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U.S. House Candidate Jim Waring Applauded for Signing No Climate Tax Pledge

March 10, 2010 By 3 Comments

Americans for Prosperity-Arizona

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE,
Contact: James Valvo (703) 224-3200

U.S. House Candidate Jim Waring Applauded for Signing No Climate Tax Pledge

PHOENIX—The Arizona chapter of the free market grassroots group Americans for Prosperity (AFP-AZ) and the Arizona Energy Forum today applauded U.S. House candidate Jim Waring (3rd District) for signing the group’s “No Climate Tax Pledge.” Waring joins more than 400 lawmakers and candidates on the federal, state and local levels pledging to “oppose legislation relating to climate change that includes a net increase in government revenue.”

“The one thing elected officials should be able to agree on is that global warming shouldn’t be used as an excuse to hike taxes on citizens and businesses,” said AFP-AZ State Director Tom Jenney.  “We encourage all of Arizona’s elected officials and candidates for elected office to sign the pledge.”

Other Arizona signers include U.S. Representatives Trent Franks, John Shadegg, and Jeff Flake, as well as numerous federal candidates, state senators and state representatives.

“The Arizona Energy Forum is pleased Jim Waring has signed the pledge,” said Chairman Troy Hyde.  “His pledge is an excellent example for other candidates and lawmakers who oppose a climate tax.”

Cap-and-trade took its first step toward enactment last year when the U.S. House narrowly passed the Waxman-Markey energy tax bill, which escaped the lower chamber by a scant seven votes despite significant bipartisan opposition.  The U.S. Senate has struggled to pass companion legislation, with several key Democratic senators expressing opposition to the energy tax bill.

President Obama has made no secret of his support for the bill, which would be the largest tax increase in American history.  The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office scored the House plan as an $846 billion increase in federal revenue, a burden that will be borne by taxpayers and consumers for decades to come.

“Using the guise of climate change to transfer dollars from hard-working citizens to bureaucratic big government is unacceptable,” said Jenney. “Regardless of their stance on global warming, this should be common ground for all of our elected officials at all levels of government.”

The pledge is available online at www.NoClimateTax.com.  AFP does not endorse candidates.  All elected officials and candidates are encouraged to sign the pledge and go on the record in opposition to using the climate change issue to increase taxes and grow the size of government.

Americans for Prosperity (AFP) is a nationwide organization of citizen leaders committed to advancing every individual’s right to economic freedom and opportunity. AFP believes reducing the size and scope of government is the best way to safeguard individual productivity and prosperity for all Americans. AFP educates and engages citizens in support of restraining state and federal government growth, and returning government to its constitutional limits. AFP has more than 975,000 members, including members in all 50 states, and 30 state chapters and affiliates. More than 60,000 Americans in all 50 states have made a financial investment in AFP or AFP Foundation. For more information, visit www.americansforprosperity.org
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Filed Under: Campaigns & Elections, Energy, Taxation

Polling Fun

March 10, 2010 By 9 Comments

It is tempting by many campaigns to put out public polling claiming their guy is in the lead and touting his or her strength. For the second time in a month, Summit Consulting Group has put out a poll touting the strength of State Senator Jim Waring.

Now I like Jim and think he’s a good guy. But he needs to distance himself from Summit’s incredibly flawed polling.

For those of you who aren’t experts on polling, let me explain. In the poll just below as was the case with the poll release around a month ago, Summit isn’t releasing a true ballot question. You can tell this because the undecideds are uncommonly low. In fact, most Congressional races develop late and rare is it that a candidate builds up any type of substantial lead until voters start paying attention.

Yet, at first glance at the press release below, you would think that Jim Waring has a commanding lead in the race. However, if you read the press release, you will see that it is only among voters who have made up their mind. This is probably around 20 to 25 percent of the voters, leaving around 70-80 percent undecided. Now in fairness to Summit, they acknowledge that.

But there is another problem.

If you read further into the press release by Summit, they claim that the poll conducted was 400 interviews with a  margin of error of +/-  5 percent. That’s fine, but the numbers they are citing for Waring only include those who have decided or about 20-30 percent of those interviewed or in other words about 80 to 90 interviews, not 400. The problem with that is that this isn’t a statistically significant number of interviews to mean anything. The margin of error for such a small sample is so large that it means nothing. You can see that in their results with both Crump and Gorman jumping around in the numbers. That is to be expected because the margin of error is so large.

If Summit wants to be taken seriously as a polling firm, then they would do well to release the entire poll and release the number of interviews included in the numbers they choose to highlight.

Finally, in an article in the Capitol Times from last month, Summit head Chad Willems mentioned that he was going to be working for Waring.  Yet in this press release there is no such mention of any relationship.  The reason this matters is that the FEC takes a very dim view of consultants and employees of a campaign doing things independently that could ostensibly be seen as beneficial to a candidate they are working for.  Now Summit may not be working for the Waring campaign, but if they are, then they should disclose it to the recipients of the press release.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Waring Still Leads CD3 Race in New Poll

March 10, 2010 By 28 Comments

Quayle’s Entrance Draws Support From Other Candidates;
Many Candidates Still Lacking Traction

Wednesday, March 10, 2010
PHOENIX, AZ – A recent survey conducted by Phoenix-based Summit Consulting Group, Inc. shows former state Senator Jim Waring still leading the crowded field in the race for Congress in District 3.

Congressman John Shadegg’s announcement that he will be retiring at the end of his current term has drawn at least eight Republican candidates to succeed Shadegg in Congress.  While rumors abound about even more candidates will be jumping in the race, Summit conducted a poll which included only the most viable candidates thus far.

Among those surveyed who have made a decision or have an opinion on the current lineup of candidates, Waring receives nearly 44% of the vote.

When asked the question, “In August, Republican voters will cast their vote for the new Republican nominee from District 3.  If the Republican primary election were held today, who would you vote for?”

The results:

Jim Waring            43.7%
Ben Quayle            25.9%
Sam Crump            11.1%
Pamela Gorman    10.3%
Vernon Parker        5.9%
Paulina Morris        1.4%
Ed Winkler              1.0%
Steve Moak              1.0%

“This is great news for the campaign.  I’m working hard every day to meet with voters to talk about the most pressing issues facing our country.  The outpouring of support for my campaign has been incredible so far.  It’s humbling, to say the least.  I’m confident that if we continue to work hard and listen to the voters, we’ll be successful in August and November,” said Waring.

The survey was conducted between March 8th and 9th and interviewed 400 likely Republican primary voters in CD3.  The margin of error is +/-5%.  Overall, there are a considerable number of undecided voters in this race but the fact remains that Waring possesses a consistent lead among Republican primary voters.

Ben Quayle, son of former Vice President Dan Quayle, entering the race appears to have hurt former state Senator Pamela Gorman’s campaign the most.  Just last month, another Summit Group poll showed Gorman with 26.8% of the vote.  Other notable candidates, such as former state Rep. Sam Crump and Vernon Parker, who recently abandoned his bid to become the Republican nominee for Governor, still have yet to gain any traction among base Republican voters.

Filed Under: Campaigns & Elections, Press Release

Gilbert Watch: Great Blog for Conservative News in Gilbert

March 10, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Gilbert Watch

Here’s a quick plug for our new friends over at Gilbert Watch. If you live in Gilbert, you should be reading their blog every day.

Take a look at their latest post about the Ground Zero Anti-Tax Rally scheduled this Saturday at the Gilbert Municipal Center from 10 AM to 3 PM.

There will be plenty of people there expressing their view on tax issues including that of Gilbert and the State of Arizona. Several candidates will also be in attendance including US Senate candidate, JD Hayworth.

Please show your support for this important rally and GilbertWatch.com

Filed Under: Blogs, Special Event

Arizona House moves to improve tuition tax credit program

March 10, 2010 By 3 Comments

by Matthew Ladner, Ph.D.
Goldwater Institute
 
Through the magic of public access television, I recently watched debate before the state House of Representatives on bills to reform the tuition scholarship tax credit program. I’m happy to report that legislators engaged in a substantive discussion and adopted amendments from both parties.

Congratulations to Representative Rick Murphy for bringing an important and helpful bill, HB2663, to the House. His bill will strengthen oversight through several steps, including empowerment of the state Department of Revenue to revoke the designation of “Student Tuition Organization” for rogue scholarship groups.

I was also impressed with the level of debate from House Democrats. In years past, I’ve had the impression many of these elected officials were content to complain about the scholarship tax credits, but they were not serious about doing anything to address their concerns. In this debate, I saw serious proposals offered.

For instance, Representative Steve Farley offered a floor amendment to allow the Department of Revenue to collect a fee from STOs to fund better oversight. Farley made a convincing case that state government is moving towards user fees during this economic downturn, and scholarship groups ought to be included. The amendment wasn’t adopted. But a fee of less than one-half of 1 percent on the total amount each STO raises each year should provide sufficient funding and merits further consideration.

Other amendments would have required that scholarships funded by the individual tax credits go to students from low-income families, and would have forbidden STOs from considering any recommendations from donors about who should receive scholarships. Reasonable people can and have disagreed on these subjects.

Only the Internal Revenue Service can ultimately determine the legality of donor recommendations. I’ve seen legal opinions going both ways. In the meantime, HB 2663 specifies that donor recommendations cannot be the sole reason any student receives a scholarship, and scholarship groups must consider financial need as a part of their criteria.

No one is getting everything they desire from these reforms. But this bill represents a positive step towards improving transparency and accountability in the program if the Senate and the governor also approve it.

Dr. Matthew Ladner is vice president of research for the Goldwater Institute.

Filed Under: Education, Legislation, State Government

Jesse Kelly: Earmarks Only Small Part of Problem

March 10, 2010 By 3 Comments

Jesse Kelly

For Immediate Release: Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Earmarks are only a small part of the problem

Tucson, AZ. The call for “no earmarks” is little more than a shallow campaign season stunt. The real issue is out-of-control government spending. A deficit is still a deficit, if it comes from earmarks or general appropriations.

The voters are tired of government overspending, whether it is the Arizona Legislature voting for Napolitano’s reckless ’08 budget, or a Congresswoman voting in favor of the pork-filled TARP program. To reduce deficit spending, you need to reduce the size and scope of government.

Jesse Kelly has a consistent record of supporting across the board spending reductions as well as a Constitutionality test for federal spending. The two career politicians in the CD8 race both have records of voting for excessive spending. The voters should not be fooled by talk of ending earmarks or mention of PAYGO. These terms are both the same, election year rhetoric from career politicians.

Jesse Kelly is a Republican candidate for Arizona’s Eighth Congressional District in the southeastern region of the state. For more information on the Kelly campaign please visit VoteJesseKelly.com or send an e-mail to media@jessekellyforcongress.

Filed Under: Campaigns & Elections, Press Release, Spending

JD Hayworth Launches 2nd Radio Ad: “THE Conservative”

March 10, 2010 By 14 Comments

JD Hayworth for US Senate

For Immediate Release: Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Conservative Launches Second Statewide Radio Ad Of Campaign: “THE Conservative”

PHOENIX, ARIZONA. MARCH 10, 2010. Following yesterday’s debut of “Faith,” the Hayworth campaign has introduced a second radio ad for Arizona voters.

“THE Conservative” outlines the challenger’s conservative bona fides. It is now airing on radio stations throughout the state.

(Listen to “THE Conservative.”)

Hayworth has been endorsed by Maricopa County Sheriff Arpaio, the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association, Tax Day Tea Party, top Arizona Conservative Len Munsil, the Gun Owners of America, and the National Border Patrol Council, among many others.

Vulnerable to the more conservative Hayworth on taxes, the Second Amendment, pro-life and pro-family issues and illegal immigration, McCain has engaged in transparent election year flip-flopping.

McCain also 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. And despite 28 years in Washington McCain now claims he was ‘misled’ on the bank bailout vote despite expressing no such concerns at the time.

To listen to “THE Conservative” or to contribute to the Hayworth campaign, please visit www.JDforSenate.com.

Filed Under: Advertising, Campaigns & Elections, Press Release