Everyone knows that political pundits, social media influencers, and the corporate media love a good narrative. And one of their favorites for years has been the claim that Arizona is trending blue—that a demographic shift toward Democrats is inevitable.
This ‘conventional wisdom’ is repeated so often that much of the Republican political class in the state has accepted it as fact. Some are even advising candidates that the only path forward for Republicans is to abandon their conservative principles, embrace center-left policy solutions, and settle for a future of divided government.
But a funny thing about narratives and conventional wisdom: numbers don’t lie, especially those showing party preference when people are registering to vote.
Last month, the Secretary of State updated the statewide voter registration data prior to the Presidential Preference Election. The latest figures show that Republicans are once again the largest voting bloc in Arizona, surpassing Independents by nearly 40,000. This is certainly an important development—especially given all the attention it received on social media when Independent registrations surpassed Republicans last year.
But that’s not the most significant voter registration trend…
Reports show that the Biden administration plans to finalize its final tailpipe emissions rule for cars and trucks on Wednesday, a measure 61% of Arizonans oppose.
The possible rule could mean that nearly 70% of cars sold in 2032 would need to be electric vehicles, though this is not achievable with our current infrastructure and would make us more reliant on China, according to government relations firm AxAdvocacy.
Chet Thompson, American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) president and CEO, said the EPA policy will feel like a ban for consumers.
“It will vastly restrict both their access to and ability to afford new gas cars, trucks, SUVs and traditional hybrids,” Thompson said. “And there are no offramps in the policy in the event our infrastructure isn’t ready or consumers simply don’t buy EVs at the rate EPA would like. This is exactly why 75% of registered voters solidly oppose any government efforts designed to ban gas, diesel and traditional hybrid cars.”
President Joe Biden has been clear since 2020 he intends to use his federal agencies and the state of California to eliminate sales of new gas cars.
“While multiple administration policies push us toward this end, the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) passenger vehicle standards will do most of the damage on their own—requiring approximately 70% of new car sales to be electric in less than eight years,” he said. “This policy is bad for consumers, the economy and national security.”
“It will sacrifice our hard-won U.S. energy strength for even greater dependence on China and the EV battery and mineral supply chain China controls,” Thompson continued.
Only 16% of Arizonans support the rule, which would deprive Americans of the right to select the car best for them, their families, and their budgets.
In Wisconsin, 64% of residents oppose the measure, while 57% of Pennyslanvanians oppose, 61% of Nevadans oppose, and 66% of Ohioans oppose. Only 9% of Montana residents support the potential rule.
Elizabeth Troutman is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send her news tips using this link.
During World War II, the civilians of the Axis nations suffered greatly. Their daily lives were disrupted by bombing. Severe food shortages were common. Families were separated. An estimated 2 million civilians died in Japan alone.
Yet the Allied powers would have thought it preposterous to provide humanitarian aid. These countries had attacked us and were committed to achieving world domination. Our only hope to save civilization was to force their surrender. Instead of sending relief packages, we dropped atomic bombs on them.
You know how it worked out. America and the Allies prevailed and proved to be unusually benevolent victors. Germany, Italy, and Japan eventually became functioning, prosperous nations.
During the war, the Allies, like combatants throughout history, realized it was lunacy to work against your own war aims by subsidizing your enemy. Yet that is precisely what America is forcing on Israel in the Gaza War with our persistent calls for ceasefires, which give the beleaguered Hamas forces the opportunity to regroup and resupply.
Anthony Blinken alone has made at least three trips pressuring Israel to give their enemy a fighting chance by providing humanitarian aid. President Netanyahu is widely criticized for not going along.
The American far left, which exerts an outsized influence on foreign policy in Democratic circles, holds large rallies calling for a complete ceasefire. For them, Israel’s only way to avoid international censure is to admit defeat and accept subjugation to their savage foe, an unthinkable option.
Netanyahu’s response to the unprovoked, horrific massacre orchestrated by Hamas on October 6 was transparent. Decades of seeking accommodation with them through negotiations had come to naught. Hamas, among the Islamist terrorist groups sponsored by Iran, has fighters who since birth have been taught to hate all Jews.
The only strategic goal of any interest to Hamas is the complete annihilation of the Jewish state. They put Israel into a position where it had to permanently destroy Hamas to have any hope for a safe, peaceful future.
America seemed to initially understand the Israeli position. Israel is a small, mostly Jewish state of 10 million residents surrounded by 24 hostile countries with 500 million Muslims, most of whom ascribe to an ideology that demands eradicating Judaism. Every day, Israeli Jews must defend their right to exist.
America’s initial support of Israel’s response to a massive act of war melted under pressure from the pro-Muslim left to end the collateral damage of civilian death and suffering. The Israeli military is considered one of the most careful anywhere, sometimes amending battle plans to avoid civilian casualties.
Hamas, on the other hand, uses civilians as human shields, often housing them in the same building as military targets. Hamas celebrates their deaths as public relations coups.
Wartime hostages are always a difficult issue. Few loved ones anywhere would act differently than those piteously begging now for the return of their family members.
Yet the cruel calculus of war is that ransoming hostages, especially in lopsided transactions, inevitably means more will be taken in the future. Only a policy of remorselessly attacking hostage takers can prevent future potential kidnappings.
At this point, it is clear that the Biden administration, once Israel’s ally, is now siding with Hamas. Biden publicly criticizes Netanyahu for not agreeing to an immediate ceasefire. He is planning to build a large port into Gaza to accommodate bounteous food shipments.
We seem not to know or care that this is handing victory to Israel’s enemy. If Hamas can escape consequences for the October 6 debacle and live to fight another day, their greatest dreams will be achieved.
America has not only been an inconstant friend to Israel, we did much to enable this Gaza war in the first place. Obama and Biden rescued Iran when it faced a serious domestic uprising. They also provided the subsidies for Iran to fund its proxies, which are now enthusiastically killing Americans. The dynamic duo has virtually assured that Iran will soon be nuclear armed.
At a time when the world order is changing and new alliances are being formed, America does itself great harm by proving such a weak and indecisive ally. Make no mistake, the world is watching.
Dr. Thomas Patterson, former Chairman of the Goldwater Institute, is a retired emergency physician. He served as an Arizona State senator for 10 years in the 1990s, and as Majority Leader from 93-96. He is the author of Arizona’s original charter schools bill.
Tucson Mayor Regina Romero played host to President Joe Biden’s senior advisor last week to discuss public infrastructure.
Tom Perez, senior advisor and assistant to the President and director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, visited the city of Tucson on Tuesday. Perez, the former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, visited as part of the Investing in America tour highlighting initiatives funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
In a press conference, Perez said that the Biden administration prioritizes giving awards to those projects rooted in equity.
“There has never been in our lifetime a more robust investment in building America, building out our infrastructure, making sure in that process that we view everything through that equity lens, understanding that zip code will no longer determine destiny,” said Perez. “We have this opportunity folks, and we are not going to squander this opportunity to build an Arizona, and to build an America where everybody has access to good middle-class jobs, where high speed, affordable internet is a reality so that if you have a behavioral or mental health issue, you can do telemedicine.”
Among the initiatives for which Tucson received millions in federal funding under IRA and BIL was the 22nd Street Bridge revitalization, TARP Facility, Tucson Million Trees (TMT), and relinquishment of their water rights.
The Biden administration gave Tucson $25.9 million to build the 22nd Street Bridge. According to the Department of Transportation (DOT), it was the city’s focus on equity for the project that secured the funds.
Tucson also received a $5 million grant from the USDA last September for TMT. Despite the funding, TMT has fallen far short of its goal to plant one million trees by 2030. Only about 100,000 trees were planted as of last year.
However, Romero claimed in a one-on-one meeting with President Joe Biden earlier this month that TMT was on track.
Tucson also traded its water rights for $44 million in federal infrastructure funds last summer: over 110,000 acre-feet through 2025.
Perez also made a stop with another major Arizona city that has received millions in BIL and IRA funds.
Last Monday, Perez visited with Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego to discuss the availability of funds to both public and private entities for “clean” energy initiatives, such as electric buses for schools or solar panels for churches.
Our partnership with local leaders like @MayorGallego is crucial to ensuring communities take advantage of the unprecedented opportunity in the Investing in America agenda. https://t.co/3yEZbTpOMY
— White House Intergovernmental Affairs (@WhiteHouseIGA46) February 20, 2024
Earlier this month, Perez and National Economic Advisor Lael Brainard met with county elected officials through the National Association of Counties Legislative Conference to discuss Biden’s Investing in America agenda. Santa Cruz County Supervisor Manuel Ruiz was among those elected officials to attend.
Per White House data on federal awards, the Biden administration has issued over 1,800 BIL discretionary and formula grants in Arizona. USDA data reflects that Arizona has requested over $2.1 billion in clean energy funding.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
The Goldwater Institute is suing the Biden administration for fining Grand Canyon University for $37 million without explanation.
The U.S. Department of Education assessed a record fine of $37 million against the private, Christian university in October 2023. This marks the largest fine of its kind ever assessed by the department.
The Goldwater Institute, a Phoenix-based conservative think tank, is suing the administration to get answers about the fine and hold the government accountable.
Fines on universities who have improperly dealt with sexual assault pale in comparison to those levied against GCU. The Department of Education fined Penn State University only $2.4 million for failing to report the crimes of serial pedophile Jerry Sandusky. Michigan State University was fined a mere $4.5 million fine for refusing to address sexual assaults committed by athletic director Larry Nassar, who abused more than 500 students.
The Education Department claimed to fine GCU for insufficiently informing P.h.D students that they may have to take continuing courses while completing their doctoral dissertations. The federal government report did not cite any student’s complaints, and Education Department personnel did not visit GCU as part of its so-called investigation.
The Goldwater Institute submitted a Freedom of Information Act request to the department to gain clarity on the fine against GCU.
“The records may help inform the public about this extraordinary fine, as well as coordination between various federal agencies in what appears to be the intentionally targeting of a successful university—one that’s no stranger to run-ins with the feds—based on extraordinarily thin allegations,” a Goldwater news release says.
The Department of Education refused to turn over these public records, the think tank said, so it is suing the agency in federal court to get them anyway.
“With its motto of ‘private, Christian, affordable’ and its track record of graduating students into high-demand and high-paying jobs, GCU is a success story by any metric,” Goldwater Institute staff attorney Stacy Skankey said. “And it stands apart from universities across the country that are facing declining enrollment, that are indoctrinating students with radical politics, and that are under attack for failing to defend the First Amendment.”
Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that the Goldwater Institute was founded by Barry Goldwater. The story has been corrected.
Elizabeth Troutman is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send her news tips using this link.
