Think Tank takes another look at hurdles democracy is facing

This is the second of two shows on the potential for the end of democracy in America.

But we made a mistake in this writeup last week. We truthfully promised to interview a former Phoenix mayor/gubernatorial candidate who has subsequently been involved in political reform efforts.

We did that, but I referenced the wrong former mayor. Last week we interviewed Terry Goddard, who was not only a Phoenix mayor, but Arizona attorney general and a former candidate for governor.

He has been involved in a number of political reform initiatives and is currently involved in promoting a prohibition on “dark money,” which is political funding from hidden sources.

Paul Johnson, a Democrat-turned-independent, is also a former mayor of Phoenix and unsuccessful gubernatorial candidate. Promised last week, he actually is our guest this week.

He is joined by Republican-turned-independent and longtime Republican political consultant Chuck Coughlin.

As we noted last week, the attempt to overturn the voters’ choices in the 2020 election was unsuccessful largely due to the courage of a handful of Republican election officials who refused to buckle under to political pressure to deny certification to the tabulated results.

These included the Republican secretary of state in Georgia, the Republican-controlled Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, and Republican County Recorder Stephen Richer.

But there is an effort to purge these principled public officials before the next presidential election. Therein lies some of the risk to our democracy.

The Think Tank airs on KTAR 92.3 FM on Saturday 6-7 p.m. and Sunday 9-10 p.m.

Podcasts are available after broadcast. Older shows are archived at www.mikeoneil.org.