The best line in Rocky 3 is Mr. T's prediction of the outcome. "I predict pain." Indeed pain is what the Democrats served up on Tuesday. Congratulations are in order for Governor Napolitano, Terry Goddard, Harry Mitchell the local Democratic Party and the Arizona Republic who worked hard to make it happen.

However, we need a little perspective. When I came on the political scene in the 90s, the Democrats held one of the two Senate seats, three of the six Congressional seats, the Governorship, Secretary of State, the ACC, Superintendent of Public Instruction and the State Senate. I was one of only 33 Republicans in the State House--16 of whom were moderates.

Republicans made steady gains throughout the 90s and some of those gains were scaled back in 2002 when the Napolitano and Goddard picked up two of the crown jewels. The Republican gains were further eroded on Tuesday. The Democrats now have the Governorship, Attorney General, 4 of the 8 Congressional seats and the Republic Editorial Board.

The Republicans now have both U.S. Senate seats, Secretary of State, all five seats on the ACC, Superintendent of Public Instruction, 19 of 30 Senate seats, 36? of 60 House Seats, and by golly, don't forget that Joe Hart is the Mine Inspector.

Congratulations are indeed in order. Napolitano and Goddard's victories were more than convincing and Harry Mitchell woke up this morning and said to himself..."I can be President." At this rate, who am I to doubt him.

November 7, 2006

Dirty Tricks

Here's a section from the latest flyer in the District 24 Senate Race.

Notice the first four words?

Every political junkie in the state knows that District 24 is a swing district in which the two State Representatives are vying for an open Senate seat. Amanda Aguirre is not a State Senator.

Here's how the Associated Press covered the story.

A campaign flier that was mailed to voters in Yuma County claimed erroneously that a candidate for the Arizona Senate was already a senator.

The Arizona Democratic Party, which mailed the flier, said the claim was a typographical error. The incorrect claim originated with a consultant and wasn't spotted during reviews of the campaign literature, the party said.

Oh. It's a "typo." Give me a break. Misspelling "Senator" is a typo. Calling someone a Senator is a late-breaking dirty trick.

I would be much more inclined to believe this was a mistake if the Democrats hadn't spent the entire campaign pretending that Aguirre was in the Senate. Here's a picture of the banner that Aguirre has been using throughout the campaign. I first ran the picture in July. Typo indeed.

Twilight Zone

Somewhere in a lonely hotel room
There's a guy starting to realize
That eternal fate has turned his back on him...
It's 2 A.M......

At some point today, Jim Pederson is going to realize that he spent $12 million only to lose by double digits. Along the way, he disavowed his party "I don't care if it's a Republican idea or a Democratic idea." And now the whole world knows that he declared bankruptcy and denied it under oath on five separate filings.

Perhaps worst of all, this federal probe will probably have some legs.

One thing's for sure--he's Nobody's Senator

The Values Voter

Bishop Olmstead's book "Catholics in the Public Square" is getting quite a bit of attention. He doesn't mince any words.

Here's an example.

Is it mandatory for Catholics to follow what the Pope or bishops say on political issues?

Because they are the leaders of the Church, it is always important to respect statements from the Church's hierarchy. It is the role of the Pope and the bishops to teach clearly on matters of faith and morals, including those touching on political issues.

There are some matters, however, on which Catholics may disagree with the Church's hierarchy. In some cases, for example, a Catholic may agree with the teaching of the Church, but come to a different prudential judgment about its application.

Examples of these issues might include an instance where someone agrees with the Church's teaching on “just war” or “capital punishment,” but reaches a different conclusion as to whether the facts of the situation constitute a “just war” or the “rare” circumstances where capital punishment may be used under Church teaching.

It should be emphasized, however, that despite these examples, there are other issues, such as abortion or euthanasia, that are always wrong and do not allow for the correct use of prudential judgment to justify them. It would never be proper for Catholics to be on the opposite side of these issues. (Emphasis added)

November 6, 2006

Dennis Cahill: "Did you know Munsil's a Bigot?"

The College Republicans showed up at Democratic Rally in Tempe on Sunday. They stood in the back, didn't interrupt the speakers, and held Munsil signs.

But former Tempe City Councilman Denis Cahill, husband of Senate Candidate Meg Burton Cahill came over to give them a piece of his mind. It doesn't look like he has much mind to spare.

Real News

If this had happened in a Republican administration, the Republic would be all over it.

Check out this amazing New Times story on CPS.

Janet Napolitano, elected governor that fall, made the newspaper's mission her own. Fixing CPS, she announced, would be one of her top priorities. Children needed to be protected.

But Emily Mays didn't die in 2002.

She died three years into Napolitano's tenure, in the summer of 2005 — after the reforms, after massive budget increases, after Napolitano's vow that kids need to be kept safe above all else.

Agenda Journalism 101

Today's question boys and girls is: how can we manipulate the reader by using information that is completely accurate?

Here's a great example from the Republic's Chris Ramirez.

Arizona Capitol Mall Commission chairman Tom Smith is calling for the state's 9/11 Memorial to be covered up until the group that OK'd it meets again and revises its controversial etchings.

So far so good. Smith is the head of the Capitol Mall Commission, he chaired the meeting that took input on the memorial; he's a former State Senator and a retired Marine. His opinion matters, and he's an excellent source for the article.

It goes down from there.

A Republican, Smith is listed on GOP gubernatorial candidate Len Munsil's campaign Web site as a supporter. He said he signed a petition of support for the candidate, but has never met him.

Excuse me, were we discussing Len Munsil? The reporter attacks Smith's credibility by pointing out that Smith supports Munsil. This implies that Smith's comments are politically motivated.

Actually, since Smith is a FORMER State Senator, his endorsement isn't a very big deal. In fact, Smith is the 1,750th name on this list of supporters.

That's a subtle trick that reporters use all the time. But this article gets worse.

Tom Smith's counterpart in this saga is the 9/11 Memorial Commission Chairman Billy Shields.

Billy Shields, who heads the 9/11 Memorial Commission, has asked his group to meet again to reconsider some of the statements. That meeting isn't expected until after the Nov. 7 election.

How's that? Tom Smith is a Munsil supporter, but Billy Shields is just Billy Shields?

Shields didn't comment for the story, and he has made it clear that he doesn't want any more attention focused on the memorial until after the election.

Might those actions be politically motivated? Since he's just "Billy Shields" I guess we don't know.

Of course, Billy Shields is a huge Napolitano supporter, and unlike Smith, Billy Shield's support is a very big deal.

Here's his organization's endorsement from 2002.

http://www.governor.state.az.us/press/press_10_07_02.htm

“Over the past six years Arizona fire fighters have partnered with Janet Napolitano on numerous issues,” said Billy Shields, president of the United Phoenix Firefighters. “Through Janet’s dedication, hard work, and leadership, she has proven to be an advocate for all Arizonans.”

“This is why the Professional Fire Fighters of Arizona proudly endorse Janet Napolitano for Governor.”

(Notice the press release is on her official website, not her campaign website.)

Napolitano continues to enjoy the support of the Phoenix Fire Fighters under the direction of Billy Shields. But you won't read about that in the Republic. After all, we wouldn't want to imply that his actions with regard to the Memorial are somehow political, now would we?

November 4, 2006

Jeff Groscost 1961-2006

I used to keep a personal journal. I searched through it last night for the first reference to Jeff Groscost. The first mention was over 14 years ago. Here it is:

Tuesday, August 25, 1992 11:09 PM

Waiting for Jeff Groscost. He's an hour and a half late. We are going to put up the rest of my signs.

That entry says a lot. I was running for my second term in the House while helping Stan Barnes in his Congressional Campaign against Jay Rhodes.

Jeff was running for the House and he called me to ask if he could help me put up my campaign signs. I was in a tough race; Stan's race was overwhelming. Burger King had a special on Double Whoppers that summer and we had been living on them for weeks.

Jeff's call came at a good time. I was using 4 x 8 plywood signs that must have weighed 40 pounds each; I had 25 more to get up and the election was two weeks away. I really needed the help.

Jeff was running for an open seat but he had plenty of free time because he had managed to avoid having an opponent. Running unopposed for an open seat is unheard of. To this day, I don't know how he engineered it.

He showed up at Stan's campaign headquarters around midnight and we put up my 4 x 8s until about 2:00 AM.

At about 1:30, we were nailing a sign to an abandoned building in South Scottsdale and I asked him why he was helping me put up campaign signs in the middle of a Tuesday night.

He winked at me and said "so you'll owe me." I thought to myself. "My gosh, he's a genius. This kid is going to be President."

That evening is a great example of Jeff's service. He had no sense of time, but a great sense of timing. He engineered his own race and then spent the extra time helping other candidates.

He was there when I needed him even before I knew him. He was running for Speaker before he was elected.

I served with Jeff for two years; they were really good years. I would be less than honest if I didn't admit that our relationship had its ups and downs. But I am deeply saddened to learn of his death.

I offer my deepest condolences to his wife and six children.

A Sign of Class.

I want to congratulate Republic reporters Art Thomason, Senta Scarborough and Mike Cronin for the extremely tasteful piece that they wrote about Jeff.

Friends and political allies of former Arizona House Speaker Jeff Groscost were stunned at news of his death in a Mesa hospital emergency room where he was rushed from his home on Friday .

The article goes on to interview Jeff's friends and supporters. It mentions his service, his accomplishments and his family. It does not mention Alt Fuels.

One Last Hit Piece

Shame on Howie Fischer for taking the opportunity to write one last hit piece on Jeff.

The 45-year-old Republican served four two-year terms in the House before losing his bid in 2000 to move to the state Senate. His loss was widely attributed to his role in pushing through a tax credit on alternative fuel vehicles - a credit that had to be quickly repealed when it was discovered it could cost the state hundreds of millions of dollars.

Fischer's article goes down from there, dredging up as much negative history as Howie could fit into 500 words. Astonishingly, Howie can't find one positive thing to say about Groscost...not one mention of his family, his supporters or his career.

Let me remind Howie of the requirements of the society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics

Ethical journalists treat sources, subjects and colleagues as human beings deserving of respect. Journalists should: Show compassion for those who may be affected adversely by news coverage.

There comes a time when you need to put the long knives away Howie.

Judging the Judges

I'm always frustrated when media types aren't willing to respond to new facts. Consider the recent changes in downtown Phoenix--light rail, new Civic Center, government sponsored hotel--but the Jon Taltons of the world still spend three columns a week telling us that Phoenix sucks and we should move to Denver.

I try to be a bit less reactionary than that.

I've been disappointed that some of my fellow conservatives and even fellow bloggers are recommending that we vote "no" on Justices McGregor and Hurwitz.

Conservatives maintain that we just want smart judges who will simply rule on the law. We don't want them to make up the law, re-write the law, or play games with the law.

We recognize that the law is sometimes not clear and that judges will be forced to apply the law to unforeseen situations. Maybe if statutes were more clear, judges would have less room to play games.

If we want to determine if judges are of the activist stripe, we need to look their decisions, not their resumes. When we find judges who happen to be Democrats, were appointed by Democratic administrations--or both, we need to examine the record before we recommend voting no on their retention.

I think it's clear that Justices McGregor and Hurwitz are not of the activist ilk, and I offer three pieces of evidence.

The first is Governor Napolitano's abuse of the line item veto. The Supreme Court could have easily punted the question. They could have claimed that the parties lacked standing or they could have called it a political question. But they didn't punt. They met the issue head on and by a 5-0 vote slapped the Governor down.

The second opportunity the justices had to play politics was Prop. 107. Take a look at the language of the amendment. Reasonable people can disagree, and I'm not a lawyer, but that looks like two subjects to me.

It would have been pretty easy to claim that the proposition violated the single subject rule and remove it. The Court knew that the amendment would drive Republican turnout. They had a ready reason to remove it from the ballot and they chose restraint. Judicial restraint, what a concept.

Finally think back to last July when the lower courts removed Republican Senate candidate Russ Jones from the ballot. Here's what the Democrats said at the time

“Today the court rejected Russ Jones’s attempt to cheat his way on to the ballot,” said Democratic Chairman David Waid. “This ruling reinforces the principle that politicians are not above the law.”

Well, the ruling went to an Arizona Supreme Court that is dominated by Democrats and they put Mr. Jones back on the ballot. Jones' Democrat opponent has been tainted by the whole affair and it looks like the Republicans are going to pick up a critical Senate seat.

Those were tough decisions. All three of them were in a legal grey area and in each case the rulings went against Democratic interests.

It looks to me like we have a group of bright judges who simply apply the law.

It Must have Been a Long Flight

There's an interesting story about Justice Hurwitz that I assumed was an urban legend, but I have done a little research and discovered that it's true.

Hurwitz was clerking for Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart and decided to move to Arizona. He had already passed the bar, but everyone who wants to practice in Arizona has to take the Arizona bar exam.

The move was hectic and Hurwitz didn't have time to study for the bar exam. So he resolved to study during the one time that he knew he would be free of distractions. His only preparation for the Arizona Bar exam was on the plane trip to Arizona.

He had the highest score on that year's bar exam.

Who's Your Bully

This is the third in a series of posts on the Republic's decision to label JD Hayworth a "bully." The editorial was written by Dan Nowicki with a bit of help from Doug MacEachern. If you haven't read my previous posts, start here and then work your way back up to the top.

A great trick the Mainstream Media uses to manipulate you is to take a candidate's behavior out of context. Nowicki and MacEachern didn't provide any real evidence that Hayworth is a bully. But what if it were true? Should bullies be tolerated in politics?

The editorial opened with this line The biggest problem in Congress is extreme partisanship,

Really? I thought earmarks, deficit spending and corruption were the biggest problems in Congress. But for the sake of argument, let's assume that raw partisanship and boorish behavior are unacceptable and that a candidate who exhibits these qualities deserves the Republic's wrath.

Some would argue that Hayworth can be a boorish partisan. But everyone would concede that Governor Napolitano exhibits these qualities. In short, Napolitano falls squarely within the Republic's definition of a bully.

Veto Queen

Consider the glee with which she uses the veto stamp. She holds ceremonies to veto bills. She takes the veto show on the road and she steadfastly refuses to comment on bills as they wind their way through the process. Her boorish style and partisan glee has allowed her to veto more bills in the her first three years of office than Bruce Babbitt vetoed in his nine year tenure.

You may argue that holding the legislature in check is an important function, and indeed it is, however Babbitt was a Democratic Governor who worked with a Republican Legislature and actually got things done.

The Governor got a bit too overeager with the veto stamp and tried to make a policy change in a piece of legislation. The Legislature was forced to sue her and she lost 5-0.

So much for playing well with others.

What's Eating Crow

But maybe that's not your definition of a bully. Maybe this is more your style. Here's how one reporter described a Napolitano meeting with Michael Crow.

There is no story told with more relish, from both supporters and de-tractors, than the story of Governor Janet Napolitano throwing the ASU president out of her office last year - slamming the door so violently as his derriere crossed the threshold that her DPS guards came running, thinking it was a gunshot.

Wow, that sounds rather boorish. But that's not real hardball.

Piestewa Peak

Here's some hardball. The Governor wanted the Board on Geographic and Historic Names to name rename Squaw Peak. The Board wasn't interested, so she made them an offer they couldn't refuse.

When this proposal was submitted to the board, chairman Tim Norton refused to consider it because a 5-year waiting period is required before naming a place after a deceased person. This enraged the governor, who asked Norton to resign. The governor's assistant, Mario Diaz, called Norton's boss and insisted that Norton be forced to obey the governor's wishes.

Chamber of Horrors

The latest example of gubernatorial knee breaking occurred when the Governor insisted that the Arizona Chamber of Commerce change their long-standing policy against endorsing candidates.

Here's how hotazitgets tells the story.

After this ultimatum, the Board discussed it. Half of the members wanted to interview all of the gubernatorial candidates before making an endorsement, following proper procedures, whereas the other half wanted to accede immediately to the governor's demands. By a 13-12 vote (or it might have been 13-11), the pro-Napolitano members prevailed. The pro-Napolitano board members then called the Governor's office and let her staffers know which members of the board had voted against acceding immediately to her demands. The staffers called up the employers of those board members and threatened, yes threatened them saying that their employees' votes will create problems for them in the future!

This is a great story, but it hasn't been covered in the Republic. Funny, they have had plenty of room for stories on David Petersen and Russell Pearce, but the story about the Governor shaking down Chamber members for their endorsement must have slipped through the cracks.

So there you have it. If JD Hayworth is bully then Napolitano is Tony Soprano.

But when the Republic endorsed Janet, you didn't read about her boorish behavior or her extreme partisanship. They didn't mention her habitual threats, her throwing a University President out of her office and slamming the door. The Republic didn't mention the vetoes, the power grab or subsequent Supreme Court slap down.

No. JD Hayworth is a bully, but Janet Napolitano:

"has worked effectively with leaders in government, academia and business to put Arizona in a position to compete in a knowledge-based economy. All-day kindergarten is a reality, thanks to her vision."

Not that they are biased or anything.

UPDATE: Bob Robb provides this little did at his own editorial board

Hayworth's natural political mode is to be on the attack, all the time. That doesn't make him a bully. Unfortunately, it just makes him a typical modern-age politician.

My point exactly.

November 2, 2006

Revenge of the Rubes

The Democratic Party has turned the the Republic editorial board's "Hayworth is Bully" editorial into a very effective political commercial. It's effective because it's rare that a campaign can find a purely personal attack from an ostensibly credible source.

Republic editorials used to be important in their own right, but those days are long gone. Circulation is way down while the population has skyrocketed, so overall penetration has plummeted. The predictably shrill tone and often vapid reasoning decrease the effectiveness of the overall message and there are now plenty of other news sources.

However if someone wants to put half a million dollars behind the Republic's personal attacks against JD Hayworth, they can move some votes.

Let's Review

I pointed out my problems with the editorial here. The gist is that the Republic only had two examples in which JD was "bully." They didn't like his hard-line stance on immigration and he sat too close to Mitchell in the candidate interviews.

The second charge is so childish as to not need rebuttal. The first charge is obviously disingenuous because Mitchell is attacking Hayworth's immigration stand from the right. Mitchell is accusing JD of not being tough enough on immigration. Yet the Republic is blasting Hayworth for being too tough.

The Republic also ignored the Mitchell commercial that has Hayworth in a sniper scope as well as the bullying tactics of Mitchell's supporters.

There was one bullying tactic that I left out. Look at the snipe that Mitchell supporters have affixed to Hayworth's sign.

Obviously, you are not allowed to attach signs to your opponent's sign. This is past hardball--it's illegal.

The real irony of course is that in 2000, Gary Richardson printed signs that reminded voters that Mitchell voted for the alt fuels bill. The signs were free-standing and were placed near Mitchell's signs.

Mitchell stole the signs and threw them away. Mitchell was brought up on charges that were eventually dismissed.

The Republic Editorial Board was disappointed in Mitchell. Here's what they said at the time.

State Sen. Harry Mitchell stole his opponent's campaign signs in an election eve fit of political pomposity.

He admits it and passionately argues his justification for abridging a man's free speech rights and taking his property.

Passion aside, Mitchell was wrong. He should acknowledge as much, and he should be held accountable.

At the time, Mitchell argued passionately that it wasn't fair for Richardson to place signs NEAR his signs. He admitted stealing them and argued that it was ok.

Now Mitchell's camp is engaging in similar--but far worse--tactic of actually attaching his snipes to Hayworth's signs.

Who is the bully?

More importantly who is the rube?

The professionally trained journalists at the Republic have been duped. They wrote a personal attack on JD Hayworth that doesn't withstand even cursory scrutiny and the Democratic Party is spending heavily to ensure that the entire district knows about it.

The Hayworth/Mitchell race is going to be very close. I have no idea who is going to win. But if Hayworth survives he will be invincible. If a candidate of Mitchell's stature can't win--with as much money as Mitchell has, in a year that's this bad for Republicans--then no one can beat Hayworth.

One thing's for sure. Either way, he has no need to speak to the Republic again.

Convicted?...No, Never Convicted

If you are an American Male in your 40s you will have to concede that the collected works of Bill Murray have had an enormous impact on your life.

Find a group of middle aged guys and say "He's on the 9th Green at Augusta..." and they will respond in unison "...a Cinderella story, about to become the Masters Champion."

One of Murray's best efforts was Stripes. The story of a complete loser who joins the Army. At the recruiting office, the Sergeant asks if he's ever been convicted of a crime. Murray strokes his chin and says:

"Convicted?...No, Never Convicted."

Yesterday I printed the picture of Gabby's group hug with District 30 Candidates Clarence Boykins and Jeff Chimene. I linked to a Star story about Chimene going into a Twinkie induced rage and attacking his girlfriend with a two by four.

The Star story says that Chimene was "convicted." Well, I received this letter from Mr. Chimene's attorney.

The letter assures me that "Mr. Chimene was not convicted of that charge..." and informs me that I am "on notice not to further publish the slanderous statement that Mr. Chimene has been convicted."

So noted.

Let me make it clear. "Convicted?...No, Never Convicted"

I couldn't help noticing the resemblance...and that's the fact, Jack.

November 1, 2006

Gabby Should Choose Better Friends

This is a picture of Democratic Superstar Gabby Giffords with District 30 Candidates Clarence Boykins and Jeff Chimene.

Both of Gabby's friends have become somewhat notorious in the waning days of the campaign. Boykins has been the only guy in the nation dumb enough to criticize Representative Jonathon Paton's service in Iraq, and Chimene hit his girlfriend with a a two by four because he was high on Hostess Twinkies.

Here's the Star on Boykin's attacks (Boykins looks a lot better in my picture.)

On Paton's departure to conduct military intelligence work, Boykins calls the move "brilliant" and says "it came timely." His frank talk is the first public criticism of Paton, an Army Reservist, since he announced in August that he was being voluntarily deployed to Iraq.

Here's the Star on Chimene's assault.

"We were having severe problems by that point, and I was thinking of leaving, and she really had a hard time with that," he said. Chimene said she placed herself in his car to prevent him from leaving, and he tried to get her out of the car.

"It wasn't a two-by-four," he said. "It was a stick, a two-by-two. A piece of tree or something." Chimene said the woman intentionally tried to anger him, and his low blood sugar made him irritable.

I don't mean to point fingers. I mean who among us hasn't overdosed on Twinkies and hit is girlfriend with a two by four.

But consider the double standard.

Democrats demanded that Len Munsil distance himself from Russell Pearce. And after Pearce's email incident, JD Hayworth withdrew his endorsement. When a Republican crosses the line other Republicans distance themselves from him.

Here we have Gabby Giffords in a group hug with the guy who considers Paton's service in Iraq to be opportunistic and they guy who beat his girlfriend.

Where are the calls that she disavow these losers?

Naturally, the media is making no calls.

Not that they are biased or anything.

Deep Roots In the Community

Even though Arizona has a pretty transient population, voters want to know how long a candidate has lived in the district. Some candidates brag about being, say, third generation Arizonans.

When I ran for office, I had lived in the district for a long time, but I lived in an apartment on Indian School and I was concerned that it would be used against me. I solved the problem by writing "suite" before my apartment number on all my campaign material. I still got my mail and my opponent assumed I had a headquarters. So, I'm not critical of folks who campaign out of apartments.

I am however critical of people who campaign out of hotels.

District 17 House Candidate David Schapira lives at 1535 North Scottsdale Road # 1025.

Here's what you get when you Google that address.

Oakwood Worldwide Corporate Apartments

Unlike ordinary hotel rooms, Oakwood apartments have an inviting, home-like feel, and a lot more space to relax and unwind... making it perfect for extended stay business travelers, relocating employees, entertainment industry clients, and others seeking a spacious and cost-saving alternative to hotels. Everything is included in an Oakwood furnished rental, from designer furniture to home electronics to all utilities. Partnered with world-class service and amenities, Oakwood maintains its earned reputation as The Most Trusted Name in Corporate Housing Worldwide.^SM

Well, at least it's an extended stay hotel. Wouldn't want to look like a carpetbagger.

CORRECTION: One Schapira's supporters assures me that Schapira lives in the non-hotel side of this complex.

October 31, 2006

¡Sí, Se Puede!

Arizona 8th is reporting an interesting factoid.

Cochise County workers are reporting that of 12,000 jury summons sent to registered voters, 500 recipients called back to say they could not serve because they are not citizens. Assuming a random sample, that's over 4% of registered voters that are not U.S. citizens—an interesting report given the issues in this year's election

The Mail Box Rules

Greg,

I received a letter Friday from ACT urging me to vote against Prop. 107. Normally, this wouldn’t be noteworthy, but it was addressed to me at my work address which is only used for my State Bar membership. I assume that the State Bar either donated or sold my name and address to the anti-Prop. 107 crowd.

I’d love to find out if other lawyers received the anti-prop. 107 mail at the address they use for the State Bar.

Name withheld

If you had a similar experience, let me know.

Death of a Thousand Cuts

Two years ago, the Business Journal reported that the Republic's circulation numbers were in steep decline.

The average daily circulation for Monday-Saturday distribution of The Republic is 413,268. That's a 4.4 percent drop from its 432,285 paid subscribers in September 2003 and a 7.9 percent drop from 2002. That translates to a loss of 35,000.

Circulations numbers come out every six months and they are down every six months. They were issued again yesterday and it's no surprise that they are down again.

In fact, circulation has dropped below the psychologically important 400,000 mark--down another 2.5% to 397,294. Maricopa county is one of the fastest growing in the nation and is now up around 3.5 million. The Republic's penetration has plummeted. Its influence has dropped even faster.

Here's an interesting graphic. The red line is obviously the population of Maricopa County and at the bottom, I've drawn an approximation of the Republic's circulation during the last 20 years or so. It looks, well, shall we say, somewhat flaccid.

Young Talented and Wired

The Arizona Blogosphere is starting to mature.

Here's the Republic's worst nightmare. These guys have time and talent.

If you enjoy reading espresso pundit, be sure to check out these blogs.

http://hotazitgets.com/

http://www.sonoranalliance.com/

http://franciosi.blogspot.com/

http://arizonaeighth.blogspot.com/

http://thinkrightaz.blogspot.com/

And here's a new one dedicated to my favorite topic.

The Last Days of the Republic.

Read these blogs for a week and you will realize that these guys provide better coverage in their spare time than the current crop of political reporters provides full time.

JD and the Bullies

The Republic editorial board members showed an amazing lack of professionalism and class last week when they resorted to name calling and declared that Congressman JD Hayworth is a "bully."

It is high time to hit this matter squarely: J. D. Hayworth is a bully. He may not yet have reached the point where you can't take him anywhere, but you certainly can't take him to a calm, civil discussion.

The Republic presents two pieces of evidence that JD is a bully. First, he's a hawk on immigration.

During this past term, Hayworth has devolved from a windy and sometimes cartoonish politician into an angry demagogue who has shamelessly and divisively exploited the immigration issue, arguably the No. 1 concern of Arizonans.

Fair enough. Reasonable people can disagree on an immigration strategy. But the Republic's stance on JD is revealed to be completely disingenuous when we remember that Mitchell is attacking Hayworth from the RIGHT. Mitchell was nailed by "3 on Your Side" for falsely claiming that Hayworth has voted for "amnesty" four times.

That's right, the Republic is nailing Hayworth for being too strident on immigration while Mitchell is pounding Hayworth for not being tough enough on immigration--and JD is the bully.

The second charge against Hayworth is laughable.

In a meeting last week with The Republic's Editorial Board, Hayworth repeatedly positioned himself like a smirking hawk, inches from the face of his "prey," Mitchell, while the Democrat responded to questions. For that overbearing attempt at intimidation, Hayworth deserves a sound rap on the knuckles.

Sitting too close? Did Mitchell raise his hand and say "Mr. Boas, JD is touching me." What a wimp. This is Congress. Grow up.

That's it. Two examples. JD sits too close and he's too strident on immigration. Wow, what a bully.

But the Republic neglects to mention the behavior of Mitchell and his supporters. In addition to attacking Hayworth with false charges of voting for "Amnesty," Mitchell has engaged in other questionable tactics.

I was the first person to print this picture--then it went national. The sniper picture was featured on Fox news, and it's a big part of the "3 on Your Side" piece that I mentioned above.

Mitchell claims it's a camera lens. Give me a break. I've taken a lot of pictures and that's not a lens; it's a scope. If putting your opponent in a sniper scope isn't a bullying tactic, I don't know what is.

And how about Mitchell's supporters? How have they been treating JD Hayworth?

Here's a letter that I received from Rep. Laura Knaperek.

Hi Greg,

Thought you would find it amusing that while attending several GAIN (National Neighborhood Association Night Out) picnics in Tempe with JD Hayworth, I witnessed the hostess of one of the neighborhood associations ask (the last one we attended) ask JD Hayworth to leave. She told JD that some folks were complaining that he was there. Just so happens that she is a Mitchell supporter. JD and I left. As we left the Mayor pulled up and asked the woman why she sent her elected officials away. She said that "Laura could stay, but JD was not welcome". With that the Mayor responded by saying, "If JD is not welcome than I am leaving, too". A few minutes later it was reported that Harry Mitchell showed up and was warmly welcomed.

Ahhh, another day in Tempe...

Laura

Golly, Mitchell supporters were acting like, well you know, bullies.

Here's another example. Political junkies will be familiar with the disastrous appearance of a Hayworth representative at the Temple Beth Israel forum. Nowicki has full coverage here.

More than half the crowd claimed to be offended and walked out. But it appears that the entire event may have been orchestrated. Here's a letter from an audience member.

Much of the audience acted like a mob. To say the behavior was spontaneous is to stretch one's imagination. I can only suggest that it was orchestrated from the start. I was so appalled that I did not stay for Mr. Mitchell and Congressman Hayworth's representatives. My wife, a lifelong Democrat and not a supporter of Sen. Kyl or Congressman Hayworth, did stay. From the moment that Congressman Hayworth's representatives took the platform, there were loud boos and catcalls. This continued the whole time they were there.

So there you have it. Elections are a rough and tumble business and when you are in a tough race, you can expect that your opponent's supporters will kick you out of neighborhood meetings, hoot down your representatives at a Temple forum and lie about your record.

In a really tough race, you may even expect that your opponent will be desperate enough to flash a subliminal image of you in the crosshairs of a sniper scope.

What you shouldn't expect is that the largest newspaper in the state will consider your opponent's use of the sniper scope, the false commercials, the rude supporters and claim that you are the bully because you sat too close to him in the candidate interview.

No wonder it's a dying industry.

October 30, 2006

Dude, Immigration has Two Ms.

(Of course it only has one M in Spanish.)

'Nuff Said

Yes, I'm following the latest Gabby Giffords story. No I'm not going to print any of it.

The Communists are Getting Excited

The Communist Party is trying to "retake" Congress and they are getting pretty excited about their prospects in Arizona.

Here's how the People's Weekly World describes itself.

We enjoy a special relationship with the Communist Party USA, founded in 1919, and publish its news and views.

Here's what they think of their prospects in Arizona.

TUCSON, Ariz. — In spite of last week’s U.S. Supreme Court decision that cleared the way for Arizona to require voters to show identification before casting a ballot, public opinion polls show several incumbent right-wing congressmen in deep trouble.

In Arizona’s 8th Congressional District, in a race for a seat vacated by the retirement of Republican Jim Kolbe, Democrat Gabrielle Giffords is way ahead of Republican Randy Graf. Graf, who is the darling of the anti-immigrant militias, is so far to the right that he has been repudiated by many Republicans, including Kolbe. However, he has been endorsed by Arizona Sen. John McCain, who sometimes tries to pose as a moderate. Giffords, who began her campaign last spring refusing to call for withdrawal from Iraq, has gradually shifted her position and is now calling for ending the occupation by the end of 2007.

In northern Arizona’s 1st CD, which includes most of the Navajo Nation, progressive ACLU attorney Ellen Simon is leading incumbent Rick Renzi in the latest polls. Renzi has been described as one of the most corrupt members of Congress. Simon has the support of labor, the Sierra Club, Emily’s List and Navajo elected officials. She is calling health care a “right” and demanding an immediate end to the war on Iraq. Simon minces no words, describing Renzi as “a tool of big business interests, supporting gas, oil and pharmaceuticals over the average person.”

In Phoenix’s East Valley suburbs another Democrat, Harry Mitchell, is in dead heat with Christian-right Rep. J.D. Hayworth. Hayworth is so right-wing that when he first ran for Congress in 1992, former Republican Sen. Barry Goldwater called for his defeat. Mitchell, who is a former state senator and mayor of Tempe, is not running a particularly progressive campaign, concentrating instead on Hayworth’s vile record in Congress. A stronger stand against the unpopular war in Iraq might be enough to ensure a Mitchell victory, analysts say.

In an unsigned opinion on requiring voters to show ID, the Supreme Court reversed a ruling by the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals that had blocked the Arizona law from taking effect this year. At least half of Arizona voters are expected to vote by mail and will not be affected.

One Small Correction

In the post below, I mentioned that the outrageous quote from Mayor Scruggs was sparked by a letter from a Precinct Committeeman.

That's not exactly right. I received this correction via email.

Greg

Just to be 100% correct:

The motion to send that letter was moved, seconded and passed unanimously at the LD-4 meeting held on October 16, 2006. The letter was signed by the executive board members of LD-4. I am extremely proud of the members of LD-4 who voted for this action.

I find it interesting that one who holds a supposedly 'non-partisan' elected position that they would stoop to entering a partisan race by officially using that position to endorse someone in a partisan campaign.

I also understand that Ms. Scruggs campaigned in front of Republican groups, touting her 'Republicanism' in an effort to gain their votes.

Somehow, she seems to have conveniently forgotten that now, along with the Republican Party Platform.

Let me be perfectly clear: LD-4 is not trying to tell Ms. Scruggs how to vote when she enters the voting booth; we just want elected officials who claim to be Republicans to remain loyal to their party, or at the very least, not to publicly flaunt their disloyalty. To do otherwise will (and should) draw the wrath of loyal party members. Since this action became public, I have received many emails and comments of "thanks", "well done", and "it's about time". I spent part of yesterday and today at the State Fair in the Republican booth, and was amazed at the positive comments from those attendees stopping by.

Lyle Tuttle, Legislative District 4 GOP Chairman
Home of 68,975 Republicans!

October 28, 2006

Mayor Scruggs has Spoken the Nasty Secret.

There is a nasty little secret at the state capitol. The Conservative core of the Republican caucus has always been held in low regard by the moderates, democrats, democratic staff, some lobbyists and reporters. These groups have always had nick names for the Conservative wing of the party...and those names have become increasingly hate filled.

When I served in the 90s, the Conservative caucus was called the "Mean 13." Conservative representation in the caucus grew and a reporter coined the term "Wackos." The name stuck and Conservatives in the legislature were referred to "Wackos" or "Wacks" throughout most of the 90s. Moderates have always been called the "Mods."

Something changed in about 2001. Thanks to Clean Elections, Conservatives came to dominate the Republican caucuses in the House and the Senate and the tone became much more shrill. Since 2001 Conservatives have been known as the "Kool-Aid Drinkers."

The term is incredibly offensive but is widely used by reporters, staffers, lobbyists, moderate Republicans and Democrats. Whenever I confront people who use the term "Kool-Aid Drinker" to describe a Conservative, they always point out that most of the conservatives don't drink alcohol and many of them are Mormon so they don't drink tea or coffee either. So they tell me with a knowing grin that most conservatives drink Kool-Aid.

That's bunk. I've never met a Conservative who drinks Kool-Aid. Most of my Mormon friends drink lemonade.

We know what the folks at the capitol are referring to, and you know it too. They are referring to Jonestown.

Here's CNN on what happened at Jonestown.

What is known about the end of Jonestown is that on November 18, 1978, Jones ordered more than 900 of his followers to drink cyanide-poisoned punch. He told guards to shoot anyone who refused or tried to escape. Among the dead: more than 270 children.

Glendale Mayor Elaine Scruggs has finally let the cat out of the bag.

Scruggs is unhappy because some Conservatives are asking her to resign since she is endorsing Napolitano despite being a Republican elected official.

Here's the Mayor's response.

This reminds me of Reverend Jim Jones saying, 'Stand in line and drink the Kool-Aid,' " Scruggs said, referring to the cult leader responsible for the 1978 Jonestown, Guyana, mass suicide. "That's how this message comes across to me. What this says is, we are not to think; we are not to make decisions."

Yeah, that's the ticket. Scruggs got a letter from a Republican Precinct Committeeman asking her to resign and that reminds her of the cult leader who killed 1,000 people.

Can you imagine if a comparison like that was made to any other group at the capitol? Can you imagine the reaction if the Democrats or the Hispanic caucus were described in similar terms?

And what about the overt religious bias? Do we describe Jewish representatives in disparaging terms? How about the Native American members? Do reporters refer to them as the the Peyote smokers?

Why didn't the reporter react to the slur? Why didn't he say "Wait a second Mayor, are you really comparing this letter to the murder of a thousand people?"

He didn't question her because he hears the term every day. He hears it in the press room; he hears it in the halls; he hears it from the Democrats; and has probably spoken it himself.

I will once again emphasize the double standard. Russell Pearce referred to a 50s era program by its official name "Operation Wetback" and all hell broke loose.

Reporters, staffers, lobbyists and moderates routinely use a denigrating term to describe religious conservatives and compare them to a mass murderer and the political community yawns.

Post Script

Conservatives don't build Utopian Communities. We don't have enough faith in human nature to believe people can all get along in some sort of communal life, free of the constraints of law and property.

Pretty soon someone covets your ox. Then he shoots you.

While liberals like to point to people like Jim Jones as a warning about Conservative authority, Jones was a liberal. His utopian experiment--like all utopian experiments--was undergirded by brute force.

Here's another point from the CNN article.

Only two years before, Jones -- the charismatic leader of the Peoples Temple, an interracial organization that helped the desperate -- was the toast of San Francisco's political circles.

Kool-Aid drinkers indeed.

This is the funniest commercial of the Season.

There is a rally at the 9-11 Memorial Saturday at noon.

October 27, 2006

Rios Residence Revelations Review

Ok, gang, let's review. Earlier this week I mentioned that Rep. Pete Rios's Democratic running mate--Barbara McGuire--is running an advertisement in which she claims to be the only Democratic candidate who lives in District 23.

This is extraordinary. It's no longer just me shouting in the wilderness that Rios doesn't live in his district. His running mate is PAYING to run an ad in which she claims to be the only Democratic candidate who lives in the district.

On Wednesday, I received a letter from Ms. McGuire's campaign manager in which he confirmed that he and Ms. McGuire believe that neither Pete or Rebecca Rios live in District 23.

He mentions that he supports the Rioses and that he doesn't think it's a problem that they don't live in the district.

Since then I've done a little research and confirmed that Senators and Representatives indeed have to live in their district.

See ARS Sec. 38-291, Par. 5, which states that "an office shall be deemed vacant" when a legislator " {ceases} to be a resident of the district". This provision is automatic in its application.

I also asked the question "where does Rebecca live?" I received this email yesterday.

Greg -

To answer your question about where Rebecca Rios lives, (or lived as recently as a year ago) she claimed her address was 7642 S. 41^st Place, in Phoenix. This is in the 16^th Legislative District. She listed this address as her permanent address in court records during her divorce as recently as November 2005.

Permanent? That seems so, well, you know, permanent.

Of course you won't read this in the Republic because, they are, like you know, Democrats.

Let's Give Janet the Legislature She Deserves

This is a picture of the Governor with District 30 Senate candidate Jeff Chimene. You can see from the endorsement on the bottom left that Janet thinks "Jeff will make a great legislator."

I noticed that Jeff's issues don't include Domestic Violence. Too bad, because it seems like he's got some experience in that area.

Chimene's girlfriend, who said she was beaten with a two-by-four, later sued and was awarded $25,000 for her injuries and in punitive damages.

"It wasn't a two-by-four," he said. "It was a stick, a two-by-two. A piece of tree or something."

Chimene said the woman intentionally tried to anger him, and his low blood sugar made him irritable.

"I recognize what I have done, and I've done a lot to control my diet and things that led to that," said Chimene, who expected the incident to come up when he decided to run for office.

His ex girlfriend must not have spent much time at Home Depot because she doesn't know her lumber. Chimene has a point. "It wasn't a two-by-four, it was a two-by-two." Well, that's much better.

Then he adds the Twinkie defense. He's rehabilitated himself by...getting control of his diet. Yeah, that's the ticket.

So is the Governor going to withdraw her endorsement? Is the media going to ask her about it?

Can you imagine if Chimene was a Republican and he had a picture standing next to Len Munsil? The media would write a story every day for the next 2 weeks demanding that Munsil denounce the Republican wife beater.

When Mom's not Happy, Nobody's Happy

Last week, I mentioned that State Representative Kyrsten Sinema who chairs the "No on 107" Committee made these comments in a magazine called 944.

"For instance, this supposed New Feminism. These women who act like staying at home, leeching off their husbands or boyfriends, and just cashing the checks is some sort of feminism because they're choosing to live that life. That's bullshit. I mean what the fuck are we really talking about here?"

Apparently, some moms found these comments to somehow be offensive. Well, you might not be shocked to learn that a bunch of them showed up at the Capitol to protest this expletive charged rant.

I especially like this youngster.

Paul Davenport has excellent coverage for the Associated Press.

Supporters of the constitutional amendment banning gay marriage on Arizona's Nov. 7 ballot criticized the opposition campaign's leader Thursday for published comments in which she referred to stay-at-home women as "leeching off their husbands or boyfriends."

The funniest part of the rally was when reporter Howie Fischer asked one of the speakers if she supported women who choose to work.

That didn't go over well. One of the women yelled "we do work."

It may have been my imagination, but I think the crowd actually surged forward.

Howie just stared at his shoes.

October 26, 2006

Check out this Commercial for Rep. Paton.

Look Who Just Got Punk'd

Remember the big political gimmick of 2005? That's what I call the hundreds of illegal 4 X 4 black and white signs that asked if Arizona's kids were getting "Punk'd." I didn't have any idea what "punk'd" meant on account of my not having cable TV. But I did a little research...

Apparently, MTV played quality music like the Cars and Dire Straits until about 1985. Then they switched to Rap, until those guys all killed each other and now MTV is some sort of reality show where people ride bikes off buildings and play jokes on each other. When someone finds out that they have been the victim of a joke, they realize that they have been "Punk'd."

The guys who sponsored those signs last year rolled the ad campaign into an initiative to raise the cigarette tax 80 cents a pack so they can spend the money on programs "for the children." Which is a great idea, because the state obviously doesn't spend any money on children now.

Well, it turns out that there are two types of people in the world--lawyers and people who can do math. Because it looks like the folks who drafted the initiative itself got it right, but when the folks wrote the description for the ballot they wrote ".80 cents" instead of "80 cents" or ".80 dollars."

If you have a third grader, you are probably up on the "new math" thing called "fractions" and "decimals" so you will know that ".80 cents" is just under a penny. It's 1/100th of "80 cents." Mary Jo Pitzl has full coverage here.

The Republic calls it a "typo," but it's actually a drafting error. This makes for an interesting legal case. Some folks are going to go into the polls and read the initiative for the first time. The language on the ballot says that the tax is less than a penny a pack. In reality, the tax is 100 times greater than that.

Surely that's going to make a difference to some voters. But will it make a difference to the judges?

Stay tuned.

District 23 Dems: Pete and Rebecca Rios don't Live Here

Yesterday I pointed out an ad by District 23 Democratic candidate Barbara McGuire in which she claims to be the only Democratic candidate "Physically Residing" in District 23. I emailed her campaign and asked them to tell me what they meant by the line "physically residing." I received this extraordinarily candid letter from her campaign manager Thomas Elliot.

Hi Greg,
We have had that in Mrs. McGuire's ads since the primary. In fairness to the other candidates, I don't believe there is anything in the Arizona
Constitution that would make it illegal for them to live outside the
district they represent in the Legislature.

In the case of Rep. Pete Rios who says he is from Dudleyville, there is much controversy, but indeed he has in the past lived there in LD23 and even owned a business there at one time. He lives in Apache Junction and his daughter Sen. Rebecca Rios lives there too. It is a way for him to be in between Phoenix and Dist 23 that he represents. I think however, he actually lives in LD22. You can check Maricopa County Recorder and Pinal County Recorder property records. He, however is not the only one. I heard that there is a candidate running for Peoria who actually lives in Tucson.

The thing is, that if the people want those guys and ladies representing
them its what they get. I just think that Mrs. McGuire has an advantage for the people of her district in hearing their concerns daily at her business, at the neighborhood store and all the areas she travels to in Dist 23 in her role as Salvation Army Director. I think she can best represent the people of Dist 23.

In so far as Rep. Rios is concerned, he is a likeable guy and maybe he stays in touch with his district through his many relatives who do live in LD23. I hope he and Mrs. McGuire get elected. Mr. Rios has a lot of experience and switched to be a Rep as he exhausted his Senate term limits and so he swapped roles with his daughter in the fact that she is now a Senator and he is a Rep. I think Rios Rios and McGuire is a good team.

Wow. What a great letter.

Let's set aside the requirement to live in his district for now. Pete Rios is reimbursed thousands of dollars each year for the mileage to and from the Dudleyville trailer.

If Mr. Elliot is correct and Pete Rios doesn't actually live District 23, then at least some of his mileage reimbursements are based on fraudulent claims.

Let me point out that State Treasurer David Petersen is about to resign from office because investigators have learned that he legally earned, but improperly reported, $4,200 of outside income.

The media know about Rios's residency issues; they simply don't report them. Why? Well, there's one big difference between Rios and Peterson. If you look closely at the ballot, you will see that Rios has a "D" by his name. Pedersen has an "R" by his name.

Two Quick Points

In case you think that I play the same game that the Republic does, remember that I'm the one who broke the Pederson story. And I was the first one to print the famous memo that brought him down. The difference is that the local media actually followed up on the Pederson story and buried the Rios story.

The second point is this. Where does Rebecca Rios live? We have long suspected that she doesn't live in District 23. But unlike Pete Rios's Apache Junction home (in District 22), it's hard to figure out exactly where Rebecca lives.

Is Thomas Elliot correct? Does she live in Apache Junction? Elliot may not know where she lives. But he has a pretty good idea where she doesn't live...District 23.

Here's the Wall Street Journal's John Fund on the Memorial

Monument to Correctness

A controversial memorial to the victims of 9/11 has become a campaign issue in next month's elections in Arizona. When the memorial was unveiled on Phoenix's Capitol Mall on the fifth anniversary of the attacks, its "moral equivalence" message sparked immediate protests.

Members of the committee that approved the memorial insist it honors those who died on 9/11 in an "even-handed" way. But critics say it's inappropriate that among the memorial's 54 inscriptions are such statements as "You don't win battles of terrorism with more battles." Other messages feature a discussion of an "erroneous U.S. air strike" and the "fear of foreigners" that is prevalent in America. Perhaps most controversial of all was the fact that the signature phrase uttered by passengers on United Flight 93 as they charged the pilots' cabin on 9/11 -- "Let's roll" -- was rejected as a possible inscription.

"As an American, I am disgusted by this memorial," says Mike Broomhead, whose brother was killed in a checkpoint shooting in Iraq. Tom Smith, a former state senator who chairs the Capitol Mall Commission, is calling for the memorial to be covered up until the committee that designed it can meet again to reconsider revising the most controversial inscriptions. Unfortunately, committee members, with the support of Democratic Governor Janet Napolitano, are refusing to reconvene or make any decision about the monument until after the November elections. Meanwhile, state legislators are being put on the spot by questions about where they stand on the memorial, and GOP gubernatorial candidate Len Munsil says he will tear down the monument if elected.

Some legislators privately admit the memorial's inscriptions are needlessly polemical. The northern Arizona town of Winslow had a better idea. Its 9/11 memorial is a twisted 20-foot steel beam that was pulled from the rubble of the World Trade Center. It contains no inscriptions.

"That's how a 9/11 memorial should be," said Michael Herald, a Phoenix resident, whose brother was killed in the World Trade Center attack. "All we wanted was a stone in the ground."

-- John Fund

October 25, 2006

Is Pete Rios' Running Mate Claiming he doesn't live in the District?

Democrat Barbara McGuire is in a hotly contested race for the State House of Representatives. Pete Rios has one of the District 23 House seats and several candidates are vying for the open seat vacated by Cheryl Chase.

It's been rumored for years that Pete Rios doesn't actually live in his district. Earlier this year I pointed out that there isn't a dwelling at the location that Rep. Rios lists as his Dudleyville address.

Rep. Rios pounced on me as soon as I raised the issue. We finally came to the conclusion that Mr. Rios has parked this trailer on a friend's lot and he considers it his primary residence. The nice house that he owns in Apache Junction--two blocks out of his district--is his "session" home.

The interesting issue, of course, is that Rios claims that he drives the extra 75 miles to the trailer every week and charges the state for thousands of dollars annually in mileage expenses.

Rios ended our email exchange by threatening to "punch me in the gut." The media never picked up the story and that's where the issue ended.

But then I noticed this ad that Barbara McGuire placed in the "Hot Spot Journal." Here's the relevant portion.

"Barbara... is the only democrat candidate physically residing and working full-time in her district."

"Physically residing" is an odd phrase. As opposed to what? Legally residing. After all, no one really questions whether Rios could call the trailer his "legal" residence.

There are a couple ways to interpret that sentence, but it looks to me like she's saying that her running mate doesn't "physically reside" in the district. The sentence doesn't make much sense otherwise.

Of course the only way the voters of District 23 will know this information is if they read espresso pundit or "The Hot Spot Journal"...you know...the real media.

"We've got to Get Him Out of Here"

Here's great video of "3 on Your Side" interviewing Harry Mitchell. Mitchell refused to be interviewed, so the news crew caught up with him in a parking lot by the Capitol.

The interview was going badly...Mitchell was trying to explain why his commercial puts JD Hayworth in a sniper scope and justify his ridiculous claim that Hayworth voted for amnesty.

Two minutes and forth seconds into the nightmare, someone on his staff yelled, "We've got to get him out of here."

But don't worry, Harry Mitchell wasn't retreating, he was "redeploying to the perimeter."

Back stabbing, Back firing and Back peddling

The Pima County Democratic Party has attacked Rep. Jonathon Paton for his decision to serve in Iraq during the election and the first part of the Legislative Session.

Their attack has gone nowhere and other Democrats are conspicuous in their silence.

It's looking like the Democratic Party called on some vets to make a statement and then when it went badly, the Party backed off and left them hanging.

One guy who looks incredibly bad is former Congressional candidate Alex Rodriguez. Rodriguez is on the TUSD school board and one of the people who helped get him there was Jonathon Paton. It looks like Rodriguez is beginning to regret his comments.

Rodriguez says he wrote his comments after being contacted by the Democratic Party, but he rejected the notion that it was a partisan move, calling Paton a friend.

Rodriguez said he thinks Paton should step down, but said he isn't criticizing Paton — he's trying to educate voters.

Sure, he's trying to "educate voters."

It would serve him right if Rep. Paton came back from Iraq and kicked a little A-Rod butt.

October 24, 2006

Driver's Licenses for Illegals...

Click here to see Len Munsil's newest mail piece.

Rep. Sinema and the F-Bomb

Rep. Sinema's expletive filled rant about stay-at-home moms is getting some attention. I mentioned the story last week. Here's the Business Journal's version.

The Democratic state lawmaker who chairs the main opposition group to a gay marriage ban referendum has made some disparaging remarks about stay-at home moms and conservative Republicans.

State Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Phoenix, told the 944 magazine in a recent issue that women and moms who stay at home and don't work are dependent on men and "leeching off their husbands." Sinema also called conservatives "Neanderthals".

Speaking of the F-Bomb

Speaking of politicians who drop the F-Bomb in magazine interviews...you would be amazed at what turns up when you Google local politicians and some key nasty words. Here's the lede paragraph from a 1998 Phoenix New Times article.

"Martha, turn on the fucking air!"
Actually, Janet Napolitano and her campaign staffer Martha Fraser Harmon get along much better than that. But it's hot in the back of the Acura and Janet has a cold and Martha's stalling, getting her seat adjusted and the keys out, and everyone's worried about being late to the first campaign stop of the day at the Green Valley Senior Center.

Wow, I'm glad that I'm not the Governor's Latte Fetcher--even if the job does pay six figures.

Memorial Rally this Saturday.

I want to thank everyone for supporting our efforts to change the 9-11 memorial to something appropriate that Arizona can be proud of. We are going to have a rally at the memorial this Saturday 10-28-2006 at 12noon. We invite you to join us. We'd like to have a large turn out to show the Governor and the commission that we want this memorial changed NOW!

Political Science 101

There is a weird conspiracy theory going around the lefty blogs. The theory is that Congressman Rick Renzi has been indicted but the US Attorney for Arizona is sitting on it so that Republicans don't lose the seat.

Here's Tedski's take on it.

The all