The enemies of working families have taken their loathsome cause to Arizona. 

Just this week, Gov. Jan Brewer and her GOP cronies in the state legislature unleashed the latest in an ever-lengthening series of extremist attacks on organized labor and working families. 

At issue is a sweeping series of restrictions that would, among other things, ban unions that represent workers in state, county or city governments from engaging in any type of negotiations that affect the terms of their employment. That includes teachers, prison workers and the state’s powerful police and firefighters unions. The move would take away much of the power those unions have and turn them into something more akin to trade groups. 

The bills have one more Senate committee to clear before the full chamber can vote on the measures. Thanks in part to gerrymandering, Democrats are badly outnumbered in the Arizona state Senate, so the bills will almost certainly pass and be taken up by the GOP-controlled House by the end of next week. 

Arizona Democrats are outraged not only by the attacks themselves, but also by the scurrilous smears against public employees conservatives are using as justification for these ugly bills. 

``The Republican majority has established themselves to be very much anti-employee,'' said Sen. David Lujan, D-Phoenix. ``It's just another strike at those who choose to be public service employees. Their voice is not valued.'' 

Representatives of teachers, firefighters, and police in the state are -- understandably --extremely worried about the effects of these bills, should they become law. 

[Head of the Arizona Police Association Brian] Livingston said he thought the senators had been fed “misinformation” by the Goldwater Institute, a conservative think tank in Phoenix that helped write the bills.

But Livingston said the lawmakers needed to be reminded of the facts on the ground, like the dangers of police work and the reality that unions in Arizona aren’t as powerful as many of their critics make them out to be.

Still, Livingston didn’t know what exactly his organization would do if the bills become law.

“It would cause utter chaos,” he said. “You will see a devastating effect to employee moral[e]. You will see, I believe, a hampering of the good services that our services provide to the public as we know it.” 

While it’s tempting to compare the Arizona GOP’s new assault on collective bargaining and working families to the brutal attack by Gov. Scott Walker and Wisconsin Republicans last year, it’s worth noting that the Arizona proposals are even worse. Wisconsin’s law rendered public sector unions effectively irrelevant by limiting the issues over which a government and an employee group could bargain. Arizona’s bills seek to do away with collective bargaining entirely. The Arizona bills also include public safety unions (police, firefighters), which are exempted by the Wisconsin law. 

After last year’s epic battles over workers’ rights in Wisconsin, Ohio, and Indiana, we’d hoped these fights were behind us, and that even GOP-controlled state legislatures would get down to the business of creating jobs and opportunity for their citizens. 

Instead, Indiana just became the 23^rd so-called “right to work” state in the country. New Hampshire Republicans are broadening their assault on collective bargaining to include special attacks on public workers. Minnesota Republicans are trying to avoid the Democratic governor’s inevitable veto by placing a so-called “right to work” law on the ballot in November. 

Voters in Wisconsin and Ohio have already firmly rebuked these extreme attacks on workers’ rights. GOP overreach nationwide has helped fuel a positive trend in special elections around the country. As this trend continues, Republican state legislators across the country should consider themselves on notice: voters are repeatedly and thoroughly rejecting the brand of right-wing extremism the GOP is pushing in statehouses. 

Republicans clearly have no interest in setting their extremism aside to promote policies that actually help those hit hardest by high unemployment and state budget cuts. Working families in Arizona, Indiana, Minnesota, and all across the country deserve better.

Arizona Court Blocks GOP Attempt to Usurp Redistricting

DLCC Applauds Return of Independence to the Process

Washington, DC - Today Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee Executive Director Michael Sargeant applauded the Arizona Supreme Court’s rapid reinstatement of Independent Redistricting Commission Chair Colleen Mathis.

“Gov. Jan Brewer and her GOP accomplices in the state Senate attempted to usurp the redistricting process by illegally removing the Independent redistricting Chairwoman,” said Sargeant. “Thankfully, this naked power grab ultimately met with failure as the Supreme Court overrode the Republicans’ actions.

“Last night’s ruling is only the latest rebuke to a lengthy series of extreme partisan overreaches not only by Republicans in Arizona, but also by GOP lawmakers in statehouses across the country,” Sargeant continued. “Events like the defeat of Arizona Senate President Russell Pearce, the repeal of SB5 in Ohio, the reinstatement of same-day voter registration in Maine, and an ever-growing list of special election wins should give Republicans everywhere pause. Americans are tired of right-wing extremism and partisan power plays.”

Arizona’s Democratic House Leader and DLCC Board member Chad Campbell also was pleased with the state Supreme Court’s decision on the illegal removal of the Independent Redistricting Commission Chair. He sees the ruling as “a message to the Governor and partisan incumbents who want to strong-arm the redistricting process to protect their own interests” and is pleased that the court “looked beyond the Governor’s baseless claims and restored the independence to the redistricting process that the voters wanted.”

Democrats’ Election Night 2011 just keeps getting better.

You’ve already heard about Democrats’ epic wins tonight in Ohio, Maine, and Iowa.

Victory in a Wisconsin Assembly special keeps Democratic momentum in that state going.

Despite aggressive GOP spending, Democrats expanded our majority in the New Jersey Assembly.

Arizona voters responded to Gov. Brewer’s recent redistricting power-grab by recalling tea party leader and GOP state Sen. Russell Pearce.

Michigan voters recalled a notoriously anti-teacher Republican state Representative.

And despite spending millions and millions of dollars on the effort, the GOP failed to take the majority in the Virginia state Senate.

Democrats even kept the Governor’s mansion in Kentucky.

Well, we’re not done yet.

Today we learned we can add a Washington special election to the Democratic win column.

Democratic state Rep. Sharon Wylie won the seat to which she was appointed earlier this year, soundly defeating her well-known GOP opponent.

This big night for Democrats is more than a sign that the GOP wave of 2010 has receded.

Voters are rebuking GOP candidates and policies all over the country. Republicans exploited their opportunities to legislate by forcing extreme policies through their statehouses, and voters aren’t standing for it. Even millions of dollars in GOP spending can’t obscure the truth:

In 2011 and 2012, Republicans just aren’t a sound investment. 

You’ve already heard about Democrats’ epic wins tonight in Ohio, Maine, and Iowa. Well, we’re not done yet. 

In Wisconsin, Democrats have dominated yet another special election there. Democrat Jill Billings has won the 95^th Assembly District with a whopping 72 percent of the vote. 

Arizonans have responded to Gov. Jan Brewer’s recent redistricting power-grab by recalling one of her GOP accomplices in that partisan coup. Republican Sen. Russell Pearce, author of the notorious and virulently anti-immigrant SB 1070, has fallen in a recall election. 

Despite Republican Gov. Chris Christie’s best efforts, Democrats have successfully retained majorities in both legislative chambers in New Jersey. 

In Michigan, anti-teacher GOP Rep. Paul Scott became the first legislator in the state to be recalled. An election to replace him will be scheduled for next year. 

And finally, despite the millions of dollars state and national Republican and outside interest groups poured into taking the majority in the Virginia Senate, the GOP came up short. Republicans might be excited about the prospect of a tied chamber, but the one outstanding seat, SD 17, remains too close to call. Wednesday morning canvasses have yet to be held, and provisional ballots throughout the district have yet to be counted.  Also, some reported incidents during Tuesday night’s tabulation deserve further attention during the canvassing and certification process. We look forward to monitoring this situation throughout to ensure that every vote is fairly and accurately counted. We expect that Senator Edd Houck will ultimately prevail in the final outcome and that Democrats will continue to hold a majority in the Virginia Senate.

Coup in Arizona

DLCC Condemns GOP Usurpation of Redistricting

Washington, DC – Today Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee Executive Director Michael Sargeant condemned Republican Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer and state Senate Republicans for flagrantly undermining the state’s redistricting process. 

“Gov. Brewer and the state GOP have demonstrated they are absolutely without shame when it comes to promoting partisan interests,” said Sargeant. “Arizona voters chose to take redistricting out of the hands of politicians over a decade ago, but Republicans have wrenched control away from their own constituents and citizens with this naked power play. By removing the nonpartisan member of a bipartisan redistricting commission for failing to deliver an extreme partisan gerrymander, Arizona Republicans have brazenly usurped the redistricting process.” 

Last night, Gov. Brewer’s GOP cronies in the state Senate voted as a bloc to remove Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission (IRC) nonpartisan chair Colleen Mathis based on unsubstantiated charges of impropriety. Gov. Brewer abused her authority to call a taxpayer-funded “special session” for this removal because the new congressional and legislative maps drawn by the IRC contained too few GOP-friendly districts and too many competitive districts. Arizona Republicans, unsatisfied with maps that virtually guarantee GOP control of the congressional delegation and legislature, executed what may be the most extreme power-grab in the state’s history. 

Democratic leaders in Arizona were livid. 

"The Governor and Legislature have sunk to a new low with this special session,” said House Minority Leader Chad Campbell. “The blatant bullying, intimidation and partisanship they have inflicted on the citizen members of the Independent Redistricting Commission is abhorrent. They should be ashamed of themselves.” 

“There was no basis for the removal of Chairwoman Mathis except pure partisan politics,” added Senate Minority Leader David Schapira. “We have a witch hunt coordinated by a Governor, Secretary of State, Attorney General, Republican Congressional delegation and Republican legislators with a predetermined outcome. It’s a disgrace.”

In what can at best be described as a shocking show of insensitivity, the Republican Party of Pima County, Arizona—which includes both Tucson and part of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords’ congressional district—is fundraising by raffling a Glock handgun (the same make of weapon used in January’s horrific shooting). 

DLCC board member and Democratic leader of the Arizona House (in which Rep. Giffords served before her election to Congress) Chad Campbell blasted the Pima County GOP and called on the group to cancel their “sick” raffle. 

From TPM: 

"I am gun owner myself, a supporter of the Second Amendment and I also believe in common sense, "he said. Their raffle is not common sense; it is sick." 

"The Pima County GOP should call off the raffle in respect for the Arizonans who died and were injured in the Tucson shooting," he added. 

The Pima County Republicans did not respond to a request for comment on the matter earlier Thursday. Campbell made a call for sensitivity in the wake of the deadly Tucson shooting, from which Giffords is still recovering. 

"If any good could have come out of this horrific event, it would be civility in our state or employing sensitivity when needed, not reopening the wounds or making light of them," Campbell said. 

Democratic Rep. Steve Farley, who represents Tucson in the state House, was similarly disgusted. 

"A lot of people who own guns will say the Glock 23 is a lot different than the Glock 19," state Rep. Steve Farley (D-Tucson) told TPM, referring to the type of weapon used to shoot Giffords and the model being raffled respectively. "But just because it's our right to give away a gun in a raffle doesn't mean we should always do it." 

Like many in Tucson, Farley's connection to the shooting is personal. The "hero intern" who helped save Giffords' life once worked on a Farley campaign.
Farley said the auction could be a signal Tucson is returning to the bad old days of overheated conservative political rhetoric preceding the Giffords shooting. 

"Even if this doesn't appear to be offensive to whomever chose to do this and they're shocked, simply shocked at the reaction, that in itself is extreme," he said. "I'm just so sick of the extremism.” 

We can only hope the local GOP heeds the call of Rep. Campbell to cancel this revolting fundraising effort. Surely the Republicans can think of a less sickening way to make money.

At its most recent meeting, the DLCC Board of Directors voted to formally welcome Arizona House Minority Leader Chad Campbell as its newest member.

Leader Campbell adds a strongly progressive voice to the national political scene. At a time when Republicans have launched unprecedented attacks against public education across the country, Leader Campbell has remained a tireless advocate for children and educational issues through his ongoing work with Communities in Schools of Arizona and the Center for Progressive Leadership, as well as his former work with Children's Action Alliance, the state's leading non-profit organization fighting for children and families.

As a legislator and a caucus leader, Campbell has earned frequent honors for his effectiveness on behalf of early literacy, environmental protection, and the working families of Arizona.

And best of all, Leader Campbell knows that deepening GOP radicalism must be confronted repeatedly and tirelessly, and he’s willing to bypass the traditional media filter to do it. We were particular fans of his 2010 Huffington Post column, “A Top 10 List of the Absurd Republican Legislative Ideas in Arizona.” (Sadly, some of the most extreme ideas on that list were actually passed by the GOP-controlled legislature.)

Leader Campbell represents Legislative District 14, based in Phoenix, Arizona.

Indiana Republican state Rep. Phillip Hinkle is the latest GOP lawmaker to fall under the shadow of scandal. 

A married Indiana Republican state legislator who voted for a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage sought to pay an 18-year-old man “for a really good time” in a hotel room, according to an email exchange published Friday by the Indianapolis Star.

The allegations are truly shocking, particularly given Rep. Hinkle’s stance on gay rights and the fact that he has a wife and children. 

Emails shared with The Indianapolis Star suggest that state Rep. Phillip Hinkle -- responding to a local posting on Craigslist -- offered a young man $80 plus tip to spend time with him Saturday night at the JW Marriott hotel. 

The emails, sent from Hinkle's publicly listed personal address, ask the young man for "a couple hours of your time tonight" and offer him cash up front, with a tip of up to $50 or $60 "for a really good time." 

The email exchange is in response to the Craigslist posting in which the young man -- who lists his age as 20 in the ad but says he is 18 years old -- says, "I need a sugga daddy." 

The young man told The Star that they met, but that he tried to leave after the man told him he was a state lawmaker. He said the lawmaker at first told him he could not leave, grabbed him in the rear, exposed himself to the young man and then later gave him an iPad, BlackBerry cellphone and $100 cash to keep quiet. 

The barely-legal youth’s sister picked him up from Rep. Hinkle’s hotel room. Shortly thereafter, she reports receiving multiple phone calls from the Representative’s family members.

Megan Gibson said that on the drive back, she began receiving a series of calls on the BlackBerry, including one from a woman who said she was Hinkle's wife.

"I was like, 'Your husband is gay,' " Megan said. "And then she was like, 'You have the wrong person.' "

Megan read her the email address: phinkle46 @comcast.net.

The line went silent.

"Just for a couple seconds," Megan Gibson said, "and the first thing she said was, 'Please don't call the police.' "

Phone messages left with Hinkle's wife late Thursday were not returned.

Megan Gibson said she then began receiving a series of calls from various family members -- including from Hinkle's son-in-law, demanding that his wife see proof of the emails.

Megan Gibson dropped off her brother then returned to the JW Marriott, where she showed Hinkle's daughter the emails.

Megan Gibson said on her way back, she received another call from Hinkle's wife.

"The first thing she said, she was like, 'OK, we will give you $10,000 not to say anything,' " said Megan Gibson, who said she was now becoming scared. "I was like, 'OK,' and I hung up the phone."

Responding to his Caucus member’s situation, Republican Speaker of the Indiana House Brian Bosma said he will “try to discuss this matter with Representative Hinkle and chart a course from there.” 

The sordid story, described by Rep. Hinkle as part of a “shakedown” when asked to explain himself, is only the latest GOP impropriety to come to light this week. 

In Wisconsin, Republican recall candidate Jonathan Steitz is facing allegations that he rented an out-of-state sex offender an apartment in a restricted area-- less than 2500 feet away from a school. 

In Arizona, GOP state Sen. Scott Bundgaard inexplicably received a “Friend of the Family” award from the Arizona Family Project, despite the fact that he’s facing reckless assault and endangerment charges resulting from a domestic dispute. 

In Ohio, Republican state Rep. Jarrod Martin entered a not guilty plea to a drunk driving charge at his Thursday morning hearing. After his arrest for allegedly Operating a Vehicle while Intoxicated last month, reports of past episodes surfaced, including a rowdy night at a local hotel and passing out drunk on a fellow lawmaker’s car. 

Each week seems to bring new tales of GOP hypocrisy and misdeeds. Stay tuned for the next installment!

Today's Politico Arena Chat features Arizona state Senator Kyrsten Sinema. She discusses harmful GOP policies, the economy, and 2012 elections with moderator David Mark.

Visit The Arena here.