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Pro-life dispute: Conflicting definitions further complicate Brewer’s Medicaid expansion proposal
Gov. Jan Brewer forcefully declared that her proposal to expand the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System to hundreds of thousands of new patients is a pro-life plan. As a pro-life governor, she said, she will not sit idly by while people suffer. Since then, opponents of her plan have taken up the pro-life mantle in the Legislature.
GOP activists vow to kill expansion
Some Arizona lawmakers contemplating the pros and cons of Gov. Jan Brewer’s plan to expand Medicaid coverage in the state must also consider whether a vote for her proposal amounts to political suicide.
Brewer, AHCCCS expansion advocates tout general fund benefits
On its face, the Arizona Board of Regents and the universities they govern have little, if anything, to do with the state’s Medicaid program or Gov. Jan Brewer’s plans to expand it in accordance with the federal Affordable Care Act.
With independent expenditure committees, it’s buyer beware
There has been a lot of talk during the past few weeks about independent expenditure committees and their impacts. Specifically, there has been a lot of discussion about the direction and effectiveness of the Senate Republican Victory Fund.
The fact of the matter is there are two types of independent expenditures: IEs for “impact” and IEs for “appearance.” Think of it as work ho[...]
Republicans to lose Senate supermajority but still dominate chamber
The wave that carried a Republican supermajority into the Legislature two years ran into a seawall tonight, when the G.O.P. appeared to have lost four seats in the Senate, thereby giving up the power to override a gubernatorial veto.
Fake Twitter handles aim to entertain but don’t harm politicians, insiders say
At first glance, a newcomer to Twitter may think many politicians have lost their minds.
Their tweets can be outlandish, contain poor grammar and are often filled with ridiculous positions on policy issues.
But it’s all by design. And it’s often not actually the real politician doing the tweeting.
Details on initiative counter emerge
More details have emerged on the attempt to create a legislative referendum to counter the one-cent sales tax increase initiative introduced by the Arizona Education Network and the Associated General Contractors.
Brewer consultant pitches his own Prop. 100 extension
Brewer has sidestepped taking a position on the pending ballot initiative that seeks to make the Prop 100 sales tax increase permanent, but the same can’t be said for those close to her. Multiple sources confirm that consultant Chuck Coughlin has been attempting to persuade lawmakers to introduce a referendum to compete against the Quality Education and Jobs Act, a tax increase proposed by the A[...]
Babeu camp hires Rose Law Firm to squelch story
A week ago, consultant Chuck Coughlin advised that the Babeu camp would be wise “to hire somebody” to “start chasing” the media around, and the Babeu campaign has done just that.
Politicos give Babeu’s handling of allegations poor marks
Public relations veterans say Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu and his campaign team made political miscalculations when the lawman called a press conference to publicly reveal that he is gay and refute allegations that he threatened an ex-lover with deportation.
Goddard grabs the bull by the horns
Goddard said Coughlin’s allegations in yesterday’s report that the former AG used his position to spark a Social Security investigation against Brewer and that he leaked the news to the Arizona Republic are completely unfounded.
Coughlin blames Goddard for investigation
In a four-page letter written to the Republic, Brewer issued a thinly-veiled accusation of how she believes an investigation into Social Security payments she received on behalf of her son came to be, but this morning her consultant, Chuck Coughlin, didn’t mince any words.
