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, August 13, 2010
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Experienced line prosecutor under Andrew Thomas fires back against corrupt County Supervisors
August 13, 2010 By 20 Comments
Arizona’s very own “Bridge to Nowhere” over nothing.
August 13, 2010 By 11 Comments
While in Congress, JD Hayworth sent out a press release bragging about his ability to bring home the bacon! And boy did he…to the tune of over $445,000,000. Yep, that is millions. This must have been before “the scales were removed from his eyes” allowing him to see the true effects of wasteful Washington spending and to become a consistent conservative.
July 29, 2005
Hayworth District’s Transportation Priorities Big Winners In Latest
Authorization Bill
Congressman Steers ‘Earmarked’ Funds Back Home To AZ
- $3.2 million project from 40th Street to Baseline in Maricopa County; for the design, right-of-way acquisition, and construction of an I-10 widening
- $2.4 million for the design and construction of the Rio Salado Pedestrian Bridge in Tempe;
- $2.09 million the new ASU Scottsdale Center for New Technology and Innovation at the intersection of Scottsdale and McDowell roads; to plan design and construct a transit passenger center in Scottsdale to serve
- $5.4 million over four years to construct the East Valley Metro Bus facility in Tempe; and
- $434.4 million through 2009 for the Central Phoenix/East Valley Light Rail Transit Project
Among the pork” projects…a bridge to go over the now dry Tempe Town Lake:
The Town Lake Pedestrian Bridge will connect existing bike and pedestrian paths on the north and south sides of Tempe Town Lake, allowing those who continue on the north bank to access the Indian Bend Wash without having to interface with motor vehicles. Those who cross from north to south will be able to link with the Mill Avenue District. This bridge will create a much safer transportation route for runners, walkers, bicyclists and those who use wheelchairs.” (City of Tempe Website, www.tempe.gov, Accessed 5/6/10)
After funds for the bridge were approved in the 2005 Transportation Reauthorization Bill, “The Bridge” was derided as wasteful pork barrel spending, and even compared to the infamous “Bridge To Nowhere”. It got plenty of attention, not so good attention.
The Arizona Republic’s Robert Robb Asked, “Why, Pray Tell, Is It A Federal Responsibility To Build … A Footbridge To Connect Trails Across The Western Bank Of Tempe Town Lake?” “There’s a tradition of pointing to the earmarks in other states as pork. But the real issue isn’t pork. It’s the federal government doing something that should be a state or local responsibility. And you don’t have to look beyond the borders of Arizona for a multitude of examples. Why, pray tell, is it a federal responsibility to build a bicycle-pedestrian bridge at McDowell Road and 35th Avenue in Phoenix, or a footbridge to connect trails across the western bank of Tempe Town Lake?” (Robert Robb, “Republicans Snap Open Taxpayer Wallets Again,” The Arizona Republic, 8/5/05)
In 2008, The East Valley Tribune Editorialized That …Tempe Should Reject Federal Funding For The Bridge, Comparing It To The Infamous “Bridge To Nowhere” In Alaska. “Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is now well-known for having once supported what has been called the ‘bridge to nowhere,’ a $400 million proposal for a structure that, if Congress had funded it, would have given about 50 Alaskans on one island road access to a more populated one that is currently reached by a short ferry ride. In the face of this, Tempe city officials might be persuaded to do, regarding a bridge of their own, a similar about-face to the one the Republican vice-presidential nominee did.” (Editorial, “Tempe Should Take A Pass On Bridge Funds,” East Valley Tribune, 9/14/08
The East Valley Tribune’s Le Templar Pointed Out That While The “Bridge To Nowhere” Was Costlier Than The Tempe Bridge, “The Principle Is The Same.” “The Tribune Editorial Board noted today an interesting parallel between the Alaskan issue and a proposed pedestrian bridge over Tempe Town Lake that will be funded mostly from federal dollars set aside in highway funding bills. The scale of the two projects certainly were different ($400 million for the Ketchikan bridge vs. $5.7 million for the Tempe bridge). But the principle is the same, isn’t it?” (Le Templar, “Will Hallman Say ‘No Thanks’ To Tempe Bridge?,” East Valley Tribune (Blog), 9/15/08)
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Templar Noted That While Republican J.D. Hayworth “Was The Bridge’s Primary Champion,” The Bridge Represented The Kind Of “Pork-Barrel Spending” That Another Republican, John McCain, Railed Against. “Still, Arizona Sen. John McCain has built his campaign for president, in part, on his absolute refusal to seek pork-barrel spending that the Tempe bridge seems to represent. (Former Rep. J.D. Hayworth, R-Ariz., was the bridge’s primary champion.)” (Le Templar, “Will Hallman Say ‘No Thanks’ To Tempe Bridge?,” East Valley Tribune (Blog), 9/15/08)
Grassroots Interviews with LD 6 House Candidate Steve Kaiser
August 13, 2010 By 9 Comments
Last night on Grassroots Interviews I interviewed LD 6 House candidate Steve Kaiser. He has a pretty crowded race including two incumbents. I wish him luck!
Why I support JD Hayworth and oppose John McCain
August 13, 2010 By 13 Comments
By Keith Lajoie
When we elect JD Hayworth we know we will get a man who votes like he campaigns. John McCain time and time again campaigns as a conservative, and then legislates with the liberals in the Senate Lieberman, Feingold, Kennedy, etc. JD has made his mistakes as we all have. There can be no perfect candidate, as to be imperfect is to be human. I will have disagreements with every candidate, unless I am said candidate. McCain boasts of his maverick status and bucking his party. When he bucked his party he thumbed his nose in the eye of conservatives. JD’s greatest moment in bucking his party was opposing the amnesty by another name bill pushed by McCain, Bush, and Kennedy. By doing this he supported the conservative base of the GOP. In the rare instances JD’s actions have come into question, they were largely of a personal nature and not a gross violation or misrepresentation of the public trust while serving in congress. Where as many of McCain’s actions have harmed the country and the Conservative movement. As a private citizen JD made an ill-advised infomercial. As a public servant John McCain has made these mistakes in recent history that harmed the Conservative Agenda, harmed his Maverick brand, and proves he cannot be trusted with another six years in the Senate:
1. After losing the Presidential nomination to President Bush, John McCain flirted with leaving the Republican Party.
The next morning, the Washington Post dropped a front-page bombshell: “McCain is considering leaving GOP; Arizona senator might launch a third-party challenge to Bush in 2004.” (Arizona Republic)
2. John McCain proudly voted against the Bush tax cuts of 01 and 03 that JD helped write.
3. In 2004 John McCain entertained the idea of being John Kerry’s running mate.
“John Kerry is a close friend of mine. We have been friends for years,” McCain said Wednesday when pressed to squelch speculation about a Kerry-McCain ticket. “Obviously I would entertain it.” (USA Today)
4. John McCain worked with liberal Russ Feingold to pass the unconstitutional McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance Reform.
5. Not once but twice John McCain worked to push Comprehensive Immigration Reform, which is amnesty by another name
6. John McCain stopped many conservative judicial nominees like Miguel Estrada from making the federal bench by starting the, “Gang of 14”
7. John McCain refused to bring up Obama’s pastor of 20 years Reverend Wright (YouTube)
8. After Ronald Wilson Reagan, George Herbert Walker Bush, William Jefferson Clinton, George Walker Bush; John Sidney McCain refused to utter Barack Hussein Obama.
9. McCain considered Joe Lieberman to be his 2008 VP running mate (Wall Street Journal Blog)
10. John McCain worked with Joe Lieberman to author a Cap and Trade bill in 2009
I could go on and on how McCain is not a conservative and cannot be trusted with another six years in the Senate.
JD Hayworth spent 12 years in the House. He did not spend those 12 years enriching himself. He worked those 12 years working for Arizonan and American tax payers. He fought to secure our border and cut our taxes. After returning to private life he spent the next several years holding a constant town hall with AZ voters on KFYI. I and many voters encouraged JD to enter this race. He answered our call and took on a political giant. JD will do everything he can to oppose the Obama agenda, and not pay lip service to conservatives as John McCain has for the past decade. We asked JD to run and we must support him in the upcoming primary. He may have his faults, but not one can equal the 10 faults of McCain I outlined above. Vote JD Hayworth in the upcoming GOP primary on 08/24.
A Little Afternoon Delight From Brock Landers aka Ben Quayle
August 13, 2010 By 14 Comments
Well, when a candidate becomes the laughing stock of the nation, it’s very unlikely that they will prove successful in their campaign. The sad fact is that if Ben Quayle is the Republican nominee for Congress, our party WILL lose the seat to the Democrat in November.
This is a seat which should be solidly Republican, and even staunch conservatives (like our own Espressopundit) predict a Quayle nomination will equal a Democrat takeover of this seat.
Our shared goal is to put Republicans in control of the House of Representatives. We cannot jeopardize that by giving the Democrats an easy target in Ben “Brock Landers” Quayle.
Jim Ward campaign in meltdown; frantically posting signs in front of others
August 13, 2010 By 39 Comments
You know a political campaign is desperate when they start putting up a flurry of last-minute signs in front of other candidates’ signs. Jim Ward’s campaign must have done some internal polling and discovered that he is way behind in the primary. It is illegal to tamper with other candidates’ signs, and the way some of the Ward signs have been put up raises suspicions. The photos below reveal that Ward has tied his signs onto other candidates’ signs – did the candidates approve or was the activity illegal? It wouldn’t be the first time Ward has illegally posted his signs; in the past he has posted oversized signs blocking the view at intersections. It is amusing watching the Jim Ward meltdown. He started out his campaign as a San Francisco elitist with ties to McCain, and now is resorting to elementary school tactics.
Sunday’s Tea Party at the Border gaining national coverage
August 13, 2010 By 3 Comments
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, August 13, 2010
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John McCain’s Strange Political Season – New York Magazine
August 13, 2010 By 15 Comments
While we often don’t get the flavor of John McCain that those ‘in the know’ back in Washington DC experience, the following essay describes the essence of the man John McCain, that some here in Arizona have experienced, and the resulting taste; that we’d desperately love to wash away this election season.
It’s from the July 19, 2010 edition of New York Magazine written by Joe Hagan. The title appropriately enough is:
“What would a Maverick Do?”
http://nymag.com/news/politics/67144/index
An early quote from the Hagan’s article pretty well sums up McCain’s dichotomy: “The former maverick who once fought his own party on everything from tax cuts to torture, who built a reputation as a prickly independent, now marches in lockstep with his party, from his objection to Sonia Sotomayor’s Supreme Court appointment to his support of a draconian new immigration law in Arizona that would have repulsed him three years ago.”
Now, THAT’S the John McCain we’ve come to know this campaign season. So what is this article really about?
The key word in this lengthy article is simply: “Paranoia”; as best exemplified in the next quote: “From the first, there has been a sense of urgency in this campaign that was absent from his presidential run. McCain told friends early on that he didn’t want to ‘go out like Barry Goldwater,’ his Arizona predecessor in the Senate, who barely eked out his last reelection bid. Though no credible candidate had yet appeared to challenge him, McCain harbored a healthy paranoia.”
The result of this paranoia is now clearly seen over the last year plus, as he desperateley traveled the state practically begging, cajoling, bribing or blackmailing elected officials for their endorsements. So concerned was he that, as Hagan aptly points out, as the campaign in 2008 McCain feared the conservative backlash in his own state. He worried greatly about a highly visible conservative running to his right, challenging him on his core values. That challenge from the right truly bothered him.
What he needed was a shell of a candidate that talked a good conservative talk, yet stood zero chance of winning. Along came Jim Deakin; a candidate so utterly unfit for this office prestigous office, and bereft of any political experience. So perfect is Deakin, THAT if John McCain did NOT encourage him to run through one of his intermediaries, with promises of significant military contracts; McCain TRULY would wish that he HAD RECRUITED HIM! So incredibly Machiavellian!
There’s much more to learn about the ‘not so wonderful’ side of McCain, that is covered so well in the article, that my analysis could not do it full justice.
Want to know more? About the John McCain known so well in the ‘other’ Washington? Read the rest of the article!
