The following is the opinion and analysis of the writer:
Mitch Anderson
Phineas Anderson
There is discord and division in our society these days.
Fortunately, among most voters, there is a broad agreement on the following important points:
— One, we voters do not like it when those in power are using their position to enrich themselves.
— Two, we marvel, believe and take pride in our Constitution. We do not like it when efforts are made to undermine public trust in the integrity of our elections and make the right to vote more difficult.
— Three, we do not like it that so many Americans struggle to make ends meet; paying for adequate healthcare is particularly onerous.
Let's consider each of these points in the context of the current administration.
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Corruption
We cringe at the word because it represents so many dishonest and unethical actions, but is there any other word that better describes the increase of this President's wealth by leveraging the presidency for profit?
While the President dismantled anti-corruption safeguards, cryptocurrency regulations and enforcement frameworks, his family's cryptocurrency ventures generated $2.3 billion in pretax income and profits with the help of the United Arab Emirates.
As the President was negotiating a multi-billion-dollar deal last year to pay Kazakhstan to secure irreplaceable tungsten for U.S. defense applications, his sons were investing in the mining company Kaz Resources, which was about to develop the largest deposit of this metal in Kazakhstan. This massive conflict of interest was only disclosed recently by the New York Times.
Voter suppression
Americans hold nothing more dear than the right to vote.
No president should try to undermine the Constitution by attempting to wrest the administration of elections from the States, nor should they violate voter privacy by seeking their voter rolls.
No president should try to use the U.S. Postal Service to determine who receives mail-in ballots and who does not.
No president should undermine a basic tenet of representative democracy by insisting on out-of-cycle redistricting to dilute voter numbers and gain an unfair Congressional advantage.
No president should seek to undermine confidence in elections by making unsupported claims of widespread fraud.
No president should attempt to intimidate voters and thus suppress votes by threatening the placement of federal agents at voting centers.
The current president has done all these things.
Affordability — making ends meet
As read recently in the Arizona Daily Star, while the very wealthy were getting substantial tax breaks, 4.7 million people, the most vulnerable among us, have lost their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) nationwide.
Housing, especially rental, is a real problem in America, both in terms of availability and expense.
With the largest healthcare cuts in history by Congress and the president, nearly 10 million Americans have lost Medicaid coverage, particularly here in Arizona.
Be it housing, healthcare, utilities, fuel, groceries and other everyday necessities, we all feel the increasing financial strain.
Change
Real change begins with representation.
Representative Juan Ciscomani often presents himself as a pragmatic, middle-of-the-road Republican. Yet, he has voted for the current administration's legislative agenda 100% of the time, diminishing affordability for voters in Arizona's CD-6. He was a deciding vote in passing the detrimental One Beautiful Bill Act.
Because of his votes, children in CD-6 suffer from cutbacks in SNAP and the Children's Health Insurance Program, veterans suffer because of staffing cutbacks at the Veterans Health Administration, and the elderly suffer because of cutbacks in Medicaid. Rather than serving as a representative of his constituents in the nation's capital, he is serving as the president's representative in CD-6. His loyalty is to the president, not to us.
If you believe Arizona deserves independent representation that puts constituents first, please join us along with hundreds of others on Friday, July 17, 7:45-9:15 a.m., at 1626 N. Swan Road, as we peacefully demonstrate our commitment to accountable government, voting rights and economic opportunity for all.
Follow these steps to easily submit a letter to the editor or guest opinion to the Arizona Daily Star.
Mitch and Phineas Anderson are co-founders of Democracy Unites Us. She is a retired textile designer and a school superintendent. They started the Tesla protests.
