Arizona Politics News

State Sen. Thayer Verschoor is a wanted man.
Senate President Bob Burns issued an all-points-bulletin for the maverick senator.
His legislative colleagues are wondering where the Gilbert Republican is.
And the press is curious to find out why the senator went  AWOL just as the Senate got down to voting on budget bills in what was expected to be the final day of the special session.
With Verschoor's absence, the session didn't end, but will resume on Monday.
Legislative sources said that Verschoor was in the 'hood during Thursday's voting drama -- reportedly just east of the Capitol in downtown Phoenix. Although his whereabouts couldn't be pinned ...

read the rest of this post

by David Safier

You know that special session called by the Accidental Guv to do some budget cutting? It didn't quite work out that way.

A fragile budget deal collapsed in the Senate Thursday when Sen. Thayer Verschoor skipped the floor session and tied his support to a last-minute amendment to prevent cash-strapped agencies from hiking fees.

The House and Senate adjourned the special budget-balancing session until Monday in hopes that another deal can be worked out on the bills.

If at first at second at third at fourth you don't succeed . . . If you don't know what the hell you're doing, try, try, try again. It's bound to work out one of these times.

Posted by AzBlueMeanie: When one of the Neocon Washington Post's deans of conservative apologists, George Will, sings someone's praises you know something dark and evil is afoot. It merits a closer examination of the object of his praise. (Will's columns...

by David Safier

I happened to be at the Capitol Wednesday, camera and notepad in hand, so I took in the Dem press conference.

The thrust of the conference was to criticize the Rs for their piecemeal approach to budgeting: cut some stuff today and worry everything else some time in the future.

Lujan and Sinema, who spoke and took questions, criticized Brewer for going back on her pledge to protect education from, in the Gov's words, "devastating cuts" by joining with Republican legislators to make, well, devastating cuts to education. They called for Brewer to include Dems in crafting comprehensive budget solutions.

Two D revenue suggestions  struck me as more than reasonable, even to moderate and somewhat-conservative Rs.