Letters to the Editor by Mike Hurley

August 16, 2022

     Despite the stench coming from a certain Florida basement, voters should keep their collective eye on the ball. Facing some very serious issues, our attention needs to be focused on finding practical solutions.

     Since Joe Biden’s inauguration, we’ve seen unprecedented action improving the lives of everyday Americans. Immediate distribution of lifesaving COVID vaccines and funds kept families and businesses afloat, mitigating the worst of the pandemic. For the first time in decades, no U.S. soldiers are at war. Funding for our decaying infrastructure went from photo-op to reality. Seemingly impossible moderate gun safety legislation was enacted, hopefully opening the door for more to come.

     The few weeks have seen more astonishing action. Microchip manufacturing is being brought back home and soldiers suffering from burn-pit injuries are getting help. Newly enacted legislation is aimed at climate change, reducing health care and prescription costs, finally bringing some fairness to our tax code and reducing the federal deficit. This list of accomplishments on behalf of American families is due to the dogged work of Democrats in spite of unrelenting GOP opposition and obstruction. We’re left to wonder just whose side is the GOP really on?

     Today’s GOP seeks to defund Social Security, Medicare, public education, the FBI and the DOJ. They’re striving to end abortion, worker and voting rights. They protect insurrectionists and defend alleged espionage. They’ve become too extreme and dangerous. So, as the traitorous Florida stench permeates MAGA world, remember to vote for the party working for American families. Vote for candidates who are on your side. Vote D in 2022 up and down ballot.   

May 14, 2022

     America is not a democratic republic governed by a majority of voters. Presidents elected without a majority of votes appoint SCOTUS justices to determine our laws. Each state gets two senators regardless of population, giving states with barely 1 million voters the same power as states with 40 million. Senators from those smaller states frequently use the archaic filibuster to block legislation and agency appointments sponsored by the majority.  

     Polling shows that a clear majority of Americans favor maintaining reproductive rights via Roe v. Wade as well as protections for LGBTQ. Additionally, common-sense steps like universal background checks and weapon style limits to quell gun violence win very high approval. Most want real climate change mitigation, consumer, racial, voter and worker protections plus a public health care system that prioritizes science and cost reductions. When asked, a majority want an economy striving for shared prosperity using a fair tax system. It’s hard to find anyone who doesn’t believe our nation’s infrastructure is in serious need of significant investment. Those who acknowledge that our continued success rests on future generations realize that public education at every level is currently short-changed and higher education is way too expensive.   

     Our political system is set up to deny that which a majority of Americans support. The GOP has been very successful using messaging, gerrymandering and political shenanigans to stymie the will of citizens except for the most wealthy. If we remain the silent majority, we will continue to be the downtrodden majority. It’s time to speak up and show up! The 2022 election might be the last chance to change the course of American history. Stop the race-to-the-bottom tyranny now — vote D!   

April 12, 2022

     Attorney General Brnovich has released his report on the Maricopa County 2020 election process and has come up with the same result as the Cyber Ninjas. Nothing. Nada. Zilch. Zippo. Goose egg. Oh, sure he puts forth the same “qualifiers” as the Ninjas, in an attempt to give some credibility to the report, but they are nothing but unfounded speculations. Sadly, even after the Fann-led Senate and Brnovich's office have spent millions of taxpayer dollars in their futile attempt to bolster the Big Lie, it appears his “investigation” will continue on.   

     A far better use of the AG’s resources would be an easy investigation, leading to an obvious prosecution, of those involved with the planning and signing of the fake slate of Electoral College electors. Yes, that would be you, Mark Finchem, Jake Hoffman, Anthony Kerr, Jim Lamon and Kelli Ward among other less notable Republican figures. But that wouldn’t curry favor with Trump and his followers in his bid for the Senate, would it? This is just another reminder of the state of today’s Republican Party. Another clear reason to vote Democrat in November. 

     Know what the Arizona GOP has done and is doing with its one-vote majority in the House and two in the Senate? Here’s a small sampling:  

     A complete overhaul of Arizona’s income tax structure. If you earn $75K or less, you get maybe $100. If you earn upwards of $250K, you get thousands. 

     Based on lies, the Arizona election process is being thrown into chaos. Restrictions on voting by mail, ballot drop-offs, early polling locations and times are all up for grabs despite their overwhelming popularity across party lines. The secretary of state has been stripped of her ability to fight for election integrity and the Legislature wants to steal election results from voters.   

     Despite Arizona voters putting the kibosh on voucher expansion, the GOP is hell bent on taking tax dollars from public schools and promoting religious education — the First Amendment be damned. While crying about federal overreach, the GOP is strong-arming cities and towns regarding setting local minimum wage policies. Teachers are called “terrorists and scourge” by GOP elected and candidates who want to spy on every word spoken in classrooms — don’t say race and don’t say gay! Legal and safe abortion will become a felony and lethal. 

     The point I’m making is simply that the GOP in Arizona is using a one-vote majority to shut down democracy bit by bit. Before our very eyes, the rights we’ve taken for granted are being erased. Keep in mind that they have no legislative agenda or plans to help working families, in fact, they obstruct any such measures proposed by Democrats.  

     The 2022 election is about saving the “D” of democracy by voting for the “D” of Democrats. Short of that, we will join Hong Kong and Ukraine on the list of endangered democracies. 

     Ever wonder why the GOP adamantly opposes any restrictions on guns while vigorously supporting extreme restrictions on voting rights? Without evidence of fraud, they’re willing to make voting more difficult, yet with gun violence reaching epidemic levels, the GOP refuses to lift a finger. They’re willing to purge legitimate voters but unwilling to block terrorists from gun show purchases. Based strictly on Trump's defeat, the GOP is now making a 2024 insurrection easier and far more likely.

     Saturday’s Dispatch editorial contained some misleading election legislation information. First it implied that the current trend of sweeping election law changes “are states doing a good job." That’s a fallacy because these changes are all aimed at suppressing the vote and controlling the outcome. Secondly, the editorial asserts there’s a new attempt to “federalize elections" — that’s completely false. Voting rights have been protected by the federal government since 1965. Until very recently, those protections were upheld on a nearly unanimous basis in Congress and the Supreme Court.

The conservative SCOTUS “simple majority ran over the minority” to gut voters’ protections. Now, states have begun to systematically use their “simple legislative majority” to run over election integrity and access for minorities." Thus, the need for restated federal protections to be passed by the Democratic majority despite an obstructionist GOP minority!

     It’ll be interesting to see whom the Dispatch chooses to endorse in 2022. If the trend holds, Arizona’s conspiracy theorists and big liars will be very happy.

     The 40-hour work week; safety rules; fair wages; protections from unfair discipline and firing; fighting workplace discrimination; health care and retirement benefits; a voice in product quality and employee training: These are among the ways organized labor represents the rights and prosperity of American workers. As a longtime member of the Pipefitters Union, I speak from personal experience.

     Tuesday’s letter writer mentions the so-called Right to Work (Right to Starve) law. This statute is actually the way “big business” enforces keeping workers from representation and protections. While most industries continuously collude on wages and pricing, workers are blocked from their right to collectively bargain and negotiate benefits.

     The writer implies that the collection of union dues is some kind of fraud. Again, workers are up against big money from “big business." Fighting legal battles and lobbying on behalf of employees is expensive. Across America, workers have seen wage and benefit increases only because unions fought for them — the dues collected have paid huge dividends, even for non-union workers. Thanks to organized labor, all workers have prospered.

Remember the days when union work was considered the gold standard for quality? As union membership has gone down, so has the quality of work in every industry. Union members have always been the best trained, they take pride in their profession and pass along their skill and attitude to the next generation of American workers through their apprenticeship programs. Union labor is still the gold standard.

     Conservative talking points clearly demonstrate their fear of an informed and organized workforce. Organized workers are a force for a fair and prosperous American economy.

     Today’s anti-maskers and anti-vaxxers are a danger to society. Facts and civil and reasonable argument are wasted on those people who refuse to listen or comply no matter what. You can recognize them as they rant against those who wear masks and choose to be vaccinated. You can hear them shouting and see them assaulting in supermarkets and at school board meetings. You can hear them threatening people who dare to use reasonable precautions to protect their health and the health of the people around them.

     Where once they would have accepted these precautions, they now find excuses to reject them. They are emboldened by elected officials who fail to mandate in the public interest. I’m talking about governors like Ducey and DeSantis and others who act as self-appointed medical experts, as did former President Trump, and end by sabotaging a national effort to control the COVID-19 pandemic and its variants. School boards and city councils are penalized by the threat or actual loss of state funds when they do the right thing to protect their children and citizens with local mandates. State government forbids local control while at the same time hypocritically spouting a conservative talking point that local government closest to the people is the best government. These elected officials pose as the protectors of “freedom” as they pander to a right-wing base to secure Republican gains in the next election.

     Before the next election, it is estimated 700,000 people will be dead from COVID. The base, unable or unwilling to accept the responsibility that comes with true freedom — the responsibility to act without harming others — storms across the country unwashed, unmasked and unvaccinated, aiding the spread of COVID-19 and the Delta and Mu variants. 

     Raging fires, record temperatures, diminishing water; how can one not believe in scientifically proven climate change? With his disdain for the will of the voters and the rampant corruption in his administration (as explosively detailed by The Arizona Republic), how can Gov. Ducey seek the presidency when what’s in order is his resignation? While the nation laughs at Arizona’s Cyber Ninjas “fraudit,” an exercise riddled with incompetence and based on “The Big Lie,” how can one support Republicans responsible for the clown show? How can one support Attorney General Brnovich and his try for higher office as he proudly announces an investigation into “election irregularities” while refusing to investigate election tampering by Giuliani, Ward and Trump’s White House?

     How can any member of Congress that voted against a bipartisan commission and/or downplayed the events of Jan. 6 walk past a Capitol Police officer without averting their eyes in shame? With COVID cases, serious illness and deaths on the rise, how can those who distribute vaccine misinformation, done for purely political (Republican) purposes, live with themselves? Knowing the unfortunate truth about the most despicable and incompetent president in our history, with more coming out every day, why are Republican politicians lining up to kiss his ring? How does this vile man continue his hold over what was once a reasonable, effective party? Knowing that the Republican Party no longer exists, hijacked by Trump and his ilk, how can one continue to support the now Retrumplican Party at any level? Questions to ponder.

     How did LD11 get more than its fair share of extremist and dangerous state legislators? Sen. Leach is known for doing all he can to undermine the will of Arizona voters, Rep. Finchem is being recalled because of his encouragement of the Jan. 6 insurrection and now Rep. Roberts is publicly attacking lifesaving COVID-19 vaccinations.

     These three are among the most far right fear and hate mongers in a state Legislature jam-packed with “Big Lie” and weirdo conspiracy theorists. While the craziness can usually be written off as bizarre or even silly, Roberts has crossed the line into becoming a public health risk.

     In two separate CG Dispatch articles, Roberts is quoted as bragging about not being vaccinated and questioning the efficacy of the approved vaccines. He makes some ridiculous comparison between Hepatitis C (spread by sharing injection needles) and COViD-19 (spread mainly via the air). He minimizes the deadly impact of COVID-19 across America and implies that only people over 72 need worry and that those deaths aren’t important anyway.

     Rep. Bret Roberts is a public heath risk. As a state legislator, he has a responsibility to provide honest information to his constituents and he has failed in that task. The CG Dispatch front page headline quotes Dr. Cara Christ (state health director) saying Roberts’ comments are hurting vaccination efforts in Arizona. But headlines aren’t enough to stop science deniers like Roberts — the voters of LD11 need to take direct action.

     Please call 800-352-8404 and tell Rep. Roberts to stop putting Arizona lives at risk by spreading false information regarding COVID-19 vaccines. Let him know that we, the voters, will not tolerate his dangerous dishonesty any longer.

     Sen. Ron Johnson wasn’t afraid of “patriotic, law abiding” Jan. 6 insurrectionists. But he sure would have been if it was Black Lives Matter. Ted Cruz deserts Texas for the beaches of Cancun. No Republican voted for the American Rescue Plan Act, yet several rushed out messages to their constituents touting the results, taking credit for something they voted against! Arizona representatives cozy up to white supremacists.

Instead of working with Democrats to help the American people, they’re focused on Dr. Seuss and Mr. Potato Head. This inane focus is meant to deflect from their numerous efforts, nationwide, to suppress the vote.

     Unable to accept defeat based on policies that were rejected by the majority of American voters (yes ,he lost, and no, there was no voter fraud) they turn on the most precious right in our democratic republic, the right to vote. They aren’t concerned about election integrity. It’s crickets in regard to the newly released reports detailing pro-Trump Russian interference in the 2020 election, but howls of fury in regard to non-existent voter fraud here at home.

     They wonder why Democrats are skeptical of working with them. Well, their record speaks for itself. It is apparent that Democrats must do whatever has to be done, with or without Republican assistance. End or alter the filibuster. Pass and implement HR 1. Move forward on District of Columbia statehood. Continue to erase the stain of the Trump “presidency” from our nation. Do what has to be done, with or without them.   

     After the GOP acquitted Trump using a faulty constitutional excuse to cover their complicity in the insurrection, I must conclude that the Republican Party has Jan. 6 blood on its hands — the stain and stench is fully shared by every Republican. Mr. Atchue’s Saturday letter was correct: The GOP owns Jan. 6 and we should never forget.

In the epitome of hypocrisy, Mitch McConnell voted to acquit and now extolls Democrats to clean up his crap. Of course, he’ll be the first to accuse them of attacking political foes. It’s the same with the GOP’s failure to chastise House members Green, Gosar, Biggs and Arizona Rep. Finchem. Today’s GOP is strengthening its alliance with the Oath Keepers, Proud Boys, QAnon and every right-wing extremist and militia organization. The message is clear: The GOP protects insurrectionists; no conspiracy theory is too outlandish.

     Now, the GOP’s pushing voter suppression legislation. Using the very lies and conspiracy theories they themselves generated to say voters don’t trust the election system. Even the editor of this paper wrote, without a single shred of proof, that there were “shenanigans in vote counting in some states." The GOP “big lie” is being kept alive to inspire more violence and less democracy in America.

     If the GOP seeks unity and common ground, they first have to crawl out of the latrine of their own making. Fed up GOP voters should leave the party, saying: “Enough is enough”! Remember: Your silence is complicity!

     Imagine yourself seated in a movie theater when suddenly you see flames shooting up from the on-stage curtains. Quickly the fire-engulfed curtains begin to fall on the first several occupied rows of viewers — trapping and killing them. The scene is filled with unimaginable horror.

     As you begin to get to your feet and run for your life, the theater manager walks down the aisle and announces: “Ladies and gentlemen, please stay in your seats, no need to panic. The fire will soon put itself out. In fact, ignore those firefighters and first responders — they get paid extra for trying to scare people, they’re lying about the danger!” Of course, the fire continues to spread and more viewers die.

     This insane-sounding story is exactly what Donald Trump and Don Jr. are bringing to the American people across the country. As daily new COVID infections exceed 80,000 and American deaths reach nearly 1,000 per day, the Trumps are telling us there’s no danger and everything is under control. They want us to believe that our frontline medical heroes are lying in order to make more money.

     Whether you’ve voted already or not, regardless of whom your vote goes to, please do not trust your health and life to these liars. Stay away from their super spreader campaign events — don’t let yourself get stranded on a tarmac because the Trump campaign was too negligent to provide transportation. And most of all, please believe the doctors and scientists who are risking their lives to keep Americans alive.

     Pandemics don’t care if you’re party affiliated or not. Stay safe, wear a mask in public and trust the doctors.

     I’m writing to follow up on a letter to the editor I read in last week’s Dispatch. The writer, Ralph Atchue, referred to a list of notable Republicans and hundreds of retired high-ranking officers from every branch of the military who have decided that our current president is not fit to be re-elected. Since that edition, at least two more noteworthy patriots have stepped forward to sound the alarm that America is in trouble.

     First came Olivia Troye, very recent adviser to VP Mike Pence and a top administrator of the White House COVID-19 Task Force. Ms. Troye opened a window into the way Trump discounted scientific facts and data as well as disparaging the lives of everyday Americans. She confirmed the pressure put on the CDC to water down reports and science-based guidelines for mitigating the COVID spread in meat processing plants. As an insider with a bird’s-eye view, she’s of the opinion that Trump’s lies cost American lives.

Second was Robert Cardillo, former director of the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency. Mr. Cardillo, who helped to write and deliver the “Daily Presidential Briefing," describes Trump as being disinterested in any information that didn’t fit his preconceived ideas regarding threats to America.

     We are at a time in America that has never been seen in history. We have a sitting president who is being judged by those who have seen him close up as being unfit and too dangerous to reelect. This is not a drill, this is not rhetorical, this is not an exaggeration. Please base your vote on facts and what’s really best for America. This election is nothing short of Trump vs. democracy.