Last Week This Morning: MAGA goes ACAB?
Mar-a-Lago raided by the FBI. And MAGA Republicans are losing it. Most notably, Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake called it “one of the darkest days in American history” and even called for the dismantling of the FBI. She will apparently continue to campaign in the general election on a platform of being utterly Trump obsessed, regardless of how this may alienate general election voters. Though Ducey is maintaining support for the Republican candidate, even former Republican Arizona Governor Jan Brewer criticized Lake, citing concerns of Lake’s ultra far-right extremism and ability to win a general election.
Sinema fights for Wall Street. Last week, Democrats in the U.S. Senate passed the Inflation Reduction Act, the climate and health care package, after securing the support of Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, who had significant influence on the final contents of the bill. While Sinema could have fought for Arizonans, she instead made her support conditional on the removal of a provision that would have ended an effective $14B tax break for private equity, hedge fund, and real estate executives. These corporate executives are major donors to Sinema’s campaign, and their lobbying efforts to keep the carried interest tax loophole intact were clearly effective. The House passed the package on Friday, and it will head to President Biden’s desk to be signed into law.
Post-Roe battleground. Don’t miss this deep dive on the race for Maricopa County Attorney’s Office and its significant impact on abortion rights. This special election was triggered after Black and Brown community advocates and local reporting forced the former chief prosecutor to resign, following ethics scandals and a decades long history of political prosecutions and corruption under Republican control. Julie Gunnigle, a progressive who has pledged to never prosecute abortion-related cases if elected, will face Republican Rachel Mitchell, a prosecutor most known for her role in moving forward the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who was investigated for allegations of sexual assault and was one of the Justices to overturn Roe in the first place.
ICYMI: Rep. Andy Biggsand his role in attempting to overturn the 2020 election. Watch the recap here.
Stop voucher expansion. Republicans in the Arizona Legislature passed universal ESA vouchers, which will drain funding from education, defying the will of voters who previously voted to reject voucher expansion in 2018. Sign the petition to put this law on hold until the 2024 election, when voters can reject this policy again via ballot referendum.