Every year thousands of people flock to Arizona to enjoy the safe, affordable, and free way of life. Most of these transplants are escaping blue states such as Illinois and Washington, but most of all from California. In 2023 alone, 73,000 Californians moved to the Grand Canyon State as their own home state has become unbearably dangerous, costly, and oppressive.
But Arizona is now at a tipping point. Along with that influx of newcomers has come a morphing of political governance. In 2016 Republicans in the State Legislature held majorities in the House with 36-24 members and 18-12 in the Senate. Those majorities have dwindled to a bare single seat majority of 31-29 and 16-14. With the Governor’s office changing hands in 2022 to Democratic control, the threat of a Democratic trifecta looms large, and is something Arizona hasn’t grappled with for over 60 years, a long-gone era when Democratic statesmen were rural blue dogs.
Today’s Arizona progressives are definitely not that. Cut from the same cloth as Gavin Newsome and Kamala Harris, given all the levers of state government, Arizonans can expect the state to do a complete U-turn. Governor Katie Hobbs has publicly taken up the mantle, pledging millions of dollars (even from her dubious inauguration funds) and her out-of-state billionaire friends to flip Arizona blue and enjoy frictionless implementation of her most radical agenda.
That agenda has been hiding in plain sight for years and it looks a lot like California.
The actual bills Arizona Democrats have proposed over the past few years if allowed to become law would make Arizona unrecognizable.
Just like in California, the Arizona Left wants open borders and endless taxpayer incentives for illegal aliens. They’ll invite California-level crime by slashing criminal sentences, legalizing squatting, eliminating bail, and fully decriminalizing theft – attracting sophisticated crime rings to our state that will collapse retailers.
That is why Governor Katie Hobbs has vetoed all attempts by Republican lawmakers to secure our border and Democrat lawmakers have repeatedly introduced bills to make Arizona a “sanctuary state” (just like in California). They may try to mask it, but Arizona Democrats believe in open borders, which is why they are perfectly happy handing out drivers' licenses to illegals and letting taxpaying Arizonans subsidize public benefits.
Just like in California, Arizona Democrats, unchecked, would remake Arizona into one of the highest tax burden states in the country. That’s why every year they try to pass laws that increase the sales tax, double the income tax, and double the gas tax. They’ve opposed bills to eliminate and prohibit taxes on necessities like food, rent, and driving. And they have even tried to make every tax increase permanent by introducing a bill that would require super majorities at the legislature to ever reduce taxes. And if Arizonans are feeling the housing cost pinch, they can thank Katie Hobbs for unilaterally shutting down the building of single-family homes, which will soon be on par with California’s single-family home prices.
And just like in California, Arizona Democrats want a woke oppressive culture that allows for state-sanctioned racial discrimination, gender mutilation surgeries for minors, the repeal of the Parent’s Bill of Rights, draconian penalties for “climate crimes” and to reward their political allies with taxpayer dollars.
That’s why Arizona Democrats have tried to tether Arizona emission standards to California’s and put them on autopilot, ban plastic bags, ban gas cars and appliances, and even punish people for releasing a balloon. They’ve opposed protections for school children from being exposed to pornographic materials, voted against protections for state employees being racially discriminated against, and are fighting against laws that protect girls' sports and spaces from going into effect.
If the Arizona Left gets what they want, they’ll import every bad idea that’s destroyed our neighbors to the west. And instead of tens of thousands flocking to Arizona, they'll just be passing through on their way to Texas, South Carolina, or Florida. Arizonans don’t want California’s crime, costs, and chaos. We want to keep Arizona free.
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