Arizona: Sen. Russell Pearce

Posted by azBlueMeanie:

Craig at Random Musings posted this all too accurate description of Sen. Russell Pearce Random Musings: When you outlaw laws, only outlaws will have laws:

Russell Pearce likes to tout himself as a "rule of law" type, but it seems that his enthusiasm for obedience to the laws of the state and country doesn't exactly apply to Pearce himself obeying the law.

From the Arizona Capitol Times -

Sen. Russell Pearce told our reporter yesterday he is advocating lawmakers "simply ignore" the maintenance of effort requirements for K-12, universities and healthcare funding that the state agreed to when it accepted the federal stimulus aid earlier this year.

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

A h/t to Flounder for a comment he posted earlier, "I think one of the biggest takeaways of the elections last night are that the right-wings TABOR Amendments failed in Maine and Washington."

During the Special Session this past summer, the Accidental Governor and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Sen. Russell Pearce agreed to include a mini-TABOR provision in the "Sham-Wow!" budget deal that failed to pass. We are likely to see these efforts revived in the next legislative regular session.

The right-wing think tanks that peddle the Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR) like a traveling medicine show selling a cure-all for what ails you and that pour millions of corporate cash into initiative and referendum campaigns have failed to garner enough signatures to qualify this destructive measure for the ballot in Arizona.

by David Safier

Please, someone tell me the Onion has temporarily taken over the Phoenix Business Journal, or it's putting out its April Fools edition six months early. No one could really be talking about this, could they?

Talk of Russell Pearce heading state police swirls around Capitol

The already-tense fight over immigration in the state could get a lot more intense.

There is talk at the State Capitol of state Sen. Russell Pearce, R-Mesa, possibly being named head of the state police.

Sources familiar with the situation say Brewer could be replacing Arizona Department of Public Safety director Roger Vanderpool and Pearce’s name has popped up.

(At right, Cutman, AKA Russell Pearce, half of the legislative Dynamic Duo, Cutman and Melvin)

It's another day for the state budget drama, and all the action is centered in the Senate, where there will be another attempt to muster the 16 votes needed to pass the package, including a sales-tax referral. The Senate tried, but failed, to do this July 30-31 in an overnight session.
The sense of pending deja vu was clear to many lawmakers Monday, as they contemplated what lay ahead.
Someone compared it to Groundhog Day, the movie. That was a good movie, another lawmaker added.
"Yes, but that was intended to be funny," deadpanned Sen. Russell Pearce, R-Mesa, who has not been amused ...

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