Dr. Mike O’Neil gives you his take on what happened this week: 1. The big picture: What happened? 2. Arizona: Are the Democrats heading towards extinction? (We know they are endangered) 3. How the Democrats blew this election. (Hint: they wimped out big time). 4. What happens this January — cooperation or confrontation and compromise?
Arizona Republic columnist (and a former Republican operative) Robert Robb and Ron Ober, Democratic operative. More importantly, both are long-time and astute observers of Arizona politics.
Arizona Republic columnist Laurie Roberts and congressional reporter Rebekah Sanders join the Think Tank as we dissect campaign ads: dirty ads, effective ads and ads that bomb. And our final segment discusses campaign fundraising: who has the money and what we know about where the third party and “dark” money comes from.
Attorney General candidate Felicia Rotellini and Secretary of State candidate Terry Goddard join the Think Tank for an examination of their issue positions and qualifications. Note: Goddard’s opponent Michele Reagan declined, Rotellini’s opponent Mark Brkovich did not respond to our invitation to participate in this discussion.
Mike O'Neil gives you his best shot at what will happen in the 2014 elections -- at least after observing why election predictions were so good in 2008 and 2012, and why are they unlikely to be as good in 2014.
We were all outraged by the recent beheadings undertaken by ISIS/ISIL. The president promised a firm response, but “no boots on the ground”. Is this possible? What if an American pilot is shot down, captured, and beheaded? Will “no boots on the ground” be tenable then? If we are going to bomb, this is war. […]
Dr. David Garcia, Democratic nominee for Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction joins the show. (Note: Diane Douglas, the Republican nominee was invited and declined to participate). We discuss a wide range of educational topics including Dr. Garcia’s assessment of the current quality of education in Arizona, his proposed “fixes,” and what power a Superintendent of […]
Several other countries are producing way better educational outcomes, while spending less on education and paying teachers considerably higher salaries than we do in the U.S. Furthermore, they do it in public schools that educate everyone, not just cherry-picking motivated students in private or charter schools. Amanda Ripley, author of “The Smartest Kids in the […]
It’s not Obamacare (or the lack thereof). It is a lot of stuff you probably haven’t considered. Our guest, Dr. Francine Hardaway has. And, based on years of observations, she shares her perspectives . You can read many of her thoughts on the subject here. Or you can hear for yourself on this week’s Think […]
Bleeped! After a year and a half, Mike O’Neil gets bleeped on his own show! And co-host Mike Russell thinks this is so funny, instead of just editing it out, has a conspicuous BLEEP inserted into the audio recording. Listener Contest: First person who can figure out what Mike said gets a personal shout-out on […]
Arizona Republic reporter Rebekah Sanders discusses the nine Arizona Congressional races. The interesting ones to watch are: • the Democratic primary contest between Mary Rose Wilcox and Ruben Gallego in CD7, • the Republican race in northeastern Arizona between House Speaker Andy Tobin, businessman Gary Kiehne and freshman state lawmaker Adam Kwasman, • the prospects […]
As net immigration from Mexico has dropped to near zero, it has been replaced by a surge in immigration from Central America, notably Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. And many of these new immigrants are children. Why are Central American children enduring hardships and risking death to come to this country? Our guests this week […]
Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne leads off this weeks show. Has the state’s leading law enforcement officer violated campaign and civil service laws — or is he the victim of unfounded allegations? Hear what he himself has to say about these allegations and then hear the response of the attorney who represents his most recent […]
Former Attorney General Grant Woods has unique perspectives on many contemporary Arizona political issues. Hear what he has to say about: • The prospects for moderates and moderation in the Republican Party. • The viability of lawsuits versus the federal government. • The reason Arizona has so many laws struck down by the federal courts. […]
Lightning round this week. Four segments, four topics. • Middle East prophecies: How they are driving what is happening • The Demise of the Tea Party? Not so fast. • Arizona politics: Candidate self-destruction. • The graduation speech your kid should have heard (but didn’t).
Political insiders regard Sabato’s Crystal Ball as one of the most insightful sources of information on American politics available anywhere. This week’s Think Tank features Kyle Kondik, the Managing Editor of Sabato’s Crystal Ball. We discuss the biggest political surprise of 2014: the demise of House Majority leader Eric Cantor. How did this happen? What […]
This week’s Think Tank explores two scandals, one national, one local: the VA Scandal and allegations Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne’s office put state paid employees to work on his re-election campaign. We also discuss differing points of view on the prisoner exchange for U.S. serviceman Bowe Bergdahl for five Taliban who were in Guantanamo. […]
Two Republican candidates for governor get grilled in the Think Tank. Scott Smith was a business executive before becoming Mayor of Mesa. Ken Bennett was president of the Arizona Senate before becoming Arizona secretary of state. By most accounts, these are two of the leading candidates for the Republican nomination for governor. We ask each […]
This week’s Think Tank will attempt to provoke you with observations on four disparate topics: 1. Why, contrary to everything you have heard, this could be the least important election in many years. 2. Women make 77 cents on the dollar? Is this an outrage, or a phony statistic? 3. Monica joins the show. One […]
Several other countries are producing way better educational outcomes, while spending less on education and paying teachers considerably higher salaries than we do in the U.S. And get this: They’re doing it in public schools that educate everyone, not just cherry-picking motivated students in private or charter schools. Hint: Neither liberal nor conservative solutions do […]
