I want to demonstrate to my reader how the 2 major party system has failed American voters, and if you really want to punish the 2 major party system here in Arizona — I recommend you vote YES to an Open Arizona Primary via Prop 121.

For example, in Congressional District 9, we have seen the ugly partisanship nature of Republican Candidate  Vernon Parker attack the Democratic Candidate Kyrsten Sinema for referring to mothers as leeches.

Burnin’ Vernon states on his facebook page:

“FACT CHECK: Sinema Lies About Breast Feeding Moms Legislation; Taking Credit for Jonathan Paton’s Bill

Phoenix, AZ – Today the Vernon Parker campaign called on Kyrsten Sinema to immediately pull her blatantly false television ad claiming she sponsored legislation to protect breast feeding moms.Sinema’s Claim: “It was Sinema’s legislation that protected breastfeeding mothers like us from indecent exposure laws”FACT: HB 2376 was introduced by Jonathon Paton and Tim Bee. To see the actual bill click the link:

“Shame on Kyrsten Sinema for taking credit for someone else’s work. She should immediately apologize for lying about her record and apologize for calling stay at home moms leeches. Then she should take down this deceptive television commercial and finally come clean about her record,” said Alyssa Pivirotto, Parker Communications Director.”

On the other hand, a Libertarian-Republican friend of mine sent me this photo today below where it shows Burnin Vernon liking a fan page titled:

“Screw the skinny bitches:  A break up cookbook manual”

So how is a woman to vote in Congressional District 9 this year?  The options given to them in my view are horrendous.  It will amount to two things for the lady voters this year: Whether or not a woman finds it more offensive to be called a “leech” or finding it more offensive that politicians only like to “screw the skinny bitches” if these women voters are overweight.

I really don’t care who wins this race, but as a Latina … I am still disgusted with Burnin’ Vernon parading the border with Sheriff Joe Arpaio back in 2010…and in fact, one day before the Republican primary of 2012, my Libertarian friends told me they received robocalls from Arpaio supporting  Burnin’ Vernon Parker and shedding him in a good light.  My disdain runs deep against Arpaio since he sent a letter to his fans where he called me a liberal in 2010 — however, liberals are falsely calling me a far right winger and an Arpaio supporter despite my strong anti-Arpaio record.  The fringe groups have gone off the deep end — leaving the reasonable 80% that afraid to speak up in fear of being attacked by extremists on both sides of the aisle.

Long live the Independent Revolution, and may we be on the brink of another healthy American Revolution that will take power from both sides of the aisle.

“There is great interest in political reform across the nation and certainly here in Arizona, evidenced by Proposition 121 on the November ballot, an initiative which would change our traditional party primary system to a nonpartisan, top-two vote-getter system,” said Sue Clark-Johnson, executive director of Morrison Institute.

Moderating the discussion will be Don Budinger, Morrison Institute Distinguished Associate and Chairman and Founding Director of the Rodel Foundation.

The event will be held Wednesday, October 17, beginning at 5 p.m., at the Cronkite Theater, 555 N. Central Ave., on the ASU Downtown Phoenix Campus.

Please join us.

The event is free but seating is limited; guests are asked to RSVP to Elisabeth.S.Smith@asu.edu

Arizona independent voters now make up  the 2nd largest voting bloc for the first time in Arizona history

Fast forward >>>>  In 2008 the Democratic Party was the 2nd largest voting bloc only to be surpassed by independent registered voters in 2011.  Arizonans who are tired of extremism and partisanship are moving towards being independent voters and our disgust of partisanship has created a massive surge of independents or no party difference voters.

A side note for independent voters… it is clear how both Party bosses are afraid of the surging independent voter in our State.  They are afraid of our voting clout that they have tried to stop Prop 121 with regard to the Arizona Open Primary Election.   My shameless plug is to say YES to Prop 121!

Nonetheless, this is just in from the Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett:

Arizona’s Voter Turnout Rates Historical Averages Seemingly Indicate High Turnout for 2012 General Election

Watched any TV lately? Opened your mailbox? Answered your phone? Driven to work? Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you likely have noticed it’s election season! I’ve seen so much political advertising over the past few months I’ve started to hear ‘I approve this message’ in my sleep.

We are all aware of the endless series of political commercials, mail pieces and phone calls promoting Candidate X and criticizing Candidate Y. But what impact will these various methods of communication have on voter turnout?

The Grand Canyon State has nearly 5 million eligible voters. About 3.1 million Arizonans are registered to vote and only 28% of those registered participated in the state’s primary election in August. With such dismal turnout in the primary, what should we expect for November’s election?

History seems to indicate a significant increase from the August primary. In years where Arizonans have had the opportunity to cast their ballot for president, we see the highest rate of voter participation. Since 1974, Arizona has experienced approximately a 73% turnout rate in presidential elections and 57% in off years. In 1980, with Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter at the top of the ticket, turnout surged past 80% while in 2008, the Obama v. McCain race generated a 77% turnout.

While a 77% turnout rate is a significant number, it can be better and we have taken steps to improve the voting process to make it as convenient as possible. We’ve made it possible to find your polling place, track the status of your early ballot and check your registration all from most smartphones. Electronic poll books have increased efficiency and early balloting, or voting by mail, has proven to be an enormously popular initiative.

In 2008 nearly 53% of statewide votes were cast by early ballot. Just two years later the percentage rose to 61%. Now, we have about 1.5 million voters on the state’s Permanent Early Voter List (PEVL). While those numbers are impressive, they are not nearly as remarkable as the percentage of those on PEVL who actually vote. In 2008, 91% of early ballots were returned. During the midterm election of 2010, that rate decreased to 76%. With such a large number of voters on PEVL for this Presidential election we could see near record levels of participation.

Partisan voter turnout also can provide some insight as to what to look for in the general election. Four years ago 81% of registered Republicans voted in November. Democrats turned out at a rate of 73% and 69% of so-called “Independents” voted. Green and Libertarian party members voted with 84% and 76% respectively.

Over the last 100 years, Arizona has had a handful of elections that came down to one vote. Could this be the year we have another? Could you be that one vote that makes the difference?

While numbers and percentages can help us understand historical trends and patterns, each vote could be the difference between a winning candidate and a losing campaign. It’s your voice. It’s your vote. Make it count!

State lawmaker Ben Arredondo pleads guilty to two felonies

Will resign his position in Arizona Legislature as part of the plea deal

Now there is developing news that a Legislative District 27 resident is sueing (D) Rep Catherine Miranda over allegations of forged signatures on campaign docs and wants her tossed off the ballot.

And for those of you who are not from our whacky state of Arizona….go figure that our own Tom Horne (Attorney General) is also being investigated.

Criminy!  The crap we have to put up with here.   Now you know why independent voters have surged in our State becoming the 2nd largest voting bloc in our state now for the first time in Arizona history.  This is my shameless plug for Arizona voters to support Prop 121.