Arizona: the State of the State, the State of State Politics. Democratic Perspective’s intrepid investigative staff interviews Matt Capalby — Kingman native, Arizona Democratic Party stalwart, and highly regarded political consultant — about the state of play in Arizona politics as the 2016 race for the U.S. Senate and the Congressional contests in CD-1 and CD-6 begin to heat up.
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Oligarchs Then and Now: Democracy and the Distribution of Wealth. Democratic Perspective goes another round with the oligarchs. Mike Cosentino, Gary LaMaster, and Steve Williamson discuss what’s driving the increased concentration of wealth in the United States today, and why it poses a threat to democratic governance.
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If Government By the People Is For Sale, Shouldn’t the People Be Getting a Higher Price? President Jimmy Carter said recently that the United States has become “an oligarchy, with unlimited political bribery being the essence of getting the nominations for president or to elect the president. And the same thing applies to governors and U.S. senators and congress members. So now we’ve just seen a complete subversion of our political system as a payoff to major contributors, who want and expect and sometimes get favors for themselves after the election’s over.” Was he right? Democratic Perspective looks at the evidence, from the Cayman Islands to Citizens United, from Koch to Adelson to Trump.
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The Greatest Clown Show On Earth: The Republican Presidential Lineup for 2016. Democratic Perspective takes a long, flabbergasted look at the list of seventeen Republican presidential hopefuls for 2016. Should we laugh, cry, or, like Madame Defarge, go quietly back to our knitting? We report, you — or lots of somebodies very like you — decide.
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A Credible Alternative to War: Why the Critics Are Wrong About the Nuclear Agreement with Iran. Gary LaMaster and Steve Williamson review the recently announced agreement between Iran and the P5+1, an ad-hoc negotiating group composed of representatives from the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (United States, United Kingdom, France, Russia, and China), with the invited participation of Germany. Gary and Steve discuss the provisions of the agreement and what they mean for Iran, the U.S., and the international community. The benefits of the agreement to all parties are clearly significant, which makes the uncertain prospects for congressional approval in the face of Republican and Democratic hard-line opposition look very much like another potentially tragic failure of American foreign policy.
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Frustrated with an Unresponsive Government? How About Running for Office? Democratic Perspective interviews Arizona State Senator Katie Hobbs (Dem., 24th District). What happens when a social worker realizes that the needs of her clients are being ill-served by local and state government policies, and decides to run for office in the state legislature? One woman’s success story, and a classic example of how effective political engagement can contribute to a better future for all of us.
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Fault Lines: the Greek Crisis, the European Union, and the U.S. Mike Cosentino, Gary LaMaster, and Steve Williamson discuss the Greek crisis, the outcome of the most recent summit of Eurozone leaders, and the economic and political consequences not only for Greece and the European Union, but also for the U.S.
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A Session of Surprises at the Supreme Court: Conservatives Lose a Few for a Change. Steve Williamson returns from his sabbatical, and joins Mike Cosentino and Gary LaMaster in a Democratic Perspective review of the recent Supreme Court decisions on gay marriage, independent redistricting commissions, employees’ right to wear Muslim headgear at work, and a number of other important cases. Do these decisions signal an end to the majority’s romance with right-wing ideology, or were they merely a brief pause in the partisan storm that began with Bush v. Gore?
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National Monument Status for the Sedona-Verde Valley Area: Tom O’Halleran on the Need, the Politics, and the Process. Democratic Perspective’s Mike Cosentino talks to Tom O’Halleran, former Arizona State Representative and Senator, and former President of Keep Sedona Beautiful, about the campaign for a Sedona Verde Valley Red Rock National Monument.
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Journalist, Writer, Environmentalist: A Man of Many Parts. Democratic Perspective’s Mike Cosentino talks to James Bishop Jr., 25 year Sedona resident and visionary, about his life, his writing, his long association with Sedona, and his hopes for the future.
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