The story’s out on last year’s controversial elections law

Now it can be told ... There’s this thing between Sen. Steve Pierce, R-Prescott, and the elections bill. Last year, when all the elections-law changes got crammed into one something-to-offend-everyone bill, Pierce became the pivotal vote on House Bill 2305. First he voted against it. Then he voted for it. Now that the Legislature has voted to repeal that hardfought victory, Pierce is talking about what happened that dramatic night last June.

“I had one individual come over screaming at me that I had to vote for this because he is running for Congress,” Pierce said last week as he cast his vote to repeal the law. “I wonder what he will do now.”

Well, Sen. Pierce, we can answer that. Said screamer, aka Rep. Adam Kwasman, R-Oro Valley, is still running for Congress, with or without the advantages that bill would have provided.

» Now, isn’t that special? ... Like a bear emerging from a long winter hibernation, the advent of Senate Bill 1062 has reawakened @CAPLadies, a parody Twitter account mocking Center for Arizona Policy President Cathi Herrod.

@CAPLadies, whose avatar is Dana Carvey in full “Saturday Night Live” Church Lady attire, was burning up the Internet during last week’s legislative debate over the bill, which would shield businesses from legal action if they deny service based on “sincerely held” religious beliefs.

“Stop pooping my party with your floor amendments, Ableser!” @CAPLadies tweeted when Sen. Ed Ableser, D-Tempe, introduced six amendments to try to derail the bill. “John Kavanagh is so confident and forceful!” was another tweet, inspired by the Fountain Hills Republican’s full-throated defense of the House version of SB1062.

» Boxing lessons ... On a visit to

politics.azcentral.com. Phoenix to raise money for some of the state’s most vulnerable congressional Dems, House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer offered advice on dealing with the campaign issue of health-care reform. He said U.S. Reps. Ron Barber, Ann Kirkpatrick and Kyrsten Sinema — facing dangerous re-election fights — should face the Affordable Care Act head-on. “Don’t duck and bob and weave,” Hoyer told Insider. “Embrace it and let the American people know why this is good for them, their families, their businesses and for America.”

Hoyer admitted the rollout of the law was flawed, but he argued the fundamental goal of insuring all Americans is sound.

“No one would expect to adopt that kind of policy (affecting a sixth of the country’s economy) without having to fine-tune,” he said.

Taking a more personal approach, the high-ranking Democrat gushed that Barber and Kirkpatrick are “good, decent people” and that Sinema is “one of the smartest people” in Congress and a “force of nature.”

» Return to sender? ... Terry Goddard is cranking up the machinery to run for secretary of state, sending out nomination petitions to voters and urging them to sign — and perhaps even circulate the petitions among friends. Also tucked inside the mailing are forms for voters to contribute $5 so Goddard can qualify as a Clean Elections candidate.

Missing from the mailing, however, is a return envelope. Perhaps Team Goddard is banking on voters being so juiced for his re-emergence, they will find an envelope and stamp. Or not. Maybe the Goddard camp just forgot. By the way, how much is a first-class stamp these days?