From "Rebranding"... To Retreading

Last week, the Republican Party ran into a major public relations fiasco. Already, its "rebranding campaign" was falling apart. And its "softer image" was quickly hardened by its undying devotion to its 21st Century Know Nothing base.

So it came as no surprise to us that "rebranding" would eventually blow up in G-O-TEA politicians' faces. What did come as a surprise, however, was the lengths some G-O-TEA politicians went in an attempt to distance themselves from both their Koch-ed up sugar daddies and their "holy roller" political base. When Arizona Governor Jan Brewer (R) vetoed SB 1062, it signaled a new tack her Republican Party may be taking on civil rights issues...

Or did it? Even as Jan Brewer vetoed SB 1062, she attempted to validate the (unfounded) fears of the forces behind it with a bizarre attack on President Obama. Meanwhile closer to home, several high-profile Nevada Republicans, such as Adam Laxalt, Joe Heck, and Cresent Hardy, have revealed an embarrassing wedge between the bulk of the Nevada Republican Party and Governor Brian Sandoval (R) on LGBTQ civil rights. And on Capitol Hill, sitting Rep. & reigning "King of Crazy" Steve King (R-Iowa) unleashed an incredibly bizarre & nonsensical rant on "self-professed behavior".

Despite Republican "leaders" asserting the success of their "rebranding" campaign, the truth couldn't be any further from their assertion. Why? Behind their glossy rhetoric, G-O-TEA politicians continue to toe the "TEA Party Line". And if any one of them doesn't, even for so much as a single vote, they'll have hell to pay in the next G-O-TEA primary.

Never mind that what's hot in a G-O-TEA primary is decidedly not in a general election. Just this week, another new national poll showed strengthening public support for marriage equality. Even Arizona voters are growing more comfortable with marriage equality... And they may soon send another out LGBTQ Arizonan to Congress.

Think about this: How can we ever take "Republican rebranding" seriously if the party won't stop retreading the same old "Culture War" nonsense? Why should we ever believe the Republican Party has "evolved" on civil rights if the best it can offer is an occasional retreat from an exceptionally egregious display of bigotry? And how can that party ever adapt to the 21st century if it still hasn't made peace with the 20th?

Sore Losers

Like a thief in the night, it suddenly appeared... And shocked many. Nearly a year after SB 192 made its shocking debut in Carson City, SB 1062 rocked Phoenix. And all of a sudden, the nation endured a crash course lesson on the budding "License to Discriminate" movement and the shadowy forces behind it.

Yet even with Arizona Governor Jan Brewer (R) vetoing SB 1062, the "License to Discriminate" movement marches on. But how so? Yet another homophobic bill has been introduced in the Arizona Legislature. Meanwhile, SB 192/SB 1062 like "License to Discriminate" bills are still alive & kicking in Mississippi and Missouri. And "License to Discriminate" proponents are now crying "persecution" because they can't discriminate against whomever they want whenever they want.

Oh, yes. That's right. They're going there.

But wait, there's more. G-O-TEA King of Crazy (and still sitting Rep.) Steve King (R-Iowa) had some "words of wisdom" (/snark) on "self-professed behavior".



Perhaps he and Cresent Hardy have been enjoying some heart-to-hearts on "segregation laws"?

This is why we find it ironic that certain "TEA" flavored media pundits are urging LGBTQ Americans not to be "sore winners". Sure, new polls show growing support for LGBTQ civil rights (and more distrust of the G-O-TEA). But even as equality is winning the court of public opinion, and even as equality is increasingly winning in courts of law, we've yet to see full legal equality in practice nationwide. That's why civil rights advocates are decrying the "License to Discriminate" bills. They serve as a reminder that the beautiful struggle for equality may be turning for the better, but it's still far from over.

And if anything, anti-equality G-O-TEA politicians & pundits are the ones behaving like sore losers. They're the ones whining over the expectation that businesses with licenses to serve the public have the right to refuse basic human decency. And they're the ones crying "persecution" because society no longer smiles on their desires to persecute those who they don't like.

Who Else Is Behind the "License to Discriminate" Bills?

What a month this has been for LGBTQ civil rights... And the Republican Party's tortured views on them. Earlier this month, Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto (D) and Governor Brian Sandoval (R) decided to drop their legal fight against marriage equality. Yet even after Sandoval did this, his party didn't go along for the ride. Rather, Attorney General candidate Adam Laxalt (R) and Rep. Joe Heck (R-Henderson) twisted themselves into pretzels to try to spin away their opposition to civil marriage equality.

And then, outgoing Assembly Member and current NV-04 candidate Cresent Hardy (R) spoke of "segregation laws", and it all went downhill from there. Shortly after Hardy made those infamous comments, attention turned to Arizona's SB 1062, a "license to discriminate" bill masquerading as "religious freedom" legislation. It was actually based on the same model legislation that inspired the original SB 192 that Hardy cosponsored. And that model legislation has recently been popping up in even more state legislatures across the nation.

So who wrote this "license to discriminate" model legislation? Where did it all come from? Yesterday, we took a closer look at the origins of SB 192/SB 1062 and uncovered a trail that leads to the Ethics and Public Policy Center, a shadowy front group that masks all the Koch Industries/"TEA Party, Inc." money being poured into this "license to discriminate" campaign.

However, there's even more to this story. It turns out that the Ethics and Public Policy Center has been working hand-in-hand with another shadowy front group hiding another set of familiar players.

The Center for Arizona Policy has been decrying Arizona Governor Jan Brewer's (R) veto of SB 1062. After all, it prodded Arizona G-O-TEA legislators to introduce and pass the Ethics and Public Policy Center's "religious freedom" model legislation. And it's a state affiliate of CitizenLink, a nationwide religious right outfit.

But wait, who's CitizenLink? Where did that comes from? It turns out that CitizenLink is the 501(c)4 arm of Focus on the Family, a notorious anti-equality organization that's been devoted to fighting against LGBTQ civil rights for over a quarter century. And not only has Focus on the Family been fighting against LGBTQ civil rights in America, but it's recently become involved with Russia's state sanctioned homophobia & transphobia campaign. And it's never hesitated to stoop to shocking lows to promote its extreme agenda.

In the wake of all this "religious freedom" hogwash controversy, State Senator and Lt. Governor candidate Mark Hutchison (R) performed some linguistic gymnastics to try to distance himself (and running mate Brian Sandoval) from the bill he cosponsored in Carson City last year. Now, we have a better understanding of why he's done this (along with other Republican politicians who are running away from the now toxic legislation). And why's that? Simple: It's not easy conveying a "moderate" persona when one is carrying water (and legislation!) for the Kochs' "TEA" powered empire and the extreme religious right.

License to Discriminate, Brought to You by Koch

What on earth is going on? The Nevada Legislature is not even in session this year. So why is it grabbing headlines this week?

We can thank SB 192 for this. Even though SB 192 itself died in Carson City last spring, its legacy has quickly been resurrected. And now, it's striking fear in the hearts of civil rights advocates across the nation.

So far this year, various reincarnations of SB 192 are bubbling up through several state legislatures. The most notorious one yet has emerged in Arizona in the form of SB 1062. Meanwhile in Georgia and Missouri, similar "license to discriminate" bills have been introduced.



Clearly, these bills are making waves across the nation... But where did these waves come from? Where did this all begin? The answer may surprise you.

We suspect few people have previously known about the Ethics and Public Policy Center. However, we're sure you've already heard of the Kochs and their burgeoning political empire. And believe it or not, the Kochs' well heeled tentacles reach into the Ethics and Public Policy Center. Oh, and it's also funded by the same "TEA Party, Inc." aligned billionaires' club who are behind such infamous TEA fueled entities as Donors Trust and ALEC.

It turns out that the Ethics and Public Policy Center has an "American Religious Freedom Program". And it turns out that "American Religious Freedom Program" gave birth to the "religious freedom"/"license to discriminate" bills that are now emerging in state legislatures across the nation. So finally, the mystery of the origin of these "license to discriminate" bills has been solved.

And surprise (/snark), these bills come from the same source as the rest of the G-O-TEA legislative agenda. Once again, "TEA Party, Inc." is hiding behind shadowy front groups to push Orwellian legislation to further it's extreme ideology. And this is why we shouldn't be surprised that other G-O-TEA front groups are rushing to back the "license to discriminate" movement.

Enough Already... Stop the Insani-TEA

We had it yesterday. We had it with whatever talk (that's not tongue-in-cheek) remains of "Republican rebranding". And we had it with G-O-TEA politicians feigning "moderation" while continuing to promote dangerously extreme legislation.

If Cresent Hardy still needs further examples of actual "segregation laws", he need not look farther than next door. Why? Take a look at Arizona. Arizona's SB 1062, which happens to be identical to the original version of Nevada's SB 192 that Hardy cosponsored last year,
would put into place an exceptionally broad license to discriminate if Governor Jan Brewer (R) signs SB 1062 into law. It would open doors to anti-LGBTQ discrimination, as well as further restrictions on women's health care, "legal" religious intolerance, and perhaps even the reintroduction of "legal" racial segregation... And do so all in the name of "religious freedom".

This is why the pressure is mounting for a veto of SB 1062. Oh, and that pressure isn't just coming from civil rights advocates and progressive activists. Corporate lobbyists, Arizona's 2015 Super Bowl Committee, and even both of Arizona's Republican US Senators are begging Governor Brewer to veto SB 1062.

Yet even as SB 1062 has become such an ugly hot potato in Arizona, another look-alike bill is making its way through the Georgia Legislature. And more specifically anti-LGBTQ legislation is being considered in Tennessee & South Dakota. And to top it all off, some G-O-TEA lobbyist/"media personality" is pushing his allies in Congress to push federal legislation to ban out LGBTQ football players!

OK, it's time for us to say this again. No wait, we'll let our other favorite philosopher say it herself this time.



Seriously, G-O-TEA politicians need to take her advice. What's the point of all these license to discriminate bills? Sure, they're popular with the G-O-TEA base... But everyone else is disgusted by such blatant and brazen bigotry.

Already, "Republican rebranding" has become the go-to political punchline of 2014. How much more do G-O-TEA politicians want to ruin their own party? Perhaps it's finally time for them to stop this insani-TEA once & for all.

Same Ol' Story, Same Ol' FAIL

Don't blame us for being repetitive. Rather, blame various Nevada Republicans trying to climb up the political ladder. Oh, and blame their "TEA" drinking counterparts nearby for their refusal to acknowledge the existence of the 21st century.

Oh, where do we begin? Let's start with Attorney General candidate Adam Laxalt (R). He made some noise earlier this month with his vocal opposition to Governor Brian Sandoval's (R) approval of outgoing Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto's (D) decision to drop the State of Nevada's legal defense of marriage discrimination in the Sevcik v. Sandoval federal law suit. And so far, he's still going there. Even when a nationally prominent conservative columnist raised her eyebrow over Laxalt's fervent opposition to marriage equality, he responded by claiming he's "compelled to defend our constitution". Apparently, Adam Laxalt still needs those "basic plumbing lessons" on the inner workings of the US Constitution.

Oh, and he needs to step away from Cresent Hardy's "segregation laws" and Barbara Cegavske's delusions of grandeur. They don't seem to have an understanding of the Constitution or common sense. They only seem to understand the deepest dark desires of the G-O-TEA base. But then again, this may be why Adam Laxalt is following their lead.

And herein lies the heart of the Republican Party's "rebranding" FAIL and identity crisis. Various Republican "leaders" have attempted to "rebrand the party" into a more "consumer friendly image". But whenever they've tried, the 21st Century Know Nothings have fought back with more demands for ideological "purity". And so far, they've succeeded in forcing the party to double down on their "Culture War".

Case in point: Arizona. The legislature there passed the equivalent to the original SB 192 (there, it's SB 1062). And now, the bill awaits Governor Jan Brewer's (R) decision to sign or veto.

On one hand, US Senator Jeff Flake (R-Arizona) has joined a growing chorus of Republicans and conservative business groups begging Governor Brewer to veto SB 1062 along with all the state’s Democrats and civil rights advocates. But on the other hand, the 21st Century Know Nothings who comprise the G-O-TEA base want SB 1062 to become law, even as the state faces another round of boycotts should the "License to Discriminate Bill" become law. Yet even as the deadline to act on this bill quickly approaches, Arizona's Governor hasn't given any indication of what she will do to it.

So don't blame us for being repetitive. Rather, blame the G-O-TEA politicians who keep peddling their outdated platform that celebrates wrongful discrimination. And blame the "TEA" fueled Culture Warriors who still refuse to admit defeat in their effort to undo the entire 20th century. They keep living the same old story, and the Republican Party keeps failing into the same old FAIL.

No "Freedom", Just FAIL

Last year, an unexpected bomb was dropped on Carson City. That bomb nearly blew up the 77th session of the Nevada Legislature and put into question the state’s progress on civil rights. But in the end, it only blew up on State Senator Barbara Cegavske (R-Spring Valley) when Assembly leaders decided to shelve her bill (after an sharply amended version passed the State Senate).

The short yet lurid life of SB 192 in Carson City managed to shock a number of civil rights advocates and political observers. In recent years, the State of Nevada has made progress in recognizing LGBTQ civil rights. Why would this state suddenly undo all that progress to grant "freedom to discriminate"?

When SB 192 died in Carson City last spring, many assumed that would be the end of this debate. But all of a sudden, it's making news again. Why? Assembly Member, SB 192 cosponsor, and NV-04 candidate Cresent Hardy (R-Mesquite) evoked his religious beliefs to explain why he can't agree to "segregation laws" like ENDA (that combat wrongful discrimination). And shortly after Hardy dropped his bomb, Rep. Joe Heck (R-Henderson) followed suit with his bizarre argument against marriage equality.

And now, the story has become national. How so? The same shadowy religious right/G-O-TEA interest groups that wrote SB 192 for Barbara Cegavske pushed SB 192 here in Nevada are now on the verge of passing a look-alike bill into law in Arizona.

Like SB 192, the Arizona "Freedom to Discriminate" bill seemed to come out of nowhere. But unlike SB 192, the Arizona bill was not watered down, and it ultimately sailed through both houses of that state's legislature. That's why civil rights advocates are now trying whatever they can think of to convince Arizona Governor Jan Brewer (R) to veto this bill and spare the state a costly legal fight & huge PR embarrassment.

Once again, we're seeing a campaign to legalize anti-LGBTQ discrimination masquerade as "concern for religious liberty". Once again, we're seeing the bulk of G-O-TEA politicians go along to get along with their 21st Century Know Nothing base. And once again, we're reminded of why "Republican rebranding" is already shaping up to be the most EPIC FAIL of 2014.

After the Attack: Can We Change? Will We Change?

When I saw this, I was frustrated... Yet again. Why don't they get it?

Tom Danehy at Tucson Weekly makes a really good point.

I would never say that the Tea Party wanted somebody to put a bullet in Gabrielle Giffords' head, but at the same time, you can't tell me that everybody in that movement feels bad that it happened.

I would never claim that talk-show lemmings—who leapfrog each other in a desperate attempt to be the one who is most out there—are giving secret orders to listeners to go out and shoot members of Congress, but at the same time, you can't tell me that the ratcheting up of the vile content by some of these creeps isn't enough to push some Travis Bickle-wannabe over the edge.

And I don't believe that Sarah Palin wanted Gabby Giffords to get shot, but damn you if you try to claim that putting a bulls-eye over the district of a United States congresswoman is all just good, clean fun.

This all goes way past disingenuous. You can't build a bonfire in a clearing and then deny any culpability when the embers get caught in the breeze and ignite dry tinder somewhere downwind. You don't have to ascribe to chaos theory to make that connection. You do, however, have to practice self-delusion on a grand scale to claim that the connection doesn't exist.

As Rush Limbaugh himself loves to say, words mean things; words are important. Messages tend to morph and degrade as they are passed along from one person to the next, even if they are done so on a word-for-word basis. It should surprise no one that hate speech that is spewed as self-congratulatory cleverness can, after a few iterations, become an insistent whisper in some nut-job's head.

Many Tucsonans understand this. After all, they've been living this nightmare for the last week. And they saw firsthand the build-up of anger from all the diatribes of the last two years.



Words matter. People matter. Actions matter. That's why it's critical for all of us to lead by example.

Gabby Giffords understands that. I'm reminded again of her victory speech last November.



And I'm reminded of Arizona Governor Jan Brewer's speech last night. Yes, you heard me right. I've had plenty of policy disagreements with her before, but that's just it. Those disagreements over policy should not negate someone's human value and should not prevent us from finding common ground.



I appreciate what Governor Brewer is doing there, as well as President Obama's words yesterday. Hopefully, we can all continue to learn from their example.

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Gabby Giffords is healing and recovering... And perhaps our democracy can, too. I guess some on the extreme right, a few on the far left, and others will continue slinging mud and hurling dung until the cows come home, but that doesn't mean our government has to plagued with vitriol and reduced to paralysis just because the "tea party" demands its pound of flesh and no one wants to negotiate in good faith.

We need to learn from this. Danehy concludes his essay with this.

I'm actually proud to live in a community that reacted the way it did, from the woman who grabbed a spare magazine away from the shooter, to the emergency-response teams and medical personnel who all did their jobs heroically. I'm especially proud of Sheriff Clarence Dupnik, who spoke his mind and did his job while wearing his emotions on his sleeve. He focused in with laser-like precision and told all the Tree of Liberty jackasses what they could do with their cooler heads.

I don't want to hear about "senseless tragedy." This was a calculated act with a cause and an effect. Let's just hope that part of that effect is to admit that the cause exists—and to take peaceful steps to deal with it.

Perhaps we can all learn from the good people of Tucson.

Meanwhile Next Door, Racism Becomes State Law...

In case you missed it, Arizona codified racism in its state law on Friday. Under the guise of "getting tough on illegal immigration, Arizona's AB 1070 will allow police officers to use racial profiling and other intrusive techniques that clearly violate the Fourth Amendment provision forbidding unreasonable search and seizure.

By the way, why is it that the radical right likes to talk about "loving the Constitution" only when they're protecting corporate profits and have no legal ground to stand upon, but otherwise dismiss it and try to rip it into shreds? Citizenzero found some really scary teabagger comments that really prove this point.

And whenever the teabagger fruit cakes talk about immigration, why don't they ever go to the source of the problem? Blog for Arizona nails it.

It is Mexico that has seen its former agrarian economy disrupted by American agribusinesses that have bought up large collectives of land and forced small land owners off their family farms and into a desperate search for work anywhere they can find it. This is the consequence of NAFTA, CAFTA and free-trade policies. Exploitive American trade policies created this problem within Mexico. And exploitive American employers perpetuate the problem on this side of the border by hiring coyotes to transport illegal immigrant labor to the United States. As a result, people desperate for work die in the desert trying to cross the border or are victimized by human traffickers.

The drug cartel violence is largely concentrated within Mexico. It is the Mexican government threatened by "Narco" warlords and Mexican citizens threatened by drug cartel violence. It is Mexicans who are dying at the hands of drug lords made fabulously wealthy by Americans' demand for illegal drugs. Every time an American drug user purchases illegal drugs, that American is contributing to the wealth of the drug cartels and indirectly contributing to the deaths of Mexicans. Consider yourself an accessory to this crime. Americans can complain about gang violence on this side of the border all they want, but it is Americans' demand for illegal drugs that is contributing to the wealth of these gangs and indirectly contributing to the deaths of Americans on this side of the border. Again, consider yourself an accessory to this crime.

So let's focus on the real cause of this problem, shall we: exploitive American employers, and American drug users. Take a good look in the mirror, America, and face the cold hard truth. The solution to this problem begins with you.

See? It's really our problem. We're the ones that want the cheap fast food. We're the ones that want the good rock cocaine. We're the ones that want the cheap "helpers" standing outside Star & Moon Valley Nurseries at Eastern & the 215. We are the problem, and criminalizing being Latino and scapegoating immigrants won't help solve anything.

But hey, they're radical right Republicans... When have we ever expected real solutions coming from them?

Lambda Legal Sues to Reinstate DP Benefits for Arizona State Employees

Check out what's happening across the Colorado from us.

Lambda Legal filed a federal lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Tucson today to block a move to strip gay and lesbian state employees of domestic partner benefits.

"This is an issue of equal pay for equal work," said Tara Borelli, staff attorney for Lambda Legal. "By stripping away these vital benefits from loyal state employees, the state isn't just paying them less for the same work than their heterosexual colleagues - it's pulling away a vital lifeline that all workers need. This is simply cruel and saves the state next to nothing."

Lambda Legal represents 10 state employees - including from the Arizona Highway Patrol, the State Department of Game and Fish and state universities - who rely on health benefits from their employers to keep their families safe.

Arizona's domestic partner benefits for gay and lesbian public employees were adopted in the fall of 2008 under the leadership of former Governor Janet Napolitano, who left in January 2009 to become Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. This summer Arizona legislators approved a budget bill with a provision revoking the benefits while retaining the comparable health benefits for heterosexual public workers. Current Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signed it.

If Lambda is taking this up, then there's a good chance that "Brouhaha Brewer" and the GOoPers in the AZ Legislature violated the law by throwing LGBT public employees under the bus and stripping away their DP benefits while leaving hetero marriage benefits in place. Let's hope Collins v. Brewer succeeds in federal court and sets a much-needed historic precedent in protecting DP benefits at work.