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Pima County Democratic Party
Contact: Jeff Rogers, Chair, Pima County Democratic Party
jrogers@pimadems.org
February 10, 2010
GOP Lawmakers Lead Assault on Voters, Still No State Budget
(Editor's note: We are not making this up.)
State Rep. David Stevens and the Arizona Legislature have again made it abundantly clear this week that their priorities lie in passing bizarre pieces of legislation rather than carrying out their Constitutionally-obligated duties. Stevens believes that U.S. Senators are too beholden to voters, when their loyalty should be to him and his Phoenix political bosses.
Stevens, a freshman Republican, has proposed Legislation that would revoke the 17th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which allows voters to choose their senators.
Stevens told Capitol News Services that the 17th Amendment was "a mistake," and that he and his colleagues in the Legislature should "reign supreme" because they know better than voters who should be elected.This is the same Legislature that can't handle its own constitutional responsibilities, including passing a balanced budget by June 30, 2009. Arizonans are still waiting for that.
No word on what other portions of the Constitution Stevens believes to be “a mistake”.
"The Republican majority refuses to do their jobs and instead 'plays pretend' that they are in Congress," said Pima County Democratic Party Chair Jeff Rogers. "They have repeatedly failed to do the work of the people and turned to bizarre extremism, taking Arizona back to the 19th century. When are they going to pass a budget?"
“The people of Arizona are tired of legislative ideologues like David Stevens and Al Melvin,” Rogers continued, “who think that their time is better spent on repealing portions of the U.S. Constitution and putting guns in bars than on doing their jobs. When will the Far Right learn that Arizonans don’t want a State Militia Ammunition Tax Credit – they want a balanced budget?”
