<nbsp/> Cooperation can help get things done

On the morning of Dec. 8, 1984, Arizona native John R. Norton III entered the West Wing of the White House and was greeted by Robert "Bob" Tuttle, President Ronald Reagan's director of personnel. Reagan had asked the Arizona agribusiness titan to serve as deputy secretary of Agriculture.

Norton III, a Republican, accepted the president's offer, and his name was placed before the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry. The Senate, at the time, was controlled by

the Democrats, and Norton III expressed trepidation about his potential "grilling."

Significantly, Arizona's entire congressional delegation rallied around its native son. Junior Sen. Dennis DeConcini, a Democrat, hosted a reception at his McLean, Va., home, where he introduced Norton III and his wife, Doris, to Democratic senators on the committee. DeConcini's wife's family, the Hurleys, were long acquainted with the Nortons through their family enterprises and their political affiliation with Arizona's growing and increasingly influential Republican Party. Of course, senior Sen. Barry Goldwater supported Norton III's confirmation.

From the House of Representatives, Arizona's delegation -- Morris Udall, a Democrat, and Republicans John McCain, Eldon Rudd and Jim Kolbe -- prepared statements in Norton III's behalf.

Udall, in characteristic fashion, offered an amusing comment but left no doubt about his support for his fellow Arizonan: "John is an unusually well-qualified person, and he is superior to everyone I know. I do not know why anyone in his right mind would want to take on this job, but the country is lucky that he is, and you will make no mistake if you confirm his nomination."

That snapshot in my new book, "The Norton Trilogy," represents another Arizona and another time, when the public's interest and civility were part and parcel of the political process.

Though contrasting ideologies and partisanship existed in the 1980s, the political atmosphere was less toxic. Differences were noted, respected, and after 5 p.m., ideological fealty remained at work. Congressmen and senators from differing parties socialized and dined together. The bipartisanship exemplified in Norton III's successful nomination in 1985 has receded into history.

Two political giants who respected each other and their respective pioneer families, Democrat Carl Hayden and Goldwater, set the tone for the bipartisan support reflected in Norton III's confirmation hearings. Shortly before his retirement from the Senate, Goldwater spoke of Hayden.

"Let me put it this simple way," he stated flatly, "whenever my service in the Senate is terminated, I hope that my service to the country and my state equals a small fraction of what Carl Hayden has provided in both areas," adding, "Carl Hayden outgrew party personality early in his political career."

Though bipartisanship is one of several themes that runs through "The Norton Trilogy," the book is also a study of the roles that federal reclamation, law, politics and individual initiative played in the settlement and growth of this often unforgiving region of the country. In short, this volume is a rumination on the history of water and agribusiness in the American Southwest through the lives

of three generations of John R. Nortons.

The work details the earliest efforts at irrigated agriculture in the 19th century through the monumental Arizona vs. California Supreme Court case that helped determine where the life-giving waters of the Colorado River would be divided and into the critical events that have shaped the late 20th century and early 21st. The Nortons were at the center of these and other developments that made Arizona into a vital population and agricultural center.

Pioneers such as John R. Norton (1854-1923), who was one of three members of the legendary Breakenridge Survey of 1889 that located the site of what became Roosevelt Dam, and John R. Norton Jr. (1901-87), who, by the 1930s emerged as one of Arizona's leading agriculture producers and livestock growers, shaped the very landscape of the western United States.

And John R. Norton III built upon the accomplishments of his father and grandfather to become one of the region's major agribusiness entrepreneurs, deputy secretary of the Department of Agriculture in the Reagan administration, and one of the West's leading philanthropists in education, health care and the arts.

The Nortons, moreover, reflected the region's evolution in politics from the late 19th century to the early 21st. Norton Sr., a Kentucky native who moved West, was a southern Democrat who won election to the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors and sought to rival Hayden in turn-of-the-century Democratic Party caucuses.

Norton Jr., not as politically active as father or son, nevertheless expressed his "Pinto Democrat" leanings when he chaired the "Democrats for Wilkie" effort in the 1940 presidential election. He was well on his way to Republican registration.

And Norton III, perhaps the most active and astute of the three in political affairs, continues to champion conservative causes.

As former Sen. DeConcini stated recently, "The Norton family reaches back in the history of Arizona as far as the Udalls, Goldwaters, Babbitts and DeConcinis, and this family and its accomplishments serve as an historical metaphor for the growth and development of Arizona and the Greater Southwest for the past 150 years."

Bruce Babbitt, former Arizona governor and secretary of the Interior Department, added a more personal observation: "During my years as governor, John R. Norton III was my go-to Republican. Working together, we discovered a lot of common ground for making water policy and promoting agriculture. The remarkable history of three Norton generations should help us understand and renew bipartisan cooperation."

Beyond the Nortons serving as exemplars of a more civil and dignified political culture, former Republican Sen. Jon Kyl, who penned a robust foreword to "The Norton Trilogy," correctly asserts that "the Nortons have made Arizona and the nation a better place," and their intergenerational legacy "is as much an American story as it is an Arizona one."

In contrast to current political vitriol and divisiveness, Arizona residents can look back upon a long history of political evolution and change, vigorous and productive political debate, and, in several significant instances, bipartisan cooperation and support from its political leaders.

Reaching across the aisle to find common ground has been a part of Arizona's political history, and, in the best of all worlds, its future.

Jack August Jr. is a visiting scholar in legal history at Snell & Wilmer. His new book, "The Norton Trilogy," is the latest of several books he has written about the American West.

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'Coming to terms' with cancer

Manuel "Manny" Cruz says he's unsure how long his "shelf life" is, but he knows his biggest fear as he faces inoperable lung cancer.

How to help

Friends of the Cruzes will hold an event and fundraiser from 5 to 7p.m. today at Culinary Dropout at The Yard, 5632 N. Seventh St., Phoenix. Donations are being accepted, with checks payable to the Manny Cruz Fund. Donations also can be mailed to 7604 W. Claremont St., Glendale, AZ, 85303-4212, or deposited at any US Bank location, account number 151705573393.

It's leaving behind Jessica, his 6-year-old daughter, who has Down syndrome.

Cruz, a Democrat who narrowly lost the Glendale mayor's race to Jerry Weiers last year, had launched his second campaign for state mine inspector when he was diagnosed in September with cancer in his lungs, spine and shoulder. He later learned that it had spread to his brain.

"It's surreal," said Cruz, a 47-year-old Arizona native. "But, you know, I'm coming to terms with it."

In the weeks since the diagnoses, campaign talk has been pushed aside. Cruz has compiled a "cancer book," which includes his appointments, lists of medications and definitions of words he had not heard before Sept.6.

During an interview at the kitchen table of his central Glendale home, Cruz contemplated what, by any measure, is a short future -- he says his doctors say from six months to two years, depending on how he responds to treatment -- with grace, humor and gratitude.

His tall frame now lanky from shedding 50 pounds in two months, he spoke softly and slowly about his professional career in mining and his political life, and lit up as he talked about his family and showed photos of Jessica, his "little silly."

Cruz is battling the cancer, recently completing 10 radiation treatments to shrink the brain lesions and undergoing daylong chemotherapy sessions every three weeks in hopes of prolonging his time with wife Valerie Revering, daughter Jessica and their four older children.

"Hey, you know, I'm not done yet. We've got things to do," Cruz said. "There's a wedding to plan. There are kids to take to the different events at their schools."

Stepson Chris will be married in April, and Molly, 15, -- "my little brainiac" -- is in her school's production of "The Tempest."Daughter Kim, 26, is attending Arizona State University after a four-year stint in the Navy. She has been a key source of support for her father, helping with Jessica, household chores and driving on the days when nausea and exhaustion take over.

"I've been truly blessed, with great family, great friends and a good life," he said. "And a great career that I absolutely loved, and to still be able to help people, help communities and give back."

Cruz is a fourth-generation Arizonan who worked in the mining industry. He's been active in the Democratic Party for years, but he only recently entered politics, with an unsuccessful 2010 run for mine inspector against Republican Joe Hart.

His grandfather worked the Ray Copper Mine, now owned by ASARCO, and died in his 30s of black-lung disease. Cruz's father told boyhood stories of handing out water to miners as they trudged out of the pit, before the towns of Ray and Sonora were wiped off the map by the original mining company.

Cruz's parents campaigned for Nixon and his political activism was shaped, in part, by them. His mother, Sally, changed her registration to Democrat to vote for her son in 2010, and spent hours working on his campaigns.

Cruz was honored Saturday with the chairman's award at the Arizona Democratic Party's annual Hall of Fame induction. He will be celebrated at an event today at the Culinary Dropout in Phoenix, which also serves as a fundraiser.

Arizona Democratic Party Chairman Bill Roe said Cruz was a tireless campaigner, and his mother was every bit as enthusiastic, even when they knew the registration numbers and the funding were stacked against them.

"He worked extraordinarily hard and energized a lot of people in two different races," Roe said.

After he lost to Hart in 2012, Cruz made good on a campaign promise and launched the non-profit Abandoned Mine Safety, which raised money to educate schoolchildren about the dangers of abandoned mines, and to close down some of the thousands of dangerous shafts scattered across the state.

After a tough loss to Weiers in the mayor's race, by about 4,000 votes, Cruz went back to work and soon started thinking about the 2014 race for mine inspector. Hart had served two terms and couldn't run again, and few people had both the qualifications and the interest to do the job.

"I had a really good feeling that this might be the year that I won that election," Cruz said.

In September, after a week of coughing and shortness of breath, Cruz saw his family physician.

"It doesn't look like it's anything we're going to be able to fix," Cruz said the doctor told him.

Now, instead of a campaign run, he's planning a video that he will record for Jessica.

She doesn't understand his condition, he said. When he coughs, Jessica runs over to pat him on the back.

He worries about Jessica, and about her mother. "One of the biggest things is knowing she needs that extra help. This little one right here," he says, "was going to be with us for the rest of our lives."

But he's at peace with himself.

"I believe that I'll be leaving this world a little bit better than when I got here."

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Analysis: Obama works to regain political standing

SAN FRANCISCO — SAN FRANCISCO President Barack Obama is urging donors to buck up and making a thread-the-needle appeal for bipartisanship with Republicans even as he calls for replacing the House GOP majority and holding his Democratic edge in the Senate.

Obama is seeking to gain back his political standing in the aftermath of his administration's botched launch of health care enrollment by defining himself as a pragmatic victim of tea party conservatives while casting his policies on the economy and immigration as popular remedies that could win bipartisan support.

"Right now in this country there is at least one faction of one party that has decided they are more interested in stopping progress than advancing it, and aren't interested in compromise or engaging in solving problems and more interested in scoring points for the next election," he told Democratic donors in San Francisco on Monday.

For Obama, the call for compromise is a veiled olive branch that also disguises a threat.

"What we're looking for is not the defeat of another party, what we're looking for is the advancement of ideas that are going to vindicate those values that are tried and true," he said at a fundraiser Sunday with House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi seated among about 60 high-dollar donors. "But to do that we're going to need Nancy Pelosi as speaker, because there's just a lot of work to be done right now."

Less than 24 hours later, pressing for an overhaul of immigration laws, Obama extended a hand to House Republican Speaker John Boehner.

"Speaker Boehner is hopeful we can make progress" on immigration, Obama said Monday in San Francisco. "I believe the speaker is sincere, I believe he genuinely wants to get it done."

The diverging messages reflect Obama's dual desire to win a legislative victory even as he performs his duties as leader of the Democratic Party.

"I'm not a particularly ideological person," he said, adding he still is passionate about giving people a fair shake. "But I'm pretty pragmatic about how we get there."

Raising money in Washington and California, states he won handily in his two elections, Obama faced protests and hecklers from his liberal flank. During his immigration remarks in San Francisco, he was interrupted by a protester standing immediately behind him. The young man condemned the Obama administration's record number of deportation of immigrants who are in the country illegally.

"Stop deportation, stop deportation!" the young man yelled. Obama turned and listened then said that he was required to follow the law.

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Try not to ask hopeful about female Dem 'rising stars'

(PNI) Get out that binder full of women …If a woman hasn't decided to run against Mario Diaz next year, she should grab the brass ring the community-college district board candidate tossed out this month.

Diaz, a Democrat and a candidate for a seat on the Maricopa County Community College District governing board, was part of recent panel discussion. Asked to name "rising stars" in the Democratic Party, he rattled off men's names, but came up blank on the women.

That is, until Senate Minority Leader Katie Hobbs, D-Phoenix and state Senate star, mentioned the slight on her Facebook page. The reaction was fast and furious. Comments ranged from "unbelievable" to "what an idiot" to a dissection of his campaign supporters -- of which women accounted for only 21percent, according to one post. Oh, and he has GOP supporters, too. So much for bipartisanship.

Diaz called Hobbs to apologize and then posted his apology, saying he "froze" when asked the question.

"My comment was to say that our community needed more women in political power, not that there are not women who serve in such posts," he wrote. "I have no excuses, I apologize."

What's wrong with this math? … Thirty-eight Republican members of the Legislature voted against Medicaid expansion. But 36 signed on to the lawsuit challenging that decision.

The missing plaintiffs were Sens. Don Shooter, R-Yuma, and Michele Reagan, R-Scottsdale. Shooter has said he doesn't like to sue his friends. Reagan voted for Medicaid expansion before she voted against it.

Missing from the vote and the lawsuit is Sen. Rick Murphy, R-Peoria. Murphy said he feared he wouldn't have standing to sue, since he was on vacation when the vote was taken.

Standing -- or having a legal reason to sue -- may not matter, at least as far as Gov. Jan Brewer's legal team sees it. None of the lawmakers has a right to sue, the lawyers argue, since they're not paying the "provider tax" at the heart of the plaintiff's lawsuit.

We'll see what the courts have to say about that matter; the case is before a Maricopa County Superior Court judge.

An unusual raffle … As part of the Christmas raffle this year, the Republicans in Legislative District 26, which covers parts of Tempe and Mesa, gave away an AR-15 rifle.

They said the point was to raise awareness about gun rights.

LD 26 Democrats issued a news release decrying a gun raffle held within days of the anniversary of the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre.

Committee Chairman Randy Keating, in a news release, called it "irresponsible" and "grossly insensitive."

"Arizona deserves much better from the LD 26 Republican leadership, and that is why we have decided to help collect donations for one of Arizona's leading gun-safety groups, Arizonans for Gun Safety," Keating said.

Pick your evil: insensitive timing or using the deaths of 20 children to make a political point.

A call to arms … Gov. Jan Brewer last week posted an "I Stand With Jan to Defend Christmas" postcard on her Facebook page. Within 24hours, it had garnered nearly 75,000 likes.

But based on the comments, both supporters and dissenters seemed to have missed the spirit of the season -- whatever season they choose to celebrate this time of year -- entirely.

Here's a little sample:

"Merry Christmas. I'm Hispanic and I'm tired of how all of these corrupt racist liberals like (President Barack) Obama and his supporters are trying to turn this great country into a 3rd world one."

"What exactly is Christmas being attacked by? This is idiotic. I can't believe you're in charge of an entire state."

"From what, pray tell?! What scaremongering phonies you are!"

"Merry Christmas Jan. Believe me I say it to everyone whether they like it or not."

Tweet of the week

"Just landed in Chicago. Saying it's cold would be like saying CPS (Child Protective Services) has 'a few issues.'"

--House Minority Leader Chad Campbell, D-Phoenix.

Compiled by Republic reporters Mary Jo Pitzl, Alia Beard Rau, Yvonne Wingett Sanchez, Michelle Ye Hee Lee and Rebekah L. Sanders. Get the latest at politics.azcentral.com.

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'Montgomery slate' rumor far-fetched

(PNI) From the political notebook:

Politics are full of wild rumors and conspiracy theories. Some even turn out to be true.

One running rampant through Arizona political circles is that there is a dark-money slate of candidates in Republican primaries for statewide office. The slate supposedly consists of Doug Ducey for governor, Justin Pierce for secretary of state, Mark Brnovich for attorney general and Hugh Hallman for treasurer.

"Dark money" is an epithet for campaign speech whose source of funding is obscure or undisclosed.

Supposedly huge sums of money from the vast right-wing conspiracy throughout the country will flow into Arizona to ensure the election of this dark-money slate.

The supposed mastermind and maestro of this attempt to hijack the Republican primary is none other than Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery. Some are calling it the Montgomery slate.

Now, Montgomery is a politician of some promise and has done a good job of calming the infighting in county government. I don't know whether this is a good or a bad thing to say about him. But, in terms of this conspiracy, Montgomery just ain't that important or influential.

Montgomery has some standing in county politics. He's a minor figure in state politics, with considerable upside potential. But right now, at the state level, he hardly makes anyone shake in their boots. On the national level, he's a cipher.

The notion that Montgomery can summon big bucks from around the country for statewide candidates in Arizona is implausible, to put it mildly.

I don't doubt independent expenditure campaigns will play in the Republican primary, and some of them will have obscure financing. But the notion that some large, national effort will focus on down-ballot state offices in Arizona strikes me as implausible. The vast right-wing conspiracy has considerably bigger fish to fry in the 2014 election than who is Arizona's state treasurer.

Opponents of HB 2305, the multifaceted election law bill, apparently have succeeded in getting sufficient signatures to refer it to the 2014 ballot, keeping it from going into effect. Supporters of the law will flyspeck signatures for a potential challenge, but this appears to have been a remarkably well-run signature-gathering campaign.

If it indeed is on the ballot, the prospects of the opponents prevailing are strong. I say that as someone who generally supports the law.

There are a lot of parts to HB 2305, ranging from removing those who don't use them from early ballot lists to changing the standard for legal compliance with statutory requirements for initiatives.

If there is an election, it is unlikely voters will focus in any detail on the specific provisions of HB 2305, adding up whether the good outweighs the bad. Instead, it will be an overall framing battle.

Supporters of the law will frame it as protecting the integrity of elections and providing for their smoother administration. Opponents will frame the measure as voter suppression and dirty dealing by the Legislature.

Opponents are likely to win this framing battle for two reasons: First, they are more committed and are likely to have greater resources. Second, supporters will have the burden of the "yes" vote. In referendums, a "yes" vote is to uphold the law. In contested ballot measure campaigns, the" no" side wins most of the time.

Most of HB 2305's election law changes would be nice but they aren't vital, with one exception. The bill would have stopped the practice of political activists collecting early ballots in bulk and delivering them to the polls.

Democratic Party and Latino political activists defend the practice as increasing voter participation. But it smacks of ward-heeling and is ripe for fraud. In the last election, the Maricopa County Recorder's Office reported two incidents of people going door-to-door collecting early ballots and falsely claiming to be election officials.

The Legislature should repeal HB 2305 and re-enact the prohibition on collecting early ballots in bulk as a stand-alone measure. If there is to be a ballot fight, it should be over something worth fighting about.

Reach Robb at robert.robb@arizonarepublic.com.

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Prosecutors just one part of the story, along with victims, conduct of defense <nbsp/>

(PNI) Regarding the prosecutorial- misconduct series, "The Gray Area of Courtroom Conduct."

There are three sides to any capital-case story: the prosecution, the defense and the victim/victim's family. We spent five years of hearings and two months in a trial with Maricopa County prosecutor Juan Martinez during my sister's murder-trial case (State vs. Dixon) and never saw prosecutorial misconduct.

Yet we saw multiple instances of defense manipulation, including delays, frivolous motions, etc., all of which were painful for the family of the victim.

The series is comprehensive, but the other two sides of the story should be explored and told.

--Leslie James, Phoenix

Montgomery driven by politics

I thoroughly enjoyed your special report on prosecutors who cross the line.

The larger point I took from the story was Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery's lack of accountability with regard to all the misconduct in his office. When he does learn of it, he treats it as if it is of little concern.

He is too busy chasing his ideology to manage his own office. He is the most political prosecutor we have seen here in a long time. It's time he gives up chasing ghosts and do his job as county attorney.

--Bill Acree, Phoenix

Kochs are good for Democrats

Columnist Doug MacEachern ("For liberals, Kochs are evil personified," Oct. 28) claims liberals demonize the Koch brothers.

Ironically, the Kochs are the best thing to happen to the Democratic Party in decades.

They have dumped huge amounts of cash into the "tea party" movement, and their radical notions have alienated moderates and split the GOP in two.

The tea party basks in righteous indignation and a negative, confrontational style.

That approach works well with older voters and in the red states, but it alienates most Americans and nearly guarantees Democratic presidential victories in the next several elections.

Despite the worship of Ronald Reagan, the GOP has missed his most critical message. Reagan was a great president because he made us feel good about ourselves.

Not because he lowered taxes or made the government smaller. His sincerity and honesty brought people together rather than driving them apart.

Reagan was a pragmatist and resolutely committed to success.

He never would have condoned the tea party's quixotic quest to repeal "Obamacare" 40 times! It only serves to illustrate how powerless the tea party is.

--M.L. Frischenmeyer,Chandler

Health law is a godsend to me

Although I did have problems accessing healthcare.gov early on, in about the second week of October, I was able to access information regarding what plans at each company were available to me.

Once I decided which company and which plan I wanted, I contacted a company representative directly to sign up. My experience was very positive, and the process easy.

I've been buying my own health insurance for almost 14years, and I can tell you the Affordable Care Act, even with all the rollout problems, is a godsend!

Although I do have a pre-existing condition, (I'm sure almost everyone over 45 has one), I'm healthy and only need to see my doctor for annual checkups.

For 14years, I've struggled almost every year to remain insured.

My last coverage was going to cost me about $1,300 per month just for myself. Under the Affordable Care Act, my insurance will cost me $575, my policy is much better and my deductible is lower.

For anyone who will ever have to buy his or her own insurance, you can thank the Affordable Care Act for making it even possible.

--David Johnson, Mesa

Cartoon open to interpretation

Steve Benson's cartoon Sunday shows a serpent and a sleeping baby. It's no surprise the baby is "Obamacare" and the serpent is the GOP.

I think many people who are demonized by the left feel the cartoon should be just the opposite. The snake is Obamacare, and the baby represents average American taxpaying citizens who have families and small businesses.

It could also be taken a step further with the serpent just titled "Big (out of control) Government." Labels for the cartoon are numerous. Pro-lifers see the snake as abortion, with the baby representing, well, a baby. You get the idea.

--Charles Lopresto, Phoenix

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Congress' heinous behavior creates nothing but suffering for U.S. citizens

(PNI) I think this is pretty accurate:

Congress creates a fiscal crisis with a known default date, and then takes the summer off. Congress passes a law that doesn't apply equally to all citizens, and then can't make it work.

The president and the Senate refuse to negotiate on anything, and the House Republicans get the blame.

Premeditated targeting of selected groups during the shutdown inflicts intentional suffering on citizens. The intentional, heinous actions of not caring for our fallen soldiers and their families is despicable.

We get to watch it happen all over again in 10 or 12 weeks -- after they take the Christmas holidays off. Brilliant!

What did I miss?

--Mike Sromek, Glendale

Responsibilities for lawmakers

An agreement on the partial government shutdown and the debt ceiling has been reached. Most Republicans again cave. Therefore, President Barack Obama, the Democratic Party and moderate Republicans are now responsible for:

1. Continued high unemployment.

2. Enormous public debt and its burden on our children and grandchildren.

3. "Obamacare" dysfunction.

4. Growing taxation.

5. The continuing loss of personal freedom.

--Lowell Ziemann, Happy Jack

Good riddance to the 'tea party'

In 2010, after the "tea party" rose to a minority voice in Congress, a member of President Barack Obama's staff said the tea party would be merely a footnote in history in two years.

Well, he was wrong; it took three years. Either way, good riddance.

Now maybe the Congress can get back to solving the nation's problems instead of creating them.

--Joe SecolaScottsdale

Get rid of the 'lords' in Congress

I have had it. Our federal lawmakers (House and Senate, Democrat and Republican) seem to forget that they are, or should be, subject to the laws they create.

Many have been in office much too long. As a result, they think they are lords and we are the serfs in their fiefdoms.

Those who have been there more than 12 years are the problem. They must remember that they set the spending levels, create laws for all of us, oversee bureaus and agencies. They have created this mess and refuse to fix it.

It's time to get rid of all of them and start over. We need people in office who are servants of this country and will work for the betterment of the country.

--Alice Wilson, Sun City

Congress, cut your own salaries

Hey, Congress! Why not pass a 10 to 20 percent cut in your salary to go along with your apology to America? Americans are understanding and just might re-elect you.

--Ed Laird, New River

Hatred is just bad propaganda

Because Rep. Brenda Barton, R-Payson, wants to make analogies related to the politics of the 1930s, I have one also: Joseph Goebbels (minister of propaganda for the most hated regime in history). He would have been proud of the success of the anti-Obama propaganda seen on the Internet, TV and print media.

Prejudice and hatred are the tools of a minority just as they were in Munich in the 1920s.

Give us back our democratic process.

--George Egly, Sun City

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Constitution Day lauds political lessons of past

Most Americans appear fed up with gridlock, partisan divide and ideological intransigence in our nation's capital. President Barack Obama's approval ratings have fallen, and voters rate Congress even lower. Standing for political principle seems to have given way to posturing; political compromise is apparently a lost art.

Tuesday is Constitution Day. On a day intended to celebrate the founding document in our nation's unique experiment in republican government, we should step back and ask ourselves if the problems in Washington, D.C., are exclusively the fault of the politicians we elect.

National organizations such as the Jack Miller Center have suggested that we revisit the original debates at the time of the Constitution's drafting. In doing so, we may rediscover that high principle and political compromise can go hand-in-hand, and that the Constitution itself is an act of principled political compromise.

We should remind ourselves that our national heroes such as Abraham Lincoln understood that principle and practical politics were not contradictory. As president during the Civil War with its horrific casualties, Lincoln faced political opposition within his own party and growing Democratic Party opposition in the North. His sole aim as commander-in-chief was to win the war, but he was an anti-slave Republican who increasingly understood that the war itself was about abolishing slavery. Here he stood on high principle.

In late 1862, as the war continued to go poorly for Union forces, Lincoln issued the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation freeing the slaves of rebels. This limited measure served military purposes and expressed Lincoln's deep belief that the war was about freeing the slaves.

Press notices about the forthcoming proclamation aroused Democratic opponents and cheered the radical wing of Lincoln's own party. The proclamation cost Lincoln votes in the midterm elections of 1862, when Democrats won 35 congressional seats, including Lincoln's home district in Illinois.

Elected to a second term in 1864 (much to his surprise), Lincoln feared that a hostile judiciary might overturn his Emancipation Proclamation; he sought passage of a constitutional amendment guaranteeing African-Americans permanent freedom. As the war concluded, Lincoln brought before Congress the 13th Amendment to formally abolish slavery throughout the United States. Radical Republicans wanted a more expansive amendment, but were defeated in committee. Working with friendly congressmen, Lincoln instructed that all stops be pulled out to ensure passage of the amendment. All stops meant patronage, political pressure, deals and direct appeals by Lincoln to reticent House members. Lincoln achieved his ultimate goal: the end of slavery and the realization that the Union would not endure half-slave and half-free.

Are today's youths learning such lessons about Lincoln and about constitutional democracy? A frequent complaint is that our schools and universities are no longer teaching civics. Instead, they have become hotbeds of political indoctrination, often around identity politics.

As a professor of history at Arizona State University, I have a different perspective.

My colleagues in history work hard in the classroom to ensure that students learn the most important lesson of the past: That while people and societies are not perfect, social, political and cultural changes do occur through human struggle and a desire to make their world better.

This commitment to education is most evident in an undergraduate program in Political Thought and Leadership recently established at ASU.

The program's purpose is to train a new generation of state and national leaders in the principles of constitutional government.

In celebrating Constitution Day, we -- the American voters and citizens of our great state of Arizona -- acknowledge the continuing presence of the past.

Donald T. Critchlow is a history professor at Arizona State University.

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House Republicans, Obama seek end to budget stalemate

WASHINGTON — WASHINGTON Negotiations to end the government shutdown and avert default continued Friday as Senate Republicans huddled with President Barack Obama privately to discuss a pathway out of the impasse.

POLL: MOST FAULT REPUBLICANS FOR SHUTDOWN

A Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll showed more people blaming Republicans than President Barack Obama for the shutdown, 53percent to 31percent. Just 24percent viewed the Republican Party positively, compared with 39 percent with positive views of the Democratic Party.

"The question is: Can you get something in the next 72 hours? The president seems committed to being engaged in it, and he hadn't been up to this point, so I'm optimistic," said Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., after the meeting.

House and Senate Republicans appear to be pursuing different negotiations with the White House, and it is unclear whether either proposal can win over Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., who is leading congressional Democrats in the negotiations.

Democrats have resisted GOP efforts, led by House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, to engage in budget talks until the government is reopened and the debt ceiling is increased before the Oct.17 deadline.

Day 11

The shutdown, in its 11th day Friday, began when Republicans demanded a delay or defunding of the Affordable Care Act in exchange for their votes to keep the government running.

The funding discussion has now snowballed to include a plan to increase the U.S. borrowing limit so the nation can continue to pay its bills on time. Republicans have since moved on from focusing solely on the health care law to seeking broader concessions on fiscal issues.

Congress will continue to work through the weekend. House Republicans will huddle Saturday morning and the Senate is scheduled to vote on a key procedural hurdle to move ahead with a 15-month increase in the debt ceiling with no conditions attached.

House Republicans have offered a short-term path to resolve the shutdown and avert default in order to reach a broader budget deal, while Senate Republicans appear to be mulling longer-term solutions in order to reach an agreement.

Stopgap measure

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, is working with senators in both parties on a budget framework that includes a six-month stopgap funding bill and suspends the debt ceiling through January. The extensions would give Congress breathing room to reach a broader budget agreement.

"I believe that still gives us plenty of leverage to work out a long-term fiscal plan, but it removes the threat of an immediate default," Collins said Friday.

Multiple Senate Republicans said the conversation with the president did not include the competing House proposal that would increase the debt ceiling for six weeks.

Republicans have also proposed a short-term stopgap spending bill to reopen the government after Obama rejected their proposal for only a debt ceiling increase.

Senate Republicans seem eager to resolve the impasse. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., cited a "devastating" NBC/WSJ polled released Thursday that showed the Republican Party's favorability at an all-time low. "I know that they're reading the polls," McCain said of House Republicans.

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Tom Foley, 84, former House speaker

WASHINGTON — WASHINGTON Tall and courtly, Tom Foley served 30 years in the House when partisan confrontation was less rancorous than today and Democrats had dominated for decades. He crowned his long political career by becoming speaker, only to be toppled when Republicans seized control of Congress in 1994, turned out by angry voters with little taste for incumbents.

Foley, the first speaker to be booted from office by his constituents since the Civil War, died Friday at the age of 84 of complications from a stroke, according to his wife, Heather.

She said he had suffered a stroke last December and was hospitalized in May with pneumonia. He returned home after a week and had been on hospice care there ever since, she said.

Foley "was very much a believer that the perfect should not get in the way of the achievable," Heather Foley wrote in a 10-page obituary of her husband. She said he believed that "half of something was better than none."

"There was always another day and another Congress to move forward and get the other half done," she wrote.

"America has lost a legend of the United States Congress," President Barack Obama said in a statement Friday, adding, "Tom's straightforward approach helped him find common ground with members of both parties."

Foley, who grew up in a politically active family in Spokane, Wash., represented that agriculture-heavy area for 15 terms in the House, including more than five years in the speaker's chair.

In that job, he was third in line of succession to the presidency and was the first speaker from west of the Rocky Mountains.

As speaker, he was an active negotiator in the 1990 budget talks that led to President George H.W. Bush breaking his pledge to never agree to raise taxes, an episode that played a role in Bush's 1992 defeat. Even so, Bush released a statement Friday lauding Foley.

"Tom never got personal or burned bridges," said Bush. "We didn't agree on every issue, but on key issues we managed to put the good of the country ahead of politics."

Also in 1990, Foley let the House vote on a resolution authorizing Bush to use force against Iraq for its invasion of Kuwait, despite "strong personal reservations and the strenuous objections of a good many" House Democrats, Bob Michel, an Illinois Republican who was House minority leader at the time, recalled Friday.

"But he granted our request for a vote because it was the right thing to do. He was that kind of leader," Michel said in a statement.

Foley was also at the helm when, in 1992, revelations that many lawmakers had been allowed to overdraw their checking accounts at the House bank provoked a wave of anger against incumbents. In 1993, he helped shepherd President Bill Clinton's budget through the House.

He never served a day as a member of the House's minority party. The Republican capture of the chamber in 1994 gave them control for the first time in 40 years and Foley, it turned out, was their prize victim.

He was replaced as speaker by his nemesis, Rep. Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., leader of a group of rebellious younger Republicans who rejected the less-combative tactics of established GOP leaders like Michel.

Foley was defeated in 1994 by 4,000 votes by Spokane attorney George Nethercutt, a Republican who supported term limits, which the speaker fought. Also hurting Foley was his ability to bring home federal benefits, which Nethercutt used by accusing him of pork-barrel politics.

Foley later served as U.S. ambassador to Japan for four years in the Clinton administration.

On Friday, House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, called Foley "forthright and warmhearted" in a written statement.

"Tom Foley endeared himself not only to the wheat farmers back home but also colleagues on both sides of the aisle," Boehner said. "That had a lot to do with his solid sense of fairness, which remains a model for any speaker or representative."

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., called Foley "a quintessential champion of the common good" who "inspired a sense of purpose and civility that reflects the best of our democracy."

She added, "Speaker Foley's unrivaled ability to build consensus and find common ground earned him genuine respect on both sides of the aisle."

In a 2004 Associated Press interview, Foley spoke about how voters did not appreciate the value of service as party leader and said rural voters were turning against Democrats.

"We need to examine how we are responding to this division ? particularly the sense in some rural areas that the Democratic Party is not a party that respects faith or family or has respect for values," he said. "I think that's wrong, but it's a dangerous perception if it develops as it has."

Foley loved the classics and art, hobnobbing with presidents, and his steady rise to power in Congress and diplomacy. He had a fine stereo system in his Capitol office.

He also loved riding horseback in parades and getting his boots dirty in the rolling hills of the Palouse country that his pioneer forebears helped settle.

Foley studied at the feet of the state's two legendary senators, Henry M. Jackson and Warren G. Magnuson. "Scoop" Jackson was his mentor and urged his former aide to run for the House in 1964, a landslide year for Democrats.

Foley worked with leadership to get plum committee assignments. Retirement, new seniority rules, election losses and leadership battles lifted Foley into the Agriculture Committee chairmanship by age 44. He eventually left that post, which he later called his favorite leadership position, to become Democratic whip, the caucus' third-ranking post.

Similar good fortune elevated him to majority leader, and the downfall of Jim Wright of Texas lifted him to the speaker's chair, where he served from June 1989 until January 1995.

"I wish I could say it was merit and hard work, but I think so much of what happens in a political career is the result of circumstances that are favorable and opportunities that come about," Foley told the AP in 2003.

He said his proudest achievements were farm bills, hunger programs, civil liberties, environmental legislation and civil-rights bills. Helping individual constituents also was satisfying, he said. Even though his views were often considerably to the left of his mostly Republican constituents, he said he tried to stay in touch.

Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., tweeted Friday, "Tom Foley was a tireless, dedicated public servant for WA & the nation. I wouldn't be where I am today w/o his support. He'll be missed."

Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., the No. 4 House GOP leader who holds Foley's old eastern Washington seat, called him "an honorable leader and colleague" who was "highly regarded and respected by Democrats and Republicans."

After leaving Congress, he joined a blue chip law firm in Washington, D.C., and served on corporate boards. Foley and his wife, Heather, his unpaid political adviser and staff aide, had built their dream home in the capital in 1992.

In 1997, he took one of the most prestigious assignments in diplomacy, ambassador to Japan. A longtime Japan scholar, Foley had been a frequent visitor to that nation, in part to promote the farm products his district produces.

His father, Ralph, was a judge for decades and a school classmate of Bing Crosby's. His mother, Helen, was a teacher.

Foley attended Gonzaga Preparatory School and Gonzaga University in Spokane. He graduated from the University of Washington Law School and worked as a prosecutor and assistant state attorney general and as counsel for Jackson's Senate Interior Committe.

Then came the long House career.

Cornell Clayton, director of the Foley Institute for Public Policy at Washington State University, said that growing up during the Depression and World War II made Foley part of a generation that worked in a more bipartisan manner.

"They saw us all on the same team," Clayton said.

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Obama returns to campaign mode

NEW YORK — NEW YORK President Barack Obama is opening a six-week burst of fundraising for Democrats, offering an early look at how he'll frame the messy health overhaul rollout and recent government shutdown for donors and voters ahead of next year's pivotal midterm elections.

After putting political events on hold for about a month, Obama was returning to campaign mode Friday in New York, first at a top-dollar fundraiser for House Democrats, flanked by film producer Harvey Weinstein and prominent CEOs before another, closed-door event benefiting the national Democratic Party.

Before the fundraisers, Obama visited a Brooklyn high school to showcase a rare partnership among public schools, a public university system and IBM that lets students finish high school with an associate's degree in computers or engineering. With budget talks set to resume next week, he urged Congress to put more money into education.

"I don't want to hear the same old stuff about how America can't afford to invest in the things that have always made us strong," Obama said. "Don't tell me we can afford to shut down the government, which costs our economy billions of dollars, but we can't afford to invest in our education systems. There's nothing more important than this."

Accompanied by Bill de Blasio, the Democratic mayoral candidate who is leading in the polls going into the Nov.5 general election, Obama made a campaign-style appearance at Junior's, a Brooklyn landmark known for its cheesecakes. He shook hands, gave out hugs, posed for photos and bought two cakes to go.

His fundraising schedule condensed, Obama will headline at least nine fundraisers from Florida to Texas to California before the end of November for Democratic campaign committees. Michelle Obama and Vice President Joe Biden are holding their own events.

Traditionally the president is a party's most potent fundraising tool, and the effort isn't without potential reward for Obama. A return of Congress to full Democratic control next year would open the door to sweeping policies Obama would love to enact, but Republicans refuse to consider. After winning re-election last year, Obama vowed to go all-in for Democrats by holding at least 20 fundraisers ahead of the midterm elections.

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Plugged in

(PNI) Feds need to step up, protect essential creatures: Wolves

Gray wolves, including Mexican gray wolves, were poisoned, trapped and hunted until only a few isolated populations remained in the contiguous 48 states. Today, we have wolves in Arizona and New Mexico due to strong public support and the Endangered Species Act. Still, with only 75 animals in the wild, Mexican gray wolves remain one of the most endangered animals in North America, and they have less protection than they need. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing to continue and expand the designation of these animals as "non-essential." The wolves are essential and should be afforded full protection under the Endangered Species Act. Tell Fish and Wildlife.

Sandy Bahr

Sierra Club, Grand Canyon chapter

'Unsustainable borrowing'will mean brutal cuts later on

The Obama administration insists that Congress pass a debt-limit increase "without any conditions." Under the current system, Congress first commits our taxes and then figures out how to pay. American families have to first know how much money they have and then adjust their spending to accommodate their lifestyles. Under Congress' system, they don't have to justify increases in spending because there isn't a system of priorities and a limit on what's available. Instead, they just continue what the Congressional Budget Office says is "unsustainable borrowing." The unintended consequence will force cuts in critical areas like education. This dynamic has to change.

Jim Barber

Retiree, Camp Verde

I was stunned to read in Robert Robb's column Monday about the growing Republican registration advantage in Arizona. I reregistered Democratic after 30 years as a Republican Party activist and a staunch fiscal conservative because the Arizona Republican Party has moved too far right. Moreover, right-wing politicians and their corrupt band of political operatives enjoy a virtual monopoly over our state government. This kind of political imbalance is not good government. Absolute power corrupts. In Arizona, the party of moderation is the Democratic Party. Narrowing this registration gap and turning Arizona purple should be the No. 1 priority of good government activists.

Paula Pennypacker

Occupy Washington Grassroots Coalition

Arizona Fall League provides some entertaining baseball

As the Arizona Diamondbacks wrap up another disappointing season, it's time for some real baseball as Oct. 8 is opening day of the Arizona Fall League. Those six teams are composed of young guys hustling to make a major-league roster, and whether you root for the Scottsdale Scorpions or one of the other teams, it's a chance to inexpensively discover the grass-roots of baseball in the pleasant autumn climate of Arizona. The season ends Nov. 16 with the championship game. It's worth attending as the winners always celebrate as if they just won the World Series.

Jim McAllister

Scottsdale blogger

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Landrum Taylor ousted as head of Senate Dem caucus

Arizona has a new top Democrat.

The Senate Democratic caucus overthrew its leadership team in a surprise move Tuesday, tossing the minority party into turmoil.

Sen. Leah Landrum Taylor of Phoenix, the state's highest-ranking Democrat, was ousted as Senate minority leader. She will be replaced by Sen. Anna Tovar of Tolleson.

Landrum Taylor, who is running for secretary of state next year, appeared stunned by developments and said she was furious with the decision.

"They said I could not possibly run for state office and serve as the leader in the Legislature," she said, adding that prior male leaders have done just that numerous times. "It's disgusting and degrading."

Landrum Taylor also alluded to possible racial motivations, saying some had alleged that she represents too small a percentage of Arizona voters. Landrum Taylor is the state's only African-American state lawmaker. Tovar is a Latina.

The Arizona Legislature's 13 Democratic senators had scheduled a caucus meeting to replace Assistant Minority Leader Linda Lopez of Tucson. Lopez had previously announced she was voluntarily stepping down from leadership to deal with new job responsibilities.

Tovar, the minority whip, was expected to move up into that spot but declined the nomination.

Sen. Steve Gallardo of Phoenix then nominated Tovar to be minority leader, replacing Landrum Taylor.

Tovar won the position by an 8-5 vote. Landrum Taylor and four of her supporters walked out of the meeting.

Sen. Lynne Pancrazi, D-Yuma, was then voted in as assistant minority leader, and Gallardo became the new minority whip.

Landrum Taylor said she may push for a revote, noting that members of the community are calling for the same.

"The community is outraged," she said.

When asked for a reason behind the move, Pancrazi said, "(The) caucus just decided to move in a new direction.

"We have a lot to do this session. Tovar is full of energy. She's very dynamic."

Tovar said she was saddened by allegations that the change was based on Landrum Taylor's race or gender.

"Many of our caucus is minority, and many of them are women," she said. "That is not a relative issue to why this transpired."

She said there were a "multitude of things that transpired" leading up to the vote.

"Each caucus member has their own perspective on why they came to this decision," she said. "As a whole, we chose to move forward in a positive direction."

Tovar said she looks forward to working with the entire caucus, including Landrum Taylor, next session. She said they will continue to focus on education, job creation and health care.

Gallardo said the move wasn't personal and was intended to take Democrats in a different direction for the 2014 election. "Personally, I'd like to see us be a bit more aggressive on many of these key issues," said Gallardo, who is among the most outspoken legislative Democrats.

He said the best way for the minority party to win on an issue is often by swaying public opinion. "It's about messaging," Gallardo added.

Sen. Olivia Cajero Bedford, D-Tucson, was among the lawmakers who walked out with Landrum Taylor.

"They talked about what a strong caucus we were last year and then said Leah could not run for state leadership and still be the legislative leader," she said. "The logic is a detriment to the Democratic Party. It was ridiculous."

She said she has lost respect for the members of her caucus behind the coup. "We'll see if they can produce any better than Leah did last year," Cajero Bedford said, alluding to successful efforts to unite with more moderate Republicans and pass Medicaid expansion.

Cajero Bedford said she fears the Senate Democrats next session may find themselves in a predicament similar to the Republicans this past session, with a massive split in the caucus that crippled their voting power.

"We've been gloating about what has been going on with the Republicans, and now look," she said. "It's a shame."

Pancrazi dismissed those concerns.

"Caucus decisions will be made as a whole, and I look forward to a wonderful caucus," she said. "Our goal is to get through this session and get good, strong people elected."

Tovar said there will likely be hurt feelings for a while, but she hopes the caucus can put the division behind them and focus on the state and their constituents.

The infighting quickly became campaign fodder for Republicans. Arizona Republican Party Chairman Robert Graham glommed onto the allegations of racism and sexism.

"Again we see the elites in the Democrat Party using gender and race criteria to drive people away from participation in their party's decisions," he said in a statement.

Conservative political consultant Constantin Querard wondered what the development means for Landrum Taylor's chances in the race for secretary of state.

"Fair to say that today's events show that Leah Landrum Taylor's run for #AZSOS will not enjoy a united Democrat base supporting her?" he said on Twitter.

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'Tea party' conservatives just want a health-care system that can work

(PNI) The news media and the Democratic Party have done an excellent job portraying the Republicans and especially the "tea party" conservatives as being stingy and selfish.

The tea party's main goal is for the federal government to start acting fiscally responsible. We spend too much on welfare. We were a stronger country back in the early 1960s before welfare got out of control with LBJ's Great Society program.

Social Security funds were spent in the 1960s and both parties pushed program expansions over the years to make it unsustainable for the long run. The tea party does not want to end Social Security. It wants the program to operate more fiscally responsibly so it lasts longer for those who really need it.

Tea-party conservatives are willing to make sacrifices for future fiscal success. They do not want to defund the $1.7trillion "Obamacare" and throw grandma off the cliff. They want a health-care program that actually works for grandma -- not a train wreck that is now on the horizon.

--Ken Wade, Scottsdale

Ariz. attitudes need to change

The Republic editorial board's "New Arizona" series has some surprising revelations. We border Mexico. We live in a desert (Arid Zone-a).

We have industries that depend on dry, clear skies, warm weather and federal government spending including aerospace/military, agriculture/ranching, hospitality/tourism, retirement living and health care.

We have a long history of actively offending our Mexican neighbors and local Latinos. Most of our leaders don't accept the reality of climate change and our special desert vulnerability.

Our support for education ranks near the bottom both financially and intellectually as we parasitize other states for much of our educated workforce. Transportation is limited pretty much to more freeways.

Even to provide basic health care requires semi-heroic efforts to accept billions of federal dollars.

Until these attitudes change, New Arizona, same as Old Arizona.

--Andrew March, Phoenix

Secure border is humane border

I completely agree with the premise in the editorial "Put humanity in border policy" (Opinions, Tuesday). I couldn't disagree more with the incorrect statement, "Enforcement alone doesn't work. It kills."

The opposite is true: The tighter the border, the less chance you have of someone being able to cross it and endangering themselves.

A secure border is a humane border, one which we obviously don't have yet or we wouldn't have more than 11million people in the U.S. currently seeking a solution for their illegal-immigrant status.

--Rusty Childress, Phoenix

Gun violence is the new normal

The latest shooting spree in Chicago drives home one chilling point: As long as we, as a country, embrace our firearms and neglect the sad state of mental-health care, refusing to do anything about either issue, then we should not be surprised to see more incidents of mass murder.

The hysterical news reporting and anguished hand-wringing can stop; it will have become as commonplace as the tens of thousands of gun-related homicides and suicides that occur every year in this country.

So, if we're not going to do anything about it, then we're just going to have to get used to it. What a sick thought.

--Ed Coleman, Tempe

Health insurance not in budget

It looks like I'll be one of those who will be fined for not having health insurance.

I can barely pay my expenses. I don't get assistance with food nor do I have a cellphone. I live with antenna TV. I cook all meals at home and don't go to movies. I have Internet service for bill pay instead of paying for checks and stamps.

I make less than $1,500 a month, but I make it work. I'm on the verge of becoming a vegetarian because of meat prices.

The expense of health care isn't in my budget, and I don't expect the taxpayers to pay for me to have AHCCCS. I go to the store and get what's cheap and stand in line behind someone that has every form of welfare known and has a hair weave and manicure. Not to mention the designer clothes.

Mr. President, if you fine me, I have no choice but to steal a shopping cart to live out of.

--Merry Lindquist, Glendale

Dodgers deserved pool time

A note to the Arizona Diamondbacks:

The No.1 way to keep the L.A. Dodgers out of your pool -- win the final game.

I lost a little respect for my D-Backs hearing them complain about the Dodgers celebrating their division championship by jumping into our pool -- by the way, in basically an empty stadium when there were no fans or D-Back players around.

What's that saying from "Field of Dreams"? To paraphrase, if you build it, they will come. Well, what do you expect if you want to have a clever marketing idea by putting a pool in your stadium?

--Michael Shoff, Gilbert

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Oh, what a tangled website they weave

(PNI) What's good for the goose …The state Republican Party last week sent out an e-mail criticizing the state Democratic Party for removing "important files and records" from their site.

"Several years worth of agendas, minutes and event reports have vanished from the website," according to the Republican statement.

A search of the site shows there are no minutes to be found, and a Google search leads to a link to nothing.

Democratic party spokesman Frank Camacho did not return a call seeking comment.

The more records available to the public, the better, at least in Insider's eyes. Which got us wondering …

If the Republicans have deemed these documents so vital to the public, surely they would make available the same information on their website.

Nope.

Stay interesting, our candidates … After going after Democratic opacity, the state GOP set its sights on what it viewed as Democratic mediocrity: gubernatorial candidate Fred DuVal, whom the GOP labeled "the most uninteresting man in the world."

DuVal rose to the challenge in a, dare we say it, interesting way. He shipped a case of Dos Equis beer to GOP Chairman Robert Graham, along with a photoshopped picture of himself as the beer's bearded pitchman, aka the "Most Interesting Man in the World."

"Stay desperate my friends," DuVal wrote in his note, signing it as "the most electable man in Arizona."

DuVal, who so far is the only Dem in the race for governor, said he wanted to set a new standard for statesmanship. If that new standard involves cases of cerveza, Arizona's political climate just might get merrier.

Now there are two …As opponents of the state's new election law circulate petitions to get it on the 2014 ballot so they can make a case for how awful and terrible it is, not one but two groups have formed to defend the wide-ranging bill.

But what they will do, exactly, is unclear … even to the spokesman who is representing both the Protect Our Secret Ballot group, headed by state Sen. Michele Reagan, R-Scottsdale, and the Stop Voter Fraud group, led by former state lawmaker and congressional candidate Jonathan Paton.

"I can't tell you what they're doing," said Barrett Marson, of the groups that support House Bill 2305. After all, he noted, the measure has yet to be referred to the ballot (opponents face a Sept.12 deadline) so there is nothing to strategize.

That hasn't stopped the Stop Voter Fraud group from raking in $60,000 in big-dollar contributions, with $50,000 coming from the limited-government American Action Network and $10,000 from the Arizona Republican Party. The committee turned around and promptly spent $10,000. But Marson said he didn't know what that money went for.

As for Reagan's group, the Senate Elections Committee chairman said she wanted to keep her options open, but it was important to have a committee for fundraising. But if they're out tapping donors, they're doing it in smaller chunks, which means they don't have to adhere to a state law that requires immediate disclosure of contributions of $10,000 or more.

Quote of the week

"I believe there are more important issues than my last name. But sometimes you have to put sugar on the broccoli to get people's attention and bring these issues to the front." -- Phoenix City Council candidate Austin Head, whose "I (heart) Head" campaign signs have helped him get voter attention in a race crowded with well-known names.

Compiled by Republic reporters Mary Jo Pitzl and Alia Beard Rau. Get the latest at politics.azcentral.com.

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Tough politician left modest state legacy

(PNI) Becoming head of the California university system probably brings an end to Janet Napolitano's career as an Arizona politician.

It's been an odd story. Napolitano dominated her political party more than any other state politician in the modern era. At the zenith of her power, in 2006 and 2007, she defined the center of Arizona politics. Yet, today, there's not a trace of her influence or legacy. It's as though she never was governor.

Napolitano was barely elected governor in 2002, with the second-lowest percentage of the vote (46percent) in Arizona history. In 2006, she was re-elected in a stunning victory that defied the laws of political physics.

In 2002, Napolitano owed her victory to Pima County. She lost the balance of the state and carried a bare majority of the counties. She lost Republican-dominated Maricopa County by 25,000 votes.

In 2006, Napolitano won with 63percent of the vote, the largest margin for a gubernatorial candidate since Bruce Babbitt's re-election victory in 1982. She carried all 15 counties. She won Maricopa County by more than 200,000 votes.

Her opponent in that race, Len Munsil, was relatively unknown and didn't have enough money to really make a game of it. But Munsil was no slouch, and even a better known and financed opponent would have gotten trounced. At that time, Napolitano was a comfortable fit for the Arizona body politic.

Before Napolitano, the Arizona Democratic Party was still feeling the reverberations of the rivalry between Babbitt and former U.S. Sen. Dennis DeConcini. The rivalry was never destructive, and by the time Napolitano was elected governor, both had been out of elected office for quite a while. But Democratic politicians were still frequently known as being from the Babbitt or DeConcini camps.

Napolitano superseded all that. Helped by party Chairman Jim Pederson's largesse, she dominated the state Democratic Party and had no rival. She was the unquestioned and unchallenged queen bee.

She also mastered the Republican Arizona Legislature. During her first term, state general fund spending increased nearly 70percent. Three consecutive years, the increase was more than 15percent. And for the most part, legislative Republicans voted for those budgets. She also vetoed more bills than any governor in Arizona history, 58 in one year alone.

The spending spree was fueled by housing-bubble-related revenue. The bottom was falling out about the time Napolitano was splitting for Washington, D.C., to become President Obama's Homeland Security secretary.

I give Napolitano a pass on her tenure at Homeland Security. The agency shouldn't exist. It's too big to be effective or effectively managed. It had to drive Napolitano, who was a bit of a control freak while governor, nuts on occasion. On the other hand, it was probably good training for overseeing large universities, which are also generally unmanageable.

Back in Arizona, all of Napolitano's gains were erased by the fiscal tsunami that hit state revenue. State spending remains well below the Napolitano peaks. Her signature reform, state-paid all-day kindergarten, has been repealed.

Nor did Napolitano leave a political legacy. She never did have coattails. No Democrat won a statewide race in 2010 or 2012. In fact, today, for the first time in Arizona history, there is not a single Democrat holding statewide elected office. And no Democratic politicians are thought of as from the Napolitano camp.

The last Democrat elected to the governorship before Napolitano, Babbitt, never dominated state politics the way she did. He didn't try. He took a largely hands-off approach to the Republican-controlled Legislature, monitoring it rather than trying to master it.

Instead, Babbitt concentrated on getting a few things done of importance to him. The state is still guided today by two of his legacy projects: the groundwater law and the urban lands act.

All that's left of the Napolitano governorship, despite her extraordinary political dominance, is a portrait on a wall.

Reach Robb at robert.robb @arizonarepublic.com.

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Election law targets Democrats, favors the Republican vote

Respect.

Arizona Democrats have earned it. However, Gov. Jan Brewer and her political operatives have once again abused their power to marginalize Democrats. Signing House Bill 2305, which is designed to bolster the Republican Party's advantage in the 2014 election, is the latest example.

The victories of the past session are due in large part to the gains Democrats made in the Legislature in 2012. By restoring balance to the Legislature, moderate Republicans finally gained the confidence they lacked during the debate over Senate Bill 1070, the impeachment of a redistricting commissioner or the budget cuts that negatively impacted Arizona's schools, universities, cities and public safety, and left hundreds of thousands without health care these past five years.

Expanding health-care coverage this session was only possible because national Democrats risked and lost their political power in 2010 to pass health-care reform. Gov. Brewer is now being anointed sainthood status, though she merely swept in at the last minute to fix a problem that she helped orchestrate.

Brewer could have easily decided it would have been easier to side with the "tea party" and continue fighting Medicaid expansion, but thankfully, she decided to do what was best for Arizona. For this, she does deserve credit -- but we should not forget the foundation of her decision was prompted by 13 Democratic state senators and 24 state representatives.

The question surrounding a promise to kill or veto HB 2305 is irrelevant. The bill lacked compromise and transparency. It was designed not with the intent of making voting easier and more accessible, but with the intent of limiting voter participation and choice. It includes new restrictions on how Arizonans can exercise their right to vote early. Arizona lags behind in voter turnout and has failed to update outdated voter-registration deadlines, improve access to early-voting locations and remove antiquated precinct restrictions on Election Day.

The fight to preserve voting rights defines the modern-day Democratic Party. This right has been fought for and sealed with the blood of those who battled for civil rights. Given Arizona's dark history of discrimination and drawn-out arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court and the Department of Justice, it is crucial that all election reforms require the highest degree of scrutiny, transparency and compromise.

Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected another Arizona law aimed at restricting voter participation, and the stage was set for Brewer to reverse the political bickering and continue the goodwill she built up with Medicaid expansion. Political decency could have once again prevailed in Arizona. Instead, Brewer and her political advisers did what they do best: divide Arizona.

Luis Heredia is government relations director for the Torres Consulting and Law Group and a Democratic Party national committeeman.

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Key Homeland official facing ethics inquiry

WASHINGTON — WASHINGTON President Barack Obama's choice to be the No. 2 official at the Homeland Security Department is under investigation for his role in helping a company run by a brother of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's, the Associated Press has learned.

Alejandro Mayorkas, director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, is being investigated for his role in helping the company secure an international investor visa for a Chinese executive, according to congressional officials briefed on the investigation. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release details of the investigation.

Mayorkas was named by Homeland Security's Inspector General's Office as a target in an investigation involving the foreign investor program run by USCIS, according to an e-mail sent to lawmakers late Monday.

In that e-mail, the Inspector General's Office said, "At this point in our investigation, we do not have any findings of criminal misconduct." The e-mail did not specify any criminal allegations it might be investigating.

White House press secretary Jay Carney referred questions to the Inspector General's Office, which said that the probe is in its preliminary stage and that it doesn't comment on the specifics of investigations.

The program, known as EB-5, allows foreigners to get visas if they invest $500,000 to $1million in projects or businesses that create jobs for U.S. citizens. The amount of the investment required depends on the type of project. Investors who are approved for the program can become legal permanent residents after two years and are later eligible to be citizens.

If Mayorkas were confirmed as Homeland Security's deputy secretary, he probably would run the department until a permanent replacement was approved to take over for departing Secretary Janet Napolitano.

The e-mail to lawmakers said the primary complaint against Mayorkas was that he helped a financing company run by Anthony Rodham, a brother of Hillary Clinton's, win approval for an investor visa after the application was denied and an appeal was rejected.

Mayorkas, a former U.S. attorney in California, previously came under criticism for his involvement in the commutation by President Bill Clinton of the prison sentence of the son of a Democratic Party donor. Another of Hillary Clinton's brothers, Hugh Rodham, had been hired by the donor to lobby for the commutation. Mayorkas told lawmakers during his 2009 confirmation hearing that "it was a mistake" to talk to the White House about the request.

Hillary Clinton, who stepped down as secretary of State on Feb. 1, is considered a possible contender for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016.

According to the inspector general's e-mail, the investigation of the investor visa program also includes allegations that other USCIS Office of General Counsel officials obstructed an audit of the visa program by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The e-mail did not name any specific official from the General Counsel's Office.

The e-mail says investigators did not know whether Mayorkas was aware of the investigation. The FBI's Washington Field Office was told about the investigation in June after it inquired about Mayorkas as part of the White House background investigation for his nomination as deputy DHS secretary.

The FBI in Washington has been concerned about the investor visa program and the projects funded by foreign sources since at least March, according to e-mails obtained by the AP.

The bureau wanted details of all of the limited liability companies that had invested in the EB-5 visa program. Of particular concern, the FBI official wrote, was Chinese investment in projects, including the building of an FBI facility.

"Let's just say that we have a significant issue that my higher ups are really concerned about and this may be addressed way above my pay grade," an official wrote in one e-mail. The FBI official's name was redacted in that e-mail.

Iowa Sen. Charles Grassley, the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, sent the FBI a lengthy letter Tuesday asking for details of its review of the foreign investor visa program and Chinese investment in U.S. infrastructure projects.

Chinese investment in infrastructure projects has long been a concern of the U.S. government. In September, the Obama administration blocked a Chinese company from owning four wind farm projects in northern Oregon that were near a Navy base used to fly unmanned drones and electronic-warfare planes on training missions. And in October, the House Intelligence Committee warned that two leading Chinese technology firms, Huawei Technologies Ltd. and ZTE Corp., posed a major security threat to the U.S. Both firms have denied being influenced by the Chinese government.

The most routine users of the EB-5 program are Chinese investors. According to an undated, unclassified State Department report about the program obtained by the AP, the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou, China, processed more investor visas in the 2011 fiscal year than any other consulate or embassy. The document says "applicants are usually coached and prepped for their interviews, making it difficult to take at face value applicants' claims" about where their money comes from and whether they hold membership in the Chinese Communist Party. Party membership would make an applicant ineligible for the investor visa.

Anthony Rodham is president and CEO of Gulf Coast Funds Management LLC in McLean, Va. The firm is one of hundreds of "Regional Centers" that pool investments from foreign nationals looking to invest in U.S. businesses or industries as part of the foreign investor visa program.

There was no immediate response to an e-mail sent to Gulf Coast requesting comment.

It is unclear from the IG's e-mail why the investor visa application was denied. Visa requests can be denied for a number of reasons, including a circumstance where an applicant has a criminal background or is considered a threat to national security or public safety.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. For more information about reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ's. To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com.

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Gun debate still lingers in Colorado

DENVER — DENVER The last time Colorado enacted gun-control measures was in the wake of the 1999 Columbine High School shooting. Once the laws were on the books, there was little acrimony.

The state's latest batch of gun-control laws -- coming after a gunman's deadly rampage at a suburban Denver movie theater a year ago -- has sparked a struggle over guns that shows little signs of fading. Gun-rights advocates are trying to recall two state senators who backed the package, and dozens of Republican county sheriffs are suing to overturn it.

"This is going to remain a political hot potato for Democrats for many, many months," said gun-rights activist Ari Armstrong.

In the months after the gunman's shooting spree left 12 people dead and injured 70 others, there was little public discussion of gun control here. The shooting at a midnight showing of the Batman film "The Dark Knight Rises" occurred in a key swing county in one of the most hotly contested battleground states in last year's presidential election.

But President Barack Obama, seeking re-election, did not bring up gun control in a state that cherishes its western frontier image. Neither did most Colorado Democrats.

It wasn't until December's shooting at a Connecticut elementary school left 20 first-graders and six adults dead that gun control rose in prominence. By March, Colorado became the only state outside the Democratic Party's coastal bases to pass sweeping gun-control measures, including universal background checks and a ban on high-capacity magazines.

After the Columbine attack, voters closed a loophole that allowed buyers of firearms at gun shows to evade background checks. In the wake of the Aurora massacre, the prospects for more gun control in this libertarian-minded state seemed shaky at best.

In a television interview days after the shooting, Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper appeared to cast doubt on the effectiveness of new gun-control laws.

Hickenlooper said he had quiet conversations around the state and was struck by wide support for universal background checks.

In November, Democrats won both the state House and Senate as Colorado helped re-elect Obama. And on Dec.12, Hickenlooper declared that "the time is right" to talk about gun control.

Two days later in Connecticut, Adam Lanza, 20, shot and killed his mother, then drove to Sandy Hook Elementary School and opened fire before killing himself. The attack shocked a country that had grown hardened to mass shootings. Obama vowed an all-out push for gun control.

In Colorado, a similar push was already queued up.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's gun-control organization, Mayors Against Illegal Guns, hired four lobbyists to help push gun bills in Colorado. Vice President Joe Biden called state legislators to urge them to vote for the package. Biden told them that Colorado, with its western traditions, could help set the tone for national gun policy.

To Republicans and gun-rights groups, the message was clear. "The Obama administration and these East Coast politicians decided that, as Colorado goes, so goes the rest of the nation," said Republican state Rep. Mark Waller.

Republican legislators fought furiously to delay the bills' passage. Hundreds of demonstrators circled the state Capitol and packed the legislative chambers. Democrats were confident voters were on their side.

"The voices that are the loudest (in protest) are not the ones that determine elections here," Laura Chapin, a Democratic strategist who worked for local gun-control groups, said after the bills passed.

For gun-rights advocates, the movie theater attack exposed serious problems that Democrats were ignoring: bans on guns in public areas, and the issue of mental health. James Holmes, a former neuroscience graduate student accused of the theater shootings, purchased his guns legally -- including a rifle and a high-capacity magazine able to fire 100 bullets -- but also had seen a psychiatrist who feared he was dangerous.

The legislature agreed to Hickenlooper's $20million plan to expand mental health services. But the gun-control package got the most attention. The bill banning larger-capacity magazines squeaked through by a single vote in the state Senate.

In June, Colorado gun activists collected enough signatures to trigger recall elections for two state senators, including that chamber's president. If Democratic efforts to block them fail, the recall votes could be the first electoral test of post-Sandy Hook gun control.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. For more information about reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ's. To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com.

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Foes vow to fight new ballot hurdles

Libertarian Barry Hess said he's determined to run for governor next year, even though he'll face a 4,380 percent increase in the number of signatures he'll need to qualify for the ballot.

For Democrats, it's a 9.8 percent increase. Meanwhile, any Republican seeking the seat will have a 5.8 percent decrease in the signature requirement.

The shifting numbers are due to a late addition to a wide-ranging election bill that Gov. Jan Brewer signed into law last week. The measure was favored by Republicans, who flexed some local and national muscle to revive House Bill 2305 in the waning hours of the recently completed legislative session.

The law raises the bar to qualify for the ballot so high that minor-party candidates, such as Greens and Libertarians, say it would be nearly impossible for them to compete in statewide, congressional and legislative races. The law also raises the requirement for Democrats seeking to run statewide, be it for governor or U.S. senator.

In legislative and congressional contests, the effect on Democrats and Republicans varies with the voter registration in a given district. In some cases, they will need to collect fewer voter signatures; in others, more.

That provision, on top of other parts of HB 2305, has energized critics who say they are working on plans to stop the law from taking effect Sept. 13.

Warren Severin, chairman of the Arizona Libertarian Party, predicts a referendum to put the matter before the voters in 2014.

"There will be legal action," said Severin, adding that opponents are meeting Tuesday to discuss strategy.

D.J. Quinlan, executive director of the state Democratic Party, says the bill smacks of voter suppression with its tighter limits on the citizen-initiative process, ballot collection and the early-voting list.

"All options are on the table," he said.

The new law ties the signature requirement to the total number of voters registered in a given district, as opposed to the the current system, which is linked to the number of registered voters of a given party. Parties with smaller numbers have had a smaller base from which to calculate the signature requirement; the new law widens that base by linking it to all registered voters, not just those of a given party.

Representatives of the Green and Libertarian parties said they find that particularly offensive in the case of primaries, in which parties nominate their own candidates. In some cases, they will have to get the signatures of independents, Democrats or Republicans to qualify for their own party primaries.

Angel Torres, chairman of the Arizona Green Party, said the law effectively shuts his party out of primary contests because of the higher signature count. He predicted the Greens will opt to run as write-in candidates.

Critics of the law said it's a valentine for Republican candidates, who often view third-party candidates, particularly Libertarians, as spoilers in their races. The bill would cement the two major parties' hold on Arizona elections, said Hess, communications chairman for the state Libertarian Party.

Republicans who pushed the measure say it's a matter of fairness: All candidates for a given race should meet the same signature threshold.

The bill failed on a Senate vote but was revived when Sens. Steve Pierce and Rich Crandall reversed their stances and voted in favor of it.

Pierce, R-Prescott, said he got a call from Daniel Scarpinato, spokesman for the Republican National Congressional Committee. Pierce said Scarpinato was not calling in his official capacity, although his concern was how the signature requirement would affect campaigns.

Scarpinato was the spokesman for Republican Jonathan Paton's congressional campaign last year. Paton lost to Democrat Ann Kirkpatrick in a close race for Congressional District 1 that also included Libertarian Kim Allen, who received 6percent of the vote. If Allen were not on the ballot, Paton's camp believes, Paton would have won.

To underscore the political ramifications of HB 2305 and its effect on minor-party candidates, Pierce said an angry state Rep. Adam Kwasman, R-Oro Valley, confronted him after the bill failed. Kwasman said he needed it to pass because he plans to run in CD1 next year, Pierce said.

Kwasman did not return a call seeking comment.

Pierce said he switched his vote after calling two people, whom he did not identify, asking to be released from his promise to vote against the bill.

Scarpinato did not return a call for comment. Crandall, R-Mesa, also did not reply to several requests for him to comment on his changed vote.

Copyright 2013 The Arizona Republic|azcentral.com. All rights reserved.For more information about reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ's. To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com.

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