For Immediate Release: Friday, March 12, 2010

This past Saturday the results of a Republican, incumbent-focused straw poll commissioned by Chairman Jeff Loyd of Gila County were announced at the county committeeman meeting. The straw poll garnered over 55% response rate from the elected and appointed precinct committeeman of the Republican party in Gila County. This poll was commissioned by Chairman Loyd to “keep a finger on the pulse” of the county and get a feel for the majority of Republican leanings thus far in the election cycle. While the results may not surprise you, they are nonetheless telling of the overall feeling of the grassroots activists and faithful army of the party. Chairman Loyd stated, “The results of this poll must be considered by all of our Republican candidates interested in gaining the support of the pc’s and activists in Gila County. Taking it a step further, being endorsed by a certain incumbent listed (or not listed) in this poll may be detrimental to your campaign in Gila County. Wisely use and understand these results.”

The incumbent offices polled were: Federal Senate, Governor, State Senate. Due to the fact that Republicans do not hold the CD1 seat, that office was not polled.

The poll consisted of the three incumbent names for the offices listed above with the instructions to assign a number (from the chart below) next to each name corresponding to how the committeeman voter felt about that elected official and the job they were doing.

1. Absolutely satisfied, make sure he/she is re-elected.
2. O.K., some of the time.
3. Disappointed more often than not.
4. Really bad. I hope there will be a better candidate to vote for.

Results:

Senator John McCain received 51% – “Really bad. I hope there will be a better candidate to vote for.”
Governor Jan Brewer received 48% – “Really bad. I hope there will be a better candidate to vote for.”
State Senator Sylvia Allen received 94% – “Absolutely satisfied, make sure he/she is re-elected.”

If you do not like these results then you should become a precinct committeeman and voice your opinion in polls like these. To get more information about becoming active in the Republican party and joining the ranks of P.C.’s in Gila County, contact 2nd Vice Chairman Bruce Wales at (928) 478-8822 or Chairman Loyd at (623) 332-2922.

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

Coverage you won’t get from the Republic Who is this US Attorney investigating Arpaio?

The recent news that the U.S. Attorney’s Office has launched a grand jury investigation into Sheriff Joe Arpaio and may also be investigating County Attorney Andrew Thomas has been treated by the media like a legitimate law enforcement exercise by unbiased federal officials. While the mainstream media typically ascribe purer motives to the actions of Democrats, even by the low standards by which people now judge the media, they are ignoring a major story. The elephant, er, donkey in the room is Dennis Burke, the liberal Democrat who President Obama recently appointed to be U.S. Attorney. So far the media have given Mr. Burke a pass on his highly partisan record. His record would seem important because it wasn’t until the Obama administration took over the Justice Department and replaced the apolitical former U.S. Attorney with Burke that the U.S. Attorney’s Office started looking into Arpaio. The Arizona Republic claims that they are looking at Andrew Thomas too. The Obama administration obviously has a very different opinion on illegal immigration than Thomas and Arpaio have, as evidenced by Obama’s recent push for amnesty (http://articles.latimes.com/2010/mar/04/nation/la-na-immigration5-2010mar05), and has tried to stop the pair from enforcing laws against illegal immigration. Might this investigation be about shutting down their efforts to combat illegal immigration for good? Might this have anything to do with the fact that the hyper-political Dennis Burke likely harbors political ambitions, and perhaps sees fellow lawyer and law enforcement officer Andrew Thomas as a rival from the other side of the political spectrum? Since the media has failed to cover this story and thus allow readers to decide for themselves whether the Obama administration’s investigation is about justice or politics, it falls to this blog to answer the key question: Who is Dennis Burke? Many people here remember Burke as Janet Napolitano’s longtime henchman in the Governor’s Office and Attorney General’s Office, but a bio provided by the Justice Department shows that Burke’s partisan record goes beyond that. http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2009/October/09-ag-1149.html Burke’s first job was as a majority staffer for the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Patents, Copyrights and Trademarks. His tenure there lasted from 1989 until 1994, and it is probably no coincidence that Burke’s time there ended when the Republicans took over Congress. Who was Burke’s boss while serving in this role? None other than liberal Democrat Senator Dennis DeConcini, who used to represent Arizona. From 1995 when the Democrats lost Congress until 1999, Burke served in a couple different roles in the Clinton Administration. He was a lobbyist for the Clinton Justice Department and even served a three year stint as a White House staffer. During that time Burke also served under former U.S. Attorneys Janet Napolitano and then Jose de Jesus Rivera, himself a liberal activist http://phoenix.gov/NEWSREL/SUPPORT/rivera.pdf who recently chaired the campaign of liberal Democrat Tim Nelson for County Attorney. With Janet Napolitano’s election as Attorney General in 1998, Dennis Burke returned to Arizona to serve as her right hand man, and served as her chief of staff after she was elected Governor. This looks like a pretty partisan record, but it gets worse once we look at Dennis Burke’s political contributions over the years. All of his contributions to state and federal candidates and political committees over the last twelve years are listed below. FEDERAL* Ed Pastor (Democrat for U.S. House), 12/5/97, $250 10/24/00, $250 Al Gore, 7/22/99, $250 10/24/99, $500 Fred Duval (Democrat for U.S. House), 6/27/01, $500 Mary Ryan Judge, (Democrat for U.S. House), 10/27/01, $500 Sam Martinez, (Democrat for U.S. House), 12/18/2001, $250 Debra Norris (Democrat for U.S. House), 1/14/02, $300 Arizona Democrat Party, 11/4/02, $500 3/17/04, $1,000 10/4/06, $2,000 Paul Babbit (Democrat for U.S. House), 11/17/03, $250 Hillary Rodham Clinton, 1/6/04, $1,000 Democrat Senatorial Campaign Committee/e/e, 3/24/04, $250 John Kerry, 6/7/04, $1,000 7/21/04, $1,000 Raul Grijalva (Democrat for U.S. House), 8/31/04, $250 6/2/05, $250 Jim Pederson (Democrat for U.S. Senate), 9/15/05, $1,000 Harry Mitchell (Democrat for U.S. House), 5/15/06, $1,000 Gabby Giffords (Democrat for U.S. House), 10/27/06, $250 6/5/07, $350 7/1/07, $200 11/28/07, $500 Bob Lord (Democrat for U.S. House), 5/18/07, $250 9/17/07, $200 10/1/08, $300 10/28/08, $250 Ann Kirkpatrick (Democrat for U.S. House), 3/28/08, $500 Jared Polis (Democrat for U.S. House, Colorado), 6/17/08, $250 Total=$18,350 * to verify these numbers, go to http://www.fec.gov/finance/disclosure/advindsea.shtml, plug in Dennis Burke, Arizona STATE** Janet Napolitano (Democrat for Arizona Attorney General), 11/4/97, $760 9/14/98, $100 Chris Cummiskey (Democrat for Arizona Senate), 8/30/00, $256 Nucleus Club (Liberal Democrat group), 12/11/00, $20 2/7/01, $300 12/2/01, $140 2/12/02, $275 2/17/03, $275 4/5/05, $275 3/20/06, $275 1/23/07, $330 1/21/08, $330 4/21/08, $40 Maricopa County Democrat Party, 6/20/01, $25 7/22/04, $500 2/23/06, $500 4/21/08, $1,000 Gabby Giffords (Democrat for Arizona Senate), 10/15/01, $200 Wally Straughn (Democrat for Arizona House), 11/7/01, $110 Christine Weason (Democrat for Arizona House), 11/30/01, $110 Peter Moraga (Democrat for Arizona House), 12/14/01, $200 Phil Amorosi (Democrat for Arizona House), 1/23/02, $110 Rod Rich (Democrat for Arizona School Superintendent), 2/23/02, $110 Jesse George (Democrat for Arizona House), 3/19/02, $110 Shirley McAllister (Democrat for Arizona House), 5/1/02, $110 Ted Murphree (Democrat for Arizona House), 8/7/02, $110 West Democrat Headquarters, 1/24/02, $240 3/27/08, $100 Foothills Democrats, 3/15/03, $45 3/12/04, $48 Arizona Democrat Party, 8/8/03, $1,000 Catalina Democrats, 8/24/03, $150 Phil Lopes (Democrat for Arizona House), 10/29/05, $60 Young Democrats of Arizona, 5/2/05, $500 Rebecca Rios (Democrat for Arizona Senate), 7/3/06, $120 Jason Williams (Democrat for Arizona School Superintendent), 10/14/06, $150 District 11 Democrats, 2002, $674 (total from numerous contributions) 2003 and 2004, $740 (total from numerous contributions) 1/11/05, $10 1/19/05, $40 1/9/07, $20 5/8/07, $10 1/8/08, $20 Robert Meza, (Democrat for Arizona House), 9/19/07, $200 9/24/08, $190 Pima County Democrat Party, 10/13/08, $500 Total= $12,398 ** to verify these numbers go to http://www.azsos.gov/cfs/ContributorSearch.aspx and plug in Dennis Burke. Unfortunately it must be plugged in for every general election to get the full report. All told, that’s over $30,000 in the last twelve years to Democrat candidates and groups, and not one penny to Republicans. These contribution records are especially stunning when one looks at the contributions of the two U.S. Attorneys who were appointed by President Bush. Diane Humetawa, who Burke replaced, did not give any money to federal or state candidates. Paul Charlton gave some money, but his giving was a fraction of Burke’s and was mixed-he gave money to Democrats such as Terry Goddard and Gabby Giffords. Somehow I doubt that if a political appointee with a partisan record as a Republican were looking into a popular local Democrat with a grand jury probe he would enjoy the same media presumption of objectivity and proper motives. As the U.S. Attorney’s Office moves forward with its probe it will be important to view it through the proper lens. Despite the false veneer of objectivity that the Republic and other liberal media sources will try to give it, in reality it’s nothing but a witch hunt by the Obama administration led by a handpicked appointee of President Obama with a record of extreme partisanship.

[The following “Dear Voters” letter will appear in the official Secretary of State’s Ballot Proposition Voter's Guide that will be mailed to Arizona’s 3,116,089 registered voters before the May 18, 2010 special election. It’s ironic that Randy Pullen paid the full $100 to submit this argument rather than saving $25 and paying only $75 had he provided the text in electronic format. But hey, it’s only money!  MBW]

Dear Voters,

As you consider Proposition 100, I think it is important to look at Arizona’s budget crisis in context:

In just 3 years, state tax revenues have declined by over 35%. This is the worst recession the state has ever faced. Arizona’s state revenues are at or below 2004 revenues [sic] levels. At the same time, since 2004, Arizona has grown – adding over 140,000 students to K-12 and the University system, over 11,000 new prisoners and over 475,000 Medicaid enrollees. The result is Arizona is trying to do more today with less – to serve a growing population.

Arizona must continue to attract new businesses and new talent to the state, as well as support our existing small businesses throughout the state. With new business, future tax cuts for individuals and businesses will help attract investment and grow our future economy. Making Arizona as business friendly as possible is the key to our long-term economic success.

However, in the interim, it is appropriate for Arizona to look for a temporary revenue source to maintain critical government functions such as public safety and education services to our growing population. As such, a temporary one-cent sales tax increase is a reasonable solution to this problem. A majority of Republican legislators, along with Democrats in both state houses voted to place Proposition 100 on the ballot.

Combined with a comprehensive tax reform package that reduces future taxes for both individuals and businesses, Prop 100 would be an appropriate tool to help Arizona build towards economic recovery and meet the needs of a fast growing state.

Sincerely,

Randy Pullen

Alas, herein lies the latest effort by Representative William Konopnicki to remain relevant as his final term in the Arizona Legislature draws to a close. Not quite sure of himself to take the plunge (and risk) and run against Ann Kirtpatrick in an attempt retake CD-1 for the Republican Party, he has instead chosen to “repay” Senator Sylvia Allen for his stunning loss at the hands of his own district party PCs in 2008 by openly running against her in the 2010 Republican Primary. Ha! (Too many Happy Meals?)

Due however to his aversion to vigorous campaigning, or perhaps out of laziness, he is once again attempting to strong arm Senator Allen into capitulating to his demand that she should instead swap seats with him thus allowing him the least resistance in securing another 8 years in public office.

Recall for a moment that it was Bill “Brutus” Konopnicki who plunged the proverbial political knife in the back of then Speaker Jake Flake (RIP) as he led a group of left-of-center big spending Republican’s in support of Janet Napolitano’s billion-dollar budget back in 2004. And now, Konopnicki has the audacity to invoke the memory of Speaker Flake as his lieutenants in Graham County launch the “Keep them Both” campaign!

The reader is invited to savor fully the irony of John Rhodes suggestion that Bill Konopnicki has been “… working as a team [with Senator Allen] as they have in the past”.

Where in LD-5 is Bill Konopnicki’s base of support? Friends of big government be they local, state or federal all flock to his state welfare handouts and spending. Were another candidate to come along and promise them more money, they would dump Konopnicki in a hot second. In small local government organizations that requires state welfare to be solvent or relevant, Bill Konopnicki is king.

We’ve been hearing about this for months, finally it has arrived. Properly written, perhaps even by Keith Alexander for John Duane Rhodes, and at the behest no doubt of Bill Konopnicki, the final strong-arm tactic is unveiled. It is to be noted, that Konopnicki does as much as he can through his minions so that he can maintain culpable deniability.

What follows, in the original email format as sent Sunday morning, is the latest shenanigans being broadcast around to the good people of Arizona, LD-5 and Graham County. Is this the role of a Republican Party Chairman in a Republican Primary election? There are even email broadcasts statewide in which this party chairman has engaged fully in a local non-partisan race.

This could not have actually been written by John Duane Rhodes, because Mr. Rhodes has such poor language skills. Rather we should look to the Graham County GOP 1st Vice Chair as the actual scribe. In 2008, Mr. Keith Alexander said in front of witnesses in Globe words to this effect: ‘… I will use all of my resources and do pretty much what I have to, to insure Bill becomes the next state senator from LD-5 … even if that means stopping anyone in my way.’

Comments made this campaign season give no reason to think for a moment that Mr. Alexander’s passionate loyalty to Mr. Konopnicki has waned one bit. As recently as last week, Mr. Alexander was attempting to enlist individuals within the Bowers campaign to sway Allen towards swapping seats with Konopnicki. Wisely, the Bowers campaign has chosen to avoid this matter. Publicly however, Mr. Alexander continues to deny his actions.

To circumvent term limits, Representative Konopnicki is demonstrating exactly how much of a political bully he is. Since he announced his running against Allen in the primary election, why suddenly is he attempting to pressure her into swap seats with him now? Has he learned that in a face-to-face, candidate-to-candidate race for the Senate seat in LD-5 he loses hands down?

If it’s the one thing Bill Konopnicki cannot stand, its being designated to the pile of political has-beens due to a little thing called term limits. Not confident enough to face Ann Kirtpatrick for the Congressional District, and not confident to run face to face against Senator Allen, he has instead chosen to do what he is so good at, back room bullying utilizing rumors and whispers.

Is it a surprise that Bill Konopnicki and John Rhodes stood alongside John McCain in his campaign swing through eastern Arizona?

It has been said, that “For evil to triumph the good men do nothing”. It is time to put an end to this type of politics, in LD-5 and in Arizona.

(Direct Quote of the email sent Sunday February 21, 2010 from John Duane Rhodes:)

I would like all Graham County Republicans to seriously consider this email, I feel it is the only way to keep Republican control of LD5. This will work, Senator Allen holds the key to keep them both we need these two lawmakers working as a team as they have in the past …

Senator Allen has done a great job for our district but Representative Konopnicki has also as a result a campaign recently started entitled “Keep ‘EM Both” that is working to ask Senator Allen to trade seats with Representative Konopnicki like the late Senator Jake Flake did with Representative Brown.

If you agree call Senator Allen at 602 928-5291 and ask her to trade seats with Konopnicki.

Also call Representative Konopnicki 602 928-5409 to endorse Senator Allen if she will trade seats.

Encourage them both to run as a team.

If this were to happen, everyone wins, the district, state and two great legislators.

Thank You,

John D. Rhodes

Graham County GOP Chairman

For Immediate Release: February 12, 2010

Kelly overwhelmingly wins Thursday’s debate.

ORO VALLEY, AZ. The audience at last night’s CD 8 Republican debate overwhelmingly voted for Jesse Kelly at the end of the event. Jesse clearly separated himself from the field, receiving over 51% of the votes. In a distant second place, state Senator Jonathan Paton received only 20% of the votes. All four candidates appeared before a packed house of over 500 voters.

“All the hard work is paying off. The voters are clearly responding to my message of limited government, spending reductions, and free-market reforms to increase employment. I would like to thank the many volunteers who help make this a winning campaign,” stated Jesse after hearing the results from the audience vote.

Jesse would like to thank all those who attended as well as the sponsors of the event: Northwest Republicans, Tucson Tea Party, Smart Girl Politics, and LD 26 Republican Committee.

Jesse Kelly is a candidate for Arizona’s Eighth Congressional District in the southeastern region of the state. For more information on the Jesse Kelly campaign please visit VoteJesseKelly.com.

MCCAIN AGAIN COMMITS TO BIG GOVERNMENT, ELIMINATING CONSUMER CHOICE

PHOENIX, ARIZONA. FEBRUARY 12, 2010. Renewing his commitment to big government in the face of growing skepticism about Washington’s expanding powers, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) introduced legislation last week to further regulate vitamins and supplements. His partnership with U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan (D-North Dakota) follows other liberal efforts with Joseph Lieberman on global warming, Ted Kennedy on amnesty and Russ Feingold on First Amendment regulations, recently overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Dietary Supplement Safety Act (DSSA) of 2010 (S.3002), introduced by Sen. McCain and co-sponsored by Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND), seeks to regulate all dietary supplements.

The introduction of this legislation does not come in the face of health and safety concerns, but rather is an apparent response to athletes’ use of over-the-counter supplements as performance enhancers.

“Use of vitamins and supplements should not be regulated simply because a few athletes want to redirect attention from their doping,” said U.S. Senate candidate J.D. Hayworth.

Americans across the country would likely see a rise in prices and a decrease in availability of vitamins and supplements with the passage of this bill, as supplement manufacturers would be subject to excessive reporting requirements and broad recall authority by the FDA.

This bill is yet more “bipartisan” legislation by the 24-year incumbent that panders to those interested in increasing the size and scope of the federal government. Senator McCain voted for the massive bank bailout bill in 2008, which included $150billion in earmarks. During his presidential run he proposed spending $300 billion to buy up every bad mortgage in America, again bailing out banks and borrowers. And according to the Heritage Foundation his support for amnesty legislation would have cost taxpayers $2.6trillion.

Here’s a brief video clip of JD Hayworth’s closing remarks at the Legislative District 21 Republican meeting last night. This was the second of two standing ovations he received when he spoke to the party faithful.

This ought to send a shiver through the McCain camp as they watch one appearance after another generate such great response.

After JD had spoke, Mayor Boyd Dunn attempted to salvage any credibility John McCain had left with these precinct committeemen.

This afternoon’s Yellow Sheet had this story:

 

MORE PROBLEMS WITH GOP BOOKKEEPING, SAY SOURCES 

Two Republicans claiming knowledge of the Arizona Republican Party’s finances say the party’s year-end federal campaign finance report is a sham that greatly exaggerated available cash on hand. The report, filed last month, claims the party’s federal account held $65,000 at the end of 2009, but the sources said the real figure was closer to several thousand dollars. YS made several attempts to reach Pullen for comment and requested to view the party’s banking statements, but calls on the subject matter were not returned. State GOP Director Brett Mecum said: “If a Republican has a problem with the state party showing what we have on hand, it would be nice if they actually picked up the phone and called the office and maybe talked to some of us over here. They should take it up with the party and not the press.”

The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the committee held less than $5,000 in late December. One of the sources said they pulled a sleuth move and called the party’s bank (M & I Thunderbird) in late December to ask if the federal account balance could cover a (non-existent) $5,000 check. The inquiry, said the source, prompted the bank to respond in the negative. “The guy (Pullen) is the treasurer of the RNC and his books are a joke,” said the source. “Their entire reporting system is riddled with fraud.” The second insider who contacted YS said the party’s federal account funds were “not anywhere close” to $65,000. A more accurate figure by the end of 2009 would be roughly $3,000, said the Republican. Mecum said the party has “multiple bank accounts so it’d be interesting” to see which account was tested with the fund verification test. SOS records show the in-state account for the party reported $10,600 cash on hand at the end of 2009.

Would Brett Mecum really provide the bank statements if asked?  What does he mean by ”take it up with the party”?  That happened and those folks were dismissed.  The questions linger and suspicion is not easily dissuaded with avoidance. 

It is time for Mr. Pullen and Mr. Mecum to provide a full accounting of each account, money in and money out with dates to match.  No accrual accounting, without the date of transactions, the real story. 

Avoidance of disclosure and facts and repeatedly distracting the focus from obtaining answers to blaming the one with the questions are not signs of a willingness for transparency.  Hey guys, it isn’t your money.  It isn’t your party.  And we aren’t idiots.

Amidst the hullabaloo over Megan McCain’s appearance on “The View”, this little tidbit was overlooked.  Or maybe just ignored.  

 Norquist Endorses McCain’s Re-Election Bid

The endorsement was not just a push in the McCain direction, Mr. Norquist also took a broad swipe at JD Hayworth….

J.D. Hayworth, the challenger, needs to explain why he lost his House seat, okay?,” he said. “If you can’t get yourself re-elected to your House seat, what do you bring to the table on a Senate race?”

Referring to Hayworth’s loss in 2006, Norquist said, “When you throw away a race like that it’s very expensive to the rest of the party.”

Yes it was.  

But, it may pale in comparison to the price paid due to a bloody primary and the loss of efforts dedicated to the capture of Dem held House seats.  It has become increasingly clear that there exists within factions of the GOP, primarily in Maricopa County, a desire to do whatever it takes to defeat McCain.  Forget about all those House seats we have to hold or take back, it isn’t about Republican victory statewide.  The line in the sand has been drawn.   

All of this has me wondering….

Who will be the scapegoat when McCain wins and JD loses his stage?  Does this make Grover Norquist a socialist loving RINO?  I’m just sayin’……..

I have to hand it to Californians for creative political ads. This ad was released by the Carly for California campaign attacking Tom Campbell. The voiceover was done by actor Robert Davi. Sound familiar? He’s the same voice heard in John McCain’s ads.

Carly Fiorina was one of several high profile spokeswomen and advisors for the McCain Presidential campaign. Now she’s running for US Senate in California in a primary along with several high profile Republicans including, Tom Campbell, Al Ramirez and Chuck DeVore.

What makes me uncomfortable about Ms. Fiorina is her close ties to John McCain. The fact that she is using the same actor (Robert Davi) to cut the voiceover signals that McCain is involved in much more than his own Senate re-election campaign.

But what is really disturbing is that Fiorina is using the same tactic to attack someone like Tom Campbell who has been a frequent guest on Hugh Hewitt’s radio show and is introduced as a fiscal and social conservative. It’s the same tactic being employed against JD Hayworth here in Arizona. Paint your opponent as a big spender and not fiscal conservative while trying to cover your own fiscally miserable record.

Last week, Red State’s Brian Faughnan wrote a piece entitled, “Arguments I Never Expected: Hayworth Is No More Conservative than McCain.” In that piece, Faughnan reminded us that McCain’s rating from Citizens Against Government Waste was 88% compared to Hayworth’s 89%.  That’s not quite the huge chasm that McCain claims over Hayworth. (Incidentally, McCain’s lifetime rating from the American Conservative Union is a mediocre 81% compared to Hayworth’s 98%.)

Read perceptively between the lines. McCain and his allies are laying down fire on their opponents in order to distract the voters from their real record or position.

Obviously, I don’t live in California so I won’t vote there. (If I did, I’d vote for Chuck DeVore.)

But I can smell a political rat (FCino) and I think the infestation is more widespread than we realize.