Tag: arizona

Background Briefing: August 7, 2022

 

The Trump GOP Sweep in Arizona

We begin with Trump’s increasing grip on the GOP with the Arizona sweep of his “stop the steal” election deniers nominated to run for the state’s top political offices where they will be able to rig the 2024 election in this key swing state in Trump’s favor, assuming they win in November. Joining us is Jim Small, Editor In Chief of the Arizona Mirror, a non-profit newsroom in Phoenix that covers state and local politics and government. A native Arizonan, he has covered state government, policy and politics since 2004 and previously was the Executive Director and Editor of the Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting as well as the Editor of the Arizona Capitol Times. We discuss his latest article at the Arizona Mirror, “Corporations that pay little in taxes want Kyrsten Sinema to kill the corporate minimum tax.”

 

The Sellout Senator Sinema Auditions for a Job With Hedge Fund Billionaires

Then we examine further the sellout Senator Sinema, this vain dilettante who refuses to talk to the press or her own constituents while currying favor with the billionaire class she appears to be auditioning for, having gifted hedge fund managers and private equity titans by saving the carried interest loophole that even Trump wanted to close. Joining us to discuss what future payoffs might be in store for Sinema is Erica Payne, founder and president of the Patriotic Millionaires and the author of The Practical Progressive: How to Build a 21st Century Political Movement and co-author of Tax the Rich! How Lies, Loopholes, and Lobbyists Make the Rich Even Richer.

 

Putin’s Weaponization of History

Then finally we assess the success so far of Putin’s weaponization of history as his Orwellian lies and historical fiction indoctrinates Russian soldiers mired in his “special operation” in Ukraine while keeping the home front on board through propaganda and repression of dissent. Joining us is Izabella Tabarovsky, a Senior Program Associate at the Kennan Institute where she oversees the Institute’s Historical Memory research and programming, manages its Russia File and Focus Ukraine blogs, and coordinates its U.S.-Israel working group on Russia in the Middle East. Her expertise includes the politics of historical memory in the post-communist space, the Holocaust, Stalin’s repressions, and Soviet antisemitism.