Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
Steve Muratore at the Arizona Eagletarian blog has the latest on the redistricting cases proceeding in court, Harris v AIRC in the U.S. District Court of Arizona, and Leach v AIRC in the Maricopa County Superior Court, about set to go to trial this month. Redistricting -- Leach hearing Tuesday morning.
Before there has been any decision rendered in these redistricting cases, and the lengthy appeals process that is certain to follow, the Arizona Republican Party has already begun plotting how it will undermine the voter-approved Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission in 2020. Roll Call reports 2020 Redistricting? The Arizona GOP Is ON IT:
It’s never too early to start planning for redistricting, right?
On Monday, Arizona Republican Party Chairman Robert Graham announced he has formed a new committee of GOP election experts to monitor the state’s independent redistricting process — in 2020.
Local Republicans remain angry after the party got shellacked in the most recent congressional redraw ahead of the 2012 cycle. The next time the decennial redistricting process come around — eight years from now, after the 2020 cycle — the GOP does not want to be caught flat-footed again.
“The 2010 redistricting results left Arizona voters with a destructive redrawing of our communities and did a terrible injustice to our elected representatives and the constituents they serve,” Graham said in a news release. AZGOP Redistricting Committee Appointed to Monitor 2020 Redistricting Process. “We are going to be fully prepared to look out for the interests of our voters, and I am excited that these fine people have agreed to serve and ensure that the next process is conducted with fairness and transparency.”
In 2011, the Grand Canyon State’s delegation had five Republicans to three Democrats, and the party held a super majority in both branches of the Legislature. An appointed commission of five members — two Republicans, two Democrats and one registered independent — determined this decade’s map.
But Republicans howled when the commission drew a map that created four safe Republican seats, two safe Democratic seats and three competitive seats.
* * *
This cycle, Republicans are quietly searching for a registered Independent who can get appointed to the committee to help the GOP in the next round of mapmaking after 2020.
“The key to Arizona redistricting is that you need to find an independent who is on your side,” said an Arizona Republican consultant, who was granted anonymity to speak candidly.
The local GOP’s new committee includes Republicans from every House district in the state, and attorney Mike Liburdi will serve as chairman.
OK, first of all, "an independent who is on your side" is by definition NOT an independent. The Arizona GOP is seeking to rig the AIRC in its favor, as it did in 2002. And since John Mills, the Republican political aide who was present at every AIRC meeting in 2012 on behalf of the GOP legislative leadership was recently convicted of wire fraud, GOP aide convicted of wire fraud from 2008 campaign embezzlement case, that pretty much leaves the usual suspects for the anonymous source, I'm guessing either GOP voter suppression specialist and consultant Nathan Sproul, or Tea Party consultant Constantin Querard. You boys can indentify the anonymous source.
And then there's Michael Liburdi, who along with David Cantalme -- lead counsel in the current redistricting litigation -- were the lawyers/lobbyists for the secretive GOP redistricting organization FAIR Trust that sought to intimidate the current AIRC into giving the Arizona GOP everything it demanded. When they didn't get their way, they filed the instant lawsuits seeking to overturn the work of the AIRC. And they are already plotting to undermine the AIRC in 2020.
Arizona's politics is rotten to the core with political corruption.
Can't win elections with real policies, so cheat and lie, and manipulate the hell out of everything. That is the One party dictatorship's Arizona mantra. They should invite Putin over to show how to run elections.
Posted by: Christopher Memminger | August 14, 2013 at 10:31 AM