The greatest trick liberals ever pulled was convincing themselves that they’re not ideological. Today, “objective” journalists, academics and “moderate” politicians peddle some of the most radical arguments by hiding them in homespun aphorisms. Bestselling conservative author Jonah Goldberg exposes the truth behind many such clichés in his latest book, The Tyranny of Clichés: How Liberals Cheat in the War of Ideas.

Jonah Goldberg’s first book, Liberal Fascism, was a number one New York Times bestseller. A visiting fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, he is the founding editor of National Review Online. He is also a Los Angeles Times columnist, a Fox News contributor, and a member of the board of contributors at USA Today.

The Goldwater Institute is pleased to host Jonah Goldberg for the only Arizona stop on his book tour. Please join us!

Thursday, June 21
5:30-7:00 p.m.
Goldwater Institute
500 East Coronado Road, Phoenix, Arizona
(One block north of McDowell Road, west of 7th Street)

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To sign the online petition supporting Veterans, click here.

1) Giving Thanks in Remembrance – May we never forget those who made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of our nation. Throughout generations, brave soldiers have risked everything in pursuit of life and liberty. Today, their sacrifice enables you and I to stand for foundational principles and vote our values.

In his speech at Arlington National Cemetery in 1986, President Ronald Reagan delivered an eloquent Memorial Day speech. He said:

“Today is the day we put aside to remember fallen heroes and to pray that no heroes will ever have to die for us again. It’s a day of thanks for the valor of others, a day to remember the splendor of America and those of her children who rest in this cemetery and others. It’s a day to be with the family and remember.”

Click here to read the speech.

Take time with your family to give thanks to God for the blessing of America and for our armed forces – those with us and who have passed on. Pray for our nation, our leaders, and for the protection of the values we hold dear.

2) Gov. Brewer: “I do not support the goals of Planned Parenthood” – In an in-depth interview this week with Capitol Media Services, Governor Brewer reasserted her support for the prolife movement in Arizona and her opposition to Planned Parenthood, Arizona’s largest abortion provider.

She said, “I do not support the goals of Planned Parenthood because I believe in life. They believe in choice. So let’s just cut right through the fat and tell it like it is. I don’t support them. It’s philosophically not agreeable with me.”

Of course, Planned Parenthood quickly sent out a fundraising email stating they weren’t “giving in to Governor Brewer’s bullying” and stated they had “fought assailants like Jan Brewer before.” The facts are that Governor Brewer has defended women’s health needs by making Arizona one of the safest states in the country for preborn children and mothers with crisis pregnancies. The reality is, the prolife bills passed by the legislature and signed into law in the last four years are saving lives.

3) The Latest Attack on CAP – This week, the Secular Coalition for Arizona, a statewide atheist organization, and No Longer Silent, a homosexual clergy organization, announced that they had filed complaints with the IRS challenging our nonprofit status. CBS Channel 5 aired the story Wednesday.

There really isn’t much to say about this meritless, politically motivated attack. Rest assured these attacks by those who oppose our public policy positions will not distract us from the important work at hand – registering voters, distributing our Voter Guide (coming in July), and turning out the vote on Election Day.

Here’s the statement I have issued in response to media inquiries:

“Every year, independent auditors examine our books at Center for Arizona Policy, Inc. (CAP), and every year these independent auditors have given us their highest rating – a clean auditor’s report.

Indeed, CAP goes even further to assure our supporters and all Arizonans of our integrity by voluntarily meeting the high standards of the Evangelical Council on Financial Accountability (ECFA). Our IRS Form 990 is not only supplied to the IRS, but also to ECFA as further assurance that CAP operates with utmost integrity. Additionally, CAP fully complies with ECFA’s rigorous Seven Standards of Responsible Stewardship™ that focus on board governance, financial transparency, integrity in fundraising, and proper use of charity resources.

The accusations against CAP are without legal merit or factual basis. This is a public relations stunt by those desiring to silence our representation of the foundational principles of good public policy: a high regard for human life, marriage and family, and religious liberty.”

If you have any questions, feel free to email me at cathi_herrod@azpolicy.org.

CD 8
Democratic – 130,645
Green – 808
Libertarian – 2,530
Republican – 156,361
Amercans Elect – 23
Other – 124,127 

For further information, see attached.

The latest statewide voter registration figures are available on the Secretary of State’s website, www.azsos.gov or by calling 1-877-THE-VOTE.

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Mr. Flake Pushed an Energy Tax that Republicans Opposed

In 2009, Flake Co-Sponsored A Bill to Raise Carbon Taxes

Career Politician Congressman Flake Claims to be a Conservative but His Colleagues on Capitol Hill Thought His Carbon Tax Was Anything But Conservative

“The bill puts the two lawmakers at odds with Republican congressional leaders, who’ve criticized the Democrats’ cap-and-trade plans as carbon taxes in disguise. ‘Cap and trade is code for increasing taxes, killing American jobs and raising energy costs for consumers,’ House Republican leader John Boehner of Ohio said. ‘The so-called ‘cap and trade’ proposal amounts to a carbon tax, plain and simple.’” (James Rosen, “Republican Lawmakers Back Carbon Tax (Yes, That’s Right),” McClatchy Newspapers, 5/13/09; www.mcclatchydc.com/)

Flake’s Carbon Tax Would Cost an Arizona Family of 4 $1,000 a year

Jeff Flake Says He’s Watching Out for Arizona, but He’s Not

For documentation and to try to get an explanation call Congressman Flake at 602-845-0333.

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(Reposted with permission from the Arizona Daily Independent)

At last night’s debate, between congressional candidates Republican Jesse Kelly and Democrat Ron Barber, controversy arose over Barber’s failure to say that he supported President Obama’s reelection. Barber dodged the question during the debate, and later refused to answer the question again, when asked by reporters.

Now, Barber is scrambling to assure his fellow Democrats that he does in fact support his party’s nominee for the presidency. Barber’s campaign released a statement early this morning stating his support for Obama. The question now becomes, why did Barber feel the need to dodge the question?

The answer to that is in Barber’s answer, “My vote is my vote Mr. Kelly and I’m focused on beating you in June.” Open and gushing support for Obama and his policies will not get Ron Barber elected, so Barber’s response was an honest one. If he is focused on beating Kelly he can’t embrace Obama, unless of course he wants PAC monies, hence the embrace this morning.

At one point during the campaign, Barber accused Kelly of “pulling the wool over people’s eyes.” The time worn expression may describe Barber’s spin this morning, as well.

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In the clip, Sen. Kyl stated, “Steve gets along with people you can’t not like Steve Chucri, and it’s because he is a very genuine person who is sincere about solving problems.”

“Sen. Kyl has done so much for the great state of Arizona, and it’s an honor to have the endorsement of a true statesman,” said Chucri.

Sen. Kyl joins Congressman Jeff Flake, Congressman Ben Quayle, Congressman David Schweikert, Congressman Paul Gosar, Congressman Trent Franks, Senate President Steve Pierce, Maricopa County Supervisor Andy Kunasek, Gilbert Mayor John Lewis, Mesa Mayor Scott Smith, Scottsdale Mayor Jim Lane, Chandler Mayor Jay Tibshraeny, and Paradise Valley Mayor Scott LeMarr in endorsing Steve Chucri.

Chucri has served as the President & CEO of the Arizona Restaurant Association (ARA) since 2002. Under his leadership and tireless work ethic, the ARA and restaurant industry has enjoyed a substantial growth in sales in what will amount to a ten billion dollar industry in Arizona this year alone.

As President and CEO of the ARA, Chucri represents business owners and sees firsthand how the actions of local, state, and federal governments can positively or negatively impact restaurants and other small businesses in Arizona. Chucri’s experiences as a businessman, husband, and father have given him invaluable insight into the needs of his community and ensure that, as County Supervisor, he will always put people before politics.

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Scottsdale, Ariz. – Congressman David Schweikert (R-AZ) made the following statement in honor of Memorial Day:

“This weekend, we honor every member of the United States Armed Services who gave the ultimate sacrifice fighting for our freedom.

“Those who served, fought, and did not come home–they are our best and bravest. May we always be proud to be American because of these patriots.

“Joyce and I pay tribute to these heroes and realize our thanks will never truly be enough.”

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PHOENIX, AZ – Earlier this week, both Politico and the Associated Press published exhaustive reports detailing serious past allegations made against Democratic Senate candidate Richard Carmona.

These allegations outlined the abuse of taxpayer dollars, including billing the government for personal travel, while Carmona was Surgeon General— an issue backed up by internal government emails received by the Associated Press, as well as the Carmona campaign’s own acknowledgement that he was forced to personally repay at least $3,500 back to the federal treasury.

But perhaps the most serious allegation that has emerged came from previously-held secret testimony to the House Government Reform Committee by a well-respected and accomplished former female supervisor of Richard Carmona. Politico reported that Dr. Christine Beato testified that she felt physically threatened by Carmona on at least two separate occasions when he showed up outside her home banging on her door in the middle of the night.

Carmona, however, refused to be interviewed by either Politico or the Associated Press for their reports and has yet to directly deny any of these serious allegations.

To that end, Mrs. Sharon Giese, Arizona’s National Committeewoman for the RNC is sending the following letter to Dr. Carmona this afternoon:

Dear Dr. Carmona:

I write in regard to your refusal to comment on the story that appeared in Politico Monday, and the allegations against you that it contains.

This story makes clear that your former supervisor, former Deputy Assistant Secretary and Acting Assistant Secretary of Health Dr. Cristina Beato, in 2007 testified to Congress that on two separate occasions, both in the middle of the night, you came to her house and were “banging on [her] door.”

Dr. Beato testified that she felt threatened by your actions. She testified that your aggressive behavior made her fear for the safety of her two children. Moreover, she testified that this behavior was part of a pattern – one that demonstrated you had clear anger management issues and “serious problems” with women and problems with having a Hispanic female supervisor.

In summary, in her words, working with you was “a living nightmare.” Reading testimony about such behavior, most Arizonans will no doubt agree, is chilling.

Yet, you have chosen to respond to Dr. Beato’s testimony through your political campaign manager, who has attempted to marginalize Dr. Beato’s testimony by calling it a lie and a partisan political attack aimed at undermining your campaign for U.S. Senate.

Dr. Beato, however, did not make her statements to the press, or in the context of a political campaign. She made them long before the current Senate campaign – and long before you had expressed any interest in running for public office. She made them in private, considered, testimony to a congressional committee. And as you may be aware, 18 U.S.C. § 1001 makes making knowingly false statements to Congress a federal crime, punishable by fines and imprisonment.

In short, your campaign manager is accusing Dr. Beato – a highly respected member of the medical profession – of lying to Congress and committing a federal crime. You yourself, however, have not denied Dr. Beato’s allegations. The distinction in those responses is neither subtle nor honorable.

It’s also noteworthy that Dr. Beato is far from the only former co-worker who has expressed serious concern with your temperament. As the Los Angeles Times reports on July 8, 2002, “[a] number of Carmona’s former co-worker and employees, however, describe a man whose instinct is to escalate hostilities rather than resolve them,” and that “court and hospital records show a history of conflicts between Carmona and other doctors.” In fact, the Times quoted another former female colleague Sylvia Campoy, the Pima County Health Care Commission Chairwoman, as recounting, “[w]hat I got from Dr. Carmona was antagonism and threats.”

But setting aside what appears to be a years-long pattern of abusive relationships with former co-workers, if you truly believe Dr. Beato to be lying, you should say so, and address the matter with the United States Department of Justice, which is charged with enforcing federal law. As a candidate for the U.S. Senate, you have a duty to inform law enforcement officials if a crime has been committed.

However if, as it appears by your responses to date, you do not deny Dr. Beato’s testimony that on two occasions you pounded on her door in the middle of the night making her fear for her and her children’s safety, then you should address the matter and explain your actions to the people of Arizona.

Not doing so, and continuing to hide behind your campaign while accusing a highly respected former Hispanic female supervisor of criminally lying, is only one more demonstration of the very pattern of hostile and sexist behavior exhibited by you toward women about which Dr. Beato testified.

Sincerely,

Sharon Giese

Arizona Republican Party/RNC National Committeewoman

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Dear Friends,

You may have seen an ad running on television from my opponent claiming that I want a massive energy tax and suggesting that I support cap and trade. This, of course, is untrue.

Let me give you, as Paul Harvey used to say, the rest of the story.

In 2009, President Obama and the Democratic Majority in Congress were pushing the cap-and-trade bill, which most Republicans and I opposed. During debate on the bill, there were a number of us that thought we needed a way to expose the Democrats’ awful plan for what it was — a revenue grab in the worst way.

So we put together a revenue-neutral tax swap designed to counter the Democrats’ bill. Unlike cap and trade, our proposal cut taxes and did not increase spending. The legislation stipulated that any carbon tax revenue raised by the government would go directly into the Social Security Trust Fund, and at the same time the payroll tax would be lowered by the same amount. This way, there was no incentive for politicians to raise the tax, since they wouldn’t get their hands on the money to spend. It was used as a way to call the Democrats’ bluff. I should note that in the end, we succeeded — cap and trade failed.

Many notable conservatives supported our proposal’s honest, market-driven approach, including Arthur Laffer, a noted economist and former economic policy advisor to President Reagan, who said: “The bill that Jeff Flake cosponsored was a smart, free market, conservative approach to expose the Democrat’s Cap and Trade bill for was it was — a massive tax increase.”

Laffer penned an op-ed in the New York Times in support of our approach, as did conservative columnist Charles Krauthammer, writing in the Weekly Standard.

Rest assured that I will, as I have in the past, lead the fight in Congress for lower taxes, limited government and less regulation.

Sincerely,

Jeff Flake

When the topic is protecting liberty and the headline reads, “Even in Illinois but not in Arizona,” we’re in trouble. Indeed, while even the Democrat-controlled legislature in President Obama’s adopted home state of Illinois said no to establishing an insurance exchange to facilitate the federal health care law, Arizona is moving full steam ahead with its exchange and is using more than $30 million in federal tax dollars to do so.

While exchange supporters euphemistically refer to exchanges as “marketplaces,” exchanges are in fact government-sanctioned, invitation-only clubs where only government-approved insurance companies can sell government-approved insurance. No wonder big insurance companies are lobbying so hard for an Arizona exchange and want them to stand even if the President’s health care law is struck down by the Supreme Court in June – they want to make sure they get an invitation to the party so that they can monopolize the market now and forever. Bloomberg News reported just last week that insurance companies stand to gain billions in revenue over the next seven years from the President’s health care law.

While exchanges will benefit the big insurance companies and bureaucrats who will get jobs, the Arizona taxpayers will be stuck paying the bill. At a Senate hearing last November, Arizona’s exchange director, who previously worked for the very insurance lobby that advocated for the passage of the President’s health care law, said he could not answer the question of how much the exchange will costs taxpayers until it was up and running. We do know the Massachusetts exchange costs taxpayers in that state $60 million a year.

Last fall, the Goldwater Institute sent a public records request to the Governor’s office to find out how much the state is spending on the exchange, including specific requests for the payroll records of all state employees who have worked on the exchange since its inception in March 2010. The response was a mere 33 pages of undated, redacted records, most of which are indecipherable. What little is visible indicates that in addition to paying salaries of some unknown amount, tax dollars are paying for exchange employees’ food, lodging and travel. This non-response appears to be a violation of Arizona public records law and we hope the Governor’s office will soon make a full and transparent disclosure of these records.

States are not required to establish exchanges and Arizona should say no. Instead, it is entrenching the federal health care law, along with a new government bureaucracy and the special interests that go along with it.

Diane Cohen is a senior attorney with the Goldwater Institute.

Learn More:

Goldwater Institute: States Must Protect the Health Care Freedom of their Citizens by Saying No to Federal Health Care Insurance Exchanges

Arizona Governor’s Office: Payroll Records (PDF)

Bloomberg: Insurers face $1 Trillion in Revenue at Stake in Health Law

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