Play the video above to see these stories on AZ Illustrated Politics for Friday, Sept. 27 with guests Carol West, former Tucson City Councilwoman, Don Jorgensen, Pima County Democratic Party chairman, and Trent Humphries, Tucson Tea Party Founder:
SEN. JOHN McCAIN’S CRITICISM OF SEN. TED CRUZ: Earlier this week, Sen. Ted Cruz spent more than 20 hours on the Senate floor criticizing the Affordable Care Act. After he was done, McCain took umbrage at Cruz’s comparison of Nazi appeasers and those who did not support Cruz’s political strategy. Humphries said McCain had lost his way and was seeking a way to be relevant, and predicted that the Affordable Care Act would be a disaster in its implementation. Jorgensen and West said the law was offering people who didn’t have insurance options on the exchanges that are set to open next month, and that the rates were lower than expected.
DOWNTOWN’S RONSTADT TRANSIT CENTER: The Tucson City Council voted earlier this week to move forward with a plan to seek alternatives for a redevelopment of the Ronstadt Transit Center. West said she wished the transit center could be moved from its current location entirely, but that at the very least, it should be redeveloped to include commercial and residential opportunities. Jorgensen said the City Council was doing the right thing by seeking proposals from the private sector. Humphries said the timing was wrong.
RACY BOOK IN SIERRA VISTA: This month, the administration at Sierra Vista’s Buena High School pulled a book, Dreaming in Cuban, from the 10th-grade curriculum because it included a racy passage. West said the district made the right decision, while Humphries expressed concern that other inappropriate material was available in the Common Core standards that Arizona, along with other states, had implemented. Jorgensen said he opposed the banning of books and said Dreaming in Cuban had literary merit.
AZ Illustrated Politics is produced by Jim Nintzel. Contact him at jnintzel@azpm.org.
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