🗣️ Border Observer Blasts Trump's Military Plan: "Our Military Is Not Equipped to Handle a Drug War" | Buckmaster Show

🌵 Cinco de Mayo Special: Maxwell Champions Regional Transit While Rosenblum Dismantles Border Myths

May 06, 2025

😽 Keepin’ It Simple Summary for Younger Readers
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The Buckmaster Show discussed two big issues in Tucson. First, the people planning our roads 🚧 can't agree on a new 20-year plan 📅. Without a plan soon, voters won't decide on continuing a special tax for better roads 💰🛣️. Second, President Trump 🇺🇸 wants to send soldiers to Mexico 🇲🇽 to stop drugs 💊, but Mexico's president said no 🚫 as it wouldn't work and would cause problems ⚠️.

🗝️ Takeaways

🚗 The current 20-year RTA program expires May 2026, with August 2025 as the deadline to get a new plan on the March 2026 ballot
🏛️ RTA board dysfunction threatens the future of regional transportation, with their attorney recently resigning
🤝 All 29 municipalities in Maricopa County support regional transportation, while Tucson's region struggles to cooperate
🚫 Mexican President Scheinbaum firmly rejected Trump's proposal to send US troops to fight drug trafficking in Mexico
💰 Construction costs have increased by up to 50% since the pandemic, threatening completion of promised RTA projects
🌎 Retaliatory trade measures between US and Mexico create economic uncertainty for businesses on both sides

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Buckmaster Show Breakdown: The Future of Tucson Transit Hangs in Balance While Border Politics Get Trumpier

Monday's edition of the Buckmaster Show delivered a double dose of desert political drama on this Cinco de Mayo. Illuminating discussions included whether Tucson can summon the regional cooperation that seems to come so easily to our northern neighbors in Maricopa County and just how quickly our border policies are devolving under Trump's second term. As usual, Bill Buckmaster managed to extract substantive insights from his guests while steering clear of the partisan shouting matches that dominate national airwaves.

General Maxwell's Transit Vision Collides With Political Reality

The Monday one-on-one segment welcomed General Ted Maxwell, a man who collects local leadership titles like some collect cacti. Currently serving as CEO of the Southern Arizona Leadership Council, Southern Arizona Representative on the Arizona Transportation Board, and member of the nine-member RTA Authority Board, Maxwell arrived with an urgent message: time is running out for Southern Arizona's regional transportation future.

The clock is ticking on the 20-year Regional Transportation Authority plan that transformed our roadways since 2006. With the current plan set to expire next May and the deadline to place a renewal on the March 2026 ballot rapidly approaching, Maxwell didn't mince words about the current dysfunction hampering progress.

"After our last board meeting, our attorney for the board resigned," Maxwell revealed, highlighting just one symptom of the deeper organizational turmoil. "That's the first step we've got to take before we can address any of the other issues."

Ah yes, nothing inspires confidence in a multimillion-dollar transportation authority quite like your legal counsel jumping ship mid-voyage. One wonders what other red flags might be flapping in the breeze.

Despite these troubles, Maxwell emphatically argued that voters—not board members—should decide whether to continue the regional approach to transportation that has guided development for the past two decades.

"Twenty years ago, the region—that's the voters in this region—said we want a regional approach to transportation," Maxwell said, his voice rising with conviction. "We want the regional approach; we're willing to pay the half-cent region-wide."

The general painted a stark picture of what failure would mean: the "balkanization" of transportation planning, with each municipality going its own way and unincorporated areas of Pima County potentially doing nothing at all. Coordination would disappear, and the regional network that doesn't recognize borders would suddenly be funded as though those borders were impenetrable walls.

"And the road system, the network, it doesn't recognize borders, but all of a sudden the funding does," Maxwell explained.

Interesting how physical walls at the border are the darling of conservatives, but the invisible walls of municipal boundaries suddenly become problematic when they interfere with smooth driving experiences.

Maxwell delivered perhaps his most devastating critique when comparing our region to Maricopa County, where regional cooperation on transportation appears to be a foregone conclusion:

"Up north, Maricopa County... all 29 of the elected officials up there are on board, all of them," Maxwell noted with palpable frustration. "They have 29 on their board... and everybody said thumbs up."

It's perhaps the cruelest indictment of Tucson's perpetual infighting—we're getting outclassed in regional cooperation by Phoenix, a metropolitan area hardly known for its progressive planning vision or community cohesion.

When pressed on what would happen if voters rejected the plan, Maxwell assured listeners that the board has committed to completing all the projects promised in the original RTA, though rising construction costs—up a staggering 50% in some cases—have created significant challenges.

"The guarantee, the vote by the board unanimously, was that we will complete the RTA-1 projects one way or the other," Maxwell promised, though the timeline remains uncertain.

Keith Rosenblum: Watching the Border From Interstate 10

For the second segment, Buckmaster connected with veteran border journalist Keith Rosenblum, who literally phoned in while driving east on I-10, en route to Mexico City via Juarez. The conversation quickly turned to Mexican President Claudia Scheinbaum's firm rejection of President Trump's proposal to send American troops to Mexico to combat the illegal drug trade.

Rosenblum's analysis of this latest Trump border scheme was both nuanced and withering. "She should say no way, but everybody should say no way," Rosenblum argued, highlighting how the proposal makes no sense from either nation's perspective.

From the American side, Rosenblum explained why military intervention would be disastrous: "Aside from the fact that it would be a horrible drain on resources where we actually have issues, whether it's the Middle East, whether it's Ukraine, Russia... we have no business becoming involved in a war in quotes because it's not one."

One might think after decades of failed military interventions across the globe, we might have learned something about the limits of American military power, especially when deployed against societal issues rather than conventional adversaries. Apparently not.

Rosenblum articulated what Trump and his advisors consistently fail to grasp: "Drug traffickers... are not identifiable. You can't go after people in a civilian population who are experts, even within Mexican society. There's too many codes. You would never, you'd never be able to crack it."

Perhaps most cutting was Rosenblum's return to a fundamental truth about drug trafficking: "No one has ever forced a Rosenblum or a Buckmaster or anyone to snort, ingest, drink, consume, whatever method you want to use."

There it is—the inconvenient truth that decades of militarized border enforcement refuses to acknowledge: American demand drives the drug trade, not Mexican supply.

The conversation shifted to Mexico's newly announced retaliatory measures against what they view as unfairly priced imports—a clear response to Trump's tariffs. Rosenblum invoked Warren Buffett as an unlikely ally in his critique of this economic tit-for-tat.

"Nothing worse than tariffs," Rosenblum quoted Buffett as saying. "Society should do what they do best and quit trying to mess with the marketplaces."

Fascinating how quickly conservative free-market principles get jettisoned when there's an opportunity to throw red meat to the base about foreign "threats" to American industries.

Rosenblum closed by praising President Scheinbaum's political deftness in handling relations with Trump and previewing Mexico's upcoming judicial reform, which he believes will "totally turn the society upside down."

Connecting the Dots: What This Means for Southern Arizona

The juxtaposition of these two segments reveals something profound about our region's challenges. On one hand, we struggle to maintain even basic regional cooperation on transportation infrastructure that benefits everyone. On the other, we face increasingly chaotic border policies driven by nationalist rhetoric rather than practical solutions.

Both issues demand the same thing: clear-eyed, pragmatic leadership that puts community needs above political posturing. Maxwell's frustration with the RTA board's dysfunction mirrors the broader frustration many progressives feel watching Trump's border policies unfold—good governance sacrificed on the altar of political expediency.

For Tucson residents, these aren't abstract policy debates. They determine whether we'll have functioning roadways connecting our communities or devolve into a patchwork of disconnected municipal efforts. They influence whether our relationship with Mexico—our largest trading partner and a vital cultural connection—will be defined by cooperation or militarized confrontation.

And let's be honest: if we can't even agree on road planning within our own region, what hope do we have of developing sensible border policies with an entire other country?

A Path Forward

Despite these challenges, there are reasons for hope. General Maxwell's passionate advocacy for regional cooperation reminds us that dedicated public servants still believe in governance that transcends municipal boundaries. Keith Rosenblum's incisive analysis demonstrates that even as nationalist rhetoric escalates, clear-eyed observers continue to cut through the noise.

The coming months will be critical. The RTA board has until August to finalize a plan that could shape our transportation landscape for the next two decades. Meanwhile, Trump's border policies will continue to evolve, likely in increasingly aggressive directions that demand community resistance and alternative visions.

As active citizens of this unique border region, we must engage with these issues, pressure our representatives to pursue regional cooperation, and advocate for border policies based on mutual respect rather than militarization.

What do you think about the future of regional transportation in our area? Should voters have the final say on continuing the RTA? And how should our community respond to increasingly aggressive border policies from the federal government?

Your voice matters in these debates. Leave your thoughts in the comments below, and consider supporting the Three Sonorans Substack to keep independent, progressive analysis of Southern Arizona issues coming to your inbox. Only through sustained, community-based journalism can we ensure these vital regional issues receive the attention they deserve.

Quotes:

"Twenty years ago, the region—that's the voters in this region—said we want a regional approach to transportation. We want the regional approach; we're willing to pay the half-cent region-wide." — General Ted Maxwell, emphasizing voter support for regional transportation
"The road system, the network, it doesn't recognize borders, but all of a sudden the funding does." — Maxwell explaining the contradiction of balkanized transportation funding
"Up north, Maricopa County... all 29 of the elected officials up there are on board, all of them." — Maxwell comparing regional cooperation in Maricopa County to Pima County's struggles
"Our military is not equipped to handle a drug war." — Keith Rosenblum on why Trump's proposal to send troops to Mexico is problematic
"No one has ever forced a Rosenblum or a Buckmaster or anyone to snort, ingest, drink, consume, whatever method you want to use." — Rosenblum on the root cause of the drug problem being demand, not supply
"The bids, the lowest bid we'd get on several would come in 50% above the state's estimate." — Maxwell on the dramatic rise in construction costs

People Mentioned:

Bill Buckmaster - Host of the Buckmaster Show, interviewing guests and exploring regional issues
General Ted Maxwell - CEO of the Southern Arizona Leadership Council, Southern Arizona Representative on the Arizona Transportation Board, and member of the nine-member RTA Board; advocates strongly for regional transportation planning
Keith Rosenblum - Veteran border journalist and observer; described as "longtime friend of the Buckmaster Show" with experience reporting for the Arizona Daily Star and Arizona Republic
Claudia Scheinbaum - President of Mexico who rejected Trump's proposal to send American troops to Mexico; described by Rosenblum as politically "deft" in handling relations with Trump
Donald Trump - President of the United States whose proposal to send troops to Mexico was rejected; also implemented tariffs that prompted retaliatory measures from Mexico
Warren Buffett - Mentioned by Rosenblum as saying "nothing worse than tariffs" and arguing societies should "do what they do best"
Jim Kolbe - Late Congressman mentioned as having represented Southern Arizona for 22 years and as Rosenblum's former employer

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