Bill Clinton Schedules December 4 Paradise Valley Fundraiser For Hillary's Campaign

Former President Bill Clinton will be dropping in at a Paradise Valley Friday lunchtime fundraiser for his wife's Presidential campaign.

Politico reports that Hillary's husband is making a 20-city tour between today and December 14. The Phoenix-area stop will be in between L.A. and Seattle on the 3rd, and Laredo (TX) later on the 4th.

The fundraiser report gives some insight into the seemingly-sudden announcement by freshman Arizona Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-CD7) that he is endorsing Clinton.

(Arizona's Politics is looking for a friend on the Democratic side of the aisle to email a copy of the fundraiser invitation. As we have done in the past with campaign mailers, we will hold a drawing for a gift card at the end of this election cycle; the first person to send this invitation will receive five entries.)


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U.S. House Republicans Quietly Repeal Part Of Their Obamacare Repeal

Last month, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a measure that would defund Planned Parenthood and undo several parts of the Affordable Care Act. Today, House Republicans quietly repealed part of the repeal, on a party line 243-181 vote.

The Obamacare repeal and Planned Parenthood defunding measure was passed on October 23, 240-189. Rep. Matt Salmon (R-CD5) was the only Arizona member to cross party lines (one of 7 Republicans to vote "nay").  However, he announced that his no vote on the "Restoring Americans’ Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act of 2015" (H.R.3762) was because he did not feel the repeal went far enough:

“Today, as millions of Americans are suffering under the weight of Obamacare’s oppressive mandates and increased premiums, the House had an opportunity to act boldly and fully repeal this terrible law. Many of us were elected on this very promise, but sadly, House leadership chose not to do this. For that reason, because this bill didn’t go far enough to keep our promise and rid Americans of the onerous effects of Obamacare, I chose not to support it.”

Today, as a one-sentence note slipped in at the bottom of a Rules resolution regarding other, unrelated bills, the House repealed its repeal of the Obamacare provision that "certain employers automatically enroll their employees in a health plan."

H.Res.526 was debated this morning, and the Democratic opposition did briefly note the repeal repeal, although both sides focused on the other aspects of the Rules resolution, and the fact that it was "yet another closed rule" that suppresses amendments and debate.

The repeal and defund measure still will contain Planned Parenthood defunding and repeals of the individual mandate, the employer mandate, the medical device excise tax and the tax on so-called "Cadillac plans". It will be re-sent to the Senate.




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WATCH: Arizona Congressmen Go At It Over Glendale Casino, Before Vote To Stop It Falls Short; McSally, Kirkpatrick Cross Party Lines

Arizona's tribal and partisan battles were front and center in Congress today as the House of Representatives again debated and voted on a measure to try to stop the Tohono O'odham Nation from opening their Glendale casino next month.  The House fell shy of the 2/3 majority needed to pass the bill tonight, with a final 263-146 vote.

Earlier in the day, the House (and loyal C-Span viewers) were treated to 40 minutes of Arizona-focused debate, with bill sponsor Rep. Trent Franks (R-CD8) and co-sponsor Paul Gosar (R-CD4) arguing on behalf of the Gila River and Salt River Pima-Maricopa Nations, and Reps. Raul Grijalva (D-CD3) and Ruben Gallego (D-CD7) speaking for the Tohono O'odham.

Near the end of the debate, Alaska Republican Don Young (the Chair of the House subcommittee dealing with Native American affairs), claimed that he brought the bill "on behalf of the mostly unanimous Arizona delegation." The boast was not even close, as Arizona's nine Representatives split 5-4, more closely than the rest of the House.

Democratic co-sponsor Ann Kirkpatrick (D-CD1) was one of only 32 Democrats to vote "aye", and Republican Martha McSally (R-CD2) was one of only eight Republicans to vote "nay".

The casino is currently scheduled for a grand opening on December 20.


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BREAKING: Prop. 123 Air War Begins NOW: Dark Money Group Airs Pro-Ducey Plan Ad Sunday

The advertising campaign for the Gov. Ducey-led Proposition 123 plan for education funding starts tomorrow (Sunday), as a dark money group begins a small ad buy on Phoenix TV stations.

The American Federation for Children has purchased $2,000 worth of spots on Sunday news shows in Phoenix.

The spot is not yet available, although the media buyer for the AFC did tell Arizona's Politics that he would pass it along as soon as he could.

The American Federation for Children spent more than $310,000 on Arizona elections in 2014, most at the state legislative level.  Arizona's Politics assigned AFC a #50ShadesOfDarkMoney shade of 40 at the time. Here is how that was arrived at:

AFC is a 501(c )(4) social non-welfare corporation that has received notoriety for its lack of disclosure, for its founders' backgrounds, for name changes and campaign fines. It is led by Betsy DeVos, from the Amway and Blackwater families, and has received several million dollars from Walton family members. These have not been disclosed by AFC (here is their most recent IRS filing from 2012), but has been uncovered by reporters during their involvement in otherschool choice campaigns in other states. The website does not disclose any funding sources, either.
AFC receives a very dark gray shade of dark money - a number 40 on our scale.

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BREAKING: U.S. House Re-Sets Vote On Blocking West Valley Casino For Next Week; Casino Scheduled To Open In 5 Weeks

Just five weeks before the Tohono O'odham Nation is set to open their West Valley Desert Diamond casino in Glendale, the U.S. House of Representatives has re-set a vote on Rep. Trent Franks' bill to block it.

The re-set comes just three weeks after it was removed from the House's calendar due to an "ethics concern", one week after the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals found that the Tohono O'odham's claiming of the land in the West Valley was legal, and only five weeks before the planned December 20 grand opening of the already-constructed casino.

While there is no official word on why the Keep the Promise Act was taken off of the calendar last month or why it is back on the calendar, the impending grand opening, the latest legal chapter, the intensive lobbying - by both the Salt River and Gila River Nations - and the new House leadership could all be factors.

The bill has the support of more than half of Arizona's Congressional delegation (Franks, Gosar, Kirkpatrick, Salmon, Schweikert) and the vocal opposition of Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-CD3) (who represents much of the Tohono O'odham Nation).

The Congressional Budget Office put a possible price tag of $1Billion on the bill, because of the certainty of legal action if it was signed into law and the lost opportunity costs to the Tohono O'odham Nation.  Politico today notes "a Budget Committee aide said the committee made its own determination that there is no definite score because it's too unpredictable."

  cbo hr308

(h/t Politico)

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Jeb, Ted First Two Presidential Candidates In Arizona's Blocks, Ready For March 22 Run

Jeb Bush and Ted Cruz are the first two candidates to submit their paperwork for Arizona's Presidential primary scheduled for March 22.

The Arizona Secretary of State's Office confirmed this morning that operatives for the former Florida Governor was first in the door with the paperwork this morning, followed by the Texas Senator's. Today was the first day presidential candidates could file. (December 14 is the last day to file.)

Arizona's Presidential Preference Election is slated for the fourth Tuesday in March, and will be the largest of the three states* voting that day.  Candidates for either the Republican or Democratic nomination must file 500 valid signatures, or demonstrate that they are on primary ballots in at least two other states.

*Utah will be having a primary for both major parties that day, and Idaho will have its Democratic caucuses.

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WATCH: "Arizona Fire Districts Are In Crisis"; $55K Ad Campaign To Remove Taxing Caps

(UPDATE, 11/11 at 9:20am: If you watched the GOP Presidential debate(s), you likely saw that the ad ran several times during it. Cable providers do have to keep political files that are similar to broadcast stations; however, they do not have the same FCC requirements to make them available online. Arizona's Politics does not have the resources to visit them regularly to view their files, and is attempting to work with the major cable providers to make that information available to our readers. If you support that effort, please let both us and the cable providers know.)

Painting a desperate picture of fires running wild in Arizona, the state's 156 Fire Districts are beginning a $55,000 targeted TV ad campaign tomorrow to lobby state lawmakers to remove taxing caps. The ad paints a picture of Their proposal would eliminate some of the need for budget override elections.

Fire districts are mostly rural service districts - though some encompass municipalities - formed under state law. Similar to school districts and other special districts, Arizona law caps how much tax revenue they can raise without going to voters for a budget override or bond election.

The Arizona Fire District Association - which derives most of its budget by charging the taxpayer-financed fire districts membership dues and conference fees - has produced an ad that will begin running on Phoenix TV stations during local news times.

The ad goes right after viewers' basic fears of fire and support for first responders:

"Firefighters and paramedics laid off. Fire stations closed. Public safety budgets slashed. 9-1-1 response times soaring. Arizona Fire Districts are in crisis."

Viewers are urged to contact "the Legislature" to support their measure.

Lawmakers have not yet begun filing bills for the 2016 session, though it is the right time to be getting them ready.

The AFDA notes that 40 of their 156 members are currently at the state cap of $3.25 (on $100 of property's assessed valuation), and that they have had to close fire stations and cut staff as response times "have increased in many districts." It was not immediately apparent how many of those districts have attempted override elections, although Maricopa County has not had any since 2012.

Their cap relief measure would leave in place the 8% annual increase limit on tax levies, which they say will prevent wild increases without an election.

The AFDA receives nearly all of its revenue from taxpayers, through the fire districts.

  Save Our Fire Districts AZ NAB Form (14470943517507)

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(READ/WATCH) Trump Received 12:05 Air Time On SNL; Equal Time Requests Could Fill 2 1/2 Hour Program

Donald Trump received 12 minutes, 5 seconds of air time on this weekend's Saturday Night Live ("SNL") program, according to the equal time notices that NBC stations are uploading into their FCC files.  If all* of Trump's fellow GOP candidates for President asked for equal time, NBC could easily fill a 2 1/2 program.

Trump hosted the long-running satire and comedy program on November 7, and had most of his face time in the opening monologue/bit.  He then appeared sparingly, including a skit portraying an ultra-successful Trump Administration where the American people had, in fact, become tired of "winning".

He also pouted admirably in one of SNL's patented overly-long-near-the-end-of-the-program skits, as a "laser harp" player who was not getting enough solo time because he was always the last band member introduced. Then, all 8 bar patrons left when he started playing.

SNL also took some opportunities to gently skewer the host, particularly during the Weekend Update segment.

Here is the notice that most NBC affiliates will be filing during the next couple of days.  It is the stations themselves that have the equal time requirement, but if any candidates request equal time, it will likely be from multiple stations. Last month, NBC suggested that stations let the network know of any requests, and the network would likely negotiate on behalf of all of them.

  WNBC Trump SNL Nov7th Notice Required by Section 73 (14470742446861)

Arizona's Politics detailed many of the legal aspects of the current status of the equal time doctrine after the Trump hosting gig was announced.

Democratic candidate Larry Lessig did request equal time from NBC stations in early-voting states and the largest TV markets in the nation, after Hillary Clinton was featured in a skit.  His legal counsel and NBC traded letters on whether he qualified, and negotiations may have taken place.  However, Lessig has since halted his candidacy, mooting his request.

There are 11 other GOP candidates who will be debating (along with Trump) tomorrow, and who could validly claim equal time. At least two others were kicked off the debate stage but could still try to establish their qualifications for the 12:05 of NBC airtime.

Here are the other articles in Arizona's Politics coverage of SNL equal time issues: 

1.  Breaking the NBC Sunday Morning Memo re: Clinton's appearance: bit.ly/AZp1177
2.  Breaking the Trump hosting announcement, considering equal time ramifications:bit.ly/AZp1180
3. "POLITICAL/LEGAL MEMO, To: All GOP Presidential Candidates. Re: 'Equal Time'             Requests":bit.ly/AZp1181
4. BREAKING (the ice): Hillary Clinton's SNL Appearance Triggers Equal Time Request From Larry Lessig; KPNX Among 47 Stations Nationwide Targeted (READ) http://bit.ly/AZp1185
5.  (UPDATE) NBC Doubles Amount Of Equal Time That Democratic Presidential Candidates May Be Entitled To, Re-Airing Clinton's SNL Skit bit.ly/AZp1187

*It is unlikely that all - or, even most - will request equal time. Texas Senator Ted Cruz has expressed the most interest, while Ben Carson has said he is uninterested in being on SNL.

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