After the release of grand jury records revealing Andy Thomas had purposely mislead the public for his own personal and political gain, often referring to an ongoing investigation that had long since been  thrown out, you would think he would learn a lesson.  Or maybe when other County Attorney’s told him..you’ve got no case, buddy…he would stop.  But, no.  He lied and attempted to keep it going while he shopped for someone to prosecute what he perceived as his political enemies. 

All in the name of the law.

But, it is very clear that the law means nothing to Mr. Thomas and the truth even less.

Today the Thomas campaign issued a press release, you can see it in the post below, saying the ACC was investigating Tom Horne.  If you read the letter they use as the evidence, it is nowhere near a statement of investigation.  It is nothing more than a reply to a letter of complaint they received from Thomas’ campaign. 

There is no investigation. Thomas’ claims are not true says the Arizona Corporation Commission.  Not at all.

But, never one to let the truth get in the way of a good press release…Thomas ran with it and once again, lied.

It’s actually not accurate,” commission spokesman Rebecca Wilder said of the Thomas press release. “We received a complaint. We’re not conducting an investigation at this time.”

So will Andy retract his statement…of course not.  He will continue to spread his version of the truth.  After all, isn’t that all that matters?

Thomas however is under investigation;  reportedly by the State Bar and the FBI over abuse of power allegations related to his pursuit of criminal charges against county judges, supervisors and top administrators. 

Either the law means something or it doesn’t.” Jason Rose….

 

Unless you are Andrew Thomas.

I have been reading Espresso Pundit for years.  I usually agree with Greg on most subjects and find his wit and style interesting.  He is front and center in the CD5 campaign, anyone who has read his blog for more than awhile knows he is squarely behind Schweikert.   A CPA, he is also an attorney and dude, until recently did not have a TV in his house!

 He doesn’t pull any punches. Greg has taken on APS, The Republic, and now he has a new object of his effort.

Sometimes you just have to give credit where credit is due, Greg Patterson who writes Espresso Pundit,  nails the reality of Andy Thomas in his latest post on the subject… 

With such flagrant and well documented ethical violations, I don’t see how Thomas could possibly still be a licensed attorney this time next year. 

This is the reality most have come to believe.  The evidence pointing to extreme abuse of power and corruption is so overwhelming, that to suggest Thomas will escape this without, at the minimum, being disbarred is foolish.  The odds he may very well be sitting in Camp Cupcake very soon are pretty good.  Disappointing.

So, what is a conservative to do?  Patterson had this to say about Tom Horne:

…he supported parental consent as well as the ban on partial birth abortion–and he has pledged to defend the laws that the legislature passes. 

So I can say that from a Conservative perspective, I’m not simply voting against Thomas.  I’m very comfortable voting for Tom Horne. 

However, there is another point that has been made by more than a few very conservative folks.  When faced with the idea of having an AG who is likely to be indicted, disbarred, and tied up in personal fights of corruption…

And if Horne doesn’t win the Primary…?  Ok, then I’ll simply be voting against Thomas.

A growing number of R’s will not pull the lever for Thomas.  No D’s will.  Certainly a good portion of I’s will go with the Democratic nominee.  In light of these latest developments, Andrew Thomas should immediately step aside, get his house in order, fight his good fight and when, or if, he can… return to public service.  For now, he is doing more harm than good.

The crazed effort of Team Hayworth, currently being driven by desperation and fueled by a lethal combination of ignorance and arrogance, is imploding as the failed endeavor of the scandal plagued former Congressman commits to his own personal destruction.  When the Rasmussen poll, which the campaign had touted as the “realistic poll”, delivered the news that “Huckster Hayworth” is down by at least 20 points in the primary and trailing the Democrat in the general, the highly charged rhetoric ramped up.  The results have been particularly pathetic and will follow him long after his defeat has been recorded; if the huge vote margin in his loss is not enough to end his future, once again his judgment has been.

Last week Team Hayworth released an ad that took a 3-word excerpt out of context from one of Sen. McCain’s books from 2002 and used it to call him a liar…while in the ad of course, they lied about things attributed to Sen. McCain.  The non-profit group Factcheck.org calls it misleading and untrue.  Of course that can’t be allowed…so JD attacks Factcheck.org.  No surprise there!   JD never does anything wrong!  Remember, “buyer beware“. 

Judicial Watch lists JD on their Political Corruption page, noting he was among those who refused to return the money they took from Jack Abramoff or thru his efforts.  JD denies it was Abramoff who gave him the loot….even though he used his skyboxes for fundraisers illegally 5 times.   Deny.  Blame others.  Deny.  Blame others.

Others are also refusing to part with some big Abramoff-connected bucks. For instance, Democrat Senator Patty Murray of Washington will keep $41,000, Democrat Representative Patrick Kennedy of Rhode Island will keep $42,500, Democrat Senator Maria Cantwell of Washington will keep $10,000 and Republican Representative J.D. Hayworth of Arizona will not part with $150,000.

That story reminds me of the old Sesame Street jingle…”one of these things is not like the other…”  All Dems BUT good ol’ J-D Hay-worth.

In a hamfisted effort to make some of the best news to hit Arizona in awhile a bad thing, and counter the positive media Sen. McCain received, Rachel Alexander (the campaign social media director) calls McCain out for his work to protect LAFB and gain the preferential location for the F-35.  Pork.  She called it pork.  Keeping Luke open, gaining a program that will serve our nation well…pork? 

Next time some soldier on the ground needs air support…let’s see if they think of that highly skilled fighter pilot as a pork barrel commodity.  Or what makes it possible for them to come home…alive.

JD will attack anyone who stands in his way with vile and venom.  The truth is what he needs it to be.  His personal brand of right makes might mentality is all he needs to motivate his actions. 

Last week, in the sure sign that JD has lost it…he makes an unprovoked attack on the Bush family!  The candidate running in Arizona was on a Baltimore radio station when he unloaded on the former POTUS.

I know he is a big spender, but now he attacks Bush?  Is he channeling Obama?  Attacking President Bush wasn’t enough, he had to go after the whole family!  Sounds like someone didn’t get an endorsement they wanted…

The sad fact about the Bush family is this stubborn notion of noblesse oblige, combined with verbal dyslexia.” JD Hayworth

This after he attacked Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu, calling him a racist, drawing the ire of police organizations around the state.  What should we expect? After all, Sheriff Babeu endorsed Sen. McCain.

The commonly held understanding that JD is unelectable has been met with disbelief among the true believers as they cling to some hope that maybe, just maybe, they could pull this thing out.  McCain Derangement Syndrome has invaded the inner most actions of JD and his followers.  The attacks, distorted reality, and the search for an enemy behind every word have made the demise pitiful but certainly not endearing.     

It is like watching the sailing and the ultimate sinking of The Titanic.  Lots of build up, big promises, all based on the denial of the obvious with no vision for the true course ahead, followed by a crash that leaves few survivors and an ending that leaves the ship at the bottom of the ocean never to sail again.

This gentleman is obviously angry and on a crusade to expose John McCain and Bob Barrett over some sort of coverup.

Some great shots of the McCain staffers at work.

The mounting controversies surrounding Buz Mills are making it increasingly likely that he will not be able to continue his campaign for Governor much longer.  The Arizona Capitol Times and other news outlets are reporting that he is rapidly losing momentum in the contest:

Revelations that Mills had defrauded business partner in Florida and conflicting messages from his campaign that muddied his position on Arizona’s employer sanctions law have set the stage for attacks against him in the Republican gubernatorial primary.

In the tradition of Democrat senators and Representatives who challenged the Washington, D.C., Tea Party attendees, walking through the crowds with cam recorders, trying to record epithets and racist comments without avail, Democrat Raul Grijalva claimed victimization from alleged threats and closed his Tuscon and Yuma offices. Yet there is not one scintilla of evidence that a threat was made.

 The one consistency among Democrats claiming victimization is the absence of evidence. Even the broken glass door at Gabrielle Giffords Tucson office is absent of evidence. Who destroyed the door? It could have been Giffords’ staffers at her behest. We’ll never know. There is no evidence. It is simply political theater.

 Now, Grijalva continues to work against the interests of Arizonans. First he called for a business boycott against Arizona, which harms even his own constituency. Now he has called for the federal government to limit cooperation with Arizona officials.

 In both instances, Grijalva has attempted to violate U.S. Constitutional rights of Arizonans by asking the federal government to treat Arizona and all Arizonans in a lesser manner than the federal government treats all other states. By urging a boycott, he is attempting to injure all Arizonans financially.

 By taking these actions Grijalva has violated his oath of office to protect and defend the United States, meaning all states including Arizona. Grijalva has engaged in a premeditated effort to harm all Arizonans. His hatred of Arizonans and Arizona is not political theater.

Recently, Tunku Varadarajan wrote an article about David Frum and why he could be a type for what he called the “polite company conservative.” Frum, who was just dropped from the conservative think tank American Enterprise Institute, caused quite a stir by saying Obamacare was the Republican’s Waterloo. Tunku labeled Frum a member of the polite company conservative:

“A [polite company conservative] is a conservative who yearns for the goodwill of the liberal elite in the media and in the Beltway—who wishes, always, to have their ear, to be at their dinner parties, to be comforted by a sense that liberal interlocutors believe that they are not like other conservatives, with their intolerance and boorishness, their shrillness and their talk radio. The PCC, in fact, distinguishes himself from other conservatives not so much ideologically—though there is an element of that—as aesthetically.”

Jonah Goldberg, a brilliant journalist at NRO, recently blogged about Tunku’s description of Frum.

“I don’t think the Frum Project is about getting invited to liberal cocktail parties. I think Tunku is a brilliant guy, but that is a pretty lazy bit of analysis. First of all, even when David was a leading right-winger on such issues as socialized medicine, gay marriage, and immigration, he was already being invited to liberal cocktail parties. He’s that charming and interesting a guy. His taking a flamethrower to the Republican party and his fellow conservatives is not a signal flare to Sally Quinn saying “call me!”

First, Jonah is a brilliant guy, but it is not a “lazy bit of analysis.” What is Frum’s desire in describing Obamacare as a Waterloo for Republicans? Frum suggests that the right’s fiery “hateful” rhetoric is at the foundation of our problems and that a moderation of our policy positions, like our conservative brothers in Britain or Canada, is the solution. Balderdash…

The vast left wing conspiracy has done a good job perpetuating the myth of extreme conservative talk radio and the inherit violence of the right. Passionate debate is not hateful rhetoric and even if it is, the left, measured on the same continuum, wins the hateful rhetoric contest easily.

The double standard is appalling. The focus being on Rush Limbaugh rather than the routine accusations made in newspapers and television across the country.

The polite company conservative does exist. It is more about money than it is about being accepted by the intellectual elite. The title of PCC has a lot of benefits. It creates a lot job opportunities in academics, television, and print. It might not get you invited to a party with the cast of SNL but it will keep you employed when your own party is in the political wilderness.

Celebrating supposed Republican failure is not constructive criticism no matter what analysis you craft. The “shrillness” of conservative talk radio is no worse than the left’s own media complex or the condescending way our President addresses the American people.  Fabricated controversy is the master plan of the democrats and PCC’s are just another piece of the puzzle in accomplishing the goal.

Remember PCC’s are worse than RINO’s because their arguments change to match the opposition party. At least RINO’s believe in their squishy moderation.

This post is brought to you by another PCC.

This was too much fun to pass up!  Thank you Kyle-Anne Shiver!! Who wrote this delightful piece…

http://bigjournalism.com/kashiver/2010/02/28/former-veep-goes-girly-man-has-hissy-fit-in-pages-of-new-york-times/

This piece of pure, dribbling, drooling emoting is going to either make you collapse in a torrent of tears or retch into the nearest barf bag.  The only human beings on the planet to whom this editorial would appeal are a bunch of 13-year-old girls without a single clue between them.

With hundreds of millions of dollars on the line, Al is going all out to save his massive investment in the Global Warming hysteria.  Here, he comes up with histrionics befitting the amount of personal loss he stands to suffer.

Ok, so this isn’t totally about Arizona … or is it?

How about the AzCC’s Residential Energy Standards?  Or the AzCC’s stepping out from their legal role as rate-payer watchdog and into making energy policy for Arizona that is; A) out of its pay-grade by the Arizona Constitution, and B) totally based on a outright fraud.

The RES and subsequent foray into “Green Energy” at all costs, without a thought to the real cost per Kwh for fantasy sources of reliable energy is a dangerous road for Arizona’s economic future.

Cost per on demand 24/7 available Kwh of “green electric generation” cannot compare with *clean coal* and *clean nuclear* power period.  Windmills and acres of solar panels dotting the landscape with miles of transmission towers and lines crisscrossing the environment altering the patterns of migratory birds and thunderstorms might be a Quixotic vision of an environmentalists utopia, but unfortunately reality bites.  The sun doesn’t shine 24 hours a day, so you need environmentally unfriendly Lithium batteries to store the energy for later use.  The wind doesn’t blow 24 hours a day in exactly the right velocity and direction to provide on demand electricity for job producing industrial small businesses in a cost effective way.

Time to debunk the Green Dream.   We’ve even heard that schools in Arizona are spending unrestricted amounts of money to “green” up their classrooms.  Shouldn’t that be money better spent with the teachers and kids on real learning?

Anyway, until someone politically stands up and says “Look Mommy!  The Emperor is wearing NO clothes!!”  we will continue down the path to an “Olive Drab Green” future rather than the pretty green that Al Gore would have us believe in.

Found this interesting photo online. Anyone want to take a guess who this cat-in-the-hat-Uncle-Sam-wannabe is?

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

Democrats are in disarray, Republicans are making gains nationwide, poll numbers are improving, and generic ballot polls show Republicans poised to make big gains in 2010.  With pickup opportunities in CD1, CD5, and CD8 here in Arizona, Saturday’s AZGOP Annual Meeting should be a great time for all.

Or not.

It seems someone isn’t happy with the state of things and is looking to hijack the meeting and maybe the entire Party this weekend.  Gila Courier has coverage of a letter that started landing in PC mailboxes and the interesting tale behind it.  Others have been warning about the possibility that McCain supporters may make a move to remove State Party Chairman Randy Pullen so that they can take over the party apparatus in advance of the GOP primary against JD Hayworth.

It should be a VERY interesting time for all in attendance.

Jan Brewer's Straw Man?

This is gonna be short and sweet – AND ITS ONLY SOMETHING TO CONSIDER.   Is “Buz” Mills Jan Brewer’s straw man in this election cycle?

Consider she qualified for Clean Elections funding (in spite of having a record to run on and being an established political brand in Arizona politics).

Consider how hard the Goldwater Institute (who generally dislikes Governor Brewer’s affinity for taxes) is struggling to close down the CCEC matching funds provision of the voter approved Clean Elections program.

Think about it.  Brewer obtains three-quarters of a million dollars in public financing and because of the dog-pile of money dumped into the race by a competing candidate (Buz Mills), Governor Brewer will be matched with little effort on her part.

How hard will it be collecting the necessary funds to mount a successful campaign to retain the governor’s seat?  How many good candidates are already in the race?  And don’t forget the 800 pound gorilla in the Big Tent running for his political career in the U.S. Senate.  Times are tough.   Could one of Jan’s advisers have come up with a quick and easy way for her to short-cut the system?

Slick isn’t it (if its true)?  Someone could be really gaming the system and should be shut down.  Shame on those veteran incumbents who couldn’t be re-elected without CCEC.

Veritas for the record supports Clean Elections funding of entry level candidates into the political process as a means of equalizing the playing field and as a mitigation measure against deep pocketed special interests from buying elections.  I am deeply disappointed in the Goldwater Institute that given all the abuses of Constitutional law, they are choosing this narrow niche in which to sally forth into courtroom battle.

A misconception should be clarified.  Clean Election funding is NOT involuntary and does NOT involve taxes.  When you err in your driving (and for some criminal actions) you have made a voluntary decision to contribute to Arizona’s Clean Election fund.  And lets not forget those voters who include a $5 contribution along with their Arizona income tax filing as well as the thousands of voters who give the candidate of their choice $5 during this time of year.

Lastly, is CCEC truly a violation of “campaign speech”?  What about the candidate who’s told by the big corporate special interest “… these are our issues.  Now did you want to talk about a contribution from our members?”  Isn’t that stifling the “free speech” of the candidate who truly wishes to represent their voters?

Two final parting thoughts:  The CCEC should be reformed, perhaps by amending it to only be available for the first election and first re-election bid of a candidate.   Lastly, should there be a cap on election spending by all interests in Arizona elections?  Why should someone be willing to spend millions of dollars for a job that pays peanuts?

This ought to scare the hell out of you. These people have a seat at the table and are influencing the direction of the country.

Last Thursday, Espresso Pundit’s Greg Patterson broke a story about the release of a list of “Joe’s” who have patronized a valley VIP prostitute ring known as the Desert Divas. The story on this actually went public when the Phoenix New Times wrote an article back on February 12th that seemed to go nowhere.  Thursday that list of “Joe’s went public. Patterson explains that hew was able to walk into the Phoenix Police Department’s office of public records and obtain the list in a CSV file and it’s now online for the whole world to see.

Once Patterson posted the list at Espresso Pundit, he left it at that. (He even turned comments “off.”)  The Phoenix New Times was quick to jump on his story and also posted a link to the list and spun the story as a heads up to valley wives who may want to see if their hubbies were on the list.

Until now, no names have been mentioned in writing. Saturday, I received several phone calls informing me that two well-know political operatives show up on the list. I verified this myself.

Since Saturday, I’ve sat on the story after hearing that Dennis Welch of The Arizona Guardian was not going to publish. Well, Welch went public on Sunday. Sean Noble also picked up on it today and even reprinted Welch’s article on his blog, Noble Thinking. And one of our own, “GOP Cannon” posted his/her take on it earlier today. So now I’m going to chime in on the story and what I know.

The first name which may come as a surprise is that of Charles Jensen, the founder and President of Politics on the Rocks. I spoke with Charles on the phone and he catagorically denied any involvement or association with Desert Divas or any prostitute or prostitution ring. According to Jensen, he rented one of his properties to someone he won’t identify earlier (in 2007) who probably was a client of the Desert Divas. That means that the list was actually based on addresses given to law enforcement by the Divas. That address was tied back to the owner, Charles Jensen, who did not reside there. When I spoke with Charles on Saturday, he said that he was obtaining legal counsel in order to chase down the actual evidence provided by the Diva to Phoenix PD (probably a police report or transcrpt). That attorney will also likely go after anyone who attempts to libel Jensen. So the key to the Jensen’s innocence hinges on whatever evidence the Phoenix PD used to create their list of “Joe’s.” I happen to believe Jensen and think that one of his renters was the “Joe.”

The other name that shows up on the list is lobbyist, G. Michael Williams of Williams & Associates. I spoke with Williams Saturday night and he knew nothing of the list and catagorically denied it. It even appears that Williams and Associates  may not have even been at the address shown on the Diva List at the time that the alleged incident took place.

Having spoken to both gentleman, it appears that this is all a matter of mistaken identities tied to the addresses where the supposed acts took place. I’m going to take both men at their word especially since they appear to have alibis and attorneys.

Will this taint the GOP brand here in Arizona? I tend to doubt it. I also agree with the earlier post by GOP Canon. There are probably individuals in the GOP who will take advantage of this perception of a scandal and use it as leverage to advance their position of power in the party. That’s sophomoric, unethical and disgusting and it needs to stop.

If you’re looking for the hottest details on the sex scandal de jour, look someplace else.

In the past few days, there has been some publicity surrounding the founder of a Republican organization.  It was no surprise that some in the mainstream media jumped on this.  What did surprise me is that some Republicans in the blogosphere repeated these awful allegations.  As much I would like to call you out for this, I do not want to triple traffic on your blog, or needlessly bring attention to this taudry and unsubstantiated rumor.

Nothing has been proven.  In fact, the person I’m talking about has receipts and other documents to establish that they were physically out of the state on the relevant dates in question.  Presumption of innocence aside, what about clear cut evidence establishing innocence?

What galls me perhaps the most is not that this person has an excellent reputation to protect, not that he is a genuinely nice and decent guy and does not deserve this garbage, but that Republicans are once again forming a circular firing squad.  I challenge you: how many people can you name who have done more for the party than this person we’re talking about?  He has formed a large organization which gets hundreds of attendees, many of them first time participants in the political process, and provides a large venue for Republican causes and candidates.  This organization has been particularly popular among the younger folks.  This demographic, by the way, would have delivered the presidential race to John Kerry and Barack Obama throughout the deep South and across the United States.

Why are we spreading idle gossip and rushing to judgment, especially about someone who has done so much for the party, particularly when he states his innocence and has tangible proof to back it up?  I wish some of the other bloggers would consider taking their comments on this down.  In the internet age, it seems like all it takes is a statement and a computer to damage someone’s reputation in an awful way.

Speaking of damaging reputations: to the GOP official who is calling around for the sole purpose of spreading this rumor as gospel truth, I have just had my third confirmation today that you are doing this, and if I get one more, I am going to name you.  Right here on the site.  I know you two don’t get along, but that’s no excuse for trying to destroy someone with false information.  I will name you.  Why don’t you try me?