Arizona Green Republicans

Nobody seems to be disputing that Arizona Republicans have found a winning strategy to create division among Democratic voting ranks - fill Green Party positions!

http://www.azdailysun.com/news/loca...cle_0472a456-304c-5b27-aee4-fdd755614588.html

...Deschene, a member of the House representing the Navajo Nation and Flagstaff, hopes to unseat Bennett, a Republican, in November. He charged during a televised debate there was more than enough reason to suspect that the contenders for various statewide and legislative office were not legitimate Green Party candidates. He said that was borne out by a subsequent ruling by a county judge, who concluded several of these candidates were "recruited (by a Republican candidate) in bad faith with a purpose to confuse the voting public."

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And thus kicks off what promises to be a promiseful election season here in the backwoods of Arizona.

Election season works a bit like a full moon here, and I aim to prove it, or at least imply it. This is a Time Stamped Prediction that Arizonans will do embarassing, crazy, and outright illegal things between now and election day.

If you get tired of the same old dreary election news, check in here to see how we roll.

Kopji said:

Nobody seems to be disputing that Arizona Republicans have found a winning strategy to create division among Democratic voting ranks - fill Green Party positions!


And thus kicks off what promises to be a promiseful election season here in the backwoods of Arizona.

Election season works a bit like a full moon here, and I aim to prove it, or at least imply it. This is a Time Stamped Prediction that Arizonans will do embarassing, crazy, and outright illegal things between now and election day.

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Tell me about it. I got my booklet today some of the arguments in it make me want to scream. The second opinion on one of the constitutional amendments up for a vote whinged about "Obamacare". I honestly wonder sometimes if humans aren't too stupid for a representative government.

Yes, we have Prop 107 - 'ban affirmative action'. I really hate the Arizona Proposition system, don't get me started on that. What an insane idea.

I know about 107 because someone posted a giant sign promoting it at the end of our street last week. Humm, was missing this morning...

I'm hoping that traffic tickets will become a huge political issue this year. The time is right. I keep reading about some senator who won't pay parking fines because he doesn't believe in what the fines support. That's the reasoning we have in the Arizona Senate.

Speaking of traffic tickets, my favorite Flagstaff guy - George Nackard - started a fight in city hall this week. Nobody knows George right now, but someday he will be the Libertarian candidate for President. George is locally famous for hiring an illegal immigrant to clear cut several acres of pine forest on his own land - but not all the way mind you - each tree was only cut 3/4 across so during a good wind they would fall down on their own. It might have never been figured out except he has a reputation of hating everything about the government and it took them all of half a day to track down the story. He paid a $9000 fine, which I'm sure he considered quite a bargian when he sold the land completely clear of trees. (We taxpayers had to finish cutting down the trees because they were a hazard to students who walked along a nearby pathway).

Our city voting information pamphlets arrived over the weekend. They usually combine these with the state ballot when possible. We have four proposed bond projects.

Information Pamphlet
for the City of Flagstaff, Arizona

SPECIAL DEBT AUTHORIZATION ELECTION

401 Municipal Court Courthouse $23 million (includes a parking garage?)
402 Municipal Services Maintenance Center $42 million
403 Public Safety/City Operations Communications Systems $4.72 million
404 Street and Utitilies Improvements $16.5 million

...Current tax rate is 83.66 cents per $100 of assessed property value.

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As cynical as I am about politics, I do enjoy the naive honesty in the title.
"SPECIAL DEBT AUTHORIZATION ELECTION"

Just right out there, no fudging around with what they are about. Debt. Not reverse financial orientation or some happy-fluffy nonsense. Gotta like that.

I now know that they used to keep horses in the current City Maintenance Center, built around 1913. Why, in another setting that could be a historic building! But no, this is an outdated city building with outdated plumbing and electrical.

Today's paper has some outrage about our tax assessments going up, which would increase all the projections in the voting materials. So maybe this is all a little more slippery than it looks. Would I ever know?

Kopji said:

Nobody seems to be disputing that Arizona Republicans have found a winning strategy to create division among Democratic voting ranks - fill Green Party positions!

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Obvious question: Why are there no Greens running? And would you really like the Secretary of State deciding who's a legitimate candidate of any party?

A lot of times the Greens don't field any candidates at all, but that could be said of a lot of races here - candidates often run unopposed and many contests are decided in the primary.

A reason to fill otherwise empty Green tickets with Republican sponsored candidates would be a way to dilute the Democratic voting, probably similar to what is going to happen with Tea Party candidates. Republican votes here tend to get split with Libertarians, and now Tea Partiers - Democrats split with Greens and maybe five or six socialists or communists.

The Pro Prop "107" sign was back up last night, along with some little posters on each side proclaiming that it had been cut down. Could not read the fine print in the dark though.

No I don't cut political signs down, twasn't me that cut it down... Even though after elections they are a major source of litter when the losers don't bother to pull down their political signs.

The Secretary of State job is a funny one, it was not seen as all that important until a couple times when the governor was out of the state and everyone realized that the Sec was now in charge - when the cat's away the mice play.

I think that the complaint here is that the general government response to accusations of party corruption is "so sue us".

Brainster said:

Obvious question: Why are there no Greens running?

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Mostly because the Greens are a complete disaster and almost nonexistent outside of California. They're a shell of what they were ten years ago - and frankly they weren't much then, either.

Kopji said:

The Secretary of State job is a funny one, it was not seen as all that important until a couple times when the governor was out of the state and everyone realized that the Sec was now in charge - when the cat's away the mice play.

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I think it has more to do with the fact that three SoSes (Mofford, Hull and Brewer) in the last 25 years or so have become governor upon the resignation or impeachment of their predecessor.

I think that the complaint here is that the general government response to accusations of party corruption is "so sue us".

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So what would you have the SoS do? Do you really want him deciding who's a valid Green, and who's a stalking horse for the Republicans? That's a very slippery slope.

Cleon said:

Mostly because the Greens are a complete disaster and almost nonexistent outside of California. They're a shell of what they were ten years ago - and frankly they weren't much then, either.

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And of course their whole raison d'etre was to siphon off votes from the Democrats who didn't run far enough left.

Brainster said:

And of course their whole raison d'etre was to siphon off votes from the Democrats who didn't run far enough left.

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Well, yes and no. That was the purpose of some of the people in the Party, which is why it was such a screwup. Some people want the Greens to be an independent political party, with its own candidates and campaigns; and then there are disaffected liberals who just want to be a pressure on the Democrats. This latter group have a deep-seated phobia of actually challenging the Democrats in any meaningful way, and make running actual political campaigns rather difficult.

The end result is lots of bickering and infighting.