Brewer’s Organ Grinder Implicated in Seedy City Pork Schemes

The Goldwater Institute’s outstanding investigative reporter Mark Flatten has produced one of the most important pieces of Arizona journalism in many years called Shifting The Burden: Cities Waive Property Taxes for Favored Businesses.  In it he methodically and devastatingly deconstructs the complicated “government property lease excise tax” or GPLET scheme that insiders close to Gov. Jan Brewer and other top Arizona politicians use to shift hundreds of millions of dollars from small businesses and homeowners to their special interest friends.  The topic is a bit dense but any taxpayer who has asked why their property tax liability keeps going up should work through it so they can understand how the powerful and their lobbyists like Brewer’s man Chuck Coughlin game the system to the misfortune of average guy and gal.

Shifting The Burden: Cities Waive Property Taxes for Favored Businesses

By Mark Flatten
Goldwater Institute Special Investigation
February 18, 2010

Special deals between cities and hand-picked developers have exempted more than $2 billion in development projects from property taxes in Arizona, shifting the tax burden to surrounding property owners and creating a competitive disadvantage for other businesses, an investigation by the Goldwater Institute has found.

Those high-rise office buildings and sprawling retail centers would generate more than $30 million annually in property taxes if they were not exempted through lease agreements with the cities. As a result of those deals, the owner of a $200,000 home near Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix pays about $183 in additional property taxes every year. A similar home in downtown Phoenix is charged an extra $90 annually, according to state legislative studies.

The unpaid property taxes are supposed to be replaced by the Government Property Lease Excise Tax or GPLET. However, the Institute’s investigation found GPLET payments amount to a fraction of what would be paid in property taxes.

Virtually every high-rise office tower that has been built in downtown Phoenix in the last decade is covered under a GPLET lease. The tax exemption also has been granted to a now-shuttered dog racing track in Phoenix, a tattoo studio in Clifton and regional shopping malls in the East Valley. In coming years, additional projects worth billions of dollars will be covered under GPLET leases.

Last year efforts by state lawmakers to curb the lucrative breaks in the law were blocked by Mesa officials and the developer planning to use the exemption for a $1 billion resort on the eastern outskirts of the city. But, State Representative Rick Murphy has introduced a bill again this year to curb these agreements.

A recent Arizona Supreme Court decision also puts the property tax exemption in jeopardy. The court ruled that sales tax rebates for a shopping center in Phoenix amounted to an unconstitutional gift of taxpayer money to the developer. Promises of future job growth or other tax revenues are not enough to justify special sales tax breaks, the court ruled. Those are the same arguments that are used to justify GPLET agreements.

Read Shifting the Burden here

Sidebar: Scottsdale’s SkySong Avoids Property Taxes Without GPLET lease

Investigation Analysis by Clint Bolick

Ben Quayle posts spotty voting record in public elections

According to the Arizona Guardian:

Ben Quayle posts spotty voting record in public elections

TUESDAY, 16 FEBRUARY 2010 00:08

By Dennis Welch
The Arizona Guardian

Ben Quayle, the latest candidate to jump into the packed Republican primary for the 3rd Congressional District, has had an inconsistent voting record since registering in the state 13 years ago, according to the election files of both major political parties.

Quayle, 33, the son of former Vice President Dan Quayle, participated in two Republican primaries but has never cast a ballot in a municipal election since registering in the state in May of 1997, according to voting databases maintained by the state Democratic and Republican parties.

Quayle did vote in three general elections, including the 2008 presidential election in which he cast an early ballot, the records show. For several years, Quayle lived in California and New York, but told the Guardian on Monday he should have taken a more active role in public elections.
“Like a lot of people my age I haven’t been involved in politics,” Quayle said. “I probably should have been more active and that’s my fault.”

But when asked when he first became interested in politics, Quayle said, “I’ve always been interested in public service ever since I was a kid.”

Quayle’s voting record disappointed many well-known Republicans who questioned the level of his commitment to local issues and public service. His voting record, many political observers predict, would become a major issue he’ll have to overcome to win the primary.

“You don’t run for an office as important as Congress and expect that no one is going to question your lack of involvement as a citizen,” said Jaime Molera, former state superintendent of public instruction and Republican lobbyist.

Qualye’s father, Dan Quayle, surprised the state’s political community last week when he announced on national television that his son was running for office.

Dan Quayle served as vice president under President George Bush from 1989 to 1993. Since moving to the Valley full-time after getting out politics, the Quayle family hasn’t been very active in the local Republican Party and has kept a low profile.

Ben Quayle, who will officially launch his campaign sometime next month, said he was prompted to run for the open congressional seat because he thinks President Barack Obama is leading the country down the wrong path.

But to win the GOP nomination, he’ll have to overcome a crowded field of candidates that include former state lawmakers, current and former mayors and other well-connected politicos.

The regularity of voters are tracked by political parties and kept in a database to help political parties and individual candidates with their get-out-the-vote efforts.

Quayle voted in GOP primaries in 1998 and 2002, according to files kept by the Republican and Democratic parties. He cast ballots for the general elections in 2000, 2006 and 2008. Quayle said he lived in California and New York from 2002 to 2006 where he practiced corporate and real estate law.

He’ll vying to replace U.S Rep. John Shadegg, who is retiring after 16 years in office. His announcement last month sent shock waves through the state political world and politicians abruptly quit their offices or other campaigns to battle for the seat.

Already in the field are former state Sens. Pamela Gorman and Jim Waring, former Rep. Sam Crump, Paradise Valley Mayor Vernon Parker, former Paradise Valley Mayor Ed Winkler and Paulina Morris. Several other candidates, including Phoenix Rep. Adam Driggs, are still considering a run.

Ben Quayle said the Obama administration has served as a wake-up call for him politically, and he plans to run a campaign focused on fiscal responsibility and cutting federal spending.

Goldwater Institute investigation examines tax break available to certain businesses

Goldwater Institute
News Release

PHOENIX–Some Arizona cities that recruit major shopping malls and high-rise buildings have used a special tax incentive that waives most of the development’s property taxes, often for 50 years or longer. A Goldwater Institute investigative report found development projects valued at more than $2 billion pay only a small fraction of what they otherwise would in property taxes. As a result, local governments raise property tax rates for nearby businesses and homes that don’t qualify for this special tax break.

To qualify for the property tax exemption, building developers transfer ownership of the property to the city and then lease it back to operate. State law requires that the developer pay a Government Property Lease Excise Tax, or GPLET, that is supposed to replace a significant portion of the waived property taxes. Mark Flatten, a Goldwater Institute investigative reporter, shows that GPLET projects throughout Arizona pay at least $31 million less in property taxes each year.

“Arizona’s high property taxes deter businesses from moving here. It’s no surprise that companies look for ways to lighten the tax burden using the GPLET system. However, any time you offer a tax break to one business, it should be available to all,” said Darcy Olsen, president and CEO of the Goldwater Institute. “GPLET programs that single out select businesses for deals essentially leave neighboring businesses and homeowners with the tab.”

Most GPLET projects are located in Tempe and Phoenix, where most downtown high-rises built since 1996 benefit from a property tax exemption. Other communities have started to approve GPLET projects as well. For example, Mesa has agreed to waive an estimated $776 million in property taxes over 50 years for a future convention center and luxury resort near Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport. Mr. Flatten reports cities generally don’t worry about lower property tax revenue because property taxes are a relatively small portion of their budgets.

School districts and community colleges, on the other hand, depend more heavily on property taxes. But school districts haven’t had to worry either, because the state government had filled the gap created by GPLET projects. That will change this year because lawmakers have changed the law that protected school district budgets. Now, GPLET projects likely will prompt school districts to raise property taxes or reduce spending. “It’s a great concern. It shifts the tax onto our property owners, our homeowners, and it’s a huge shift,” Antonio Sanchez, superintendent of the Wilson Elementary School District in Phoenix, told Mr. Flatten.

Some lawmakers have tried in the past to change GPLET laws to limit the length of the new leases and to increase the amount that new projects have to pay in excise taxes so that it is more comparable to what businesses that do not have a special exemption are required to pay. These efforts have been thwarted by lobbyists for cities and developers who expect to benefit in the future, Mr. Flatten reports. State Representative Rick Murphy has introduced a bill this year that will try to curb the practice.

The Goldwater Institute recommends that governments pursue economic development efforts that would benefit a wide range of businesses, instead of giving a handful preferential treatment. The Arizona Supreme Court recently reinforced the Arizona Constitution’s “Gift Clause,” a prohibition that GPLET leases might violate. Examples of more appropriate business incentives would include reducing property tax rates for businesses to match the rates paid by homeowners and the expansion of enterprise zones in which reduced tax rates are offered to all businesses.

“These deals show that Arizona’s tax burden is too high to attract business. That is easy to correct without giving special privileges to the few. Lower property taxes to competitive regional rates for all of our businesses and help Arizona grow its way out of the recession,” said Ms. Olsen.

Read “Shifting the Burden: Cities Waive Property Taxes for Favored Businesses” online here.

The Goldwater Institute is an independent government watchdog supported by people who are committed to expanding free enterprise and liberty.

JD Hayworth 2010 Releases First TV/Web Ad

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Conservative Challenger Launches First TV/Web Ad Of Republican Primary Battle

PHOENIX, ARIZONA. FEBRUARY 17, 2010. Anyone attending events launching J.D. Hayworth’s conservative challenge to 24-year incumbent John McCain can tell the difference. Hayworth’s crowds are passionate, enthusiastic and full of Tea Party patriots. McCain’s crowds are subdued.

And that conservative enthusiasm is celebrated in the Hayworth campaign’s first advertisement – “Freedom’s Fire.”

McCain is vulnerable to the more conservative Hayworth on taxes, pro-life and pro-family issues as well as illegal immigration. Hayworth also has a better lifetime rating from Citizens Against Government Waste than the 28-year member of Congress.

McCain voted for the $850 billion bailout of the big banks which included $150 billion in pork, proposed a $300 billion bailout for mortgage lenders and, according to the Heritage Foundation, sponsored an amnesty bill that would have cost taxpayers $2.6 trillion over the long-term.

For more information or to donate to Hayworth’s campaign, please go to www.JDforSenate.com.

Proposals to fund new Cubs stadium risk constitutional violations

by Clint Bolick
Goldwater Institute
 
Efforts to keep the Chicago Cubs in Mesa present the first opportunity to see if Arizona elected officials were paying attention to the Arizona Supreme Court decision striking down government subsidies to individual businesses. A city can construct and own a baseball stadium. (We’ll leave aside for now the question of whether that’s good public policy.) However, the funds being considered by the Legislature are problematic: a new tax on all tickets to Cactus League spring training games for the benefit of the Cubs and an increase to the already hefty car rental tax. Adopting these taxes to benefit a single sports franchise may constitute an illegal special law under the Arizona Constitution. The proposed bill would confer to a sports authority such unbounded power that it may be an improper delegation of legislative authority, which also presents constitutional problems.

The potential deal between Mesa, which will own the facility, and the Cubs also raises serious issues. Under the proposed deal, the Cubs reap all of the financial benefits and have to do little more than show up. Under the CityNorth decision, the beneficiary of a government incentive must produce roughly comparable direct, tangible benefits. The best way to achieve this is fair market rent, which the Cubs are apparently unwilling to pay. A deal probably could be constructed that complies with the constitution, but it will require the Cubs to make far greater commitments than they have appeared willing to do.

Any baseball fan would want to have the Cubs here. And certainly the Cactus League is a valuable asset. But at some point, incentives become illegal subsidies, and taxpayers are asked to do too much. We hope our elected officials will heed the wisdom of the Arizona Supreme Court in the CityNorth decision and honor their constitutional limits.

Clint Bolick is director of the Goldwater Institute Scharf-Norton Center for Constitutional Litigation.

Sheriffs vs. Feds – Sheriffs prevail

 

A m e r i c a n  P o s t – G a z e t t e

Distributed by C O M M O N  S E N S E , in Arizona
Tuesday, February 16, 2010  

The duly elected sheriff of a county is the highest law enforcement official within a county. He has law enforcement powers that exceed that of any other state or federal official.

This is settled law that most people are not aware of.

County sheriffs in Wyoming have scored a big one for the 10th Amendment and states’ rights. The sheriffs slapped a federal intrusion upside the head and are insisting that all federal law enforcement officers and personnel from federal regulatory agencies must clear all their activity in a Wyoming County with the Sheriff’s Office. Deja vu for those who remember big Richard Mack in Arizona.

Bighorn County Sheriff Dave Mattis spoke at a press conference following a recent U.S. District Court decision (Case No. 2:96-cv-099-J (2006)) and announced that all federal officials are forbidden to enter his county without his prior approval ……

“If a sheriff doesn’t want the Feds in his county he has the constitutional right and power to keep them out, or ask them to leave, or retain them in custody.”

The court decision was the result of a suit against both the BATF and the IRS by Mattis and other members of the Wyoming Sheriff’s Association. The suit in the Wyoming federal court district sought restoration of the protections enshrined in the United States Constitution and the Wyoming Constitution.

Guess what? The District Court ruled in favor of the sheriffs. In fact, they stated, Wyoming is a sovereign state and the duly elected sheriff of a county is the highest law enforcement official within a county and has law enforcement powers exceeding that of any other state or federal official.” Go back and re-read this quote.

The court confirms and asserts that “the duly elected sheriff of a county is the highest law enforcement official within a county and has law enforcement powers EXCEEDING that of any other state OR federal official.” And you thought the 10th Amendment was dead and buried – not in Wyoming, not yet.

But it gets even better. Since the judge stated that the sheriff “has law enforcement powers EXCEEDING that of any other state OR federal official,” the Wyoming sheriffs are flexing their muscles. They are demanding access to all BATF files. Why? So as to verify that the agency is not violating provisions of Wyoming law that prohibits the registration of firearms or the keeping of a registry of firearm owners. This would be wrong.

The sheriffs are also demanding that federal agencies immediately cease the seizure of private property and the impoundment of private bank accounts without regard to due process in Wyoming state courts.

Gosh, it makes one wish that the sheriffs of the counties relative to Waco, Texas and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma regarding their jurisdictions were drinking the same water these Wyoming sheriffs are.

Sheriff Mattis said, “I am reacting in response to the actions of federal employees who have attempted to deprive citizens of my county of their privacy, their liberty, and their property without regard to constitutional safeguards. I hope that more sheriffs all across America will join us in protecting their citizens from the illegal activities of the IRS, EPA, BATF, FBI, or any other federal agency that is operating outside the confines of constitutional law. Employees of the IRS and the EPA are no longer welcome in Bighorn County unless they intend to operate in conformance to constitutional law.” [Amen].

However, the sad reality is that sheriffs are elected, and that means they are required to be both law enforcement officials and politicians as well. Unfortunately, Wyoming sheriffs are the exception rather than the rule . . . but they shouldn’t be. Sheriffs have enormous power, if or when they choose to use it. I share the hope of Sheriff Mattis that “more sheriffs all across America will join us in protecting their citizens.”

If Wyoming Sheriffs can follow in the steps of former Arizona Sheriff Richard Mack and recognize both their power and authority, they could become champions for the memory of Thomas Jefferson who died thinking that he had won those “states’ rights” debates with Alexander Hamilton.

This case is not just some amusing mountain melodrama. This is a BIG deal. This case is yet further evidence that the 10th Amendment is not yet totally dead, or in a complete decay in the United States. It is also significant in that it can, may, and hopefully will be interpreted to mean that “political subdivisions of a State are included within the meaning of the amendment, or that the powers exercised by a sheriff are an extension of those common law powers which the 10th Amendment explicitly reserves to the People, if they are not granted to the federal government or specifically prohibited to the States.”

Winston Churchill observed, “If you will not fight for right when you can easily win without bloodshed; if you will not fight when your victory is sure and not too costly; you may come to the moment when you will have to fights with all the odds against you with only a precarious chance of survival. There may be a worse case. You may have to fight when there is not hope of victory at all, because it is better to perish than to live as slaves.”

by Dave Robinson Keene Free Press March 31, 2008

Open highway rest stops with private vendors

by Byron Schlomach, Ph.D.
Goldwater Institute
 
Governor Jan Brewer recently sent a letter to U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Arizona’s congressional delegation asking for a change in federal law to allow private companies to operate rest stops on interstate highways. Federal law prevents “automotive service stations or other commercial establishments for serving motor vehicle users to be constructed or located on the rights-of-way of the Interstate System.” Right now, 13 of the state’s 18 roadside rest stops are closed as part of the state’s efforts to save money. They could be re-opened sooner if Governor Brewer’s recommendation were adopted.

In exchange for maintaining clean public restrooms, parking areas, and places for drivers to leave their refuse, companies could operate drink and snack concessions at roadside rest stops. This would be a source of revenue because private companies would have to bid for the privilege of operating within the confines of the rest stops. While federal law should be written to give states maximum flexibility, a state could restrict vendors to selling only food and beverages to minimize taxpayer-subsidized competition with other established businesses.

The federal government already allows for states to contract with private companies to provide vending machines and “motorist call boxes” at interstate rest stops. A change in federal law to allow private food-and-drink concessions would be a win for everybody. Well-written contracts would mean better-maintained facilities and more services for weary travelers.

One thing is for certain. Open roadside rest stops are better than closed roadside rest stops. If letting the private sector operate rest stops means they will stay open, then let the private sector prevail.

Dr. Byron Schlomach is an economist and the director of the Center for Economic Prosperity at the Goldwater Institute.

30 Years of Study? Was This a Typo?

Chandler is finally going to get that new museum…maybe… in the future…. once it goes through the City Council.

Early designs for a new multimillion-dollar Chandler Museum finally are expected to make it to the City Council for consideration next month after nearly 30 years of study.

The council is expected to choose between four alternatives – labeled Satellite, Active, Decentralized Horizontal and Decentralized Vertical, respectively – before the end of March, said Jody Crago, museum administrator. The designs for the proposed 25,000-square-foot museum are not final but are meant to serve as a guide upon which a future architect will elaborate, Crago said.

“What we’re going to be asking for first is to select an approach, and then for the authority to go into design,” he said.

So after we select an approach and go into the design phase, then the project will really get moving, right?

What do Ken Bennett and Nancy Pelosi share? New ideas for chilling speech

by Nick Dranias
Goldwater Institute
 
Almost a month ago, the U.S. Supreme Court declared in Citizens United v. F.E.C. that there is no such thing as a “de minimis”–or insignificant–denial of free speech. The ruling should have immediately sparked a sweeping repeal of campaign speech regulations that were previously justified as imposing only a “de minimis” burden. An axe, not a scalpel, should have been taken to the volumes of complex, vague and burdensome campaign laws. Instead of seizing the moment, it appears Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett wants follow the lead of U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Secretary Bennett has joined Pelosi’s drive to preserve the barriers to political entry swept away by Citizens United. Instead of outright bans on campaign speech by individuals who associate through corporations or unions, the Secretary of State wants to kill campaign speech through regulation. Secretary Bennett wants to threaten class 6 felony charges against any individual or group spending $500 or more to promote their political ideas unless they register with the State and continuously report their expenditures every 24 hours during an election season.

Political elites easily navigate such laws. But they will confuse ordinary people, deter them from seeking a voice in politics, and entrap them with mistakes that will expose them to serious criminal charges. Advocates of these new regulations have no idea how they would impact newer methods of political expression, such as Internet blogging.  And no one at a recent meeting called by the Secretary of State could identify any actual problem the regulations were meant to fix. The justification was that something had to be done, and the State could always clean up the mess later. Besides, the advocates reasoned, the Supreme Court did not strike down reporting laws.

Only politicians, bureaucrats, and lobbyists could agree with the argument that anything that can be regulated under the Constitution should be regulated. Citizens United does not embrace prior restraints on free speech in the guise of campaign registration and reporting requirements. Rest assured, if Secretary Bennett and Speaker Pelosi go too far, the Goldwater Institute won’t let the State transmute the golden principles applied in Citizens United into a leaden excuse for diminishing our most fundamental rights.

Nick Dranias holds the Clarence J. and Katherine P. Duncan Chair for Constitutional Government and is Director of the Joseph and Dorothy Donnelly Moller Center for Constitutional Government at the Goldwater Institute.

Republican State Senator Linda Gray, LD10, Defies Will of AZGOP

 

At the January, 2009 Arizona Republican Party state convention, the party expressed its will and resolved to oppose photo radar.  This is the body that sets policy for the state Republican party.  State Committeemen from all over the state convened to conduct its business.  Among other things, it unanimously passed the resolution you see at the bottom of this post.

In defiance of the will of the body of Republican State Committeemen comes Republican Senator Linda Gray from legislative district 10.  Linda Gray is the sponsor of SB1443 and SCR1059.  These two bills are the same bills.  They ostensibly are being run to “correct” technical problems and “improve” the state’s photo radar program. 

SCR1059 is a referendum version to put on the ballot to confuse voters, presumably if Camerafraud.com‘s efforts are successful and they get their citizens’ initiative on the ballot to end photo radar.  SB1443 is merely the floor version of the bill.  Catcalls also go out to self-proclaimed pro-liberty Republican Frank Antenori from LD-30 for sponsoring these bills in the house.

In fact, these bills are being run at the behest of Redflex‘s lobbyists. 

If you don’t already know (thanks to Camerafraud.com for the info!), the “cameras” are not photo cameras, but they stream surveillance video 24x7x365 to computer servers belonging to a foreign corporation.  Redflex has the ability to identify the license plate that passes each camera (anywhere in the world they operate!)  The “corrections” these bills will implement are:

  • automatically ticket you for failing to register your vehicle
  • automatically ticket you for failing to renew your insurance on time
  • automatically ticket you for texting on your cell or talking on the phone (like California, that ban is in the works already)
  • automatically ticket you for failing to buckle your seatbelt

The bottom line is that a foreign corporation is spying on Arizonans’ movements 24x7x365.  Not even 20 years ago, any elected official even suggesting such a thing would have been labelled a communist and driven out of office.

Today, disgracefully, Republicans (or those who like to call themselves that) kowtow to lobbyists of foreign corporations to help them pass laws to spy on Americans, in this case Arizonans.

On February 10th, Linda Gray along with recently appointed (and self-proclaimed) “conservative”  Republican David Braswell from LD-6 voted with Democrats to pass SB1443 and SCR1059 out of committee. 

Please do not hesitate to contact your state legislators in the House and in the Senate to voice your strong opposition to these bills SB1443 and SCR1059.

As far as Republicans Linda Gray, David Braswell and Frank Antenori go, why do we even have a Republican party, if these Republican state senators and representatives push their own personal agendas and those of the lobbyists of foreign corporations against the will of the Arizona Republican Party and against the interests of Arizonans?

It’s time to hold our elected Republicans accountable.  Just calling yourself “conservative” or “pro-liberty” doesn’t cut it anymore.  We want to see CONSISTENT ACTION, no more chin music.  

Teaparty, anyone?

(Ironically, David Braswell was the state GOP Resolutions Committee chairman at the time this resolution passed out of the party committee before it went to the whole of the state committee.)

RESOLUTION Photo Enforcement

Obama a Ventriloquist’s Dummy?

I found this an excellent analysis.  Perhaps you’ll consider exactly who or what is the POTUS … think about it and try to avoid a knee-jerk reaction for 5 minutes.  Thanks.

Article from the Wall Street Journal Forum by Eddie Sessions: 

“I have this theory about Barack Obama. I think he’s led a kind of make-believe life in which money was provided and doors were opened because at some point early on somebody or some group took a look at this tall, good looking, half-white, half-black, young man with an exotic African/Muslim name and concluded he could be guided toward a life in politics where his facile speaking skills could even put him in the White House.

In a very real way, he has been a young man in a very big hurry. Who else do you know has written two memoirs before the age of 45? “Dreams of My Father” was published in 1995 when he was only 34 years old. The “Audacity of Hope” followed in 2006. If, indeed, he did write them himself.

There are some who think that his mentor and friend, Bill Ayers, a man who calls himself is “communist with a small ‘c’” was the real author. His political skills consisted of rarely voting on anything that might be deemed controversial. He went from a legislator in the Illinois legislature to the Senator from that state because he had the good fortune of having Mayor Daley’s formidable political machine at his disposal.

He was in the U.S.. Senate so briefly that his bid for the presidency was either an act of astonishing self-confidence or part of some greater game plan that had been determined before he first stepped foot in the Capital.

How, many must wonder, was he selected to be a 2004 keynote speaker at the Democrat convention that nominated John Kerry when virtually no one had ever even heard of him before?

He outmaneuvered Hillary Clinton in primaries. He took Iowa by storm. A charming young man, an anomaly in the state with a very small black population, he oozed “cool” in a place where agriculture was the anti-thesis of cool. He dazzled the locals. And he had an army of volunteers drawn to a charisma that hid any real substance.

And then he had the great good fortune of having the Republicans select one of the most inept candidates for the presidency since Bob Dole.

And then John McCain did something crazy. He picked Sarah Palin, an unknown female governor from the very distant state of Alaska . It was a ticket that was reminiscent of 1984′s Walter Mondale and Geraldine Ferraro and they went down to defeat.

The mainstream political media fell in love with him. It was a schoolgirl crush with febrile commentators like Chris Mathews swooning then and now over the man. The venom directed against McCain and, in particular, Palin, was extraordinary.

Now, nearly a full year into his first term, all of those gilded years leading up to the White House have left him unprepared to be President. Left to his own instincts, he has a talent for saying the wrong thing at the wrong time.

It swiftly became a joke that he could not deliver even the briefest of statements without the ever-present Tele-Prompters. Far worse, however, is his capacity to want to “wish away” some terrible realities, not the least of which is the Islamist intention to destroy America and enslave the West. Any student of history knows how swiftly Islam initially spread. It knocked on the doors of Europe , having gained a foothold in Spain.

The great crowds that greeted him at home or on his campaign “world tour” were no substitute for having even the slightest grasp of history and the reality of a world filled with really bad people with really bad intentions. Oddly and perhaps even inevitably, his political experience, a cakewalk, has positioned him to destroy the Democrat Party’s hold on power in Congress because in the end it was never about the Party.

It was always about his communist ideology, learned at an early age from family, mentors, college professors, and extreme leftist friends and colleagues. Obama is a man who could deliver a snap judgment about a Boston police officer who arrested an “obstreperous” Harvard professor-friend, but would warn Americans against “jumping to conclusions” about a mass murderer at Fort Hood who shouted “Allahu Akbar.”

The absurdity of that was lost on no one. He has since compounded this by calling the Christmas bomber “an isolated extremist” only to have to admit a day or two later that he was part of an al Qaeda plot. He is a man who could strive to close down our detention facility at Guantanamo even though those released were known to have returned to the battlefield against America .. He could even instruct his Attorney General to afford the perpetrator of 9/11 a civil trial when no one else would ever even consider such an obscenity. And he is a man who could wait three days before having anything to say about the perpetrator of yet another terrorist attack on Americans and then have to elaborate on his remarks the following day because his first statement was so lame.

The pattern repeats itself. He either blames any problem on the Bush administration, or he naively seeks to wish away the truth. Knock, knock. Anyone home? Anyone there? Barack Obama exists only as the sock puppet of his handlers, of the people who have maneuvered and manufactured this pathetic individual’s life. When anyone else would quickly and easily produce a birth certificate, this man has spent over a million dollars to deny access to his. Most other documents, the paper trail we all leave in our wake, have been sequestered from review.

He has lived a make-believe life whose true facts remain hidden. We laugh at the ventriloquist’s dummy, but what do you do when the dummy is President of the United States of America?”

The question then is, who is the “voice” behind the dummy?  Who’s lap is he sitting on?  I can only refer to the Bible on that count, “… by their fruits you shall know them.”

Senator Russell Pearce on JD vs. McCain – Vote for JD, the true conservative

A m e r i c a n  P o s t – G a z e t t e

Distributed by C O M M O N  S E N S E , in Arizona
 Friday, February 12, 2010

Senator Russell Pearce on JD vs. McCain
Vote for JD, the true conservative

Dear Friends:

I am hoping and praying for a “change” in Washington D.C. and I am hoping this time it is a change that is good for America and for freedom loving Americans, and I hope and pray we are in time. What is going on in our Capitol should concern every America.  The candle of liberty has always been kept burning by the vigilance of a few.  In 1776 it all started with a small band of ragtag Patriots who had all they could stand on government that did not listen to the people and did not respect our natural (God given) liberties.

 I am sure that I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know, but just in case, here is some great news for all of us here in Arizona and across the country.

The political revolution that started in Virginia and New Jersey, and continued into Massachusetts, has finally made its way to Arizona.  We are about to have the chance to elect a conservative who will change politics all across this country.

I’m writing to you about a very special friend of all of ours, who on Monday will be announcing his candidacy for the United States Senate.  His name is J.D. Hayworth!

If you don’t know, J.D. is a tried and true patriot who believes in securing the border, reducing the size of government, restricting its intrusion into our economic and personal lives and protecting America against those who would try to destroy her.  He believes in the rule of law, the sanctity of Life, and the rights guaranteed by our Constitution.  He has an amazing lifetime rating of 98 from the American Conservative Union.

J.D. helped write the tax cuts that John McCain voted against.  J.D. opposed the billions in big government bailouts that John McCain voted for.  And don’t even get me started on Amnesty, the Gang of 14, McCain-Feingold, climate change, attack on talk (free) radio, or cap & trade.

Many of us have been asking J.D. to run this race and he has accepted our challenge.  Now we must do our part to elect J.D. Hayworth to the United States Senate.

How do we send a message to Washington that the people of Arizona don’t support amnesty, government subsidies for illegals and won’t tolerate the guns, drugs and gangs flowing over the border into our state any longer?
 
       …by joining me today and making an online contribution to JD!

How do we make sure Washington hears our voices loud and clear that we want smaller government, a balanced budget, and tax relief for families and seniors?
 
       …by joining me today and making an online contribution to JD!

Conservatives across Arizona and America are joining this fight.  Together we can win this battle.  We need your support today, whether you can contribute $20, $50 or even $500.  Every contribution helps send a signal that we’re behind J.D. Hayworth for U.S. Senate 100%.
 
Please join me and donate TODAY!.  And when the campaign is in your area, please join J.D. at a campaign event.  Visit his website at www.JDforSenate.com to learn more, and thank you, in advance, for supporting J.D. Hayworth for Senate.
 
God bless you and God bless America.

Senator Russell Pearce

If the links in this email are broken, please visit: http://www.JDforSenate.com

Snakes In Guam! Snakes in Guam!

Brown Tree SnakesWhat’s all this fuss about “snakes in Guam” that I’m hearing about on the radio?

The last few weeks, Senator John McCain has had some raspy-throated woman shilling for him in a political ad claiming that JD Hayworth voted for some snakes in Guam.

I decided to look into these “snakes” in Guam and instead of diving into the wealth of knowledge provided by the US Department of Agriculture and other scientific papers, I went to one of my favorite websites – YouTube! Here are a few clips about these “Brown Tree Snakes” that have invaded the island of Guam and devastated entire bird populations in addition to terrifying the citizens of Guam.

YouTube Preview Image YouTube Preview Image YouTube Preview Image

After viewing these videos, take a moment to read how these snakes are affecting the island of Guam and how they have even become a potential problem to Hawaii.

The Impact of Brown Tree Snakes on Guam’s Island Ecosystem

The spread of brown tree snakes throughout Guam is directly linked to changes in several animal populations. Eight species of forest birds, some found only on Guam, have disappeared from the island. Three other bird species are listed as threatened or endangered and remain in small numbers in the wild. Brown tree snakes eat young Mariana fruit bats (Pteropus mariannus mariannus), which are also listed as endangered on Guam. Small mammals are rare in forests and scrub habitat to begin with. Two gecko species once common on Guam are now considered rare, though they flourish on snake-free Cocos Island nearby. Indirectly, brown tree snakes may disrupt other aspects of Guam’s island ecosystem. Some native trees and plants that depend on birds and fruit bats for seed dispersal and pollination may not reproduce. Insects and spiders, normally controlled by forest birds, have become more abundant.

Economic Effects

Substantial economic losses are associated with brown tree snakes. Guam Power Authority reports millions of dollars in increased costs and lost revenue caused by brown-tree-snake power outages. Snakes climb on electrical transmission lines and short-circuit wires. After snake-induced power outages, electrical distribution equipment frequently needs replacement or repair. Thus, maintenance crew costs rise with overtime and night shifts, compensation must be paid to consumers for damages to electrical equipment, and the need for backup equipment increases. Island residents incur additional costs when food spoils during power outages and shops have to close.

The agricultural community also reports losses due to the brown tree snake. These snakes eat valuable pet birds, young chickens, and chicken eggs. Snakes will often kill prey too large to be eaten, including puppies, rabbits, and young goats. Medical expenses for treatment of bites by brown tree snakes are an additional cost. No human fatalities are known.

Here are a few other resources on the Brown Tree Snake problem in Guam:

USDA National Invasive Species Information Center: Brown Tree Snake

USDA: No Escape From Guam: Stopping the Spread of the Brown Tree Snake

United States Department of Defense Report to the Congress: Control of the Brown Tree Snake – August, 2008

FY04 Authorization for Guam Invasives Pilot Program

Finally, here’s the legislation related to the controlling “Snakes in Guam”  H.R. 1588 otherwise known as the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004

And the Roll Call Vote on the bill? Both Senator McCain and Kyl voted for the bill (H.R. 1588) as did 93 other US Senators.


Maricopa County Supervisors Stay out of Jail Card

MCBOS Jail Card

Letter to Sarah Palin

A m e r i c a n P o s t – G a z e t t e

Distributed by C O M M O N S E N S E , in Arizona

Friday, February 12, 2010

Dear Sarah,

As an activist precinct committeeman and county Republican Party officer, I have a better than average perspective on Sen. McCain’s less than conservative principles and his totally unresponsive representation to his Arizona constituents over many years.

In 2004, many of us were collecting signatures on a citizen’s initiative called Proposition 200. The focus of this initiative was to keep our voting process safe from illegal voters and to stop giving state welfare to illegal residents. Sen. McCain worked tirelessly against the thousands of citizens who were trying to get this issue on the ballot. This bill passed by 78% of Arizona voters and has repeatedly been upheld in courts despite the efforts of the various well-funded immigrant advocacy groups. To add insult to injury, and to show you how out of touch with his constituents he was (and still is), he then co-authored with Ted Kennedy the egregious amnesty bill of 2007 which was overwhelmingly opposed by the American people and ultimately defeated.

Legislation to stifle the free speech of PACs during elections and protect the seats of incumbents that he and Sen. Russ Feingold got passed was deemed unconstitutional in the Supreme Court’s recent decision. But look at the negative repercussions from that legislation: George Soros can now buy election by funding numerous 527 groups such as ACORN.

It has been abundantly clear to Arizonans that McCain’s whole focus has been on increasing his own power since he was first elected our Senator 24 years ago. He’s been so busy running for President in 2000 and 2008 that he rarely responds to our correspondence and has an answering machine to respond to our phone calls to Washington (if one can get through before getting the “all full” message). He rarely attends our Republican meetings and has denigrated our state and county conservative leadership. When he deigns to attend very well attended townhalls, he is very disdainful of any opposing views and does not follow through on promises to “look into” constituent issues. But, now that there is some viable opposition to his re-election, he is now touting his conservative bonifides and painting a very different face for the voters of Arizona who weren’t even important enough to visit in 2008.

You were the only reason many of us voted for him in the Presidential election which he seemed determined to lose by the many missteps he made. Along with other progressives, he seemed determined to get Obama elected.

We realize you feel a sense of loyalty to him because of the opportunity he afforded you in 2008; however, as a conservative icon, we feel you will be misleading the uninformed Arizona voters by endorsing him and helping him raise funds. It’s time for a change. Ask his staff how many precinct committeemen declared they would support him in this election–they called all of us. No one that I know answered in the affirmative. He is having trouble getting his petition signatures and has to pay staff to go to all the events where most people refuse to sign them. We are fed up with his total disdain for this state and his constituents and really want to get J. D. Hayworth elected as our senator.

Please don’t help Mcain–it will be a slap in the faces of all conservatives and probably mean the passage of another amnesty bill.

Much good luck in your future.

Sincerely,
Sandy Doty
Member-at-Large
Maricopa County Republican Committee

Tastes Like Chicken

McCain-Yard-Sign

Have you ever been asked to taste something that is different than your normal menu du jour?  Typically, this happens with things that might be considered gamey, wild, or offensive.  They have a certain allure, the challenge of the hunt, the novelty of being edgy and different but when you ask…”What does it taste like?”  the answer is…”Tastes like chicken.”

The food item might have a different name, a different species, an entirely different origin…but when you peel back the skin or pluck the feathers and the heat gets to it….it is very similar to something very familiar.

We are currently enduring the presidency of a man with great oratorical skills, who can take a message and spin it well.  He is able to affect dialects of various regions without giving away that it isn’t really his at all.  He talks a good game.  His rhetoric and running “against” rather than “for” was enough to get him elected POTUS.

Most of us know of his record.  Not much to it, lots of “present” votes and little else.  Well, then there is that ugly little matter back in Illinois when he voted for late term abortions.  But…he managed to spin that right out of the public eye.  How did he do it?  He deflected, deferred, marginalized, and with his exceptional rhetorical continues to blame others for all that is wrong and he alone can, and will, make it right.

Lately, I’ve had this nagging notion of déjà vu.  What was it?  It was like I was seeing something so familiar but…different.  Then, watching the video of JD Hayworth at the LD21 meeting…it hit me!

JD Hayworth  is the latest version of “tastes like chicken”!

Can JD talk a good game?  YES HE CAN!

Heck, he talked about games for years before running for office.

Can JD captivate an audience? YES HE CAN!

He was paid for his ability to maintain ratings while a sportscaster. What great training and experience that must have been.  Then all those years on drive time radio, where he controlled the mike, the dialogue, and the subject…who could ask for a better venue?

Can JD market himself to appeal to the consumer?  YES HE CAN!

He has been working on it ever since he was booted from office in a district with an 18% Republican advantage.  He had to; his job was to create an image that would appeal to the market his boss served.  If along the way he made a great living and elevated his chances of returning to DC… just a perk.

Can JD spin a news cycle with the best of them? OH, YES HE CAN!

He has marginalized his own record by pointing out the flaws in others and done so with such grace as to make it appear like business as usual.

The guy is good.  He has made a living out of it.

But, what did he do while in office.  What reasonable expectation can the voter have that he will be more than a great voice with exceptional speaking skills?

Well, let’s look at that….. Congressman Dick Armey, who was House Majority Leader for 8 years of JDs time on The Hill had this to say recently:

….J.D. had a fairly short, undistinguished congressional career with virtually no initiative on his part.”

No initiative?  That’s not good.  But, that’s not all….

As I recall, J.D. was on the Ways and Means Committee and I didn’t really see him make any distinguished effort, for example, like people like (Arizona GOP Reps.) Jeff Flake and John Shadegg in terms of creative ideas and legislative initiative,” Armey said. “Certainly nothing on the cost-control front. But John McCain was the first guy to understand the need to get earmarks under control. He took a real leadership role, as did Jeff Flake.”

So, what about his record?  JD Hayworth is deeply tied, unfortunately, to the two things that have caused the prairie fire of anti-Washington and anti-GOP sentiment….corruption and spending.

I will be the first to say unequivocally… JD Hayworth was exonerated of any wrong doing.  However, there is no denying  Hayworth was involved with former “super-lobbyist” Jack Abramoff and the largest recipient of campaign money from the now-convicted Abramoff.

No “illegal” activity.  But what about judgment and desire to win at all costs?

On to spending…..boy, this could fill a page! So, how about the highlights?

The 2002 Highway Bill…the pork-laden bill that gave us the Highway to Nowhere and filled the pockets of lots of folks with money taken directly from ours.

The unfunded Medicare bill, $7 trillion in debt bequeathed to our children.  Yep, he voted for it.

He supported the 527 campaign loophole bill that created more problems than McCain-Feingold.

And while you are on the bi-partisanship never got us anywhere kick…how about his support of the Dem sponsored, job killing, small business impeding  Sarbanes-Oxley Act?

Yeah….definitely, taste like chicken!

Tenney Family Endorses Rusty Bowers

Rusty Bowers

For Immediate Release: Feburary 12, 2010

Tenney Family Endorses Rusty Bowers for Congress

The Lewis and Mary Tenney family are proud to announce their endorsement of the candidacy of Russell “Rusty” Bowers for United States Congress in Arizona’s first district. The endorsement came after a meeting with the Tenney family over the Christmas holiday. Rusty was invited to the family home located in Heber, AZ for the family’s annual Christmas program.

The Tenney family have deep roots in Navajo County and throughout Congressional District One. Lewis is a former Navajo County Supervisor, and recently a candidate for AZ CD1, as well. He was narrowly defeated in the 2002 Republican Primary to the now familiar name of Rick Renzi. The family endorsement of Rusty includes all of Lewis and Mary’s children, most of whom are successful business owners around Arizona, as well as, his son David Tenney who currently sits as a Navajo County Supervisor.
Tenney Family
Lewis stated, “The Tenney family strongly endorses Rusty Bowers for Congress, because we know his love for our Country and our Constitution. His knowledge of rural Arizona and our district will greatly bless its citizens.”

Rusty was very honored by the Tenney family’s support and stated, “I have known the Tenney family for many years. They are the epitome of the American values we want back. Their commitment to their faith, their family, their community and their country are a great example to us, as are so many in real Arizona. I am honored by their endorsement.

Rural Arizona is home to the values that made America the greatest nation in the world. The Rusty Bowers campaign is about risking life, fortune, and sacred honor to defend those values in Congress, and preserve our nation’s greatness. Visit RustyCountry.com to learn more about Rusty and his campaign to take rural values to Congress.