risk to our officers,” Garcia declared. “Ultimately, the woman’s assailant was subdued by our officers. Her picking up the tab for Pullen’s injuries seems like the least she could do.”

A Satirical Look at Recent News

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Where’s Crandall Now?

On By AZ ConservativeIn Arizona, Elections, Legislature, Taxpayers1 Comment

Where’s Waldo? Forget that. Where’s Rich Crandall?

It’s always a challenge to keep up with the elusive and well-traveled Crandall. But he’s just turned up in Cheyenne — as the new director of the Wyoming Department of Education. He’s been there in that position since August 5. But YOU, Mr. and Mrs. Taxpayer, are footing the bill for his health insurance until August 31.

Don’t be surprised. Crandall has issues with ethics avoidance.

Crandall first came on our radar by serving a few terms in the Arizona Legislature. Last year he was AWOL from the legislature very often. In fact he only voted on one-third of the bills that came up for a vote in the 2012 session. Why? Well, he took a part-time job in another state and couldn’t be troubled to devote his full attention to the Arizona Senate.

There were numerous problems with Crandall’s legislative tenure in Arizona, including:

  • Crandall frequently voted with – and raised funds with – Democrats rather than Republicans.
  • In thug-like fashion, Crandall threatened State Rep. Brenda Barton and warned her not to introduce any education bills this coming session. With disciplinary action from the Senate looming, he apologized. But his character had been displayed when he made up a story to defend his family’s illegal tampering with a Fillmore campaign sign. In violation of state law.
  • Crandall voted against good GOP bills attempting to curb illegal immigration five times.
  • Crandall voted in support of big unions.
  • Crandall has a record of voting against the Second Amendment.
  • Fearing a loss to Russell Pearce in another legislative district, Crandall carpetbagged over to Legislative District 16 to challenge Rep. Fillmore for the Senate seat.
  • Crandall has voted against the taxpayers, rightfully earning a taxpayer advocacy group’s RINO label.

Voters had a chance to remove him in last year’s Republican Primary. But Crandall, former school board president in Mesa, had a lot of favors to call in, and his friends helped him defeat conservative John Fillmore by some 600 votes. Crandall turned mud slinging and the politics of personal destruction into an art form with his filthy campaigning and negative direct mail war on Fillmore.

In November, Crandall was re-elected to the Arizona Senate — even though he was living in Utah at the time! We’d been calling him Utah’s ambassador to the Arizona Senate. There ought to be a law against living out of state and serving in the Arizona Legislature. But there apparently isn’t. And now we are thrilled to be done with the RINO representation of Legislative District 16.

In his “Meet the Director – A Conversation with Richard Crandall,” article on the Wyoming Department of Education website, Tom Laycock started out with what should have been a warning for Wyoming parents: “Not many in Wyoming know much about the new Wyoming Department of Education Director, Richard Crandall.” We in Arizona know plenty — plenty that should alarm citizens who deserve ethics and professionalism, not to mention a high-ranking official’s undivided attention.

Laycock continued: “But one thing is clear — he has some sort of allergy to sitting still.” Truer words were never spoken. Or written.

Because Crandall can’t seem to focus on where he’s supposed to be. The interview with the Wyoming group didn’t even take place in that state. It happened in Salt Lake City.

Crandall told Laycock he was frustrated with factions within his own party in the Arizona Legislature. He did not tell Laycock that he and fellow RINOs had created those factions and the disharmony with the conservative-base GOP lawmakers. He called good Republican legislation “bad.” And “It was at that point I decided to retire from the Senate this summer and pursue my dream job as a state school chief.” Crandall is a big advocate of the highly controversial Common Core education program, so Arizona should count itself lucky that Common Core has one less proponent in our state.

So where has Crandall been since his hiring? He was headed for Kansas City, Cheyenne, Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, New Orleans, Phoenix, and Milwaukee in coming weeks. Perhaps in pursuit of yet another “dream job”? It wouldn’t surprise anyone in Arizona if Crandall’s new gig in Wyoming turned part-time, too.

Now that our Crandall problem is over at last, we call on the Maricopa County Supervisors to select Fillmore, a veteran lawmaker until his primary loss last year, to serve out Crandall’s vacated term and return ethics and full-time representation to a previously disenfranchised electorate.

FLASHBACK! Honk if You’re against ObamaCare!

On By AZ ConservativeIn America, Arizona, Big Government, Congress, Culture, Economy, Faith & Freedom, Health Insurance, Life, Obama, Religious Freedom, Socialism, Taxpayers, The Left2 Comments

This fall, The Arizona Conservative will celebrate our 10th anniversary. We are the first and the oldest conservative publication of any kind in the Grand Canyon State. To commemorate this great milestone, we’re going to re-post some of our most-viewed stories, blogs and videos. The video below was taken at a Tea Party rally against ObamaCare in Scottsdale. Thank you, Arizona, for your support through the years! God bless America!

Arizona and Kansas Sue Feds to Save Voter ID

On By AZ ConservativeIn Arizona, Elections, TaxpayersLeave a comment

By the Kansas City Star

Kansas is teaming with Arizona on a lawsuit to save controversial laws requiring people to prove they’re citizens when they register to vote.

Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach and Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett filed a lawsuit Wednesday that could bring the state laws into compliance with a ruling the U.S. Supreme Court handed down in June.

The lawsuit comes a week after the American Civil Liberties Union signaled plans to challenge the Kansas citizenship requirement, which has already blocked the registration of more than 15,000 would-be voters.

If successful, Kobach could potentially cut off the ACLU litigation and force prospective voters to prove their citizenship with documents such as birth certificate or passport before they could vote.

The federal lawsuit, filed in Kansas, demands the U.S. Election Assistance Commission modify the federal voter registration form for Kansas and Arizona so it would allow for requiring proof of citizenship.

The form was the basis for the Supreme Court ruling that Arizona could not require proof of citizenship for federal elections.

The high court said states have to defer to a 1993 federal law, which allows people to vote using a federal form that only requires prospective voters to declare under penalty of perjury that they are citizens.

The court said federal law barred states from demanding more information from potential voters than is required by the federal form.

However, the court provided a map for making the proof-of-citizenship requirement legal, the very path Kansas and Arizona want to follow.

The court said states can ask the Election Assistance Commission to include information on their version of the federal form that the states deem necessary.

In 2005, the commission deadlocked at 2-2 on Arizona’s request to include the proof-of-citizenship requirement on the federal form, and no action was taken on the state’s request.

The Supreme Court ruled that if the commission refused to act, Arizona could take the matter up in court. It even suggested that Arizona could argue that the commission was acting arbitrarily since it recently agreed to accept a similar request from Louisiana.

Kansas has unsuccessfully tried twice to get the commission to accept its proof-of-citizenship requirements. But the state has run into problems because all four seats seat on the commission are vacant.

The agency’s staff can make decisions about modifying the federal form, but staffers believed that the Kansas request was so broad that it would require action by the commission, which is stymied because it has no members.

The lawsuit filed Wednesday contends that the agency’s refusal to act on the states’ request violates their 10th Amendment rights under the Constitution.

They also contend that the agency is assuming authority it hasn’t been given by Congress.

“It’s pretty clear that Congress did not envision this agency as having the power to effectively stop a state from controlling its own qualifications for an election,” Kobach said. “This is yet another example of the federal government interfering in state affairs.”

As of Wednesday, there were 15,109 suspended registrations in Kansas, up from 11,101 reported in June, according to the secretary of state’s office.

About 3,100 of those were people who tried to register to vote in Johnson County and another 950 that tried to register in Wyandotte County.

Doug Bonney, the ACLU’s legal director in Kansas City, said Kobach’s latest court battle will do nothing to help the people whose registrations were suspended. He said laws like the one in Kansas and two other states only keep people out of the voting booth.

“The problem was the law was a solution in search of a problem,” Bonney said. “There is no evidence of a single case in Kansas, or elsewhere quite frankly, of citizenship fraud in order to register to vote.”

Rob Haney: Why I’m Supporting Andrew Thomas for Governor

On By AZ ConservativeIn Arizona, Conservatism, Elections, Governor, Life, Marriage, McCain, TaxpayersLeave a comment

Seventeen years experience dealing with the “Top-Down” direction imposed nationally by the Republican Party elites and in Arizona chiefly by Senators John McCain and Jon Kyl, is why I support Andy Thomas for Governor. Andy Thomas has a proven track record of supporting and defending the U.S. Constitution and the Republican Party Platform, and he carries the arrows and battle scars that come with that fight.

I have served as a precinct committeeman, State and County Member-at-Large, two terms as Legislative District 11 Chairman and two terms as Maricopa County Chairman. When I stood up and exposed elected Republican officials for not following the Republican Platform or the U.S Constitution, I was attacked by the McCain-led Republican establishment. No effort was spared by this group to silence me and others who dared to challenge the McCain ruling cabal. This cabal consists of the politicians, Chambers of Commerce (business owners who depended on the cheap labor of illegal aliens to staff their operations while we pay through our taxes for their benefits), columnists, radio hosts, lobbyists, bloggers, the “Interfaith-Social Justice” liberal class, and the agenda driven liberal lawyer class. More here.

What I experienced was nothing compared to what the McCain cabal had in store for their primary targets: Senator Russell Pearce, Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas, and Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio. These were the three stalwarts who stood for the “rule of law,” represented the Republican grass roots, and most significantly for the McCain surrogates, opposed the illegal alien invasion. These three had to be stopped or the rest of the country would be tempted to replicate the Arizona actions that addressed the illegal invasion.

Have you ever known a more direct campaigner than Andy Thomas? I have not. Andy tells you his core beliefs, what he represents and the actions he will take once in office to correct government failings. Others will equivocate about the issues, lie about their true beliefs, and avoid addressing the issues once in office. Andy Thomas will not prevaricate. From my experience, I know who the good guys are in the Republican Party and who the bad guys are. Andy Thomas wears the whitest of the white hats.

In the Republican Party, we have a large quantity of “bipartisan” joiners with the Democrats. We have very few fighters for the conservative side of an issue. Even Rubio and Christie, whom we believed were with us, have shown their true colors when they flipped using the “patented” McCain Flip-Flop. We know that Andy Thomas is a fighter representing the base of the party and there will be no flip from him and his record proves it.

It is clear to me that our judicial branch of government no longer fulfills the original intent of our Founders in interpreting the law while being the least powerful branch of government. They are now not only the most powerful, but hold veto power over all conservative initiated legislation when their liberal friends in the ACLU file suit to stop conservative passed legislation.

They wield this power with a liberal bent worthy of their liberal education and the liberal dominated American and Arizona Bar associations to which they belong. Judges are selected from this liberal dominated class of lawyers. It is no surprise to me that these lawyers attacked Thomas where they could dominate the proceedings. It is also no surprise that everyone from the Maricopa County Republican Committee to conservative columnist Michelle Malkin to even liberal writers at the Arizona Republic denounced the attack on Andy Thomas.

A panel from the Arizona Bar pulled Andy Thomas’ law license. However, the federal Grand Jury (which is so noted for the ease of securing an indictment on minimal evidence that the term “they would indict a ham sandwich” refers to the Grand Jury) which looked at the same case at the request of the Obama Justice Department refused to indict him or Sheriff Joe Arpaio for lack of evidence. The Grand Jury is made up of the non-lawyer class and rejected as insufficient the same evidence the lawyer class used to pull his license. What does that tell you about how out of touch, liberal and dishonest our courts have become?

The Republican and Democrat ruling class consider Thomas dangerous because they know that once elected he will keep his campaign promise to attack corruption by both the Republican and Democrat office holders. The “cabal” will devote a great amount of money and effort to defeat him. They have started with “He can’t win” (because of all the baggage from their charges). The Republican establishment also stated that Senator Cruz of Texas was not able to win. But he did, and now is our most effective conservative advocate in the U.S. Senate.

Andy Thomas won the only straw poll in the race so far, by 10 points over his closest competitor. The poll was done by a website that opposes Andy’s candidacy. He is picking up signatures and $5 Clean Elections contributions from voters with amazing ease. I know because I have been at the meetings collecting them for him.

We are not going to reverse the slide into oblivion by the Republican Party by selecting the same type of liberal leaning, milquetoast Republicans for our candidates. If we do, we will get promises to seal the border, enforce immigration laws and oppose Obamacare. But we would only continue to see their promises reversed and conservative principles abandoned while they surrender to Democrats and yet claim victory through bipartisan legislation. This legislation always moves the political spectrum to the left. Don’t you think fifty years of this process is enough?

Which is easier to take, a dagger to the chest from a Democrat governor or one to the back from another McCain-supported Republican governor? But there is another choice. That is why I will vote for Andy Thomas as governor, secure in the knowledge that our laws will be upheld. You will recall that Andy supported legislation to force judges to deny bond to criminal illegal aliens, he followed the law and prosecuted employers who knowingly hired illegal aliens and he prosecuted illegal aliens as co-conspirators in human trafficking cases.

Do you really believe there are only 11 million illegal aliens in the country, that there is very little inflation, that the border has never been more secure, and that the expansion of Medicaid under Obamacare will save us money? Where do our leaders come up withthis malarkey? It is from all the people I described in the second paragraph. Andy has assured me that he will faithfully consult the conservative grassroots of the party as he has in the past. They have been ignored too long and the party has suffered enormously because of it.

In our hearts, we all know that Andy Thomas would do the best job as governor. Let’s make sure he gets there. He is running as a “clean election candidate.” You can reach Andy through Facebook (search: “Andrew Thomas Republican” in Facebook to find it) and volunteer to carry petitions and get five dollar donations for him. Please email me at r_b_haney@yahoo.com and volunteer to carry a petition and get $5 donations for him. The Thomas Kick-Off event flyer is linked here.

Rob Haney is the Immediate Past Chairman Maricopa County Republican Party

Democrat Senator Attempts to Intimidate Goldwater Institute

On By AZ ConservativeIn America, Arizona, Big Government, Congress, Conservatism, The Left1 Comment

With absolutely no legal authority able or willing to reign in the corrupt Democrats in Washington, a rogue U.S. Senator — Dick Durbin — is engaging in a massive attempt to intimidate honest, law-abiding Americans engaging in the constitutional freedom to disagree with the leftist/Socialist administration. He’s the condescending Illinois Democrat who once called our soldiers in Iraq “Nazi’s.”

Without any justification, Durbin’s office mailed intimidating letters to some 300 organizations inquiring about the private organizations’ relationship to the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) — most notably, whether they have supported ALEC in the past or endorsed the group’s “Stand Your Ground” model legislation. One of the recipients of the highly unethical letter campaign is the Goldwater Institute, a libertarian organization in Phoenix.

You will love how Goldwater President Darcy Olsen put Durbin in his place.

ATTN: THE OFFICES OF SENATOR RICHARD DURBIN

We are in receipt of your letter dated August 6, 2013 requesting information about the Goldwater Institute’s relationship with the American Legislative Exchange Council and whether or not we support the “Stand Your Ground” legislation adopted as a model bill by that group.

“Have You No Sense of Decency?”

That was the question posed by attorney Joseph Welch that historians credit with ending Senator Joseph McCarthy’s witch-hunt.

It is the same question we pose to your office today in response to your effort to intimidate us for daring to associate with the free market, limited government organization known as the American Legislative Exchange Council.

Simply put, especially in the wake of IRS intimidation and harassment of conservative organizations, your inquisition is an outrage.

We refuse to answer whether we are or ever have been a supporter of ALEC or its model legislation. We refuse to answer not because we disavow ALEC—far from it. We refuse to answer because as free Americans, that is our right.

Your attempt to silence your fellow Americans through threats and intimidation because they don’t share identical political beliefs is disgraceful and not worthy of the title you hold.

Thank you for your attention,

Darcy Olsen

President, Goldwater Institute

Touche!

The Democrats are fascists. They are not content to merely promote their own radical agendas. No, they now openly, brazenly, and frequently try to punish anyone who has a different viewpoint than theirs. That is fascism.

And if we had an honest, independent justice system, Durbin would be held accountable for reimbursing taxpayers for the cost of this witch-hunt, and he would have been prosecuted for conduct unbecoming a congressman.