From Abraham Lincoln to Donald Trump: Whatever Happened to the Grand Old Party? Democratic Perspective looks at the accelerating decline of the Republican Party. From Abraham Lincoln to Teddy Roosevelt to Donald Trump — whatever this progression signifies, it’s far from Theodore Parker and Martin Luther King’s vision of the  arc of the moral universe. The history of the Republican Party is a dark mirror of the social and political conflicts of the past 150 years of American history. Properly understood, it can offer us critical insights into the workings of the so-called law of unintended consequences.

The Open and Honest Coalition: Equal Representation In the Electoral Process Regardless of Party Affiliation. Democratic Perspective’s co-hosts, Mike Cosentino and Steve Williamson interview Art Babbott, Coconino County District 1 Supervisor, and supporter of the Open and Honest Coalition, about the Coalition’s sponsorship of two proposed amendments to the Arizona State Constitution, which will appear as initiatives on the 2016 ballot. Hear why supporters of the Coalition believe that open primaries and the full disclosure of campaign contributions are the key to broader and more effective participation in our electoral process.

The Verde River Basin: A Vital Resource for the Present and Future of Arizona. Democratic Perspective is pleased to welcome Brent Bitz, treasurer of the Verde River Basin Partnership, for another of our continuing series of programs devoted to the importance of preserving Arizona’s natural resources for future generations.

The Verde River Basin Partnership was created by federal legislation under Title II of Public Law No. 109-110, the Northern Arizona Land Exchange, and the Verde River Basin Partnership Act of 2005. Why was this legislation necessary? The mission statement of the Partnership states the answer very clearly:

The Verde River Basin’s surface water resources are critically connected to its groundwater supplies, local economies, citizen quality of life, and private property values. Surface waters are also a visual reminder of the condition of groundwater supplies that the eye cannot see.

Unfortunately, the Verde River’s continued existence as a perennial free-flowing river is, and has been for some time, under significant threat. Again, from the Partnership’s mission statement:

The Verde River has been identified by American Rivers as one of America’s Most Endangered Rivers. The river is threatened by groundwater depletion and inefficient irrigation diversion and delivery of diverted river water.

Why is this happening, and how can we help do something about it? Listen to our podcast and find out.

Justice Scalia R.I.P.: On a Scale of 1-10, the Crazy Hits 11. Democratic Perspective’s Gary LaMaster and Steve Williamson put on their welding goggles and look straight into the flaming looniness of the upcoming fight over Antonin Scalia’s replacement on the Supreme Court bench, and the mud wrestle of last Saturday’s Republican debate. Eleven down and six to go — and it’s only February!

The State of Education in Arizona: Ground Zero Is Not the Goal. Democratic Perspective talks to Dr. Rosemary Papa about the woeful state of public education funding in the state of Arizona. Dr. Papa currently serves as The Del and Jewel Lewis Endowed Chair in Learning Centered Leadership and Professor of Education Leadership in the College of Education at Northern Arizona University — a position she had held since 2007. As Dr. Papa explains, public education, publicly funded, was once considered the cornerstone of our democracy. Why the State Legislature of Arizona and the Superintendent of Public Instruction have rejected that view, and what are our children, and our future, are likely to suffer as a result.

The Mother’s Milk of Politics, or a Threat To Our Democracy: Dark Money and Its Consequences. On today’s Democratic Perspective, Dr. David R. Berman, Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Arizona State University, and Senior Research Fellow at the Morrison Institute for Public Policy, shares his perspective on the issue of dark money — the unlimited and often untraceable contributions to political campaigns enabled by the Supreme Court’s ruling in the 2010 Citizens United case.

Leadership for Arizona’s Future (And Lord Knows We Need It): Democratic Perspective’s Mike Cosentino, Gary LaMaster, and Steve Williamson, welcome Nikki Bagley, Director of the Yavapai College Viticulture and Enology Program and former mayor of Jerome, to discuss her candidacy for the Arizona State Senate from AZ Legislative District 6. Hear her take on the issues facing Yavapai County, District 6, and the state at large, and on the challenges facing a Democrat running for office in Arizona in 2016.

President Obama vs. the Republican Mud-Wrestlers: Who’s Actually Worthy of Our Trust? Democratic Perspective reviews the state of the nation, and of our national politics. President Obama, in his State of the Union address, asks the American people to take seriously the issues facing us in the coming year. The Republican candidates, predictably, respond with  hysterics — climate change is a hoax, all Muslims should be deported, the liberals want to take our guns away, repeal Obamacare now, bomb Iran now, now, now. On this Martin Luther King Day, Mike Cosentino, Gary LaMaster, and Steve Williamson try to make some sense of our real choices — not an easy task in the toxic political climate of a presidential election year.

Red States and Blue States: Ideology vs. Service to the People. Democratic Perspective looks at why the ideological preoccupations of the Republican right have proven so disastrous for the people who live in red states. Mike Cosentino and Gary LaMaster compare unemployment, wealth distribution, health care and education statistics for the quintessential red state, Arizona, with those of blue state Minnesota. The results are unequivocal: effective state governments are characterized not by ideological crusades, but by a genuine concern for the welfare of their citizens.

The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same: Democratic Perspective’s 2015 in Review. Democratic Perspective looks back at the state of the nation in 2015, and isn’t exactly thrilled with what the record of events reveals. The prospects for 2016 don’t look a whole lot better, even with a presidential election in the offing.

From the white privilege performance art of the Bundys in Oregon to the open season on black people by increasingly militarized and politicized local police forces; from the tightening stranglehold of an apparently unprincipled oligarchy on our national politics to the struggle of displaced people to find refuge in an increasingly hostile US; from an economy still struggling to recover from the events of 2007-08 to the unprecedented collapse of oil prices, there’s much to be concerned about. And that’s not to mention a host of other unresolved issues, from the fiscal and refugee crises in the European Union to the struggle to arrive at an internationally coordinated response to accelerating climate change and global warming.

Is there any light at the end of the tunnel? Mike Cosentino, Gary LaMaster, Dick Searle, and Steve Williamson do what they can to untangle a very confusing moment in time, and to ascertain what it all might mean for what looks at this point to be an increasingly uncertain future.