We Must Elect Democrats!
About 47,000 kids have been cut from Kid's Care and about 310,000 adults have been cut from AHCCCS
When Will You Get Mad Enough to Fight?
AZ's Republican legislature will do anything to destroy Clean Elections and our Public School System
Mar 11
5
These Cuts Cost Lives in AZ
TAKE ACTION: SIGN THE PETITION
Last Monday, local DFA members hosted a press conference to bring media attention to the fight to save the lives of the 98 Arizonans who need transplants now being denied by Governor Brewer.
As it currently stands, Governor Brewer’s cuts to Medicaid will prevent 98 patients from receiving the organ transplants they need to survive.
State Sen. Kyrsten Sinema and Rep. Anna Tovar spoke passionately at the press conference making the case for restoring the funding by closing corporate tax loopholes. Debra Pennington told the story of her husband who desperately needs a liver transplant and received assurances from the state, only to have their lifeline ripped away.
Click here to watch a video from the press conference and sign the petition to restore funding.
Building off the momentum from the press conference, DFA members will deliver your petition to members of the statehouse and demand these patients’ lives be protected.
Sign the petition now before DFA members deliver it to the Arizona Statehouse.
Budget cuts made at the expense of destroying lives cannot and will not stand. With your help we can restore funding and bring some sanity to the Arizona State House.
- Jay Henderson, Democracy for America
National Field Organizer
One of a number of videos from the DFA Rally/Press Conference on 2/28/2011. On YouTube see DFAMaricopaCounty:
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, Rep. Anna Tovar, Dr. Mike Newcomb, and Dr. Jonathan Weisbuch speak to Restore the Funding for Transplant patients.
Mar 11
1
DFA Meeting March 2nd
Randy Parraz, of Citizens for a better Arizona, the group working to recall Russell Pearce will be our speaker at our March meeting. Currently the group is soliciting signatures from residents of LD 18 at the Mesa Public Library, 64 E 1st St, Mesa, AZ from 10 -12 on February 12th. They will also be doing walks in the district. You must live in the district to sign the petition but any registered Arizona resident can carry the petition. Visit http://recallpearce.com/.
We will also have a lesson on using Social Media for our cause.
We meet at the Old Spaghetti Factory, on Central just South of McDowell, right across from the light rail station. We gather at 6:30pm with the meeting starting at 7pm. Everyone is welcome.
This is going to be a big week in our fight to protect middle class families and jobs.
First up: we’re launching robo-calls in the districts of five Republican state senators today, asking voters whether they would support recalling their senator from office for supporting Gov. Walker’s war on working families.
This is the kind of pressure that will really turn up the heat on Wisconsin Senate Republicans. Can you chip in $3 to help fund these calls?
Click here to listen to the call and donate.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and Talking Points Memo have already started reporting on the calls this morning. Tonight, MSNBC’s Cenk Uygur is planning to report on them at 6pm Eastern.
Our goal is at least 50,000 calls — and we’re working together with our good friends at the Progressive Change Campaign Committee to make it happen.
Thank you for everything you do,
- Charles Chamberlain, Political Director
Democracy for America
Thank you to everyone who gathered together to show your support on Monday. Speakers included Senator Kyrsten Sinema, Rep. Anna Tovar, and Dr. Mike Newcomb.
Feb 11
24
Stand w/WI on Saturday
Wisconsin Republicans’ all-out assault on unions and middle-class families has nothing to do with fixing the budget deficit — for them, it’s just about winning. They pretty much admitted it this weekend. Check out this quote from Sunday’s New York Times:
“Scott Walker and I and my brother [Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald] went into this session with the understanding that we had to deliver on campaign promises, that people wanted the Republicans to make change, that the more feathers you ruffle this time, the better you’ll be.”
- Republican State Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald
They think “ruffling feathers”, like beating down unions and middle-class families, will make it easier to get reelected. It’s not about what’s best for America or Wisconsin. It’s all about winning the next election for them.
For us, it’s about protecting good-paying jobs. Unions and middle-class families are the backbone of the economy and we need to stand in solidarity with them — that’s why we’re joining our friends at MoveOn, Service Employees International Union, and 29 other organizations in a national day of action. Together, we’ve organized rallies in most major cities and all 50 state capitals across the country this Saturday at noon.
Now it’s time to get the word out and make sure every event is a success. Please sign up to attend the rally closest you right now, then spread the word to everyone you know.
Find a rally near you for this Saturday at noon and sign up to attend now.
This is an all-hands-on-deck moment so don’t stop with just signing up. We also need to get the word out and recruit others to attend.
The bigger each event is, the more press coverage we’ll generate and the greater impact our message will have on the national narrative. So don’t come to the rally alone. Bring a friend. Bring two friends. Heck, drive a car full of friends.
This fight in Wisconsin is bigger than just one state.
It’s Ohio.
It’s Indiana.
It’s New Jersey.
It’s all of us.
And don’t for a second think Republicans in Congress aren’t paying attention.
With a federal budget showdown looming as Republicans threaten to shutdown the Government, these rallies also serve to put them on notice. If Republicans try to cut the vital programs or the workers’ rights people depend on to protect their middle-class families, America will stand up — united — and defeat them.
Join us this weekend at a rally in Arizona.
Thank you for everything you do.
- Charles Chamberlain, Political Director
Democracy for America
Feb 11
18
Stand With Wisconsin
I’d like to introduce you to my mom, Dee.
As a speech pathologist with the Milwaukee Public Schools, she helps kids learn how to talk. Sometimes these kids struggle because of a birth defect, sometimes it’s because the kids have special developmental needs. In more than 35 years, my mom’s helped over 700 kids, devoting herself to figuring out exactly what each child needs to learn how to talk and then patiently working with them day by day and week by week. Each time we chat, she’s got a new story about one of the kids she’s working with and the progress he’s made. And she absolutely lights up when she tells it, I can hear it through the phone.
Governor Walker’s attacks on hard-working, devoted teachers like my mom are outrageous, teachers’ salaries are not the reason the state of Wisconsin has a budget crisis. And his actions have driven teachers’ morale to the lowest it’s been since my mom’s been working with Milwaukee Public Schools.
My mom wrote me last night to say thanks to DFA for supporting Wisconsin, and I wanted to share her gratitude with you. It’s been a big boost to her and her friends.
For 25 years, her teachers’ union has accepted wage increases that barely match the rate of inflation in order to maintain quality health insurance and pension benefits when they retire. They’ve negotiated in good faith with their school board and Governor Walker is now using dictatorial tactics to wipe it away.
We can’t let this happen. Please join the march and stand in solidarity with my mom today.
Thanks for everything you do.
-Mia
Mia Moore, Chief of Staff
Democracy for America 
Feb 11
16
98 Arizonans
In Arizona, state-sponsored corporate indulgence has become normal. Corporate tax exemptions for personal services like dog grooming already cost the state $10 billion a year — $10 billion that could go towards schools, health care and job creation.
Yet, on top of all this money given to CEOs, Gov. Brewer could not continue to provide Medicaid coverage for organ transplants necessary for survival. She pulled a rug out from under 98 people who had been promised transplants paid for by the state. Without transplants, these people will die.
Two already have.
State Sen. Kyrsten Sinema and Rep. Anna Tovars have introduced two bills that will restore transplant funding and save lives by closing a corporate tax exemption. We need to have their backs.
Gov. Brewer says that Medicaid cuts are necessary because Arizona’s budget problems leave lawmakers with no “Cadillac” options. A liver transplant is not a “Cadillac” option if a patient will die otherwise; it’s the only option.
This time, conservatism has gone too far. The Medicaid cuts save the state $1.4 million a year. Is that worth the deaths of 98 people?
Gov. Brewer and Arizona Republicans have left 98 terminally ill Arizonans to die slow deaths, unable to work or raise the thousands of dollars they need to get the transplants they need.
Join the campaign to stop Gov. Brewer’s death panel.
America is a community and we look out for another. We help those in need. These men and women need us now more than ever. Please sign the petition and share it with your friends and neighbors today.
Thank you for everything you do.
- Charles Chamberlain, Political Director
Democracy for America
Join us for a rally and press conference to
“Restore the Funding”
February 28, 2011 at 11:30am
Arizona State Capitol grounds
sponsored by Democracy for America.
Speakers include Rep. Anna Tovar, a transplant recipient, and the sister of one of the current transplant patients, as well as, Dr. Jonathan Weisbuch, Former Maricopa County Health Officer and Director, County Department of Public Health, Phoenix; and and Dr. Mike Newcomb of KPHX radio, 1480AM.
Because of budget cuts, Gov. Jan Brewer ended Medicaid funding for end-of-life transplants, leaving 98 people without a way to get transplants vital to their survival.
Although there are bills in both the AZ House and Senate that would restore coverage by ending a corporate tax credit, Republicans are not making any effort to fix this problem.
We are circulating a petition which will be presented to AZ legislators to let our lawmakers know we support saving lives. YOU CAN HELP by signing this petition today!
Click here to download a copy of the petition.
You may bring your signed petitions to the rally, or drop them by the Arizona Democratic Party office at 2910 N Central Ave. Phoenix, AZ 85012.
Or you may send signed petitions to:
DFA-MC
P.O. Box 19762
Fountain Hills, AZ 85269
Feb 11
9
March 2nd Meeting
Randy Parraz, of Citizens for a better Arizona, the group working to recall Russell Pearce will be our speaker at our March meeting. Currently the group is soliciting signatures from residents of LD 18 at the Mesa Public Library, 64 E 1st St, Mesa, AZ from 10 -12 on February 12th. They will also be doing walks in the district. You must live in the district to sign the petition but any registered Arizona resident can carry the petition. Visit http://recallpearce.com/.
We will also have a lesson on using Social Media for our cause.
