Thu 21 Aug 2008
MCRC’s Husband, Responds to AZ Congressmen
Posted by Hugh Nuze under Political Parties , Press Release[24] Comments
Maricopa County Republican Committee Chairman Tom Husband responded to the recent letter sent by Congressmen Flake, Franks and Shadegg. Here is the text of Husband’s letter:
August 21, 2008
TRENT FRANKS, Member of Congress
JOHN SHADEGG, Member of Congress
JEFF FLAKE, Member of Congress
Re: Your letter dated August 19, 2008
Gentlemen:
I understand your sense of urgency in this matter because, as of September 3, 2008, Mr. Ready will cease to be a Precinct Committeeman (“PC”) by operation of law, thus depriving you of this dramatic appeal for his censure. What I don’t understand is why you would make a request for a resolution asking for his resignation when our next opportunity to consider such a resolution would be at our regularly scheduled meeting on September 4, 2008. This timing would render a grant of the request a nullity. Even if Mr. Ready were inclined to accede to this request, he would not be able to resign from a position he would no longer hold. Surely you knew this.
In your letter dated August 19, 2008, you asserted that I had knowledge that Mr. Ready is a member of the National Socialist Movement (“NSM”). This assertion is incorrect. I do not possess that knowledge but apparently you do and, if that is true, your outrage is justified. Such an affiliation would clearly be inimical to the principles of the Republican Party. For a year, you have apparently been aware that Mr. Ready was a featured speaker at a Neo-Nazi conference in Omaha and Mr. Shadegg’s representatives were present at the Maricopa County meeting January 19, 2008 where Chairman Tuttle demanded the removal of objectionable materials, reportedly distributed by Mr. Ready. Your knowledge of Mr. Ready’s presence at the January 19, 2008 meeting should have been sufficient notice of the likelihood that he was a PC. Now you seek immediate action, even if it be effective for one week claiming that his PC status has only recently come to your attention. We would not take such action in any case unless and until we had credible evidence of such an affiliation. Additionally, we would give the individual an opportunity to rebut before voting on such a resolution.
I appreciate your unfamiliarity with the procedure by which PCs are removed from office and your uncertainty as to its possibility; however, had you made your request in a timely fashion, and produced credible evidence of Mr. Ready’s membership in the NSM and had he been given an opportunity for rebuttal, I would have entertained a motion to adopt a resolution calling for Mr. Ready’s resignation.
I trust that you will consider my response to be timely.
Very truly yours,
Thomas F. Husband
Maricopa County Republican Committee Chairman
5520 East San Miguel Avenue
Paradise Valley, AZ 85253
Cc: Randy Pullen, State Party Chairman
Matt Tolman, District 18 Chairman
August 21st, 2008 at 9:12 pm
Where does he get the idea that they have known about Ready’s speaking at a Neo-Nazi conference in Omaha for a year? The real question is that since Ready’s Nazi ties have been known for a long time, what has Husband done about it.
August 21st, 2008 at 9:28 pm
Bravo, Mr. Husband! Bravo!
August 21st, 2008 at 9:51 pm
Excellent work Mr. Husband. Obviously, nobody involved (except Ready) condones a neo-nazi in the Republican PC ranks.
This is a blatant dirty campaign tactic aimed at LD-18 by our Congressmen. I wouldn’t have believed it if I didn’t see it for myself.
I believe the Congressmen knew or, at least were tipped, that their request is foolish with Ready’s term ending Sept. 3 anyway. That’s why the Congressmen go to such effort to say they don’t know!
Slimy campaigning offered up by our elected Congressmen. Wow! THIS is what turns the public off to politics and consequently, voting.
Proud to have you as our Chairman, Mr. Husband. It is an impossible demand. You are not expected to investigate every suspected screw-ball. MCRC handled it right in January and you are handling it right now. THANKS!
August 21st, 2008 at 10:56 pm
I appreciate what Mr. Husband had to say. He is a gentleman and the Congressmen could take some lessons from him. My only criticism of Mr. Husband’s response is that it should have been much stronger at calling it as it is.
In the first place, the Congressmen have known how to resch Mr. Husband for years. If their intent was simply to address Ready’s status, they could have called Mr. Husband in much less time than it took to write the letter.
The obvious intent to impact a legislative race is so transparent that a blind person could see it.
FFS: I can remember when you were offended if the Republic supported you in any enterprise. Well, it still is an albatross and you should pick better friends.
August 22nd, 2008 at 12:00 am
Are PC’s elected on Sept 2 not sworn in until January, like the rest of the officials? Is there a canvass of the election to certify the results?
Did I need to actually read Husband’s letter, or should I just have take a tip from him failing, which is especially ungentlemanlylike, to properly address the Congressmen in question? As in, a little honorable this and that. But I read on, and then later he refers to party officials as all “Chairman” this and “Chairman” that. Should have stopped there as well.
Can anyone tell me if there’s an actual connection between the Republican Party, the Republican functionaries at HQ, and the Republicans elected by the party?
Husband’s letter was snide. He could have just called them and told them no dice. I would think he’d have an open channel to that office. What the heck is going on here? Husband’s “I” this and “I” that reeks of tyranny. Thank God it’s so petty.
I can only assume here that he’s trying to remake the party, and its HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL incumbents, no less. He’s going about it the hard way. Good luck.
August 22nd, 2008 at 12:27 am
Nice letter Tom. Given how they tried to embarrass the party just so they could keep the story alive and pound on Pearce, you were very restrained in your response. They deserved worse, but you’re a better man than they for taking the high road!
August 22nd, 2008 at 12:36 am
“You’re in Trouble”, the answers to your first two questions are “No, they assume office after their election is certified.” and “Yes, if there is a contested race.”
Since you didn’t know enough about what you were writing about, you should have waited until you got answers to those basic questions before writing anything else.
To paraphrase from another post, did I really need to read that post or did the first two questions tell me the writer doesn’t know what he is writing about.
August 22nd, 2008 at 5:37 am
And the hits just keep on coming…..
August 22nd, 2008 at 6:24 am
Great work Mr. Husband. Deny knowledge of something that the party leadership has known for months. When the facts are not on your side, just lie. Hitler would be proud of you.
August 22nd, 2008 at 7:50 am
Given the fact that the MCRC passes multiple resolutions every month and did nothing about Ready, it shows where their priorities are. This is truly a sad and discouraging time to be a Republican in Arizona. Some in our Party condone the worst type of racism and many on this site applaud them for it.
August 22nd, 2008 at 8:01 am
While Ready should have been removed the instant anyone knew he was too close to neo-Nazi circles (after a fair hearing), Husband’s response is too funny! LOVE how he points out that the earliest opportunity to remove Ready is the day after Ready’s duties cease.
I’m guessing that efforts to remove Ready should have started, at the latest, in Jan. when he was distributing neo-Nazi lit at party meeting. But if removing him would require a costly recall election since he was a duly elected PC…..is it REALLY worth the cost? Yeah, yeah, I get it, he’s a rascist…but what would be the cost to recall him. I’ll admit, the election would ONLY have to be held among registered Republicans in one rinky-dink precinct, but for gosh sakes, the County Recorder would have to be involved, there’s also mailings and campaign materials to print and mail….
To “I’m in Trouble,” come on, read between the lines. The REASON why both sides are putting everything in letters is because they want it on the record that they’re all opposed to Ready. If someone accuses either side of supporting Ready, they can whip out their handy little letter “proving” that they’re anti-Ready.
August 22nd, 2008 at 8:14 am
It doesn’t matter what the motives are here. This is guy who was in the paper associated with the Republican Party using the word “Zionists.” Do you really want to defend that? Husband = Rank amateur
August 22nd, 2008 at 8:17 am
Wow.
Just wow.
Yeah, it’s a publicity stunt by the ever shrinking GOP Congressional Caucus, but… Is Husband really saying that he knew about Ready’s Nazi affiliations and has done nothing about it – and the reason he’s unwilling to do anything about it now is because “well, his term’s almost over and we can’t give Ready a fair hearing?”.
What more evidence is Husband looking for to prove Ready’s a Nazi? Is his profile at New Saxon and him marching under a banner and speaking at a rally not enough?
And as for giving Ready a fair hearing, my mother and grandmother never got a fair hearing either before they were sent off in a boxcar to the camps, so hey, JT could get a small taste of what it was like. A mitzvah, if you will.
Ask me again why I’m not a republican.
August 22nd, 2008 at 8:37 am
Note: TheKlute approves of Nazi methods…at least in Ready’s case. What’s that addage about resorting to your enemies’ tactics turning you into your enemies…Herr Klute?
Also, Herr Klute, I guess you regularly surf New Saxon? For you to attribute Husband with knowledge of Ready’s profile on the site assumes that Husband surfs New Saxon on a regular babsis…you must make that assertion because that’s your daily habit. I think we can all safely assume we have NO knowledge of what’s on rascist websites since we’re all not rascists and we have no interest in what rascists have to say.
The question is…if the Congressmen knew a year ago that Ready was speaking to neo-Nazis, why didn’t they write Husband then?
August 22nd, 2008 at 8:48 am
This is truly an embarrassment to the Republican party. How could Husband not know Ready is a neo-Nazi?
The Phoenix New Times has run multiple stories on his affiliation with hate groups, running pictures of him at neo-Nazi rallies!!
Ready distributed neo-Nazi literature at a GOP meeting, for crying out loud!
I am disgusted by this. And no, Jeff Richards, it is most assuredly NOT obvious that nobody condones a neo-Nazi in the GOP ranks.
Not when they have known for months who this person is and failed to do anything about it.
Not when congressional leaders have asked for an admittedly symbolic gesture to remove him and the Republican Party Chairman refuses to do so.
And not when elected GOP officials like Trish Groe applaud him for his cowardice.
August 22nd, 2008 at 8:49 am
Now IP Freely is going to the Hitler comparison? Come on SA, enough of this garbage or the decent people are going to check out of here and leave this place IP, Ann, Klute and the rest of the uglies.
August 22nd, 2008 at 8:52 am
Very charming, Antifederalist.
I actually have done my homework on Mr. Ready, so yes, I did find his profile on NewSaxon when it was a .com, and before he made it private.
I make no apologies about surfing white supremacist sites, because one has to know what your enemy is up to – especially with my family history, vigilance is a watchword. But you know, thanks for the implication – which in no way disrepects the memory of family, especially the ones who weren’t lucky enough to survive.
You should have gone further though – instead of “Herr” (which actually, considering my father’s Sudetan-Czech background, isn’t an insult), go with more obvious, something like Untersturmführer… this would have more effectively equated me with a Nazi, and really made a mockery of seminal event of my family’s history.
And, while I’m used to sarcasm being lost, calling Ready’s summary dismissal from the party a “mitzvah” should have been fairly obvious.
August 22nd, 2008 at 9:06 am
Untersturmführer Klute,
Thanks for the education about Nazi nomenclature. I guess I can safely assert that while I’ve studied WWII, I’m not obsessed with Nazi trappings and structure, so, I was ignorant about Nazi titles and ranks. TBH, I don’t spend hour upon hour researching Nazis because they’re rascists AND socialists. I’ve got better things to do with my time, and I assume Mr. Husband does too.
You were not joking in the subtext of your argument: that you think Republicans are Nazis and rascists. THAT is what prompted me to fire back at you.
August 22nd, 2008 at 9:20 am
No, I don’t believe Republicans are racists and Nazis, and I never implied they were (of Republicans I know who aren’t racists and Nazis: my sister, her husband, my uncle, my friend Jose Magana, the good people here who run SA).
“I guess I can safely assert that while I’ve studied WWII, I’m not obsessed with Nazi trappings and structure, so, I was ignorant about Nazi titles and ranks.”
Yeah, I guess I’m a little overzealous with trying to understand the minds of the people who murdered most of my family and tried to erase them from history, and people who subscribe to that poisonous ideology today. Silly me.
I should totally be ashamed of that.
August 22nd, 2008 at 9:33 am
Untersturmführer Klute,
Sorry you lost family in the war…but MANY Americans lost family on the front lines fighting the Italians and Germans, so too did many American Jewish families who happen to also be Republican or Libertarian. Their loss is no less great than yours. Soldiers lives are no less dear than your family members’. And while it’s sad you lost family, you’re NOT going to get a pass from me on the basis of sympathy while you try to assert that Husband and the R party as a whole are Nazi sympathizers for not removing Ready earlier.
Mistakes were made by Republicans, to be clear, but that does NOT make Rs rascists or Nazis. You may SAY you know Rs that aren’t rascists, but that is undercut by the subtext and thrust of your comments on these threads.
I think you’ve let your hatred for Nazis (funny, hating hate-mongers for hating) cloud your judgment on this issue. You’ve already admitted you’re “overzealous” on Nazis anyway.
August 22nd, 2008 at 9:43 am
“And while it’s sad you lost family, you’re NOT going to get a pass from me on the basis of sympathy while you try to assert that Husband and the R party as a whole are Nazi sympathizers for not removing Ready earlier.”
I’m not saying they’re sympathizers – and I never said that, I’m saying that Tom Husband is an ineffectual clod looking for poitical expediency as a way out of this mess. Flake, Franks, Shadegg – yeah, they should have acted sooner. They didn’t, whatever. But they’re not trying to hide this, they’re not trying to wish it away to the cornfield like Husband is. Doesn’t that idiot realize he stalls, the more press this gets? The worse it looks?
“Sorry you lost family in the war…but MANY Americans lost family on the front lines fighting the Italians and Germans, so too did many American Jewish families who happen to also be Republican or Libertarian.”
And I honor their sacrifice; without them, I wouldn’t be here and the rest of you would be at Circus Circus on Friday night – but let’s not pretend WWII was a grand adventure to save the Jews. Every country acted out of self-preservation. Russia was equally as anti-Semtic as Germany, Britain had it’s own “Jewish Problem”, and we all know the plight of the Ship of the Damned.
And don’t make the mistake of assuming “anger” means “hate”. My anger is righteous. As was my grandfather’s when he was picking off members of the Bund with his Kalashnikov.
August 22nd, 2008 at 7:35 pm
HOW CAN ANY REPUBLICAN SUPPORT PEARCE OR HUSBAND?
This is what Husband said in February when he first encountered JT ready and his neo-Nazi literature at the GOP denial fest:
“This is the first time we’ve ever encountered anything of this nature,” said Husband, who was more forthcoming than Tuttle when asked. “So it kind of blindsided us. But we acted immediately to correct it. ”
(ya-right.)
Febuary-he says one thing and forgets or hopes you will. Now he says something different and some of you applaud him?
How much Pearce koolaid are you going to drink?
Husband lies about JT Ready-its exposed and fact.
Pearce has flop/flopped so many times that it is pathetic. Still, you refuse to face the facts. How pathetic it must be to be a republican these days. As I’ve said many times, Ready is not the only skeleton in Pearces closet. More will be revealed.
I’m beginning to think you prefer Nazi’s over Democrats.
August 22nd, 2008 at 7:47 pm
Read Flakes letter. The re-read Husbands.
Husband is busted and it is sad to watch Pearce act like he didn’t know and demand Ready’s resignation now.
http://media.phoenixnewtimes.com/2472415.0.pdf
You republicans owe me for keeping you informed. Its too bad you recently learned how to read. If you cared about the truth last year, you wouldn’t be in this mess. Let us not forget, Pearce endorsed Ready for City Council in 2006. Ready’s views have always been racist and strange-they really don’t differ much from Pearces. That explains their long-term friendship.
September 29th, 2008 at 2:05 pm
I as an Independent voter am against
any bail out for for profit businesses.