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Why The Mule News?
FIRST, WHY THE MULE AND NOT A DONKEY?
FIRST, WHY THE MULE AND NOT A DONKEY?
FIRST, WHY THE MULE AND NOT A DONKEY?
The Democratic Party donkey symbol needed an upgrade for this new online news service. The Mule is a bigger, stronger brand symbol to represent the challenges in getting more voters and victories all up and down the ballot in Maricopa County; and to honor our western and prospector heritage of stubborn determination to make our lives better.
Mission Statement
FIRST, WHY THE MULE AND NOT A DONKEY?
FIRST, WHY THE MULE AND NOT A DONKEY?
The Mule News is dedicated to educating Maricopa Democrats on issues and candidates to build a more accepting, inclusive and just governance from our elected officials. And to help party officials, district leaders and volunteers motivate voters to elect Democrats for every office up and down the ballot.
Advertising Supported online news Service
AFFILIATED with Turning Arizona Blue Podcast
AFFILIATED with Turning Arizona Blue Podcast
We offer periodic updates on people, issues, candidates and the Democratic community in Maricopa County, AZ. We publish articles, features and opinion editorials monthly or as needed.
AFFILIATED with Turning Arizona Blue Podcast
AFFILIATED with Turning Arizona Blue Podcast
AFFILIATED with Turning Arizona Blue Podcast
The Mule News is a subset of Turning Arizona Blue, LLC a registered business in Arizona. Advertising and donations to both are made through TAB. See Advertising Support section below.
Front Page Vol 2 Edition 10 2022
Choice is the Most Urgent Issue in AZ Legislative Races
Rx for Political Poison: Vote Now! Turn in Those Early Ballots
Rx for Political Poison: Vote Now! Turn in Those Early Ballots
By Laura Terech, Democratic nominee for the Arizona House in Legislative District 4, which includes north Phoenix, Scottsdale and Paradise Valley.
We knew this moment was coming.
When Roe v. Wade was overturned in June, my candidacy for the Arizona Legislature became all the more critical. My fellow candidates supporting abortion rights and I knew the stakes had become even higher.
The difference between electing a pro-abortion-rights majority and failing to do so is the difference between women having access to life-saving health care or being cut off from the treatment they need.
For so many Arizonans, there is no option but to fight against these attacks.
As the former president of the Arizona chapter of National Organization for Women, I have had difficult conversations for years with people.
I have always fought for Arizona women. I won’t stop now.
I am profoundly aware of the impact that reproductive freedom has on Arizona families. The decision to start a family is deeply personal. Now, the state is preemptively deciding for us.
The impact of abortion bans is felt hardest in marginalized communities, such as women living in poverty, women of color and the LGBTQ community.
Even prior to the most restrictive bans, women sacrificed millions of dollars per year in economic power because of the abortion policies our current legislative majority has shepherded, championed and celebrated.
When we force people to have children and they have no choice but to drop out of the workforce, they pay for it in wage loss, career growth and retirement savings. This serves as another stark reminder of just how important paid family leave is – something many Arizonans go without.
Majority lawmakers have spent years passing laws designed to demolish abortion access the instant Roe v. Wade fell. This foreshadows what will happen if the current majority clings to power for even just one more year.
As a result of the pre-statehood ban on abortion, emergency contraception and in-vitro fertilization could be in jeopardy here. In other states with similar bans, the privacy of women is at risk and being monitored by the state. Doctors could face jail time for providing the care they know is best for patients.
This pre-statehood law is out of step with the voters I speak with every day. Voters know the government has no right to make decisions for us in our doctor's offices. Arizonans believe in individual freedom and personal liberties.
I know there are a number of issues that must be addressed in the Arizona Legislature next year.
But we can't make progress if half of our population is relegated to the second class – forced to carry to term pregnancies from rape or a nonviable pregnancy.
In November, choice is on the ballot.
The fate of Arizonans’ reproductive freedom has been unjustly stripped away by the state Legislature and by the courts. We are headed in the wrong direction if an abortion ban from the Civil War era can be brought back to life.
The Legislature is where access to reproductive care will be expanded or chipped away.
Every legislator supporting abortion access elected gets us one step closer to the repeal of the 1864 ban. Voters can’t send back the same old, same old this time around. Let’s build a better Arizona where people can choose if and how they want to grow their family.
[Reprinted from The Arizona Republic]
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AZ Students as Political
Game Changers
By Jacob Marson, director and co-founder, Keep Arizona Blue Student Coalition
keepazbluestudentcoalition@gmail.com
The Keep Arizona Blue Student Coalition (KABSC) was established in 2021 after we saw many Democratic successes in the 2020 general election. KABSC is a statewide organization that has a simple goal, to elect Democratic candidates up and down the ballot in Arizona, by getting students energized and ready to vote!
Social Media Outreach . . .
We try to reach our goal in many ways. Of course, social media is a big part of who we are, with a majority of students online we have a huge audience we can reach and share our message with.
. . . And Beyond
We are committed to going beyond social media however. Every weekend, our members are hitting doors and calling voters for candidates. From school board to senate and everything in between, we are reminding voters about what is at stake this November. We are proud of the work we have done, with thousands of social media impressions, to hundreds of doors knocked, we don't just talk the talk, we walk the walk. Our organization supports pro-public education candidates. We believe every child in Arizona deserves a quality public education period.
Students as Game Changers
Our team has a diverse range of talent. From policymakers to graphic designers, we are gearing up the next generation to be political game changers.
From day one, we have been founded, led, and supported by students. We make all of our graphics in-house, and we have our members do research into key races, and the candidates in those races. We believe to create a successful operation we must have a hard-working membership, and we are happy to have just that.
There is no better testament to this than a majority of KABSC members are also paid interns in the “political arena.” The work we do has real-life impacts in our communities, and we are excited to continue to grow by adding more talent and members to our group.
Join and Support Us
You can find us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter @keepazblue and fill out the link to join at Keepazbluesc.com. We are excited to create an inclusive and diverse coalition that represents Arizona, to move this state forward.
Rx for Political Poison: Vote Now! Turn in Those Early Ballots
Rx for Political Poison: Vote Now! Turn in Those Early Ballots
Rx for Political Poison: Vote Now! Turn in Those Early Ballots
By Ron Williams, editor The Mule News
Polluted, degraded, shameful and poisoned. That’s what our elections in Arizona and nationally have become.
Finger-point we must to the MAGA extremist whose strategy is to divide with suspicion, hate and misinformation. But those of us in the middle, on the left and progressive bear some responsibility too. Would we be in this cauldron of boiling political poison if we had pushed Hilary Clinton or Fred DuVal to election victory? Setting the tone and agenda of political discourse for four years.
But this is where we are today. On any issue that prods our conscience to concern and action, we find the politics of the day numbing our senses to the point of questioning our commitment and resolve. Is this the cause of the low Democratic voter response to date?
As of Wednesday, Oct. 26, less than two weeks from the Nov. 8th elections, only 22 percent of registered Democrats in Maricopa County have returned their ballots – by mail or otherwise. And only 11 percent of Independent (Others) voters have returned their ballots. Republicans have returned only 19 percent of their ballots.
The more Democratic ballots returned early in the election process, the more state party officials, local precinct workers and candidate campaigns can focus on the remaining outstanding ballots for Democrats, Independents and likely Republicans.
But there is hope with people of courage and rage against our political climate. There are signs of energized Democrats knocking on doors, making phone calls and marshalling social media to get out our vote. Hopefully, sooner than later. There are disaffected Republicans who have turned against the MAGA extremists, left the party and are publicly voicing support for Democratic candidates at the local, state and national levels.
Likewise, there are independent voters who are telling pollsters and GOTV canvassers the policy positions (or lack thereof), rhetoric and venom of the far right is a “bridge too far.” Just a few examples of divisive, anger-driven MAGA politics make the point.
Racist Attacks
Playing the “race card” in Arizona is alive when supporters of the Republican candidate for Maricopa County Attorney – reportedly prominent business leaders and owners of sports franchises in Arizona – used the cover of “dark money” PACs to fund a poster against Democrat Julie Gunnigle’s campaign for the office. It featured a “mug shot” of her black campaign manager, when he was illegally arrested for exercising his free speech and those charges were later dropped.
As Garrick McFadden, attorney and former vice-chair Arizona Democratic Party and former co-hair Maricopa County Democratic Party’s Black Engagement Committee wrote, “This is the worst collection of Republicans we have ever seen and many Republicans know this and are crossing the aisle to vote for Democrats. This is one more stain on them: unabashed racism. That is why they employ it. They have no plans, no record, no experience, and no service to run on. The only thing they have is fear and hate.”
Voter Intimidation
Recent examples of camo clad, gun toting extremists and self-describe “vigilantes” taking pictures of voters and their license plates at ballot drop-off locations in the Valley, is just a recent manifestation of voter suppression in Arizona. Going back to “Jim Crow” era voting laws and through to the 2020 election where protesters and armed groups tried to interrupt the voting process in Maricopa County and voter suppression attempts by the MAGA extremists in the Arizona Legislature this last session. These current unlawful scare tactics are rightfully being challenged by local and federal law enforcement and by legal cases in the courts.
The current voter intimidation has been fueled for years by the “big lie,” the “Fraudit,” fake AZ electors and the current crop of MAGA extremists election deniers running for Governor, Secretary of State and Attorney General. The cumulative result is a real threat to our democracy.
Democratic candidate for Secretary of State, Adrian Fontes put it succinctly recently. “This election in November could be the last regular election in American history. We are on the edge. We are on a precipice. That is how fascism takes away democracy. That’s how totalitarianism wins.”
Roevember
Justice Ruth Bader Ginzburg (the real Notorious RBG) is calling to us from the beyond. Rage! Rage! against the extreme politicians and their anti-abortion supporters who are dismantling the rights of women to choose their healthcare options. Against them we have the majority of Americans who want safe and legal abortions. But we have to vote to restore those previously constitutionally protected rights.
In another article in this publication, Laura Terech, Democratic nominee for the Arizona House in Legislative District 4, writes: “But we can't make progress if half of our population is relegated to the second class – forced to carry to term pregnancies from rape or a nonviable pregnancy. In November, choice is on the ballot.”
As this is published, a majority of Democrats eligible for early voting have not returned their completed ballots. By acting now, before the Nov 8th election, we have a chance the prescription for our poisoned politics will cure what ails us.
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The Guardian newspaper in the UK recently posted this comment on its US edition website:
"In recent polls, American voters ranked “threats to democracy” among the most important issues facing the country. At a time of climate collapse, inflation and a pandemic, this speaks powerfully to the fragility of America’s fundamental rights and freedoms.
The country is seeing a dizzying number of assaults on democracy, from draconian abortion bans to a record number of book bans. Politicians who spread lies and sought to delegitimize the 2020 election are pursuing offices that will put them in control of the country’s election machinery. Meanwhile, the supreme court is enforcing its own agenda on abortion, guns and environmental protections – often in opposition to public opinion."
CEBV 2022 Ballot Guide
Civic Engagement Beyond Voting
CEBV has produced this handy ballot guide for AZ propositions and judges. Go to CEBV for more information and to obtain a printer friendly version.
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Ron Williams is the writer/editor and publisher of The Mule News, an online news service covering Maricopa County AZ Democratic politics.
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