Well, pardon the commercial, and no, I'm not selling tires. However, after taking a day and a half to get on the same page for their messaging, several members of UNfair Trust issued a synchronized succession of "scathing" attacks (in the form of press releases) by narcissistic politicians against the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission.
Since the situation has been covered by the Arizona Republic and numerous other outlets today, I'll not regurgitate them all for you. However, the video embedded above is a fair representation of my impression of the situation. A bunch of animals, not necessarily smart enough to properly position themselves for safety in the face of what they perceive as imminent danger, resort to primal screams hoping to scare enough people to ensure their own political survival.
However, the composure of the person at the wheel prevents disaster and they all live happily ever after. Or do they? Well, if that squirrel keeps running out in front of cars, one of these days he won't make it back to the trees. And there certainly are predators in the wild. So, even though the immediate observers (like interested voters) will be spared the emotional trauma of witnessing the accidental demise of the critter, survival is still a matter primarily of preparation and execution of wise decisions.
Not one of Arizona's whining Republicans who issued their end of the world predictions today cited any evidence to support their claims. The closest thing any of them came up with is that some guy in DC said the DRAFT Congressional map would HARM Republicans. WOW! They couldn't cite any numbers or any solid (or even vague) reasoning given by that guy.
Pressed for details, Brewer spokesman Matt Benson referred to independent experts, such as Stuart Rothenberg of the nonpartisan Rothenberg Political Report, who said the map "really helps Democrats and screws Republicans."
And if we keep our WIT about us -- or, really, if the AIRC members and staff keep their wits about them, it's probably all going to work out just fine.
By the way local demographer and redistricting expert Tony Sissons again today stated (he tweeted and posted it on his facebook page) that
Again, it is possible for AZ to have enough voting rights districts to satisfy DOJ and still have as many as 12 competitive legislative districts. The political parties do not want voters, or the Commissioners, to know this!In the meantime, don't expect the wailing and gnashing of teeth by incumbent Republicans to quiet any time soon.
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The AIRC meets Thursday and Friday at 9:30am at the Fiesta Resort in Tempe to resume deliberations on development of a draft legislative district map.
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