2013 An Unlucky Number
An Opinion Written By Kurt Davis I have never been a fan of the number 13. Not because of any superstition (I am not a superstitious person), but because in the political calendar, 13 has repeatedly been a series of bad years for our nation and the body politic. For example, in 1813 the United States was at war with England for a second time and had lost a significant battle that allowed the Brits to capture Fort Niagara Falls and then burn much of Buffalo to the ground. It was a reversal of American success that year and paved the way for the attacks on Washington D.C. where our freedom was precariously at risk once again to the English Monarchy. In 1913, the 16th Amendment is ratified and the Federal Government begins its massive growth spurt that forever changes the lives of Americans by allowing the fruits of our labor to be taxed through implementation of the income tax. The nation’s first income tax is flat and at a rate of 1%. What would we give to have those days back? In another move to “reform” our governance, the 17th Amendment was ratified. From then on, voter’s directly elect their U.S. Senators versus a system established by our Founders to balance the populist impulses of voters by having state legislature’s approve statesmen and women to serve as the counter balance to the “people’s house.” Runaway populism takes off in America and the beginning of the end of statesmanship marches forward…it is an issue we still grapple with today. Just look at the approval ratings of Congress to see what has happened since 1913. That brings us to 2013. A year our nation remained at war in faraway lands, with almost no one paying attention to the needless losses, except for the families of those who selflessly serve all of us. 2013 was also the year when the federal government launched a government run health care system (ObamaCare) designed to be a “stalking horse” for a single payer system which will effectively take over 18% of our nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The failed launch of ObamaCare included the unveiling of a $400 million dollar website that crashed and burned, giving us a glimpse into what will happen to the world’s finest healthcare system, once the bureaucracy has its full death grip on it. And in 2013, the US Congress passed the least amount of legislation in our nation’s history, because a weak Administration, a bloated and broke bureaucracy, coupled with the full impact of regionally based populism has become the unelected ruler of our national government. Yet, the most “Unlucky 13” event was our nation’s willingness to sit by and trade “freedom for security.” In 2013, we watched the radical expansion of government spying and monitoring tactics that would have even made Joseph Stalin blush. From phone call listening, email reading, video game monitoring to drones buzzing the skies monitoring the conversations and interactions of ordinary Americans and even our allies’ leaders…we as Americans in 2013 became numb to a government that is testing, piercing and obliterating our constitutional […]
Read moreWhere is the Political Middle?
An Opinion Written By Marcus Dell’Artino One of our pollsters released a long slide deck to the public recently, but it is one slide that has been making the rounds on the internet. The slide looks historically at the ideological leanings of the members of the U.S. Congress based upon their ratings from National Journal Vote Rankings. There it is in red, white and blue, the answers to all your questions. Why can’t Congress get anything done? Why does the Country seem so ideologically divided? Where is the political middle? The days of leaders like Minority Leader Bob Michael, Speaker Tip O’Neil and Ronald Reagan are long gone and we are left with a “my way or the highway” mentality on BOTH sides of the aisle. So what caused it? Was it a lack of candidates? Lack of voter participation? Redistricting of congressional districts? Or everyone’s favorite fall guy, “special interests”? And the answer is all of the above. You can’t blame too many rational people for not running for public office anymore. Look at what happens the second they think about running for office. The lure of serving in the public interest for short term is outweighed by the family needs. The mudslinging, endless hours, and zero private life for you or your family leave a vacuum filled by those with endless egos convinced nobody is going to know about their late night trysts. The United States has never had the greatest voter turnout compared to other democracies but has shown a small comeback in recent elections. But most scientists are studying Presidential election years. It is the non-presidential years we should be concerned about. But both of those pale in comparison to primary elections when each party picks their candidate. Considering Arizona was doing well in the last primary elections at only about 30% voter turnout. Redistricting and campaign finance changes generally fall into the same category. The more “great idea” changes you add, the worse it gets. The system is somewhat like mother nature. The more you tinker with it, the worse it may become. For instance, before “redistricting commissions” state representatives and senators would go down into a basement room and hash out district lines between themselves. It wasn’t a perfect system, but it did build relationships, some trust, and some bipartisanship. After all, if you are going to move 500 republican voters into a moderately democrat district, there has to be some give and take, right? Special interests? Everyone is part of them, they just don’t know it. If you drink Coke or Pepsi you are funding the National Beverage Association. I can go on with a 100 of these, but the most troubling has become the 24 hour news cycle and social media. The constant push to get out new and controversial topics has caused politicians and consultants to push the extremes for outlandish headlines. Remember balloon boy whose parents convinced the world their son flew away in a balloon only to later admit they made the whole story up for media attention? We don’t have to look far to find a political example. […]
Read moreThe Arizona Republic
“With less than two months left in the election, the first-rate public relations firm FirstStrategic was brought in to salvage the campaign.” — The Arizona Republic
Read morePhoenix Business Journal
“heavy hitters from both sides of the political aisle and the business world.” — Phoenix Business Journal
Read moreNational Immigration Forum
” a group of top-notch pros who know how to do politics right.” -Frank Sherry, National Immigration Forum
Read more