Friday, March 30, 2012

Filing bankruptcy in Arizona: Are businesses included in Chapter 7?

I am a bankruptcy attorney in Phoenix, Arizona ($995/Chapter 7) and frequently clients ask me if they can include their businesses in a basic Chapter 7 personal bankruptcy. The other option is filing Chapter 11 bankruptcy for their business, which is much more complex and usually costs at least $5000. Generally, if your businesses don't have any money in them or are essentially defunct, you can fit them into a Chapter 7 bankruptcy. It is when you have multiple employees and intend to keep the business going that you might need to file Chapter 11 for businesses. Chapter 7 requires you to only have $150 in one banking account when you file, no more than that, and if you have businesses with more money than that in them it will be difficult to get one checking account down to that level. Also, you can only have a limited amount of cash on hand when you file, so you can't just take out the money and hide it. If you have your own petsitting business, a couple of LLCs you've formed but done nothing with them, or a business that you are shutting down, you can file Chapter 7 and absolve any debts attributed to them.

The Alexander Bankruptcy Law Firm provides low low cost Chapter 7 and 13 personal bankruptcies. $995 Chapter 7 or $2500 Chapter 13 bankruptcies plus court filing fee. Free consultation with a compassionate attorney who will handle your case personally. Call 24/7, available to meet with you around your schedule. 602-910-6812. Conveniently located in Central Phoenix along the Camelback corridor. AlexanderBankruptcyLawFirm.com

Thursday, March 29, 2012

Why Alexander Bankruptcy Law Firm should be your attorney for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Arizona



The Alexander Bankruptcy Law Firm provides low low cost Chapter 7 and 13 personal bankruptcies. $995 Chapter 7 or $2500 Chapter 13 bankruptcies plus court filing fee. Free consultation with a compassionate attorney who will handle your case personally. Call 24/7, available to meet with you around your schedule. 602-910-6812. Conveniently located in Central Phoenix along the Camelback corridor. AlexanderBankruptcyLawFirm.com

Friday: CLE seminar for lawyers, others: Literature & The Law Conference - I will be discussing whether Shakespeare is sexist!

The Maricopa County Bar Association is hosting “Literature and the Law,” an all- day conference event sponsored by MCBA and organized with the assistance of the Law Office of Travis R. Marker.

The conference will address the practical application of the literature to the law and will discuss authors such as Leo Tolstoy, William Shakespeare, CS Lewis, William Faulkner, Beowulf, Franz Kafka, Thomas Hardy, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Chaucer, and other great literary minds who have discussed themes relevant to the law.

This is not a theoretical or academic discussion, the classes and presentations will discuss relevant topics such as advocacy, client interviews, negotiations, problem solving, ethics, and other areas of practical application of the literature to the practice of law.

Date/Time: March 30, 2012 / 8:00 a.m.- 5:00 p.m.
Location: ASU Mercado Building 502 E. Monroe Phoenix, AZ 85004

Early Bird Registration, through March 23:
Attorneys: $195
General Public: $75

Regular Registration (after March 23):
Attorneys: $250
General Public: $100

Students with valid ID:
Early Bird and Regular: $20

See the full agenda here. Register here. 

Editor's note: I will be giving a presentation on whether Shakespeare is sexist. Opponents of classic literature, such as the works of William Shakespeare, are using the legal system to keep timeless classics out of our schools. Feminists claim that Shakespeare is sexist, and successfully got a professor fired from Arizona State University for teaching Shakespeare. Shakespeare has also been accused of being anti-Semitic; “The Merchant of Venice” has been removed from many schools. Others accuse Shakespeare of being too “western,” “English” and “white.” Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” was recently censored from the Tucson Unified School District for being racist. Instead of explaining to youth that these classic works were written in a different era, the books are simply banned, often using the legal system to accomplish this.

Phoenix City Employee pay raises & bonuses: $7,300 each $106 million total

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Pay raises & bonuses: $7,300 each
$106 million total 

Hot off the press:  New budget numbers* show actual pay raises and bonuses proposed for Phoenix government employees totaling $106.6 million, or an average of  $7,300 per person for 14,500 employees over two years. 
Question: What did you get? Did you get a $7,300 pay raise?  Is it fair for government employees to award themselves $106 million in a new pay package while the citizens continue to pay a regressive food tax and put up with fewer services for seniors, library patrons and after-school programs? 
The two-year package includes a pay raise, step increases and “longevity” pay (or automatic increases and bonuses): 
Pay raise                $48.9 million 
Merit increase        $25.1 million 
Longevity               $32.6  million 
Total                      $106.6 million 
Another factoid: The $106 million pay package is about  12 percent  of the current city’s base wage for this year of $885 million. Will your pay package come close to 12 percent? 
*See actual City of Phoenix Budget and Research Department numbers here.
As a personal note, I don't think the pay raise issue would bother me so much if it wasn't so blatantly disproportionate to what the taxpayers -- the ones paying the bills -- are getting in return.   
Just think, if just once the government unions had the good will to forego their coveted pay raises, the City of Phoenix could eliminate the food tax and restore programs for seniors and kids.  Just once, if the unions would think of somebody other than themselves, the public would see programs that mean so much to our seniors on fixed incomes and the thousands of children that were turned away from after-school programs and sent back to the streets.   
But, that simple and reasonable request doesn’t have a fighting chance against the overpowering sense of entitlement from government unions that consider themselves justified taking more at expense of those who are getting less. 
I fully understand that you are my boss and it is my responsibility to protect your interest and your interest only. 
My best to you and your family. 
Sincerely, 
Sal DiCiccio 
Phoenix City Councilman Sal DiCiccio represents District 6, which includes Ahwatukee, Arcadia, Biltmore, East Camelback and North Central. He can be reached at council.district.6@phoenix.gov (ask to receive his newsletter) or 602-262-7491.
*Any e-mail you send to council.district.6@phoenix.gov will be subject to the Arizona Open Records Law and may be reviewed by the Arizona Republic.









New blog calls out Kirk Adams' record and his campaign tactics

There has been a lot of mudslinging directed lately at Matt Salmon, the conservative candidate in the CD-5 race for Congress (93 rating from the American Conservative Union). This blog I just discovered calls out some of the rhetoric coming from the Kirk Adams campaign and refutes a lot of it. Check it out.

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

How to recover after a bankruptcy

I am a bankruptcy attorney in Phoenix, Arizona ($995/Chapter 7), and after I help someone file Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy, they wonder what to do next to get their life back on track. Will they be eligible for credit? How soon can they buy a house? What about a car? What happens to their credit score? Will anyone find out about their bankruptcy? Will their employer find out and will it hurt their current job or future employment? How long does a bankruptcy last on your credit report? How do they keep from falling in the same rut as they did before? Bankruptcy laws only allow you to file bankruptcy once every few years.

Usually after someone's bankruptcy is discharged, they start receiving credit offers in the mail as soon as a couple of weeks. They're not the greatest offers - they may be for a $500 limit credit card with an 18% rate - but at least it's a start. Usually two years after a bankruptcy discharge you can buy a house. The FHA and a couple other lenders will finance people that soon. Buying a car is also quite easy, some lenders will even finance you DURING your bankruptcy! It is very difficult to find out if someone has filed bankruptcy, because although it is a public court record, those records are kept in a password-protected database by the federal courts. Generally only attorneys who practice law in those courts have access to it. I have never found any record of my clients' bankruptcies doing a Google search.

In most situations, your employer will not be notified of your bankruptcy (generally only if you owe your employer money or your paycheck is being garnished). If they find out, federal law prohibits them from taking any action against you. They also cannot fire you for having your paycheck garnished the first time, although if there is a second garnishment things can change. A potential future employer may find out about your bankruptcy if they run a credit check on you. They *may* choose not to hire you based on a bankruptcy. However, they may also choose not to hire you based on just having bad debts, so filing a bankruptcy may not make things any worse. When a bankruptcy shows up on your credit report, it erases all of the bad debts from showing up anymore. A bankruptcy lasts on your credit report for 7-10 years, but most people's credit scores start improving by 100 points within a year after their bankruptcy.

I advise my clients after bankruptcy to check out a book called "Bounce Back From Bankruptcy," by Paula Langguth Ryan. It walks you through all of the steps needed to get your life back to normal. If making enough money is something that you've struggled with, I recommend successful businessman Chris Widener's Twelve Pillars of Success seminar. He is coming to Arizona on April 7 and will be giving a seminar in Scottsdale for $37. You can register for it here. Bankruptcy may get you off your feet for awhile, but you CAN recover, and it will not take years to do so.

The Alexander Bankruptcy Law Firm provides low low cost Chapter 7 and 13 personal bankruptcies. $995 Chapter 7 or $2500 Chapter 13 bankruptcies plus court filing fee. Free consultation with a compassionate attorney who will handle your case personally. Call 24/7, available to meet with you around your schedule. 602-910-6812. Conveniently located in Central Phoenix along the Camelback corridor. AlexanderBankruptcyLawFirm.com

2012 Cave Creek Fiesta Days Parade - this Saturday!

Come to the town of Cave Creek this Saturday to see a western parade! Starts at 9am and ends at 11am at the Harold's Corral. Bring the whole family! Over the next few days Cave Creek is putting on a rodeo and golf tournament. Click here for more information. Bill Ponath, candidate for Justice of the Peace, will be there. Email us if you'd like to help us collect signatures for Bill.



Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Obama, Doublespeak, and Why He Will Lose Reelection

In 1980, incumbent Democrat President Carter lost reelection to Republican challenger Ronald Reagan in large part due to high gas prices and a weak economy. This year, not only are gas prices sky high and continuing to rise, but there is massive unemployment and a foreclosure crisis. Virtually everyone agrees that the economy is the most important issue this election year. Incumbent presidents generally lose reelection when unemployment is over 7%; Presidents George H.W. Bush, Carter and Ford all lost reelection when unemployment was between 7-8%.
Unemployment was only around 5% when Obama took office in 2009, but it soon jumped to a high of 10% according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) in 2010. It has continued to remain around 10%. The BLS reports that unemployment decreased from 10% down to 8% over the last couple of years, but that decrease is obtained only by excluding workers who have not looked for jobs in the past year due to giving up, something that was not a factor in prior years. The real unemployment rate may actually be as high as 22.5%, near the unemployment rate during the Great Depression. At the height of the Great Depression in 1933, unemployment reached 24.9%. The length of unemployment has already reached Great Depression levels.
Meanwhile, Obama presses along with his left wing agenda, refusing to relieve gas prices by authorizing construction of the Keystone pipeline, in an attempt to appease radical environmentalists. He has continued unaffordable deficit spending which does nothing to help the economy or create jobs but does plenty for the special interests contributing to his campaign coffers like Solyndra and big banks.
Realizing the American people have figured out a failed left wing agenda is not helping the economy, Obama reads cleverly written speeches from his teleprompter which do not reflect his actual left wing positions nor reality. His speeches pretend the economy is already improving, painting a rosy picture of everything. Obama repeatedly says things like this, “I believe America is on the way up.” However, unemployment and inflation are the two factors which indicate how healthy an economy is. Inflation continues to rise, with wholesale inflation increasing 0.4% in February.
It is as if he is living in another reality. He is, jaunting around the world on exotic trips with his family and playing golf. He talks about things improving in the future and ignores the present, which is meaningless because inevitably – even if it is a Republican president years down the road - things will improve. He deflects blame onto Republicans, accusing them of being negative and opposing his policies, while refusing to address the fact that his policies are ruining the economy.

Chris Widener's Twelve Pillars of Success!

Chris Widener is a conservative and successful businessman in Washington state. Support a conservative business and learn his secrets to success. He is coming to Arizona on April 7 to give his seminar, register now, only $37. Register now.

Make More Money, Build Your Business, and Have More Fun!

Join us for a fantastic morning of inspiration and success with internationally acclaimed speaker and author, Chris Widener.
Chris Widener was the last protege of Jim Rohn and together they created the Twleve Pillars of Success, which was Jim's last book ever published, co-authored by Chris.
Chris will be sharing his and Jim's wisdom for life from the Twelve Pillars in a very dynamic and engaging three hour seminar that will give you the tools you need to succeed in business and life! Seating is limited to only 300 so be sure to get your tickets today!
Here are just some of the lessons of wisdom you will learn from the Twelve Pillars of Success:

Income Seldom Exceeds Personal Development - Learn how growing personally will put more money in your wallet. If you don't change your situation won't change and you won't make any more money than you already do. Now you can unlock that door!
The World Can Always Use One More Great Leader - Learn how you can become a leader and influencer and make a difference in the world around you. Learn how to gain the trust, respect and admiration of others so you can change their thoughts, beliefs and actions.
Live a Life of Three-Dimensional Health - Learn how you were designed to succeed by understanding the body, soul and spirit connection. Most people have no understanding of how this works and why they can't succeed.
The Gift of Relationships - Learn how to have incredible relationships and surround yourself with the best kind of people. No more toxic relationships!
Achieving Your Goals and the Proper Use of Time - Learn the power of priorities and how to get your goals and make the most of your time. Never again say to yourself, "I just don't have the time."
Becoming a Life-Long Learner - Learn how purposefully grow in wisdom and to take everything that happens to you and turn it into lessons and wisdom that will move you aling the road of success.
Communication Brings the Common Ground of Understanding - Learn the secrets to one of the most difficult things to do: Communicate effectively for success. Understand the real process of communication and how to utilize it for your benefit.
Leaving a Legacy - Learn how you can leave a legacy of success for others to reap the benefit from, even after you are gone. Live life now so it is better for yourself an dothers later!
And much, much more!
You will not want to miss ths event. Seating is limited to only 300 seats and it will sell out FAST!
Order right now and be sure to bring a friend (or ten)!

REGISTER HERE

Monday, March 26, 2012

Wells Fargo to Help Tucson Area Customers Facing Mortgage Payment Challenges

Wells Fargo & Company is hosting a free Home Preservation Workshop in Tucson for Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, Wells Fargo Financial, and Wells Fargo Home Equity customers facing financial hardships. Wells Fargo has invited more than 2,800 mortgage customers in the Tucson area to the free workshop which will be held on Tuesday, April 3, 2012, from 9 a.m. -- 7 p.m., at the Tucson Convention Center, Exhibit Hall A, 260 South Church Ave. Parking is free.

How to register for Wells Fargo’s Tucson Home Preservation Workshop

Walk-ins are welcome, but registration is strongly recommended in order to guarantee the ability to meet one-on-one with a representative. Sign up by Sunday, April 1 at www.wfhmevents.com/leadingthewayhome . For more information call 1-800-405-8067.

Read the rest of the article at MarketWatch

Arizona State Credit Union Helps Underwater Homeowners Refinance

Arizona State Credit Union has accepted 167 applications for the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) in its quest to help underwater homeowners obtain more affordable mortgages.

Homeowners who are current on their Fannie Mae mortgage and have been unable to obtain traditional refinances because the values of their homes have declined may be eligible for HARP.

“If members can benefit from a lower mortgage payment, then we, as a local financial cooperative, need to meet this need,” said David E. Doss, President/CEO of Arizona State Credit Union. “The opportunity to offer HARP is significant to the Credit Union as it can help Arizona residents rebound from economically challenging times.”

Read the rest of the article at MarketWatch

Nancy Pelosi protested on visit to Tempe to campaign for Harry Mitchell's son

Sunday, March 25, 2012

Bill Ponath for Desert Ridge Justice of the Peace makes strong showing at Carefree Tea Party

Bill Ponath, conservative running for Justice of the Peace in the Desert Ridge precinct (North Phoenix, Cave Creek, Carefree generally) made a strong showing at the Carefree Tea Party rally yesterday. Bill has been endorsed by Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery. You can read more about Bill here.


 Bill with Russell Pearce

Friday, March 23, 2012

Watch out for credit counseling and repair companies!

I am a bankruptcy attorney in Phoenix ($995/Chapter 7) and, many of our bankruptcy clients come to us after having a bad experience with a credit counseling company.  Some of them are so bad the IRS has prepared a watchdog document about them. The FTC has compiled a list of signs that a credit counseling company is a scam. Congress passed a law providing protection for people from being victimized by these organizations, called the Credit Repair Organizations Act.

Very few of these companies are legitimate. Some are paid by creditors to provide this service, so they don't have your best interests in mind, but instead their interest is in getting you to pay the maximum possible amount to your creditors!

One red flag is if they require money upfront. The Credit Repair Organizations Act prohibits these companies from charging until after you have completed their services.

Another red flag is if the company doesn't offer you free advice and counseling, but instead forces you into a debt repayment plan immediately.

Any company that promises to get rid of all or most of the negative information in your credit report is not being honest. Credit rebuilding takes a long time.

Some credit counseling companies form as nonprofit 501(c)(3) organizations in order to avoid being accountable to credit counseling laws. The public is fooled into thinking since they are formed as nonprofits they must be more reputable! Ameridebt, organized as a nonprofit, was shut down by the FTC when it was discovered it had charged consumers over $170 million in hidden fees.

Watch out for companies that instruct you not to contact the three major credit reporting agencies, avoid telling you what your legal rights are, suggest that you apply for an EIN (Employer Identification Number) to use instead of your Social Security number, or tell you dispute everything regardless of what it is on your credit report.

Always check and see if the organization is listed with the Better Business Bureau and has a good rating. See how long it has been in business or whether it has suddenly appeared. If you have been victimized by a credit counseling company, contact your state Attorney General.

The vast majority of people who attempt credit counseling end up filing bankruptcy anyways. In order to file bankruptcy, you are required to take a credit counseling course anyways (which can be taken online in a few minutes). Unlike credit counseling services, you can rest assured that the bankruptcy process is completely governed by federal law (and in some states, some state law as well).


The Alexander Bankruptcy Law Firm provides low low cost Chapter 7 and 13 personal bankruptcies. $995 Chapter 7 or $2500 Chapter 13 bankruptcies plus court filing fee. Free consultation with a compassionate attorney who will handle your case personally. Call 24/7, available to meet with you around your schedule. 602-910-6812. Conveniently located in Central Phoenix along the Camelback corridor.

Congressional candidate Doug Wade (CD1) holding Agenda 21 townhall

wade banner
Doug Wade, Republican candidate for Congress, AZ CD 1, will be holding his first Town Hall in his home town of Sedona, Arizona

APRIL 3, 2012 

6:00 pm - 8:00 pm 
Sedona Public Library 
3250 White Bear Road 
Sedona, Arizona 86336  

Contribute Now


 

 
Sustainability vs. Conservation
   The "Right" Side of the Debate 

Special Guest will be Bruce Barton, MBA who is nationally recognized as an authority on the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) also known as the EARTH SUMMIT, held in Rio Janeiro in 1992.
Agenda 21
The Accord was adopted by 178 governments.  It's short title, AGENDA 21, is a comprehensive plan of action to be taken globally, nationally and locally by organizations of the United Nations, governments, and major non-governmental organizations (NGO's).

The Commission on Sustainable Development was set up to monitor and ensure effective implementation of the agreement.  Presently, the cities of Chandler, Flagstaff, Goodyear, Peoria, Phoenix, Tempe and Tucson are ICLEI members committed to the United Nations program known as AGENDA 21.

Mr. Wade is a staunch supporter of conservation and, along with Mr. Barton, will explain the dangers of adopting an AGENDA 21  platform for Arizona and for all of America!

Don't miss the discussion or the Q&A!!!





Paid for by Wade For Congress 2012


Take Back America: Tea Party Rally This Saturday in Carefree!

Take Back America – Get Involved 
TEA PARTY RALLY 
SATURDAY, MARCH 24
AT CAREFREE RESORT & VILLAS 
CAREFREE/CAVE CREEK/N. SCOTTSDALE (February 15, 2012) – The public is invited to get involved and attend a Tea Party Rally, from 3 – 5:30 p.m., Saturday, March 24 at the Carefree Resort & Villas, 37220 N. Mule Train Road, in Carefree.
Take Back America is the theme of this grass-roots patriotic event, designed to inspire and motivate individuals to become engaged in the 2012 election.
The afternoon kicks off with candidate meet and greet from 3 – 4 p.m., followed a line-up of informative speakers from 4 – 5:30 p.m. A vendor area where attendees can gather to purchase rally and other campaign support items will be on site.
The slate of speakers includes a university student body president, a small business owner, an immigrant from Russia and others. A wide variety of political representatives from local, regional and national campaigns are also expected to appear.
There is no admission charge. Food and beverages will be available from the Carefree Resort. For information, call 480-221-7995.

Club for Growth prefers David Schweikert over Ben Quayle

ARIZONA CAPITOL TIMES
Schweikert consultant: Boehner will cut us a check

By Jeremy Duda
Published: March 22, 2012 at 6:48 pm
U.S. Rep. Ben Quayle (left) and U.S. Rep. David Schweikert. (Photos by RYan Cook/RJ Cook Photography)
The intraparty war between congressional Republican leadership and the conservative Club for Growth appears to have simmered down for the time being, even while the race between U.S. Reps. David Schweikert and Ben Quayle is growing fiercer.
U.S. House Speaker John Boehner this week agreed to give Schweikert a contribution from his PAC to compensate for a contribution he made earlier to his primary rival Quayle.
According to Schweikert consultant Chris Baker, Boehner told Schweikert that he’d cut him a check from the Republican leadership PAC about an hour and a half after receivinga letter from the Club for Growth demanding equal treatment for the two candidates.
“We think it’s terrific. We welcome the check. We welcome the support. We are very pleased that Speaker Boehner decided to make a donation to David’s campaign,” Baker said.
In the March 21 letter, Club for Growth President Chris Chocola told Boehner, along with House Majority Leader Eric Cantor and House GOP Whip Kevin McCarthy, that the club would use its PAC to raise money for Schweikert if Republican leadership didn’t stay neutral in the heated primary for Arizona’s 6th Congressional District.
Chocola made it clear that neutrality meant giving Schweikert the same $10,000 the PAC gave Quayle last year, before redistricting led to the intraparty battle between two incumbent freshmen.
Schweikert spokeswoman Rachel Semmel said Boehner agreed to contribute $5,000 to Schweikert’s campaign.
Chocola chastised Boehner for leadership’s support of Illinois Congressman Don Manzullo against fellow incumbent Adam Kinzinger, whom the club viewed as the more conservative of two candidates. While he said Quayle and Schweikert were both “pro-growth candidates,” Chocola said he worried that House leadership was once again interfering in a primary. He said the club would stay neutral in CD6, but only if leadership agreed to as well.
“Should it become apparent that you are choosing sides on behalf of Rep. Quayle, the Club for Growth PAC will consider it necessary to intervene on behalf of Rep. Schweikert. As is our practice, if the club’s PAC entered this primary, it is highly likely that our 75,000 members would donate considerably more funds to Rep. Schweikert’s campaign than the Republican House leadership would contribute to Rep. Quayle’s campaign,” Chocola wrote.
Quayle shot back at the Club for Growth the next day, noting that he has a better rating with the club than Schweikert does and recently voted against a measure supported by both President Obama and GOP leadership to extend the federal payroll tax cut, a bill that Schweikert supported. He also criticized the club’s threats to Republican leaders, and asked whether the club would also send a “cease-and-desist” letter to U.S. Sen. Jon Kyl, who is supporting Quayle over Schweikert.
“I was not aware that the Club’s mission includes dictating to high-ranking officials who they may and may not support. It’s ironic that an organization founded in principles of freedom and limited government could have come to such a dictatorial turn,” Quayle wrote.
While both congressmen are have conservative records in their short time in the House, GOP leadership appears to favor Quayle while the Club for Growth appears to prefer Schweikert, whom it supported in his 2008 and 2010 campaigns.
In 2011, Schweikert was a member of McCarthy’s whip team but was forced out after switching his vote on an issue important to leadership. Earlier this month, congressmen from both sides of the aisle accused leadership of showing favoritism for Quayle by having him sponsor a bipartisan bill that was nearly identical to an earlier bill sponsored by a Connecticut Democrat.
Meanwhile, the club said it wants to stay neutral in the hotly contested CD6 primary. But the pro-Schweikert letter highlighted the club’s clear ties to Schweikert, as well as to Baker. On March 1, Andy Roth, the club’s vice president of governmental affairs, responded on his Twitter account to someone who noted Quayle’s superior rating with the club by saying, “Schweikert is a leader. Quayle is not.”
Schweikert quickly painted the incident as a symbol of him standing up against the Beltway establishment.
“The powerful anti-tax group Club for Growth fired a warning shot across the deck of the Washington establishment,” a March 21 fundraising email from the Schweikert campaign read. “David Schweikert has always had the courage to stand up for our shared conservative principles, even when members of his own party are on the other side.”
Baker said Schweikert voted with leadership – as well as Obama – for extending the payroll tax cut because it was the best of two bad options. He said it was an example of Schweikert standing up for his principles, and referred to Quayle as “go-along-to-get-along” congressman who is in leadership’s good graces.
Quayle campaign spokesman Jay Heiler, however, referred to Chocola’s letter as “amusing.”
“The Club for Growth is many people, not just Mr. Chocola. I suspect Mr. Chocola acted out of a combination of irritation toward House leadership over a race in a different state … and some cross-pollination between Dave’s staff and club staff,” Heiler said.
Republican political consultant Nathan Sproul said the fight between the Club for Growth and House GOP leadership isn’t a battle between two factions on behalf of their favored candidates.
“Schweikert and Quayle are exhibit A in the dust-up between the (National Republican Congressional Committee) and the Club for Growth,” Sproul said. “Clearly there is more going on behind the scenes than what that letter represents. … Ultimately, what they’re saying is let’s have a cease-fire between the NRCC and the Club for Growth.”
Former Arizona Republican Party Chairman Mike Hellon predicted that grassroots activists in the state would largely be supporters of Schweikert, a longtime fixture in Arizona GOP politics, while “social establishment Republicans” will follow Boehner and Kyl in backing Quayle, the son of former Vice President Dan Quayle who was politically unknown before announcing his candidacy in 2010.
Hellon said there is little to separate Quayle and Schweikert in terms of policy or politics.
“This is a who-you-like-most race,” Hellon said.
In the endorsement race, Schweikert has a longer list while Quayle has the biggest name. Schweikert, a former legislator and county treasurer who ran his first congressional race in 1994, already has the support of a handful of state lawmakers and the mayor of Scottsdale. Quayle has Kyl, a GOP heavyweight who commands massive support in the business community.
Others dismissed the establishment-versus-grassroots description of the race. Republican consultant Sean Noble said Quayle has plenty of support among grassroots activists and precinct committeemen. Noble said there will be some high-profile endorsements on both sides, but predicted that a lot of Republicans would stay neutral in the race, a rare matchup between two Arizona GOP incumbents.
“They’re both congressmen so they both have something of value. But I think that you’re going to see a situation where a lot of people stay on the sidelines,” he said.
Some of the lawmakers who have already endorsed Schweikert say they backed him because they’ve known him for years.
“I don’t see it as anything against Congressman Quayle. My decision certainly wasn’t anti-Quayle. It was pro-David, and that’s because I’ve known David for probably 15 years now,” said Sen. Michele Reagan, a Republican from Scottsdale, where Schweikert has lived much of his life.
Rep. John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills, said the choice to endorse Schweikert was easy for him because he’s known the congressman for more than a decade. But he said some Republicans may favor Schweikert because Quayle technically moved into the heavily GOP district to run against him. Quayle’s home is near the district boundary, but he lives just inside the 9th Congressional District, a numerically competitive district with strong Democratic candidates.
Quayle said he chose CD6 because it includes far more of his current constituents than Schweikert’s. Schweikert countered by labeling Quayle a carpetbagger.
But Kavanagh said Quayle’s district switch may be dimming support for him among local Republicans. The party is best served, he said, if both incumbents run in the districts where they live.
“If Quayle doesn’t run where he lives now, that seat might go Democrat. And he’s got the best chance of defending the Republican position there,” Kavanagh said. “I think a lot of people are concerned that he’s jeopardizing a Republican congressional seat that we need very much.”
Sproul said a lot of Arizona Republicans will have split loyalties. But he predicted that big-money donors, including many who backed Schweikert in 2010, will throw their support behind Quayle, largely because of his name and family connections.
“I think Ben Quayle has turned out to be a good congressman. He deserves a lot of credit for that. Schweikert is scrappy fighter who understands constituent services better than anyone,” Sproul said. “The key question is going to be where does the donor community in the state of Arizona go, and my hunch is that they’re going to gravitate more toward Quayle.”

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Arizona TARS Double Membership in 2012

Dissatisfaction With Economic and Jobs Outlook Under President Barrack Obama a Driving Influence
Phoenix, AZ, March 19, 2012:  Arizona Federation of Teen Age Republicans (AZ TARS) has had over a 90% increase in membership over the past year.  The Organization has also seen a large increase in the number of student run Clubs chartered this year as well, touting a 100% increase in the last 6 months.  Most new members and clubs registered have been due to the increasing unpopularity in Arizona of President Barrack Obama and his policies that affect teens.
"Young adults are among one of the Nation's most unemployed demographics and are keenly aware of the hardships their families are seeing due to the lagging economy", Executive Director of AZ TARS, Dusti Martin said.  She also noted that, "These students are motivated.  They are dissatisfied with the current Administration and its agenda and they are determined to make a difference.  We have not seen a membership increase like this in Arizona in over a decade."
Arizona TARS was started in the 1970's by State Adviser Lois J. Fitch to educate and involve students in their local, state and national civic processes.  The National Teenage Republicans was started 10 years earlier in the 1960's and is also seeing a dramatic increase across the nation.  Notable former AZ TARS include Congressman David Schweikert and former State Treasurer Dean Martin as well as many other locally elected officials.

Contact: Dusti Martin
Arizona Federation of
Teen Age Republicans
arizonatars@gmail.com
www.aztars.org
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Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Stopping the National Debt: A Movement Led By a Cowboy, a Colonel, and a Citizens' Cavalry

by Ralph Benko
“The only threat to our freedom is the concentration of power. Congress is using its unfettered ability to generate debt for its own benefit at the expense of the American people. It is called taxation without representation. We at RestoringFreedom.org have decided to take a stand. We are confident that support will continue to build because it addresses America’s debt crisis by breaking up the monopoly of power in Washington and holds Congress accountable to the American people.”
— Glenn Hughes, co-founder and chairman, RestoringFreedom.org

No matter which party wins next November Washington again will — with a phony show of reluctance — raise the debt limit to allow it to continue its borrowing binge on our tab. Most Americans understand that the debt ceiling debate is as choreographed, as predetermined, as a professional wrestling match. Eyes full of crocodile tears, Washington will increase its debt ceiling by hundreds of billions … or trillions … of dollars.
But a cavalry of state legislators and concerned citizens is riding, outside the notice of the elite media, out of no fewer than 16 states to put a halt to this crooked game. These are citizens and citizen-legislators fed up with Washington’s bankrupting America.
Cutting federal spending is a holy grail of conservatives, libertarians, populists like the Tea Party Patriots, and the fiscally responsible — whether Republican or Democrat.
But … how?
The 18-word National Debt Relief Amendment, that’s how: “An increase in the federal debt requires approval from a majority of the legislatures of the separate states.” This strips the Congress of the power to raise the national debt ceiling and shifts it to the States —establishing a serious check on Washington’s borrowing, and thus spending, power.
In 2011, North Dakota and Louisiana passed this Amendment. This year the Arizona and Oklahoma Senates have passed it. It is pending in their respective Houses. It has been introduced in a dozen other bodies. Texas and Montana, among others, will introduce it as soon as their state legislatures again convene.
The Amendment uses an “emergency cord” embedded in the Constitution by the Founders. Article V allows a supermajority of states to call for constitutional amendments. The proponents of the National Debt Relief Amendment are invoking that power to take the ability to raise the national debt ceiling out of the hands of a profligate Congress and place it in the hands of state legislators, lawmakers more accountable to the people.
The national spokesman for the Amendment is North Dakota state senator Curtis Olafson, and, as it happens, a sure enough cowboy out of the John Wayne tradition. Olafson is not about to let Washington put his grandchildren deeper in hock — not without a fight. Hey Pilgrim — you forgot your pop-gun. Olafson:
“Our Founders wisely foresaw that they would need to include in the Constitution a method to empower the American citizens to rein in an overreaching federal government. Article V, via the state legislatures, the government closest to the people, gives us that power. If ever there was an issue for which we should be invoking the power of Article V it is our out-of-control federal debt crisis.”
A strange coalition of ultras — the John Birch Society and the ultra-liberal dean of American constitutional law, Harvard’s Laurence Tribe — oppose using Article V. They fear that a state-proposed call for a constitutional amendment could not be constrained. But legal and constitutional scholar Nick Dranias, of the Phoenix-based Goldwater Institute — the gold standard of state-based policy institutes — rigorously researched the risks. Dranias dismisses the fears as badly misplaced.
As noted by national columnist Rachel Alexander in her recent column, Who’s Afraid of an Article V Amendments Convention:
“In Federalist No. 85, Alexander Hamilton explained that states did not need to call for a full constitutional convention since Article V provides full power to amend the Constitution. James Madison specifically supported the use of Article V in Federalist No. 43. Accusations that an Article V Amendments convention will result in a full-blown “constitutional convention” or “con-con” are not correct.”
Any amendment to the U.S. Constitution must be ratified by 38 state legislatures. State legislators are far more likely to discover that the Article V process is the way to restore constitutional protections dismantled by a power-hungry Congress and a perfervidly imaginative Supreme Court rather than making it a threat to our liberties. This could be just the breakthrough mechanism that mobilized Americans are seeking to take power back from an overblown federal government.
Just a week ago the National Debt Relief Amendment passed the Oklahoma Senate under the prime sponsorship of state Sen. Steve Russell. Russell:
“If Congress were to author its own initiative to create a Balanced Budget Amendment they would craft it in ways to benefit themselves – full of loopholes. The idea of going to the state legislatures puts the control into the hands of all American people, and not just the urban coastal seaboards. It passed the Oklahoma Senate in bipartisan fashion. I was able to persuade my colleagues that the states have a legitimate Article V ability to call for this amendment without putting our constitutional rights at risk.”
Sen. Russell is a bona fide American hero who, while in the U.S. Army, many times put his life on the line to fight for our sacred rights. In 2003 Russell was acclaimed as one of the crucial leaders in the hunt and capture of Saddam Hussein (as detailed in his compelling memoir, We Got Him!). He is not someone to trifle with.
The cowboy, Sen. Olafson, and the colonel, Sen. Russell, are joined by other legislator-patriots such as Rep. Brad Daw of Utah, who observes, “I was asked by a reporter if my NDRA was another one of the federalism bills being run and I responded with ‘No it is THE federalism bill. It is elegant, easy to understand and very popular.’” Ohio’s state Rep. Ron Maag says, “With the skyrocketing federal debt and the inability of the federal government to control this debt, the states need to take action. The NDRA is a crucial step in keeping our nation’s fiscal house in order.”
Restoring Freedom’s president, James Booth, sums up the opportunity presented by the movement to pass the National Debt Relief Amendment:
“The continued reliance upon debt will lead to a certain calamity that sensible people can no longer ignore, but the debt is nothing more than a single symptom of the disease that afflicts our country. The constitutionally defined federal government has become a national government. The term ‘federal’ reflected the limits imposed upon the central authority by a functioning federal republic, a republic based upon balancing power among the three pillars of national, state, and public power.”
American citizens will not stand idle while Washington places our children into debt bondage. And — call it Hughes’s Law, after the axiom formulated by RestoringFreedom.org’s chairman — we are overdue to break up the monopoly of power in Washington and hold Congress accountable to the American people.
Three cheers for the National Debt Relief Amendment and the citizens and citizen-legislators — statesmen — who are taking a noble stand to seriously, no kidding, constrain Washington’s borrowing and spending power. Time to make use of Article V of the Constitution — the emergency cord installed there by the Founders — to keep Washington from spending America into more trillions of dollars of debt.

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Should the GOP Hope For a Brokered Convention?


As the Republican presidential primary drags on, 27 debates later, with no candidate yet obtaining 50% of the delegates, speculation is increasing that the nominee may end up being selected in a brokered convention. If none of the candidates win a minimum of 1,144 delegates in the primaries and caucuses, then the Republican convention becomes a brokered convention where the nominee is chosen by freewheeling delegates. Delegates would be permitted to change their votes at the convention and support anyone, even new candidates. Ballot contests are held until one candidate achieves a majority of delegate votes.
The three candidates left in the race besides Mitt Romney are hoping for a brokered convention since it is practically impossible now for them to get enough delegates. Rick Santorum, in second place after Romney, needs 70% of the remaining delegates to win. As frontrunner, Romney opposes a brokered convention, needing only half of the remaining delegates to win the nomination.
There are plenty of problems with a brokered convention. It leaves Republican candidates taking jabs at each other instead of Obama for a much longer period, spending most of their money in the primary instead of against Obama. The convention begins August 27. The last primary this year is Utah’s on June 26. By the end of August, there will be only a couple of months left for the race against Obama. Republican candidates have been taking shots at each other since the beginning of last summer and a brokered convention means that infighting drags out for well over a year. Hugh Hewitt observed that a new candidate who has not participated in the primary yet may find it difficult to get into the national fundraising game this late against Obama.
The most troubling part about a brokered convention is it leaves the nominating process to be decided by backroom dealing. Instead of a mostly democratic process of electing the nominee, the nominee would be chosen by political hacks.