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
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.
Feb 11
9
Restore the Funding…
On February 28th we will be holding a “Restore The Funding” Rally/Press Conference at the State Capitol at 11:30am. It is our goal to get the legislature to restore the funding for transplants. Bills will be presented in the House by Rep. Anna Tovar and in the Senate by Senator Kyrsten Sinema. Current speakers include Rep. Tovar, a transplant recipient herself; the sister of one of those being denied a transplant, Dr. Jonathan Weisbuch, Former Maricopa County Health Officer and Director, County Department of Public Health, Phoenix and Dr. Mike Newcomb of KPHX radio, 1480 on the AM dial, Phoenix’s progressive radio. Please join us in letting our legislature know we oppose these cuts to the sick and needy. DFA is preparing a petition, watch for it. DFA-MC is sponsoring this event in conjunction with Democracy for America.
Feb 11
5
Taking Back Arizona
As part of DFA-MC plans for the next year (or two) to help take Arizona back is a messaging program – a plan to get out the Democratic message, our beliefs and hopes for the future. Unfortunately we don’t think enough Arizonans heard about where we stand prior to the mid-term elections and we have to change that NOW. We will be working with other groups such as Organizing for America (OFA) and working within the Democratic Party to get our Democratic message out. Remember if our elected officials and our neighbors don’t hear from us they think we don’t care.
How can you help?
- Call. If you get a request from an organization you trust to call your elected official, do so even if you think they won’t listen, such as Kyl or McCain or Brewer. If you call they will know that people care.
- Write letters to the editor. If they get a lot of letters on a subject they will include some.
- Know the facts and correct people when they are wrong, be it on Facebook (FB), Twitter or across the backyard fence or in the grocery line.
- Let us know if you hear something you don’t think we know about. Our email is info@dfamc.com.
- Regularly check our here, join our FB group, be sure to check in regularly and follow us on Twitter (@dfamc).
We will help you.
- We will share information we get, be it another outrageous thing the Arizona Legislature and/or Brewer are trying to do or provide correct answers to the misinformation (lies) Fox News and the conservative blogosphere is spreading. Our emphasis will be on Arizona. OFA’s is national but we will share both.
- We are gathering the names and emails for the many local area newspapers in Maricopa County and will post that information on our Media Response page that you will find under the Team navigation tag above. As we get the addresses for your local news paper we will post them.
- We will share news from the Arizona Democratic Party and the Maricopa County Democrats. Join us in Taking Arizona Back.
From the Arizona Democratic Party:
It’s been a busy week for the Arizona Democratic Party and our new chair, Andrei Cherny. It’s also been an important week as we set the tone for the party’s new direction and provide a strong message to counter the Russell Pearce Republicans who run the state Capitol.
One of the things Andrei has asked us to do, based on conversations with many of you, is to help Democrats be more assertive in getting our message out. We need your help – at backyard BBQs, in the grocery store aisle, in talking to your friends. So, moving forward, we will begin providing weekly talking points to statewide PCs every Friday, in order to help unify and strengthen our message as Arizona Democrats. Here are some basic talking points for this week:
On what Arizona Democrats stand for:
- Today in Arizona, Democrats represent Arizona’s mainstream, while the Russell Pearce Republicans represent only the extreme.
- Just this week, while Arizona’s economy keeps sinking, the Russell Pearce Republicans introduced a so-called “birther bill,” cited Roe v. Wade as a cause of the Tucson attacks, and are seeking to undermine the basic idea that everyone born in America is equal to anyone else.
- The Arizona Democratic Party is now the “big tent” party where Democrats, independents and fed-up Republicans can work together to move our state forward.
- Arizona Democrats are focused on what really matters to Arizonans — a stronger economy, safer streets, and better schools.
- The Russell Pearce Republicans are stuffing more kids in each classroom and kicking kids off healthcare. They’re taking cops off our streets and letting criminals out of jail and back into our communities. They’ve sold our state Capitol to big banks in New York, and they haven’t lifted a finger to help create jobs.
On the 14th Amendment bills:
- First of all, Arizona Democrats believe illegal immigration is wrong and are in favor of strong measures to crack down on the smuggling rings and cartels that are driving this problem.
- At a time when Arizona should be fighting for a stronger future, the Russell Pearce Republicans want to refight the Civil War. When we should be striding into the 21st century, their motto seems to be “Bring Back the Worst Ideas of the 19th Century.”
- These GOP bills are un-American and go against the very idea of America — anyone born here is as American as anyone else.
- This legislation is a waste of taxpayer money and it solves nothing. It’s also a glaring example of the wrong priorities of the Russell Pearce Republicans.
- Their obsession with frivolous legislation is an insult to all those Arizonans who are losing their jobs, their homes or their health care.
Jan 11
28
Eric Cantor is wrong
Either House Majority Leader Eric Cantor doesn’t understand how Social Security works or he doesn’t care.
Just hours after President Obama said that Social Security cuts and privatization are off the table, Cantor said that Social Security had to be cut to balance the budget. But here’s the thing: Social Security does not and never has added a single dime to the federal deficit.
Let me try to explain this to Mr. Cantor. Social Security is paid for through the payroll tax. Currently, the payroll tax raises way more money than Social Security pays out and things are projected to keep going this way for another couple of decades.
The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan? They add to the deficit. Tax breaks for billionaires? They add to the deficit. Subsidies for big oil? They add to the deficit. Bailing out Mr. Cantor’s friends on Wall Street when they make a bunch of shady deals, cause a financial crisis and almost ruin the world economy? That adds a lot to the deficit.
Simply put, Social Security will run a surplus for decades. The rest of the budget runs a deficit. So, why are we even talking about Social Security?
Here’s why: Eric Cantor and his right-wing friends want to destroy the program. That’s the only reason we’re having this conversation. Join me now and let’s send Eric Cantor and other members of Congress a message — Keep Social Security safe, stable and secure.
Eric Cantor’s comments aren’t anything new. Right-wing Republicans have been trying to tear down Social Security for generations. It’s the holy grail of the right-wing.
Now Republicans are playing with fire — they’re threatening to shut down the government. They’re holding the debt ceiling hostage. They’ll do whatever it takes to put cutting Social Security on the table.
But America is a community. We stand up for one another — including our seniors. That’s why DFA has launched it’s biggest campaign ever to push back against the right-wing lies and spin and to push a real solution to keep Social Security safe, stable and secure forever.
See, right now people like Mitch McConnell and Sarah Palin don’t pay the same percentage of their income into Social Security that most Americans do — and big surprise — neither does Eric Cantor. That’s because the tax is capped at $106,800, but most Americans don’t know it. All we need to do is scrap the cap and make the payroll tax fair and equal for everyone to keep Social Security safe, stable and secure.
Join the movement to beat back the right-wing and keep Social Security safe, stable and secure.
When we stand up for our values of community, security and liberty, America wins.
- Arshad Hasan, Executive Director
Democracy for America
