When do you jump ship?

In this election cycle we've seen a Democratic Party drunk with non-existent power. Napolitano and her crew are attempting to take-over one or both of the legislative bodies through a strategy that fell apart three months ago. Here's how they wanted it to work:

1. Be a targeted state in the Presidential Election. When McCain won the nomination their strategy took a blow.
2. Place several ballot initiatives on November's ballot--not to pass them but to create funding mechanisms to spend more money turning out the "right" kind of voters. Their health care initiative was the first to go, then the real payday loan reform initiative, and of course TIME and Trustlands were the final blow to this part of their strategy.
3. Maintain a couple moderate Republicans in the Senate, and even add one by electing Hershberger and then pick up a couple by targeting far right R's in primary elections. They failed to maintain the Jack Republicans in LD's 1 and 26 and didn't come close in other primaries.
4. Use all the money from national sources (DNC, DCCC, etc...) and money raised to support ballot initiatives to turn-out the base, spend $500K opposing Republicans in mostly solid R safe districts, and blow the Republican Party out of the financial waters.

I don't know about other political types out there but if I'm implementing a four part plan and the fourth part requires success of the first three, I might be a bit concerned at this point. The D's have spread themselves too thin. They're playing in districts that have no business electing Democrats.

Their strategy to take over the one or both of the chambers means they'd have to hold seats in 10, 11, 24 and 26. These seats are all in play and heavily contested. And they aren't even considering possibility of losses in 5, 17 or 23.

In order to get to 31 in the house, they need to pick up an additional seat in 10, 26, and win in at least two races in 12, 9, 20, 21.

It's likely that the D's will lose seats in both the House and the Senate.

jus cogens

Secretaries of State have a lot of power.

Wherever you stand on these initiatives, I can't believe the failure rate is as high as they've tested for the mere fact that it's so overwhelmingly annoying to get approached by what appear to be homeless people collecting signatures. I don't feel like they're clever enough to make up thousands of names and addresses and I can't fathom someone whose not registered to vote being willing to take the time to sign anything that requires standing next to these people. Yes, I said these people and I'm speaking incredibly condescendingly about them. Those people. Maybe I haven't thought this out enough but I'm just not making sense of the numbers on an interpersonally interactive level.

Maybe we should just let the courts decide all the initiatives this year in consultation with Jan Brewer? Marking my ballot is so cumbersome and time consuming and they seem to know what's best.

Friday afternoons at Durant's is hopping for the political scenesters. If you're a climber or have trouble making friends this is a great place to go and kiss some ass and buy drinks for folks on both sides of the aisle.

The Happiest Protest On Earth

This morning I thumb the power control on my computer, a slow speed rig with upgrades and duct tape holding it together. As per my usual routine I get online to snoop around the news and see what's happening in this wonderful world of ours. Usually I am not at all surprised by the news of the day. It'll usually include some war, a little bit of corporate mongering, and a side of teachers having sex with their students. You know...the normal stuff.

Today however I read a story about a group of workers protesting their employer over a labor dispute. This is not unusual since we still have at least a few states who recognize organized labor. The article's description, however, read: Peter Pan Arrested. Holy cow these protesters actually wore company costumes to protest their employer.

Read more here about the happiest protest on earth.

Breaking News - TIME legal challenge could work

Stylitics has learned from high ranking elections officials this morning that there are significant issues pertaining to the method used to count signatures at the Maricopa County Elections Office. Thousands of signatures were tossed into the pool of invalid signatures with brief checks and no in-depth research. If the name that appeared in the "Print Name" column of the petition was not immediately legible then the signature was deemed invalid.

According to the TIME campaign co-chairman, David Martin, the legal team over at Perkins, Coie has a beat on at least enough signatures to achieve the 95% threshold (information from TIME campaign press release).

Other campaigns are taking deep breaths awaiting an official decision on TIME so they can go to their financial backers with at least some assurance their investments are safely invested in initiatives that will find this November's ballot.

TIME is not out of the woods on this yet, however. According to the same county elections source there may still be enough irregularities in petition signatures to confirm the decision made by Arizona Secretary of State, Jan Brewer.

The hacks are having a field day with this at this point. Depending on what happens there may be a few job openings for experienced political consultants...

Dirty tricks from a dirty trick

This campaign season has brought out the worst in Arizona's political candidates. Sure we all get excited at the notion of real politics being waged by campaigns in targeted districts but recognizing the importance of a fair fight is important to hacks. As I get older I appreciate the hard work that goes into fundraising, collecting fives, and managing a campaign budget.

That's why it pisses me off when vandals make their way into our world...

One of hundreds of Jackie Thrashers signs ripped down by jerks.

Is that even possible?

Earlier today I was sitting at Lux, a coffee shop on Central Avenue with amazing coffee and all the atmosphere you want. There's a great cross-section of hip downtowners and professionals that everyone fits in. At the meeting I was told that the Secretary of State announced that TIME and Medical Choice Arizona would not make the November ballot due to low validity rates for collected signatures.

In a conversation with a high ranking official at the Maricopa County Recorders office of Elections I confirmed the rate of invalid signatures-48.7%. This number is perplexing for a couple of reasons:

1. I have never been a part of a campaign that didn't require some level of quality assurance prior to payment for signatures collected. Random samples and weekly checks could have easily eliminated this problem.
2. The signature gatherers were some how able to collect a higher rate of invalid signatures than the percentage of qualified electors in Maricopa County. Among all Maricopa County residents qualified to register to vote 59% are actually registered. How is that even possible?

This isn't even the end of this fiasco. Sources tell Stylitics that other troubled campaigns include No New Home Tax, Our Land, Our Schools, and the anti-equal opportunity Repeal of Affirmative Action. Arizona could end up with very few ballot initiatives on the November ballot. What will voters do with these newly shortened ballots that only take a few minutes to understand?

Five rad places to spy on/hit on/work over hot political operatives

1. The House lobby. A lot of shite goes down in the House lobby but one thing captures my imagination more than any other. It's home base away from home for those wily Williams fluffers. And they're hot. We all think Mike is a genius. Some probably believe an evil genius but who can deny his success. Even though the term "fluffer" has a fairly pejorative meaning unless you're incredibly open minded, no one really holds their disdain for Mike against these lovely ladies, except maybe the hyper-competitive women who are lobbying for someone else, themselves, or who work at the Legislature as staff. But guys get it. They're just looking to look hot for an honest day's wage. And to find them doing that, and some other lookers, just look to the House lobby, the open-windowed palace of dreams.

2. Durants. Need I say more? No. Will I? Yes. Not only is the food here amazing and each drink perfectly mixed, but you can find some heaping portions of hot political ass here during session. At lunch, just look around at the neighboring tables. At night, the bar, if you can find a seat, is a wonderful opportunity to mingle with the Players. But one unmistakable component of being a top political hack is one's ability to buy/impress young "talent" that you otherwise would never get but thanks to their Machiavellian aspirations and your political capital, they're right next to you at the bar. For me to hit on.

3. Lux. This is where you'll find the alternative-lifestyled hot political ass. The sexy guys and gals who make this independent coffee shop their home base are younger, more fun, more open-minded, and basically just cooler than the tools who used to spend their after hours drinking beer at Nixon's... You know who you are, tools. Not to mention, their coffee is great, and there's plenty of non-politicos to keep you sane.

4. Anywhere Kristen Boilini goes... A couple of the authors of this little blog have a bit of a crush on Kristen.

5. The Roosevelt. The initial cool factor has worn off for many but it's still a great place to see some sexy poli-divas doing their thing while daintily noshing on one of those amazing cheese plates and sipping on one glass of wine. You know you're actually interesting or powerful enough that they have no choice when she orders a second glass. Let you heart be your guide. Watch out if she orders a beer. For me that's an instant sign of poor grooming or hyper-competitiveness... and it makes me sound like a misogynist. But I'm not. I just play a lot of Texas hold'em and evaluate the hell out of people.

Looking for a real leader?

The Democratic Party is fresh out at the top. Sure Barack Obama is fresh and new and presents all kinds of images of real leadership but the Clinton folks were right when they said, "He's untested." So who represents the Democratic Party, Nancy Pelosi? Harry Reid? Howard Dean!?!

This is absolutely unacceptable. It's like both Parties have been taken over by the drooling, knuckle dragging, wactivists found in the extreme wings of their party. What the hell is going wrong in this country that we are so starved for leader that John "my friends" McCain't is actually a viable candidate for President of the United States.

Take a look around...the world is leaving us behind. While we search for an adequate leader China and India are growing their way into the future by investing in infrastructure like roads, higher education, and technology. China's technological capacity has doubled that of the United States and is leading them to virtual government built to serve a population that is rapidly growing and becoming more educated.

We don't condone the type of politics China practices as it continues an endless attack on our environment and its residents' civil rights. But, their government is led by individuals with a vision for a better future, one where China is the world's recognized dominating power, not the United States. Unbelievable? Take a look at the U.S. dollars' stature in the world's economy. Now look at China's dollar. Oops. Not quite as strong as we used to be.

While our economy is in the crapper at the moment and as we hemorrhage jobs and the middle class is evicted from their foreclosed homes the rest of the world is taking advantage...taking advantage of this world power's lack of leadership.

Text Message Organizing

An old friend adds your number to their cellular address book after a recent professional interaction and you'll think nothing of it. Until, you receive a text message at 7:30 PM on a Thursday evening. It reads "Arpaio is sweeping in Maryvale, 15 detainees, 3325 W. Durango." Now you have to make a decision, do I go, is this a protest, YES.

So, reluctantly, you tell your family that you have to (almost as if required) go to a protest, head to your car and drive into the Maricopa County Sheriff''s Complex where you'll keep an eye on Joe.

As you pull into the Complex there is a press conference happening, the Sheriff is talking about the sweep. He moans into the microphones of every major news station in Phoenix, "These are illegal street vendors without a permit and we have reason to believe that they are getting their corn from illegal drop houses." Seriously!

There are two women wearing white knee length laboratory coats searching the street vendor's make-shift convenient stores for "Health code violations" and taking temperatures of jars of mayonnaise. All this is happening while Arpaio spews into the microphone about how he's making Arizona a safer place. Blatantly describing his racially motivated schemes to media and anyone else who will listen.

Other organizers begin to show, a city councilman and his staffer, real citizen activists all motivated to show-up by a text message.

Last night at least 15 men and women were detained by Sheriff Joe Arpaio for selling corn out of a shopping cart. Organizers counted more than 50 Sheriff's Deputies among other county officials on the site. All this happened for 15 men and women trying to make an honest living five blocks from one of the most active gang neighborhoods in Phoenix. Maybe we should re-evaluate our priorities.

All this with a simple text message from an unlikely re-acquaintance with an old friend who happened to put your cell phone number in their address book. The more organizing changes the more it stays the same.

My kingdom for 230,047 valid petition signatures

Greg Patterson over at Espresso has been all over the TIME initiative’s possible signature shortfall. I mean who doesn’t love a little hubris now and then?

But, the fun doesn’t stop there. Many hacks believe a number of ballot measures may be lacking.

The list of possible flops includes Prop 100, No New Home Taxes and Prop 104, Arizona Civil Rights Initiative.

For the moment, it’s up to Jan Brewer and the 15 county recorders to determine who’s got the right stuff.

After that, expect a slew of lawsuits aiming to knock off low hanging fruit. I hear there’s at least one petition checking sweat shop going line by line.
Only time will tell which stay and which go.

The Breakfast Meeting

This morning I went to a meeting to discuss Majority Rules (Prop 105) an initiative on the ballot this coming November. Our meeting was at Matt's Big Breakfast.

Matt's is probably the best breakfast in town with a full menu of delectable treats including Arizona's best griddlecakes. The location is small and almost always has a line out the door but during the week, if you're there early enough, there is usually seating available. If you have to wait, trust me, it's worth it.

Now that we've established that the meeting location was adequate and met the culinary needs of the meeting participants let's talk about Majority Rules. Prop 105 is intended to stifle the initiative process by requiring 50% + 1 of all registered voters to approve ballot initiatives that increase spending in any way. Think this through for a second, average turn-out for an Arizona election in a non-presidential year is around 62% causing a ballot initiative to gain 81% of the vote to make up for the 38% who stayed home. Here's the major flaw: There are more than 130,000 deceased voters still on the voter rolls in counties across the state. Majority Rules not only gives a voice to apathy but also to deceased voters.

That means ballot initiatives that increase state fees for an individual (i.e. licensing fees), creates a board or commission, or puts more money in Arizona's public schools would now be impossible to pass by the Arizona electorate.

This initiative literally gives full autonomy to the Arizona legislature to shape statutory and constitutional policy. I think most of us can agree that giving a legislature and a Governor, who has run the state into a $2.2 billion deficit, that kind of power is bad for Arizona's future.

Oh how I love thee, Scott Wyland and the Stone Temple Pilots

House bands are the staple of many a good lounge. As a political operator, I try to host many of my meetings in dark and formerly smokey places like the Chez Nous . Now there’s nothing wrong with Roscoe or Soul Power, but they aren’t my top choice for mood music. After last night’s show all I can think of is STP.

Here are 7 reasons to love STP in the form of a lame love poem. Enjoy.

Oh how I love thee, Scott Wyland and the Stone Temple Pilots
1) You, Scott, stumble on to stage in a three piece suit and cowboy hat and promptly fall and almost knock over the entire drum kit.
2) You, Scott and the Stone Temple Pilots, bang out with incredible force a set list that includes innumerable hits.
3) You, Scott, proceed to disrobe through the show.
4) You, Scott, throw nearly everything you get your hands on into the audience (e.g. clothing, bullhorn, towels, etc)
5) You, Scott, clearly ignore the advice of loved ones and medical practitioners and continue your heroin habit.
6) You, Scott and the Stone Temple Pilots, remind me of the limited happy days of my adolescence.
7) You, Scott and the Stone Temple Pilots, provide me with more than one song to populate my “getting’ luck play list.”

Time for a reality check...

Arizona's blogging community is getting larger by the day. There are dozens of blogs committed to talking about a wide variety of issues including politics and lifestyle. Here's the issue: none of the current blogs recognize that there is a clear community of political hacks who's career and lifestyle are slaves to the political environment of Arizona. This blog is intended to provide a forum for discussion, debate, and discourse for vital issues facing Arizona's political community. At the same time this blog will discuss many other topics related to the community such as fashion, music, art, and other culturally ambitious topics. Please join us daily for articles that will make you think about Arizona differently.