Blog For Arizona

State Legislative Update: AZ State GOP hates elections

GOP lawmakers have put forth a plan that lets them, rather than you, pick Senate nominees. They are trying to put a Referendum on the ballot that would allow the state legislature to nominate the party candidates for Sentate. In effect, this would roll back the Federal 17th Amendment right to vote for Senate members, turning it into an empty rubber stamp of the choice of party insiders. This is an obvious attempt by the right wing to control the federal delegation more tightly and to exclude Republican moderates from holding office in Arizona.

I gotta say, I'm impressed with just how short-sighted, stupid, and anti-democratic the right wing of the GOP can be. They've topped themselves this time. They not only have slapped every Republican voter in the face, telling them they aren't wise enough to choose the nominee, they have shown their hand to moderates, demonstrating they will even destroy popular nominations to get their own way. Should this beast ever pass, it would make a fine weapon to keep minorities like the Religious Radical Right far away from power in either of the major parties. Though I can't rightly say that's a bad thing, from a strategic standpoint, it is the last thing a minority insurgency like the Neo-Cons should be promulgating. They think they are shutting the gate of power behind them when, in effect, they would only be immunizing our political system from further infections like themselves.

posted by Michael Bryan @ 2/15/2005 04:26:00 PM