Play the video above to see these stories on AZ Illustrated Politics for Friday, Sept. 6 with guests Jeff Rogers, former chairman of the Pima County Democratic Party and Trent Humphries, Tucson Tea Party founder:
MCCAIN'S SYRIA STAND: U.S. Sen. John McCain was front-and-center this week in an effort to round up congressional support for a strike against Syria. Humphries and Rogers agreed that McCain is all over the place with his stand, first saying it was vital for the United States to strike Syria, then saying he would be opposed to the strike if it didn't do enough to help the rebels against the Assad regime, and today declaring that President Obama could be impeached if he put U.S. boots on the ground in Syria.
U.S. IN SYRIA: Rogers said the U.S. should get make a military strike in Syria because the regime used chemical weapons against the rebel forces and a failure to act could not only embolden the Assad regime, but also the Iranian effort to develop nuclear weaponry. But he said the Obama administration would face a challenge gathering the necessary support in Congress. Humphries said the United States should not interfere in the civil war because both sides are hostile to the United States.
CITY COUNCIL CAMPAIGNS: Ward 3 Tucson City Council Ben Buehler-Garcia has raised more than $50K, and leads incumbent Democrat Karin Uhlich by about $10,000. The race is a rematch of the 2009 Ward 3 election, in which Buehler-Garcia lost by fewer than 200 votes. Humphries said Buehler-Garcia is running a strong campaign and suggested that Uhlich has been "caught sleeping a little bit." Rogers said Buehler-Garcia was pulling in big contributions from people outside the city of Tucson, while Uhlich's average contribution was just $70.
ROSEMONT COPPER MINE: U.S. Forest Service released a new report saying that the Rosemont mining operation would cause minimal damage to the waterways would be minimal, but the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has concerns about the potential impact. Rogers said that Buehler-Garcia's connections to Rosemont would be an issue in the Ward 3 race, while Humphries said he believed Tucsonans generally support the mine, so Buehler-Garcia's work for Rosemont would not hurt his campaign.
AZ Illustrated Politics is produced by Jim Nintzel. Contact him at jnintzel@azpm.org.
By submitting your comments, you hereby give AZPM the right to post your comments and potentially use them in any other form of media operated by this institution.