On Sunday, Congresswoman Liz Cheney (R-WY) announced that she would work through a new PAC to defeat Trump-endorsed candidates, which she equated with “election deniers,” come November. Cheney, who voted to impeach the former president and headed the controversial January 6 Committee, lost her primary race last week.
Within hours of losing the primary, Cheney converted her campaign committee into a PAC, “The Great Task,” consolidated with its predecessor, “Great Task PAC.” That PAC is starting out with over $15 million.
Cheney discussed her plan in an interview with ABC on Sunday. She said that her January 6 Committee work offered a “tremendous contribution” to her ongoing effort to “educate the American people” on the 2020 election.
“I’m going to be very focused on working to ensure that we do everything we can not to elect election deniers,” said Cheney. “[W]e’ve got election deniers that have been nominated for really important positions all across the country. And I’m going to work against those people, I’m going to work to support their opponents[.]”
What I'm fighting for is the Constitution. What I'm fighting for is the perpetuation of the Republic. What I'm fighting for is the fact that elections have to matter. pic.twitter.com/uHYt4sOgZ7
Cheney named her new PAC after a phrase President Abraham Lincoln used in his Gettysburg Address. She also likened herself to Lincoln in her concession speech last week. Cheney has also teased a future presidential run, though she didn’t confirm to ABC on Sunday whether that would be as a Republican or independent.
Arizona’s Trump-endorsed candidates are Blake Masters (U.S. Senate), Kari Lake (Governor), Mark Finchem (Secretary of State), Abraham Hamadeh (Attorney General), David Farnsworth (State House), Anthony Kern (State Senate), Wendy Rogers (State Senate), Robert Scantlebury (State Senate), and Janae Shamp (State Senate).
One of the top independent donors to Cheney’s Great Task PAC was James (Jim) Kennedy, chairman of Arizona’s top communications provider, Cox Enterprises, who gave $10,800.
Several days before her primary election, Cheney issued a final campaign video titled “The Great Task,” to criticize Trump and election critics as supportive of a “cancerous lie.”
“No one who understands our nation’s laws, no one with an honest, honorable, genuine commitment to our Constitution would say that [the 2020 election was rigged and stolen],” said Cheney.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
It’s been almost two years, and there’s been no follow-up on the death threat against Congressman Paul Gosar (R-AZ-04). Though the threat made national headlines, it appears that nothing ever came of it. Our reporters attempted to contact Capitol Police, but they didn’t issue any responses by press time.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) issued no updates on the death threat, though they’ve made other arrests for similar death threats since then. Gosar confirmed to AZ Free News that he wasn’t aware if the Capitol Police followed through with their investigation of the death threat against him.
“I am not aware of any action being taken on that death threat. I am not privy to the internal decision making of the Capitol Police or the reasons some threats are investigated and not charged and some are not investigated at all,” said Gosar.
The threat against Gosar was one of the more well-known of 8,600 threats against Congress reported to Capitol Police in 2020 — an uptick from the 6,900 in 2019 but less than the 9,600 from last year.
In January, Capitol Police Chief J. Thomas Manger informed the House Legislative Branch Appropriations Subcommittee that they haven’t been able to keep up with threats against Congress since the January 6 invasion of the Capitol.
It’s a felony to threaten a congressman, one that carries up to a 5 to 10 year prison sentence. Comparatively, Gosar has faced repercussions these past two years for behaviors perceived to communicate violence.
Last November, the House censured and removed Gosar from his committees for publicizing an anime meme in which Republican representatives’ likenesses were superimposed on anime heroes who battled and slayed anime villains bearing Democratic leaders’ likenesses. Gosar was the House’s first censure in over a decade, prompting a 4-hour debate.
The meme video was a parody of the popular anime show, “Attack on Titan.”
Since the January 6 invasion of the Capitol, Gosar has faced consistent attacks for promoting and participating in the preceding rally. Gosar has been the focus of the Democrats’ Senate select committee investigating January 6.
Earlier this year, a Democrat-backed, progressive nonprofit, Free Speech For People, unsuccessfully challenged the legitimacy of Gosar’s re-election campaign, as well as the campaigns of Congressman Andy Biggs (R-AZ-05) and State Representative Mark Finchem (R-Oro Valley) for organizing the January 6 protest.
Breaking: The AZ Supreme Court just ruled that me, @RepAndyBiggsAZ and @RealMarkFinchem will remain on the ballot. The Democrats lose again and now have to try to beat us at the ballot box. ✔️Free Speech Wins ✔️No “Insurrection” no Disqualification Clause pic.twitter.com/Ct3RvtekSu
“I think it’s totally OK for me to come with my gun and shoot you in the head,” said the woman. “That’s what we think of you, Mr. Gosar. You’re a murderer supporter and you are just going down. Murderer, murderer, murderer supporter, you are going down. And we’ll make sure we’ll send lots of protesters your way too. You’re a real big f*****g piece of s**t.”
Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ), who Spangenberg supported, condemned the threat against Gosar’s life. Kelly’s wife, Gabrielle Giffords, is the survivor of an assassination attempt.
“I strongly condemn this threat against Rep. Gosar,” wrote Kelly. “Threats of violence like this are wrong. I’m glad Capitol Police is investigating.”
I know what it means to have an act of violence committed against a Member of Congress and family member. I strongly condemn this threat against Rep. Gosar. Threats of violence like this are wrong. I’m glad Capitol Police is investigating.
With nearly $7,000 becoming available for every K-12 student to attend a private school or be homeschooled through the recent expansion of Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESAs), the Arizona Department of Education’s website has been overwhelmed with parents seeking to apply.
The credit becomes available on Sept. 24 but the number of parents applying in advance has created issues for the Department of Education’s website. An advisory posted to the website this week noted “high volume” may cause users to receive an error message when trying to establish an account.
On Saturday, Ducey took to Twitter as word spread about the tremendous interest.
Parents are laying on the pressure! They want options and are excited about Arizona’s universal education savings accounts. https://t.co/aa10cKAufp
The ESA expansion legislation sponsored by Rep. Ben Toma provides families of all 1.1 million of Arizona’s K-12 students the option of allocating 90 percent of state funding which would have been allocated to the student’s district or charter school and have it be available for private school tuition, home-schooling, tutoring, and other educational needs such as transportation, textbooks, and computers.
Among the permitted expenditures for homeschoolers is the cost of specialized teachers for subjects such as foreign language, art, and music.
Homeschoolers can and do apply to this already. Originally it was only for people in D rated school zones. Now anyone who wants to homeschool can pull their tax dollars and use on curriculum and tutors and mentors etc. I know, I am a paid music teacher for a few families.
Ducey presided over a Aug. 17 ceremonial signing of HB2853. He later said making ESAs available to all of Arizona’s K-12 students was putting “the power back in the hands of parents, who are best suited to make decisions for their children’s education.”
Jenny Clark, founder of Love Your School, attended last week’s ceremony (Ducey actually signed HB2853 on July 7). Clark says Arizona’s ESA program can be life-changing for Arizona’s students.
“My five children have benefitted from ESAs and I can’t help but think how many kids don’t get the help they need,” Clark said. “Now, they will. Every child in Arizona will have the same opportunities and ability to get the education tailored to their needs.”
Corey A. DeAngelis of the Federation for Children was one of the stakeholders involved in ensuring passage of HB2853, calling it “a national model” that empowers parents. He too used Twitter to comment on what the high demand on the ADE website means.
“This is why the government school monopoly fights so hard against giving families a choice,” DeAngelis wrote. “They’re terrified. They know parents want alternatives.”
Phoenix leadership may prohibit the use of city resources to enforce abortion restrictions or bans, according to a forthcoming resolution.
Although the resolution isn’t available for public review yet, city officials gave confirmation of its existence to the newly-launched Phoenix arm of Axios on Monday. The city council tasked staff to craft the resolution in June, according to City Attorney Cris Meyer.
I'm thrilled by the engagement we've seen from the community this month.💪🎉
Working with staff on an abortion ban policy response, updating the PHX Housing Plan, & continuing heat relief outreach are some of my top priorities for when Council heads back into session on 8/31. pic.twitter.com/Ubh9yINThC
— Councilwoman Yassamin Ansari (@District7PHX) August 2, 2022
Following the Supreme Court (SCOTUS) ruling that rejected the existence of a constitutional right to abortion, Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego declared that the city was pro-choice.
“A majority of the city council and I have no interest in using city resources to prevent women from accessing health care,” said Gallego.
I am deeply disappointed by today’s Supreme Court decision. Phoenix is a pro-choice city. A majority of the city council and I have no interest in using city resources to prevent women from accessing health care.
Gallego’s communications director, Jeanine L’Ecuyer, announced earlier this summer that the council was deciding between three separate actions: formal opposition to the SCOTUS decision, a petition to the Arizona state legislature to legalize abortions, and the prohibition of city resources for enforcing abortion laws.
In July, Councilwoman Yassamin Ansari declared that prohibiting enforcement of Arizona laws on abortion was the city’s way of fighting back. Ansari has also called for cities to fund abortion travel expenses.
A month has passed since SCOTUS rescinded the federal abortion rights – Phoenix is fighting back.
By lending unapologetic support for abortion access and ensuring no city resources are used to enforce extremist state laws, we can show that we are a city of choice and freedom. pic.twitter.com/Txt5o4EvYT
— Councilwoman Yassamin Ansari (@District7PHX) July 28, 2022
The abortion industry in Arizona has largely come to a halt, due to uncertainties of current law. Arizona has several laws regulating abortion. The oldest law predating statehood, thereby preceding SCOTUS’ Roe v. Wade decision, banned abortion completely. Another law codified in March restricts abortions after 15 weeks’ gestation.
Few are willing to provide abortion services. One Phoenix clinic, Camelback Family Planning, continued with its abortion services after a federal judge issued an injunction on a 2021 Arizona law recognizing the personhood of an unborn child. The clinic hasn’t only given abortions to Arizona women — according to abortionist Dr. Gabrielle Goodrick, the clinic has given abortions to women in other states as well.
“It’s inhumane, it’s unethical, it’s not sound medically to have women waiting and traveling,” said Goodrick.
Women in Arizona who don't want children feel grateful for finding an abortion clinic in Phoenix to get the right medication pic.twitter.com/v4xVT5kfTy
The legal hurdles confronting pro-abortionists in Arizona and across the nation prompted Planned Parenthood to take action. The abortion giant pledged to spend $50 million in support of pro-abortion candidates — Democrats — ahead of the upcoming midterm elections in November. The funds will hit Arizona as well as Georgia, Nevada, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Michigan, and Wisconsin.
So far this year, Federal Election Commission (FEC) records reflect that Planned Parenthood has only contributed $2,000 to Congressman Tom O’Halleran (D-AZ-01). He’s facing Republican, Trump-endorsed opponent Eli Crane.
In 2020, Planned Parenthood put $28,000 into Arizona through its Arizona division, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona (PPAZ), and several federal leaders: O’Halleran, Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ), and failed Democratic congressional candidate Hiral Tipirneni.
This year, according to the secretary of state’s campaign finance database, PPAZ has spent over $74,700 so far this year on pro-abortion Democratic candidates. In 2020, PPAZ spent over $211,000.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
On Wednesday, the Republican Party of Arizona accused Arizona Department of Education (ADE) Superintendent Kathy Hoffman of being a “groomer.”
A groomer is a slang term for a predatory adult who forms a special relationship with a child in order to manipulate, exploit, and abuse them. The term has increased in use with the popularity of promoting LGBTQ+ ideologies in children.
What does a dog-cleaner have in common with Kathy Hoffman?
According to Google search trend data, the word “groomer” has grown steadily in popularity since 2004. Interest spiked throughout 2020, maintaining similarly-high levels in usage since then. Though, the term can also mean an individual who takes care of a dog’s fur grooming needs, and Google doesn’t distinguish those uses in search history.
Hoffman responded to the Arizona GOP by remarking that both her GOP opponent, former superintendent and then former attorney general Tom Horne, and one of his supporters and close friends, former state representative David Stringer, have police records. Stringer resigned from the state legislature after eight sex-crime charges from 1983 came to light, in which several boys had accused Stringer of rape. Stringer was never convicted but entered five years’ supervised probation.
“What does Tom Horne have in common with his buddy David Stringer? A police record,” wrote Hoffman.
Under Hoffman, the ADE has a working relationship with the Phoenix chapter of the Gay Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), a controversial organization advocating for LGBTQ+ ideologies in children. Hoffman’s also supported the Arizona Trans Youth & Parent Organization (AZTYPO).
Earlier this year, Hoffman opposed bills banning transgender treatments and surgeries for minors, and banning biological males from female sports. She called lawmakers in support of the legislation “bigoted,” and “hateful.”
#SB1138 and #SB1165 are nothing more than bigoted government overreach directed at trans kids and their families. I'm calling on Gov. @dougducey to follow the lead of his Republican counterparts in Utah and Indiana and veto this type of hateful legislation.
The most recent controversy over child sexual abuse perpetrated by legislators occurred just last year, when former Democratic state representative Tony Navarrette was arrested for molesting two teenaged boys, ages 16 and 13. He resigned shortly after his arrest.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
There is a very good chance Arizona voters will not see the proposed Arizona Fair Elections Act on their ballots in November now that a judge has kicked out tens of thousands of petition signatures.
On Thursday, Judge Joseph Mikitish of the Maricopa County Superior Court sided with arguments from the Arizona Free Enterprise Club (AFEC) that many of the petition sheets filed by a Democratic-backed committee trying to change Arizona elections laws had, in fact, failed to comply with current election laws.
In July, the committee submitted 47,690 petition sheets containing roughly 475,000 signatures in hopes of qualifying the Arizona Fair Elections Act for the 2022 General Election ballot. At least 237,645 signatures must be deemed valid once random-sampling verification is completed by the state’s 15 county recorders.
But AFEC filed a legal challenge which alleged more than 1,000 of the circulators who collected the signatures—representing one-half of the petitions—did so in violation of one or more of Arizona’s laws.
Mikitish released an order late Thursday agreeing with several of the 32 specific objections put forth by AFEC. The effect of the judge’s ruling is that nearly 97,000 signatures will be knocked off, which puts the Act in jeopardy as the verification process continues. With a typically high sampling rejection rate, there will likely be too few verified signatures to move the Act to the ballot.
“Based on the random sample that is currently being conducted, we believe they will fall short of the minimum to qualify for the ballot by more than 10,000,” according to AFEC President Scot Mussi.
In his ruling, Mikitish noted that Arizona law calls for the constitutional and statutory requirements imposed on initiative efforts to “be strictly construed.” He added that strict compliance is defined in case law as “nearly perfect compliance” even if there will be “harsh consequences” due to a seemingly small “unfortunate mistake.”
The judge held a two-day evidentiary hearing on Aug. 15-16 and received dozens of written arguments from the parties on whether the numerous challenged circulators complied with state law.
AFEC contends the provision of the proposed AFFE Act will “upend” Arizona’s election administration and voter registration laws, curtail current safeguards with the initiative and referendum process, and reduce candidate contribution limits while promoting more taxpayer subsidies to certain candidates.
