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Building The Future Of The Arizona Democratic Party. On Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Steve and Karen welcome Yolanda Bejarano, one of two candidates for chair of the Arizona Democratic Party. She is the current Vice-Chair of the Party. In addition to her work in politics, Bejarano has a long history as a steward, organizer, and as National Field Director for the Communication Workers of America labor union. She says the transition to working for the Democratic Party was a natural progression of her interests in promoting workers’ rights and human rights. Looking at the job as Chair, Bejarano says she would focus on listening to the counties and legislative districts to determine what we do well and what we can do better. She believes there are major opportunities for the Party to improve in a lot of areas. For example, as a Latina, she notes, “We are not communicating with Latinos in a strong way.” Bejarano has gathered a long list of endorsements from Party leaders. The post Bejarano Interview – Podcast January 16, 2023 [https://verdevalleyindependentdemocrats.org/2023/01/16/bejarano-interview-podcast-january-16-2023/] first appeared on Democratic Perspective [https://verdevalleyindependentdemocrats.org].

Holding Our Government Hostage. Host Steve Williamson reviews the midterm elections and tries to predict what will happen with the slim Republican majority in the US House of Representatives. He compares the situation to the brinksmanship faced by President Obama led by the same type of extremists that held hostage the vote for House speaker. Such extremism could lead to financial disaster by GOP refusal to expand the debt ceiling causing the US to default on its debts. It could also threaten to hamstring the IRS. Other institutions and programs that will be threatened include Social Security, Medicare, and access to healthcare under the Affordable Care Act. In addition, the GOP is likely to tie up Congress with a series of Benghazi-style investigations of President Biden and his son Hunter Biden. Worse, the GOP extremists promise to open investigations into the Department of Justice and its criminal cases involving those who participated in the attempted coup on January 6, 2021. The post Podcast January 9, 2023 [https://verdevalleyindependentdemocrats.org/2023/01/10/podcast-january-9-2023/] first appeared on Democratic Perspective [https://verdevalleyindependentdemocrats.org].

History Of Verde Valley Independent Democrats. The two remaining members of the eight-person group who helped found Democratic Perspective recount the beginnings of our show, its purpose, and who has been involved during its twelve-year history. They also pay homage to some of the early guests and some of the contributors who make this weekly show possible. The post Show History – Podcast January 2, 2023 [https://verdevalleyindependentdemocrats.org/2023/01/04/show-history-podcast-january-2-2023/] first appeared on Democratic Perspective [https://verdevalleyindependentdemocrats.org].

Looking At 2022 In The Rearview Mirror. Co-hosts Steve Williamson and Karen McClelland are joined by contributors Stephen Hanks and Gary LaMaster to discuss what they consider some of the biggest stories of 2022. Topics range from the ethically and morally bankrupt Republican Party to attacks on public education to media bias and disinformation. The post Year-End Review – Podcast December 26, 2022 [https://verdevalleyindependentdemocrats.org/2022/12/29/year-end-review-podcast-december-26-2022/] first appeared on Democratic Perspective [https://verdevalleyindependentdemocrats.org].

Going Forward. Steve Williamson, Karen McClelland and Stephen Hanks welcome Myles Taylor, former Chief of Staff of the Department of Homeland Security. In May of 2022, he left the Republican Party over its espousal of the Great Replacement Theory, the far-right white nationalist belief that there is a plot by so-called elites to replace white people with people of color through mass migration and demographic growth. Since then, Taylor has helped create the Forward Party [https://www.forwardparty.com/] with the intent of bringing independents, moderate conservatives, and moderate Democrats together. “It’s an experiment,” says Taylor. “Fifty percent of Americans now say they are political independents – the largest that number has ever been since modern polling started. And two-thirds of Americans for the first time ever say they want more choices in the political system.” Explaining that he believes the GOP is the biggest threat to democracy right now, Taylor says what he hopes to do with Forward is to bring independents and the pro-democracy side together to defeat extremists. “Our whole existence is about trying to make the democratic process more competitive again because when there’s more competition, the extremes tend to do pretty poorly. And sensible, common-sense candidates win.” “What’s different about what we’re doing with Forward. We’re not just going to support Forward candidates,” he says. “We’re going to support common-sense Democrats. And, hopefully, that handful of common-sense Republicans becomes more than a handful.” The post Taylor Interview – Podcast December 19, 2022 [https://verdevalleyindependentdemocrats.org/2022/12/22/taylor-interview-podcast-december-19-2022/] first appeared on Democratic Perspective [https://verdevalleyindependentdemocrats.org].