From the Friday edition of the Arizona Daily Star. I always wondered about the wisdom of that wording.

      I usually work with news that is already posted on the web but I am going to give a Randy Graf update based on “unnamed sources.” I hope I do better than the MSM.

     Graf was at a lunch today in Tucson with Karl Rove. A major local Republican Party supporter spoke in strong support of Graf and urged everyone there to write checks. The campaign has been very busy with fundraising and getting Randy to events. Fundraising is apparently going well. There is a high level of energy at campaign HQ and lots of national attention being paid to this race.

     Randy has an effective new radio spot out there on the airwaves. A woman’s voice talking about the need for a common sense but serious approach to border security. Speaking of border security Gabby is catching a little flak from the left for her “get tough” ad.

     This afternoon I heard an independent expenditure radio ad by the Minuteman PAC attacking Gifffords as soft on illegal immigration. Apparently they are also running a TV spot. So now she is getting hit from the left and the right. Not a fun position in which to be. I wonder if she will keep touting her mythical 19% lead after a week or two of those Minuteman ads?

     Speaking of polls, a new one will be released this Sunday on the Tucson Weekly blog. Of course we will cover that when released with a story and link. The poll has supposedly been done for a few days and they are sitting on it.

Friday 9-29-06, 10:05 pm

Florida Congressman Mark Foley is officially out of the closet. With the shocking revelation and evidence that Foley expressed sexually explicit emails with at least one Capitol page – a 16-year-old boy, Foley was forced to resign.

This is a great example of how Republicans are far more likely to clean up their own house than Democrats. For years, rumors have swirled that Foley was a closeted homosexual. In 2003, Florida columnist, Bob Norman, attempted to ”out” Foley citing various quotes including one from Tracy Thorne, a homosexual activist who asserted that Foley brought a boyfriend along with him on a visit to the activist.

Foley has also accepted political contributions from the Human Rights Campaign and has voted for a number of pro-homosexual bills in Congress.

So it should be no surprise among conservative Republicans that Foley lacked the self-discipline to control his urges to pursue young boys.

But what I find most disturbing is that the man was chairman of the House Caucus on Missing and Exploited Children! Why the Republican leadership did not recognize the potential for hypocrisy over this man’s personal life and position with this sensitive and important committee stuns me.

Like the bizzaro former GOP California Senate Candidate Michael Huffington, I for one am pleased to see this Republican go because he blemished the principles of the party.

More reading:
Being Gay in the GOP: http://www.bostonphoenix.com/boston/news_features/editorial/documents/02919063.htm
Don’t Ask Because Mark Foley Won’t Tell: http://www.sptimes.com/2003/06/01/Perspective/Don_t_ask__because_Ma.shtml
Rep. Mark Foley Won’t Discuss His ‘Orientation,’ but Others Will: http://www.cwfa.org/articles/4008/CFI/cfreport/index.htm

      Logic prevailed and the University of Arizona decided to not try and build a $350,000,000 bridge over interstate 10. There is the slight issue of the $7.1 million bill for design work. The University wants the City of Tucson to cover half of the bill, $3.6 million. The city does not seem too upset since they can take it out of the bottomless pit known as Rio Nuevo.

     That’s great. All the liberal and moderate legislators are whining about education and health care being under funded so they get together and pass Rio Nuevo so they can waste $7.1 million dollars on a $350,000,000 bridge that never passed the sniff test of making the slightest bit of sense.

     And what is this vaunted Science Center about anyway? Does it involve classroom space where undergraduates will receive instruction or facilities for graduate students to conduct original research? That is what I thought was the purpose of a university. Other wise it just sounds like Tucson wants to build an amusement park downtown and sneak the funding through the university system.

     Hopefully the legislature will see that Rio Nuevo is a complete fraud and waste of money. Maybe some of the conservatives in the house and senate could get together and end Rio Nuevo and channel the money instead to education and heath care. That would make for an interesting debate.

Thursday 9-28-06, 11:15 pm

Governor Janet Napolitano claims that Republicans are making the AZ 9/11 Memorial political. One only needs to do a quick background check on the Chairman of the Commission to see that Napolitano is giving cover to her own appointee, Billy Shields.

Looking at the Federal Elections Commission records of who Billy Shields has given political contributions to reads like a who’s who list of liberals:

Tom Daschel, former Democratic Senator of South Dakota
Raul Grijalva, Democratic Congressman, Congressional District 7
Al Gore, Former Democratic Nominee for President

Here is the complete list from the Federal Election Commission and the full list from the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office including the contribution amounts and dates.

This seems to get more political with each new revelation.

Here is a link (pages 45-46) to the document that began the appointment of members to the Arizona 9/11 Memorial Commission. Needless to say, Janet Napolitano’s fingerprints are all over this. The text of the document is as follows:

GOVERNOR’S 9-11 MEMORIAL COMMISSION
1700 W. Washington St.
Phoenix, AZ 85007
(602) 542-1316
www.az911memorial.com/
Diane Saunders, Director

The Commission shall consist of no more than 35 people. The Commission membership shall include a chairperson to be named by the Governor. The Commission membership shall include at-large members representing government, first responders, victims, the business community, the general public and other diverse parties who share an interest in the development of this Memorial. The members shall serve terms of two years from the date of this executive order and may be re-appointed by the Governor for additional two-year terms. The Governor’s Office shall serve as staff to the Commission. The Commission shall plan and establish an appropriate and fitting Memorial in remembrance of the events of September 11, 2001. The Commission shall solicit and review ideas and designs for the Memorial. The Commission shall identify funding strategies for the costs of the Memorial and related expenses. The Commission shall submit an interim report on its activities to the Governor on or before September 11, 2003, and it shall be posted on the Governor’s web site. Executive Order 2003-2.

Term Expires
John Basha, Jr. Napolitano 08/13/2006
Lynne M. Christian Napolitano 10/01/2006
Donna Killoughey Bird Napolitano 08/27/2006
Daniel Valenzuela Napolitano 06/10/2007
31 vacancies

Here is the current list of commission members:

Crystal Allman  
Benito Almanza  
Joe Anderson  
Marcos Andrade  
Johnny Basha  
Viana Bruce  
Cassidy Campana  
Lynne Christian  
Shelley Cohn  
Kathy Copeland  
Rich Dozer  
Susan Ehrlich  
Paul Eppinger  
Jennifer Glazar  
Dan Hoffman  
Jake Jacobsen  
Donna Killoughey Bird  
Ronnie Lopez  
Paul Luna  
Ken Magoch  
Cindy  Petrovich  
Penny Pfaelzer  
Bob Ramsey  
Diane Saunders  
Billy Shields  
Sonia Singh  
Steve Speisman  
Joe Tucker  
Daniel Valenzuela  
George Weisz

Here’s the text of a message I personally received September 26th from the Chairman of the Arizona 9/11 Commission:

I’m writing to you as the Chairman of the 9/11 Memorial Commission. I represent the group that has spent years researching, designing and raising private donations to build a memorial to the tragedy of 9/11. The Memorial now proudly stands in Wesley Bolin Plaza at the Arizona State Capitol, thanks to the involvement of more than 30,000 Arizonans.

My point in writing is to thank you for your support, and to share with you more about the Memorial, how it was created, and how it will educate future generations of Arizonan’s and make sure we never forget the loss of lives and experiences on 9/11, which are still affecting us today in so many ways.

• The Arizona 9/11 Commission was created in 2003 by Executive Order 2003-02 by then-Governor Jane Dee Hull. The legislature unanimously passed HB 2350 in 2003 to allow the memorial to be built in Wesley Bolin Plaza.
• The Commission included family members of those who died in the terrorist attacks, a survivor, business leaders, clergy and Arizona’s first responders who participated in the Search and Rescue mission at the World Trade Center in the days and weeks that followed the terrorist attacks.
• It is a bi-partisan Commission with a non-political purpose.
• The work of the Commission was done in more that fifty public meetings, with notice posted in advance, and open to all that chose to attend.
• The memorial was paid for with contributions from private corporations and individuals. The Governor assisted in fundraising. The Governor did not have editorial control over the content of the memorial. The Commission and the artist team spent many hours discussing and debating the final quotes, with the purpose of expressing the history, experience and feelings on and after 9/11.
• The family members on the Commission were clear that they did not want or need another headstone. The consensus was that this Memorial should be a place of reflection.
• To create the memorial a nation wide search for artist was initiated, with a requirement that the team have an Arizona presence. After a lengthy public bid and selection process the Commission contracted with CoLAB Jones Studio, Inc. to design and McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. to build the memorial.
• The 54 quotes and dates used in the memorial came from two sources.
  • The first is the bipartisan national 9/11 Commission that was appointed by President Bush.
  • The second, from oral interviews conducted by a public historian at Arizona State University’s History Department. ASU was hired by the Commission to conduct interviews and collect information from Arizonans who had personal connections to the tragedies.
• The quotes were fact-checked by advisers to the Arizona Historical Advisory Commission and approved by the Commission. The final statements in the memorial were selected to show a range of thoughts and feelings regarding Arizona’s experiences with 9-11 and timelines of what happened on that day and since.
• At the dedication ceremony on 9/11/06, Commission member Donna Bird of Tempe, whose husband Gary died in the attacks, called the memorial “comforting and dynamic” and that its materials of both concrete and steel showed the nation’s ability to move on with “steel resolve of Americans to embrace our future, with no fear.” More than 2500 people attended the ceremony to remember the victims of 9/11 and dedicate the new Memorial.
• The quotes include the final words of victims who called their families before losing contact, and phrases describing the hopelessness felt by Arizonans after the attacks. Also included in the inscriptions are patriotic messages and other statements in support of the United States and its leaders. A few examples:
  • FLIGHT 93 PASSENGERS FIGHT HIJACKERS
  • “MUST BOMB BACK”
  • MULTIPLE FUNERALS IN A DAY
  • PATRIOTISM PEAKS
  • US AIRSTRIKES HIT KABUL & KANDAHAR
  • US PATRIOT ACT SIGNED INTO LAW
  • REMEMBER!
  • “I’LL BE HOME FOR DINNER TUESDAY NIGHT”
  • FEELING OF INVINCIBILITY LOST
  • LAST FAINT WORDS “HELP ME”
  • DUG 8 HOURS ONLY FOUND ONE HELMET STRAP
  • 216 AZ FIREFIGHTERS RESPOND TO WTC
  • 9:29 AM PRESIDENT ASKS NATION TO JOIN IN MOMENT OF SILENCE
• Working with staffers of State Education Superintendent Tom Horne at the State Department of Education, the Commission developed a voluntary 9/11 curriculum for grades k-12 that teachers can access on the Dept. of Ed web site. This effort was led by Steve Speisman, a Commissioner and teacher, who lost his brother Robby on the flight that hit the Pentagon.

The Memorial is a lasting tribute to the victims of 9/11, and the family members and survivors expressed at the dedication that it was healing for them.

It will also fulfill the mission of educating future generations of Arizonan’s about the tragic losses, the emotions, and the way we came together as American’s.

Thank you again, and I hope that you will visit the Memorial many times.

Billy Shields
Chairman
Arizona 9/11 Memorial Commission

Here’s a serious graphic for those wanting to know the most competitive legislative district in Arizona. District 17 covers primarily Tempe but reaches into a section of south Scottsdale.

For Republicans, this district will be the battleground to maintain and build on a majority in the legislature. Laura Knaperek is the strongest Republican but will be attempting to bring along seatmate, Dale Despain against Democrat Ed Ableser.

On the Senate side, Democrat Meg Burton Cahill, and newcomer Republican, Rose Crutcher, will compete for an open seat.

Republicans hold a slight voter registration edge in this district (24,799-R  vs. 23,507-D) but the wildcard is held by the Independents who could swing the election either direction as demonstrated over the last election cycles. The district demographics are also interesting. Arizona State University sits dab smack in the middle of the district but don’t count on students to be voting on the same scale as the senior citizens of Sun City. Many students are from out of state which makes the voter demographics far more transient. The real get out the vote efforts will be waged by ASU liberal establishment types, the LDS community and a large contingent of Catholic voters associated with City of the Lord. The two latter groups tend to vote very pro-life and culturally conservative. This could make the difference at the margin on who wins in the General. Both Knaperek and Despain are LDS which will bode well with cultural conservatives.

If Republicans desire to hold control and build a veto-proof majority in the House and Senate, they must spend the resources in these races. Look for things to get wild in the weeks ahead as both parties pull out the stops to claim this district.

Watching the whole September 11th Memorial fiasco take place reminds me of the whole Eddie Basha implosion during the 1994 gubernatorial race against Fife Symington. For those who were involved in Arizona politics, a little history reminder. Eddie Basha and Fife Symington both participated in a radio debate during the campaign leading up to the General Election in 1994. When Eddie was called on the mat on the issue of homosexual marriage, he responded that he supported it. That was the beginning of the end for Eddie Basha.

Within the last week, Janet Napolitano has managed to walk her way into a minefield over the issue of the 9/11 memorial at Wesley Bolin Plaza. 

This debate would not be taking place if it were not for the astute work of political blogger extroardinaire Greg Patterson at EspressoPundit who broke the story late last week. Now, the story has gone national and has become a political albatross or should I say ring around Janet Napolitano’s neck.

Even the Arizona Republican Party has launched a new ad pointing out the controversy.

Look for the possibility of things to escalate as the legislature considers calling a special session to take action against the memorial. Maybe they ought to discuss the renaming of mountains in the same session?

Links:
Janet Napolitano’s Message of the Week – Monday, September 11, 2006
Arizona 9/11 Memorial Website Message from the Governor

     According to a Wall Street Journal Battle Ground poll done by Zogby Len Munsil is within 9% of Janet Napolitano.

Wednesday 9-27-06, 10:05 pm

Here’s the story from the Arizona Republic regarding illegal use of funds to attack Len Munsil prior to the Primary Election.

Here are the facts:

• The Arizona Democratic Party gave $100,000 to the Arizona Values Coalition to conduct an independent expenditure against Len Munsil. The Arizona Democratic Party spokesperson, Bart Graves (isn’t he formerly a news reporter with KFYI Radio?), “supposedly” spoke in error about the donation having not known that the contribution was made to the Arizona Values Coalition.” Party organization are allowed to make such donations but are prohibited from coordinating efforts.
• A website using the domain name of LenMunsilFacts.com was set up to ridicule and attack Len Munsil. That website (see Whois information) was set up by an organization deceptively named ”Arizona Conservative Trust” – which was formed on August 1st with Debra Dennis as the chairman and Thomas Kennedy as the treasurer (committee detail). On that website, it lists its major source of funding from another deceptively-named organization called the “Arizona Values Coalition.”
• The Arizona Values Coalition is chaired by Beau Memory with its treasurer listed as Seamus Perry (committee detail). Beau Memory is a liberal activist who recently moved to Arizona from North Carolina in order to work on the Napolitano re-election campaign. Memory was involved with the Kerry-Edwards campaign in 2004. Seamus Perry works for another organization called the Project for Arizona’s Future. This was noted on his MySpace account which has since been deleted.
• The Project for Arizona’s Future is “a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing moderate policies and politics in Arizona.” They also claim to be non-partisan. Here is the list of their advisory council. While 501 (c)(4)’s can actively engage in public policy lobbying, they are prohibited from express advocacy in the election or defeat of political candidates. Janet Napolitano has raised money for the Project for Arizona’s Future.
•  Immediately prior to the Primary Election an autodialer message went out expressly advocating for the defeat of Len Munsil. Here is the text of that message: “Arizona is on the front lines of the illegal immigration crisis. That’s why it’s so surprising that Len Munsil, Republican for governor, has no serious plan to fight illegal immigration. Last week Len Munsil embraced John McCain in the amnesty bill he and Ted Kennedy want to pass. Len Munsil’s ideas on illegal immigration are weak and won’t get the job done. In tomorrow’s Primary Election let the politicians know it’s time to get tough. Vote against Len Munsil.” That message carried the following disclaimer: “Paid for by Arizona Conservative Trust. Major funding provided by the Arizona Values Coalition.”

Analysis and Commentary:

• Did the Arizona Democratic Party throw its spokesman, Bart Graves, “under the bus?” It’s hard to believe that Graves did not know about an expenditure for $100,000 going out the door to another organization. I thought most public relations folks were kept in the loop regarding major activities.
• Both the Arizona Values Coalition and Arizona Conservative Trust were obviously set up with conservative sounding names in order to throw the scent off of being associated with the Democratic party or liberal activists. This is clearly deceptive in letter and spirit.
• Why did the Democratic Party and liberal activists see such a great need to resort to deceptive campaigning in order to have Len Munsil defeated in the Primary Election? Could it be that they acknowledge his conservative credentials and public policy effectiveness as a serious threat to the incumbent governor? Perhaps their perception was that a campaign against Don Goldwater would have been much easier race?
• In the 2002 gubernatorial race, Matt Salmon not only had to run against Janet Napolitano but against attacks from the Democratic Party, spolier Dick Mahoney and other liberal organization. Could it be that the Democratic Party recognizes that the only way to win statewide races in a state with a Republican registration edge is by coordinating attacks with 3rd party liberal organizations?
• Will the current Attorney General immediately pursue an investigation into campaign finance law violations including those conducted by the non-profit Project for Arizona’s Future?
• Will the Citizens Clean Elections Commission provide additional funding to the Munsil campaign to offset independent expenditures by liberal 3rd party political fascads?

The political bottom line in all this is that the Democratic Party perceives Len Munsil as a serious threat to Janet Napolitano. Despite the polling which is not sampling serious voters, the numbers will tighten dramatically over the next few weeks. Look for more accurate numbers to solidify in the last 10 days before the election. In the meantime, volunteer for the Len Munsil campaign and make sure you request an early ballot and vote early. 

      According to Hot AZ It Gets the Arizona Democratic Party is behind the attack web site on Len Munsil.

     I wonder if they have some internal polling that caused them to sink so low or if this is now just standard fare for the Democrats.

Tuesday 9-26-06, 6:25 pm

Follow-up. The story gets covered Dan Nowicki at the Arizona Republic.

       A big part of the abortion myth is that somehow legal abortion prevents people from trying dangerous at-home abortions. The favorite cry is “no more back-alley abortions.”

     Here is another example of an at-home abortion attempt despite the fact that the procedure is legal. Let’s see, the abortion lobby has what they want and some people are still going through strange and twisted ways to terminate life inside the womb.

     This pregnancy involves an underage girl and is being investigated for possible sexual assault. I bet that Planned Parenthood would have been all too will to happy to get rid of the “evidence”, leaving the young girl suffer quietly on her own in the years ahead.

Tuesday 9-26-06, 8:30 am

Here’s the text of an email that went out from Arizona Republic columnist/blogger Joanie Flatt that proves there was some dirty electioneering going on against Clean Elections candidate Colette Rosati.

This also goes to prove that the RAPAW’s (Rich Anglo Pro-Abortion Women) will do whatever it takes to protect their “sacred rite” to abortion against a solid pro-life candidate.

—– Original Message —–
From: JFlatt1981@aol.com
To:
Cc: JFlatt1981@aol.com
Sent: Friday, July 28, 2006 4:57 PM
Subject: you’re invited
When the Arizona Legislature overwhelmingly approved $69,000 to help build a memorial to the victims of Pearl Harbor (and those who were killed on the USS Arizona), only 6 out of the 90 legislators voted “no.”  One of those “no” votes was Rep. Colette Rosati of District 8. Her explanation to a local newspaper was, “While I value the people that died and I love memorials, I feel this is something we should have a bake sale or something for.”

[Haven't we already created several monuments to the U.S.S. Arizona? If I recall, there is one on Wesley Bolin Plaza - right across from the State House and Senate. Why do we need to spend more tax dollars on another memorial??? - my interjection]

Now this woman wants to unseat Senator Carolyn Allen, one of our state’s greatest champions for the arts, children, business, tourism and health issues. We can’t let that happen.

If you live in District 8, as I do, I urge Republicans to vote for Carolyn in the primary.  I urge Independents to request a Republican primary ballot (due to overwhelming Republican registration in District 8, the next Arizona senator from this district will be chosen in the Republican primary). I urge Democrats to re-register as Independents so you can vote a Republican primary ballot for Carolyn.  The deadline for doing that is August 14th. You can always go back to being a Democrat the next day!

Whether you live in District 8 or not, Senator Carolyn Allen deserves your support. You can help send Carolyn back to the Senate by joining me and my fellow co-hosts at a fundraiser for Carolyn on August 23 at my home. The attached invitation has all the details. If you can’t join us on the 23rd, please consider sending Carolyn a check.  We know from previous races involving Rep. Rosati that this race will not be easy and it’s likely to get ugly before it’s over.  Carolyn is going to need a lot of money and lots of friends to prevail. Thank you.

Joanie Flatt

      Gabrielle Giffords was ahead by 19% in poll results dated September 20th. Four days later the Sunday edition of the Arizona Daily Star has her ahead by only 12.7%. That represents a loss of 6.3%. At this rate Randy Graf should catch up to Gabby in about 9 days.

     The Star poll also showed that the border was the single most important issue for 45.8% of respondents, followed by a distant 10.7% of people who were primarily concerned about the war in Iraq.

Sunday 9-24-06, 6:20 am