Mark Mitchell police investigation report still not released to the public

Voting for the next mayor of the City of Tempe continues at a frenzied pace as election day rapidly approaches on May 15th. One thing that is clearly not moving fast is the release of the report by City of Phoenix Police investigators regarding alleged behaviors by the Democrat candidate in the race, Mark Mitchell.

Meanwhile, Tempe Police who supposedly handed the investigation over to Phoenix investigators to avoid a conflict of interest, have come out in support of Mitchell. Signs started appearing last week courtesy of the political action committee, “Public Safety for Better Government – E.V.”

One would expect that law enforcement officials would reserve any form of advocacy for a candidate – especially one who has been accused of despicable acts – until any police investigation report is released to the public. That doesn’t seem to be the case in Tempe.

This all goes back to our earlier request in which we urged the Mayor of Phoenix, Greg Stanton, to release any report surrounding his endorsee, Mark Mitchell, so the voters would have the opportunity to make up their own minds regarding the allegations.

Mark Mitchell

Mark Mitchell

Strangely enough, “Arizona Police Officers” have already made up their collective mind and appear to be protecting their investment despite  any potentially damaging revelations being stonewalled by mayoral leadership.

Tempe voters deserve to know as they head to the polls. The simple solution is to disclose the findings and come clean and let the voters decide based on the facts.

Invented Guests and Ladies Under Extinguished Gentlemen? Barack Obama’s Toilet Flush at the Très Gauche 2012 White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner

Despite the mass media present en mass, if one had not been there nor watched the unedited video, one wouldn’t know Obama acted through a bizarre and vulgar opening “outhouse theatre,” grossly – in both senses of the word – beneath the dignity of the Office of the President of the United States. American culture has definitely coarsened, thanks largely to that very audience in attendance, but not so much that this opening-the-event bathroom farce wasn’t received with nervous confusion as grotesquely out of place.

As Sherlock Holmes once deduced the significance of the absence of a dog’s barking, long before Obama ate a dog, it’s also noticeable the near total absence of comment on the 2012 White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner and staged entry of President Obama. He performed a jaw-dropping awkward, adolescent-quality skit of “open mike” pretending to be overheard getting ready, making everyone wait in their seats while he complained about the evening event, his grumbling ending with an amplified grand gurgling swoosh of a flushing toilet, before emerging to take his place at the podium as guest of honor.

2012 White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfG8Btb0l3g

While pundits focused on Obama’s inappropriate dancing with vulgarity “tasty-pit bull” dig at Governor Palin, a fail to co-opt the New Media blow-back at Obama’s old autobiographical attempt to gain World-Traveler (WT) ‘cool’ ‘cred’ through dog-eating, but a success in dragging Palin’s name into the night’s sophomoric groping for tawdry laughs, with not enough focus on the inexcusable leadership disconnect of Obama to slam one by one the people and agencies which report to him, as if he lost the ‘Buck Stops Here’ sign with his snarky and damaging comments such as the Secretary of State “drunk texting from Cartagena,” how many are asking why did the POTUS put so much effort into literally potty humor at an extraordinarily elite and sophisticated soiree?

None of it was off the cuff; all of it was planned, written and practiced. The audience receiving Obama’s full mooning was his own elite support base … an A-List Hollywood – Beltway Insider MSM – Harvard crowd. Just because this diamond-studded media crowd is responsible for products like “Dumb and Dumber,” and who were the ones who dragged “tea-bagger” out of the gay bathhouse culture and into the nightly news, doesn’t mean they consider their debauched product represents them.

When was the last time anyone can recall any president of any nation wallowing in vulgar innuendos and toilet references, much less the actual sound of a flushing commode to demean everyone in attendance at a high level, exclusive, black tie and evening gown official event?
Coincidentally, there is one precedent of president + black tie + crapper. It’s not known much in the USA, but in East Africa it’s legend. It was simply a sensation at the time, “viral” before “viral” was coined, a tour de force of insults and double-entendre.

With breath-taking audacity in London, at the most elite diplomatic function for heads of state and royalty in black tie, sashes, ribbons, tiaras and crowns, adroitly playing off the lazy analysis that he was a half-educated buffoon to explain his seemingly erratic behavior, the presidential guest of honor, a product of British education and British military training, dished it back to his hosts … what he really thought of them.

Amongst the myriad veiled vulgar word plays of this speech, the product of a plainly intelligent, educated, tri-lingual and incredibly shrewd but supremely angry and vengeful man, is a common East African slangy usage of “short call” and “long call,” used mostly by English speakers to connote a short visit or a ‘chat” and a longer visit or ‘discussion,’ but in colloquial Uganda, ‘short call’ meant ‘taking a piss’ and ‘long call’ meant ‘taking a crap.’

President Idi Amin Dada’s speech to Queen Elizabeth:
“My majesty Mr. Queen Sir, horrible ministers and members of parliament, invented Guests, ladies under gentlemen; I hereby thank you completely … Mr. Queen, sir … and also what he has done for me and my fellow Uganda who come with me.

We have really eaten very much and we are fed up completely. Also very thanks to you keenly open up from all windows so that those plenty climates can come into lunch. But before I go back to my country with a plane from the Entebbe airport of London, I wish to invitation you Mr. Queen, to become home to Uganda so that we can also revenge on you.

You will eat a full cow, and also feel up your stomach and walk with difficult because of full stomach completely. Even when you want to rest at night, I will make sure that you sleep on top of me in the top upstairs of my mansion completely so that you can enjoy all the gravity of fresh air.

But now am sorry because I have to tell you that I have made a short call on you only. But next time I shall make a long call on you to last the whole moon completely. Thank you very much to allow me to undress you completely before these extinguished ladies under gentlemen sir.

Lastly but not list, I ask the band to play our international anthem of the Republic of Uganda and also the British international anthem. Your majesty sir, I thank you from the bottom of my heart and from the bottoms of all the people of Uganda. With this few words I thank you Sir.”

This speech would be the archest of political satire if Idi Amin hadn’t slaughtered so many of his own Black African countrymen while destroying Uganda’s economy, governing institutions, society – schools, hospitals, policing, national security – aggressively fueling racial and tribal animosities to justify seizing private property, industry, businesses and re-distributing them to his tribal cronies. Most of these looted investments were founded and owned by Ugandan Asians, that is to say, entrepreneurial shopkeepers and traders from India whose parents had immigrated a generation before, brought in with the British colonization and more despised than the British.  The Ugandan economy collapsed with shocking speed.

It redefined ‘cheeky,’ but hateful mockery infuses it, delivered directly to the faces of the hated persons by a man who employed deadly code constantly, where innocuous words like ‘serve some tea’ meant a particular type of assassination, and it had Idi Amin’s supporters by the thousands laughing out loud at home, greatly increasing his populist appeal to millions more as the British elites, who’d deluded themselves that because he’d grown up in their education system, trained and advanced along the British system, rewarded by and conformed to all things British that he was really one of them, sat with uneasy incomprehension, while his political opposition who could interpret Amin’s own personal variation of a double-talking, two-faced dialect of English, fled in terror as Amin held the tyrannical power to decree who lived or died in Uganda.

Ignoring that Amin dragged beautiful, once-prosperous Uganda into horrific ruin,  Idi Amin Dada’s speech is preserved today as the supreme in-your-face payback of the Black African against the White Colonialists, in Uganda and Kenya’s case, specifically Great Britain as represented by the Queen of England. Those who do not know the context consider it amateur slapstick comedy, a terrible fail to grasp what Amin very deliberately was doing as part of his grand political strategy.

For over thirty years The Speech has been infamous for Idi Ami Dada alluding to his trip to white Anglo-Saxon Britain as, “I came to crap on you all.”

Given Obama’s background, his choices of associates in Chicago, his long East African Luo tribal connections along the Kenya-Uganda border, it would be very unlikely he isn’t familiar with Amin’s speech. Moments before crudely flushing the toilet on his glitterati audience, Obama reminded everyone that he as POTUS holds the nuclear codes – the power of life and death over hundreds of millions of people – a very strange choice of un-humorous subject to be idly passing the time contemplating as Barack Obama ostensibly sat in the loo, ostensibly evacuating either his bladder or his bowels or both, making the multimillionaire movers and shakers of the media audience wait for him, during his ‘long call.’

It was quite unique in modern political oratory, until Obama flushed on his audience. At best, what Obama did was a complete disgrace, a total civility fail, but never should a U.S. president’s behavior or rhetoric even hint of any parallels with any despot, much less with one of the quality of Idi Amin Dada.

Further, with an administration obsessed with controlling the ‘messaging,’ what then was the meaning of the message Barack Obama spent so much time on the ‘john’ crafting to deliver?

The elite media which was witness to all this, uncharacteristically mute … has ‘no comment.’

Not obscure: http://search.yahoo.com/search;_ylt=Atx.bzmLwMhwDnhWNaWSHjGbvZx4?p=idi+amins+speech+to+queen&toggle=1&cop=mss&ei=UTF-8&fr=yfp-t-701

A popular topic long after Amin’s 1979 toppling by the Tanzanians and his subsequent flight to Saudi Arabia.  Amin  appealed for asylum in The Kingdom on the grounds of being a Muslim convert.

Oddities of the Celtic world. Coincidentally, while Barack Obama promoted his Celtic roots just a couple of months ago during this year’s St. Patrick’s Day as the Irish ‘O’Bama,’ Idi Amin, who rose up the ranks in a Scottish military regiment, often made a slyly complex political statement paralleling the English conquest and oppression of Celtic Scotland to the English conquest of Uganda by promoting himself as “King of Scotland.”

Toilet flushing will do that: Brokaw says WHCA Dinner is sending wrong message  http://www.washingtontimes.com/blog/inside-politics/2012/may/6/brokaw-white-house-correspondents-dinner-hurting-p/

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Ron Barber: A Rubber Stamp for Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi

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This Week’s Ron Barber: Will take Medicare away from seniors!

This week Ron Barber continued to try to deceive voters about his views on Medicare. Fact is, Barber refuses to support the repeal of ObamaCare, which cuts $500 billion from Medicare and empowers a panel of government bureaucrats to make decisions about seniors’ health care. Since the government healthcare takeover is paid for in part by nearly $200 billion in cuts to Medicare Advantage programs, seniors currently on these plans could find their benefits at risk.

In Arizona, more than 342,000 seniors are enrolled in Medicare Advantage, a program that ObamaCare guts to fund the government takeover of healthcare supported by Barber.

Don’t take our word for it.  Here’s what former Arizona Daily Star political reporter and now spokesperson for the NRCC says about Ron Barber:

“Ron Barber’s policies put seniors at risk. He refuses to support the repeal of ObamaCare, which is the only way to stop Obama and Pelosi’s cuts to Medicare. No wonder Pelosi and Raul ‘Boycott’ Grijalva are backing Barber’s campaign.”

Sine Die – Finally!

The Arizona Legislature adjourned last night, ending one of the most significant and successful sessions for Arizona families. Our CAP Team is grateful for the leadership shown by Governor Brewer and our pro-life, pro-family legislators. Next week, we will release the Family Issues Voting Record, which recaps how each legislator voted on CAP-supported bills, and the final tally of CAP-supported bills that were signed into law.

On the Governor’s Desk

Before adjournment, the legislature sent four CAP-supported bills to Governor Brewer. Legislation to defund Planned Parenthood (HB 2800), protect employers from being forced to violate their religious beliefs (HB 2625), protect professionals licensed by the state from losing their certifications for the free exercise of their faith (SB 1365), and expand the Empowerment Scholarship Account Program (HB 2622) are all awaiting the Governor’s signature.

Planned Parenthood, the ACLU, and education establishment have continued their campaign to encourage Gov. Brewer to veto these bills. If you haven’t yet, please take a minute today to send her a quick note in support of these four bills! And, take a few minutes to pray!

A Team Effort! A Time of Thanksgiving!

I live by the Proverb that we are to be prepared for the day of battle but victory belongs to the Lord.  The victories this legislative session indeed are by God’s Hand.   Thankfully, however, He has blessed our efforts with a team that includes allied organizations committed to foundational values including Arizona Catholic Conference, Alliance Defense Fund, Bioethics Defense Foundation, Americans United for Life, Susan B. Anthony List, and our school choice allies. I am incredibly grateful for everything they do to join us to stand for foundational values.

If space permitted, I would also thank each and every legislator who stood with us this session.  Alas, I will ask each one of you to do so when you receive the voting records next week for your two state representatives and state senator. For now, I do want to thank Senate President Steve Pierce and House Speaker Andy Tobin for their leadership in making sure CAP-supported bills made it through the legislative process.  Take time to send those two leaders a quick thank-you email for their support – click on their names above to send them an email.

Finally, THANK YOU! It’s because you turned out to vote your values in the 2010 elections that we were blessed with the pro-life, pro-family majority in the state House and Senate.

National Day of Prayer
Our nation celebrated the National Day of Prayer yesterday. In conjunction with the National Day of Prayer, Governor Brewer once again declared yesterday the Arizona Day of Prayer, despite the ongoing legal attack against her from the “Freedom From Religion Foundation.”
Thank you, Gov. Brewer, for refusing to be pushed around by this out-of-state organization that is determined to rewrite our country’s history and First Amendment.

Praying Strategically

In recognition of the National Day of Prayer, CAP’s new Church Relations Director, Pastor Terry Anderson is writing a 3 part blog series on the Foundations blog about “praying strategically.” Terry shared this message with our staff last week and greatly blessed the CAP team. Click here to read it.

ICYMI: War on Women? The Undeniable Roots of Pro-Life Feminism

Our friends at the Susan B. Anthony List wrote an editorial in response to two pieces in the Arizona Republic.

On the Foundations blog, we share their editorial, but also point out that today’s pro-life movement is stronger – and more diverse – than ever before. This legislative session is an awesome example of women and men coming together to defend life, vulnerable women, and preborn children.

State Bar reneges on promise a year ago not to charge Andrew Thomas all costs

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, May 4, 2012

Out of state Bar prosecutor Gleason told Thomas a year ago in writing he would not have to pay extra costs  

Yet Bar is now seeking full costs of $554,000+ of its overly done, extravagant prosecution of Thomas

eNewsAZ

Thomas Assessment in Disbarment Much Higher Than Gleason Led Him To Expect

Gleason email from a year ago contradicted in Thomas’ assessment

The unpleasant surprises for former Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas just keep rolling in.

After the State Bar ruling that effectively disbarred Thomas and former Prosecutor Lisa Aubuchon and suspended former Deputy Rachel Alexander from practicing law; Thomas was informed by the County that Maricopa County would not pay for his appeal. According to AZCentral.com, Maricopa County has already paid $1,066,645 in Thomas’ defense, and nearly $600K combined in the defense of Aubuchon and Alexander. But, once the ruling was handed down, Maricopa County informed the three attorneys that their appeals would not be paid for by County funds.

That decision caused Thomas to decide not to appeal, although Aubuchon and Alexander have decided to forge ahead.

This week, however, Thomas was informed that he was being assessed for the costs related to their disciplinary hearing. That amounts to a $4000 administrative fee and $550,869 in expenses. Included in the expenses, according to AZCentral, are “…costs of transportation, hotel, meals and expert witnesses between March 2010 and March 2012 by Independent Bar Counsel John Gleason and his staff.”

The administrative fee for Aubuchon and Alexander will be $6000, higher since they are filing appeals of their sanction. But, after their appeal proceedings are complete, there is a possibility that they, too, will have a larger assessment to pay. That is a decision for the Arizona Supreme Court Presiding Disciplinary Judge William O’Neil to make.

This is much more than Bar Prosecutor John Gleason led Thomas’ attorney, Donald Wilson, Jr., to expect, according to an email sent nearly a year ago.

From: John Gleason [mailto: john.gleason@csc.state.co.us ]
Sent: Friday, May 13, 2011 2:37 PM
To: Don Wilson
Subject: costs

Don: I want to get back to you on your question regarding assessment of costs. It is my understanding that the only costs that would be assessed should there be a finding of misconduct would be the standard administrative fee that varies from $1200 to $6000 depending on the time and nature of the resolution. Also, the actual cost of transcripts, depositions, experts, and similar costs are assessed. The State Bar would not assess the cost of attorney’s fees, travel, or lodging related to Independent Bar Counsel or his staff. John

Wilson said he will ask for an extended deadline until the Aubuchon and Alexander appeals are completed, in order to see if the costs should be divided amongst the three. However, Wilson maintains that in his opinion, the County is liable for these assessments, since a precedent has been set in the past when the county paid the costs of other prosecutors facing Bar disciplinary hearings.

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Arizona, Moving Forward without Obama

PHOENIX—Today, Arizona political consulting firm DC London, Inc. released the most realistic poll of Arizona voters to date. Previous polls, conducted among only registered voters, failed to accurately portray the situation on the ground. This poll of likely voters, conducted by well-respected polling firm Magellan Strategies, shows the true picture: Arizona belongs to Mitt Romney.

Overall, Romney leads Obama 52 percent to 43 percent among likely voters, and 54 percent to 42 percent among motivated voters. Arizonans don’t support Obama or his policies:

· 55 percent of respondents have an unfavorable opinion of President Obama

· 55 percent disapprove of his job performance

· 56 percent disapprove of the health care law

Further, Romney is up by nine percent among independents (49 percent to 40 percent) and by four percent among women (49 percent to 45 percent).

In 2008, McCain won Arizona 53.0 percent to 44.6 percent. Romney, as this poll shows, is well positioned to hold Arizona for the GOP.

In the U.S. Senate race, Jeff Flake has a 44 percent to 40 percent lead over Richard Carmona, while Wil Cardon leads Carmona by just 41 percent to 40 percent. And, in the generic congressional ballot, Republicans have a nine percent advantage over Democrats (50 percent to 41 percent).

“Despite wishful thinking by the Left, Arizona is, and will remain, a red state in 2012,” said Sean Noble, president of DC London, Inc. “Arizonans are ready to move ‘forward,’ but it’s going to be without Barack Obama in the White House.”

DC London, Inc. is an Arizona-based political consulting firm with offices in Phoenix and Washington, D.C. For more information, please visit www.dc-london.com or call (602) 606-2919.

To see the press release, crosstabs, and toplines from Magellan Strategies Click Here.

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The Feds Are Coming for Our Water

By Nick Dranias

The City of Tombstone, Arizona is no longer the only one fighting the federal government for water rights. The latest move by the Federal Bureau of Land Management appears to herald a bigger and much more comprehensive effort to seize water and access rights on federal lands throughout the western states.

Just last week, the Bureau of Land Management declared to the Arizona Department of Water Resources that the federal government holds senior water rights across much of Arizona’s San Pedro River riparian watershed. The BLM’s objection to the “Designation of Adequate Water Supply” issued by ADWR to Sierra Vista’s Pueblo del Sol Water Company stakes the claim that water sources in the area cannot be used without the federal government’s permission. This new federal policy not only defies decades of deference to and accommodation of state sovereignty over water law, but it throws a noose around Arizona’s neck, for which water is life.

The growing federal stranglehold over water rights in Arizona is a direct assault on state autonomy. There is perhaps no better way for the federal government to quell restive western states, like Arizona, that dare to resist federal immigration, healthcare, and unionization policies.

More than ever before, the BLM’s actions show that it is essential for the Goldwater Institute to prevail in our efforts to vindicate Tombstone, Arizona’s 130-year-old water rights, which the federal government is challenging. If Tombstone fails in its effort to preserve its municipal water supply, which is essential to its existence, the floodgates of federal overreach will wash away what little sovereignty the western states still enjoy.

Nick Dranias holds the Clarence J. and Katherine P. Duncan Chair for Constitutional Government and is director of the Joseph and Dorothy Donnelly Moller Center for Constitutional Government at the Goldwater Institute.

Learn more:

Sierra Vista Herald: Warning on water issued by Babbitt in ’94

Arizona Department of Water Resources: Bureau of Land Management letter (PDF)

Goldwater Institute: Tombstone v. United States

Russell Pearce Statement on today’s tragic events in Gilbert

Our prayers and thoughts are with the surviving family members and friends of the victims of today’s horrific and evil act. There are no words to adequately express the sadness we share, as a community, with those affected.

I spent much of my day resisting efforts by those in the media to get me to make a statement. Today’s events have nothing to do with me and no connection to me. Yet TV news crews started coming to my home seeking comments and my telephone rang nonstop with calls from those who were desperate to score the ugliest of political points off of this tragedy. Now my name is being mentioned in coverage and I have no choice but to respond.

Regarding whether I knew JT Ready, I did, as did many of us who have been involved in Mesa politics for a long time. When we first met JT he was fresh out of the Marine Corp and seemed like a decent person. He worked as a telephone fundraiser for Christian and pro-life groups, he dated the daughter of one of our District 18 members, and his attitudes and spoken opinions were good and decent. At some point in time darkness took his life over, his heart changed, and he began to associate with the more despicable groups in society. They were intolerant and hateful and like so many who knew him from before, I was upset and disappointed at the choices he was making. I worked with others to have him removed from his local position within our Republican Party because there has never been and will never be any room in our Party or our lives for those preaching hatred. He was angry with me and stayed angry with me, and it has been several years since I have had reason to speak with JT.

In the past several years the local media has worked hard to try to tie me to the JT Ready that preached hate, and that is nothing more than a lie. When I learned the truth about him, I made it clear how wrong I thought it was and I worked to remove him from our Party. Yet the lie is told and retold over and over again. It is the ugliest form of politics. The most radical groups I have ever belonged to are the Boy Scouts of America and the Fraternal Order of Police, and in my 65 years in Mesa, as a law enforcement deputy, as a judge and as the head of state agencies, I have never been accused of mistreating anyone or of unfair conduct toward anyone I have associated with, hired or supervised.

Finally, while I am frequently critical of the job the mainstream media does in pursuing a political agenda instead of the truth, today’s behavior is the most reprehensible that I have ever witnessed. On the very day that these unspeakable crimes take place, editors and producers all over town are making a concerted effort to make the story about a politician whose conservative politics they disagree with.

Today, the Devil won and claimed the soul of one young man and the lives of others, including the most innocent of all, a child. Our thoughts and prayers are with the four beautiful souls that are now in God’s hands. We pray that He accepts them into his kingdom and that he grants comfort and solace to the friends and surviving family.

Why I’m Not Buying a House in Glendale, Ariz.

By Byron Schlomach, Ph.D.

After well over four years in Arizona, my wife and I have finally sold our property in Texas and we’re ready to buy a house here. I work near downtown Phoenix, but we’d like a little room and we’re not flush with cash, so I’m willing to drive. That means we could choose to live in most communities in the Valley, as long as they’re within about 20 miles of downtown Phoenix. One city in particular, though, is scratched off the list: Glendale.

I personally consider some parts of Glendale to have a lot of potential. There are some nice neighborhoods, some good schools, and drive times would be tolerable. The idea of moving to Glendale, however, looks too much like a crapshoot. If I wanted to gamble, I could go to a casino. But I don’t want to gamble with an asset as big and as important as a house.

The risk comes from the fast-and-loose way Glendale’s leadership has played with taxpayers’ money. The city has used sales tax proceeds to guarantee bonds for sports venues I personally would never use. It is also paying the National Hockey League to keep the Coyotes at Jobing.com Arena. Meanwhile, parks and a library annex, things I might use, will not be funded at levels once expected. Facing a $35 million budget deficit this year alone, the city is literally teetering on the edge of bankruptcy.

Top this off with a sales tax increase that will make Glendale’s the highest sales tax rate in the nation among major cities, and an expected property tax increase, and I cannot predict what my cost of living in Glendale is likely to be. At this rate, the value of any house I buy could be hurt just by being located in Glendale.

I love my family. I’m not taking the chance. I’m not buying a house in Glendale.

Dr. Byron Schlomach is the director of the Goldwater Institute’s Center for Economic Prosperity.

Learn more:

Arizona Republic: Glendale Leaders Mull Proposed Hike in Property Taxes, Layoffs

Tax Foundation: Glendale Considers Sales Tax Hike to Highest in Nation, Property Tax Hike

The Most Conservative Democrats in the Nation? Don’t Believe It.

By Sam Stone

Richard Carmona and Ron Barber have a lot in common. No, not their backgrounds. After all, Carmona is a former Surgeon General of the United States, a SWAT team member, and once killed a guy in the streets of Tucson. Barber, a lifelong social worker, was shot in the streets of Tucson. And that’s really all we know about either of them. Except that if you believe what they’re saying, they must be the most conservative Democrats in the entire United States.

Carmona is running to replace outgoing Sen. Jon Kyl. Barber is seeking the congressional seat formerly held by his boss, Gabrielle Giffords. And both are furiously channeling Barack Obama circa 2008.

Candidate Obama – a relatively unknown junior Senator from Illinois – was able to defeat Sen. Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primary and then oust Sen. John McCain in the general election largely on the premise that he was a socially moderate, fiscally conservative candidate untainted by the acrimony of recent politics. Obama’s Campaign of a Million Promises went largely unchallenged because there was almost nothing to challenge, and – tellingly – no one to challenge him.

In 1996, when Barack Obama ran for the Illinois Senate he ensured his spot on the ballot by successfully challenging the nominating petitions of his four opponents. Then, during his 2004 race for the U.S. Senate, Obama’s opponents in both the primary and general election imploded when, according to the Chicago Tribune, “their messy divorce files were unsealed.” The Tribune even acknowledged in print that both stories were aggressively pushed by the Obama campaign, and that Obama’s designated attack-dog David Axelrod likely leaked the stories initially as well.

Apparently, however, legal challenges and dirty pool in the pressroom only take you so far. Now that he’s in the White House, President Obama has added another tool to his bag of tricks.

At the time Gabrielle Giffords announced her resignation on January 22nd, a host of Southern Arizona Democrats immediately began formulating their plans. Businesswoman Nan Walden, State Senator Paula Aboud, and State Representatives Matt Heinz and Steve Farley – among others – were all scurrying around Tucson lining up support. But when Giffords announced her backing of former aide Barber for the seat the Democratic Party machine when into overdrive flooring everyone who wanted to run against Barber, muscling them out of the way so that Barber could be a “caretaker” for the rest of Rep. Giffords’ term.

Terrified that they might be accused of insensitivity (and in the Democrat world-view today, is there a more heinous crime?) they all bowed to the pressure and withdrew from the special election, assured that they would all have their chance in a few months since Barber would not run for the regular election in November. Then Ron Barber went to Washington.

The settlers at Jamestown have nothing on this guy. No one in history has managed to catch Potomac Fever faster than Ron Barber. In 24 hours, he was feted and vetted by the President. Nancy Pelosi and Raul Grijalva whispered a few sweet nothings in his ear. Act Blue and MoveOn.org lined his pillow with cash and tucked him into bed. And by the time Ron Barber woke up in the morning the fever was raging.  Ron was running for November.

Emboldened by their success in duplicating Obama’s field clearing strategy once already in Arizona, the Democrats decided to hold a BOGO sale. Obama used his high chair to push well-respected former Chairman of the Arizona Democratic Party Don Bivens out of the way in favor of his handpicked Senate candidate, Richard Carmona, which seems an odd choice considering that Bivens has a long track record within the state party, and has proven liberal chops. Carmona, meanwhile, worked for the Bush White House and was a registered independent until five months ago.

All of this begs the question, why? The numerous petrified fossils littering the U.S. Congress and Senate give often unfortunately verbose testimony to the rarity of open seats. So why has the Democratic Party machine twice interfered in Arizona elections, denying their Party’s primary voters the chance to choose their own representation?

Obama and his re-election team have made no secret of the fact they want to beat Mitt Romney in Arizona. But despite intensive efforts by Organizing for America, the SEIU, One Vote Arizona and Mi Familia Vota to register tens of thousands of new Democratic voters across the State, Arizona is still a moderately conservative-leaning state. No matter who won the primaries in the race to replace Gabrielle Giffords and Jon Kyl, Obama and the Democrats would have lost.

Even though he was personally recruited by Barack Obama and is receiving a ton of national democratic support, Carmona would have had a tough race against Don Bivens, and it’s entirely possible that Arizona’s solidly liberal Democratic primary voters would have rejected him as far too much of a compromise candidate. Even had he won, he would have been driven far to the left, a potentially fatal shift in a still-red state.

Ron Barber might have been in an even tougher position. Heinz, Aboud, Farley and Walden are all formidable opponents with strong progressive track records. Aboud and Heinz are also openly gay, meaning that social issues would likely have been a major issue in the special election primary. And, like the State in general, voters in Southern Arizona’s 8th Congressional District are conservative enough to make that kind of discussion highly damaging in the general election.

Instead, neither Carmona nor Barber had to reveal any kind of platform during the “primary “ process. They and their campaigns simply stayed silent, not even posting any position statements on their websites until after the field had been swept aside on their behalf.

Now, listening to both, you’d think they were the most conservative Democrats on the planet. Barber talks about “overhauling” Obamacare, securing our border and protecting veterans and Carmona’s website touts his commitment to balancing the budget. Close your eyes, and you’d think you were tuned in to conservative talk radio.

Why is that important? Obama’s low approval ratings don’t provide much in the way of coattails for candidates to grab on to. Instead, in Arizona, the President has adopted a strategy from NASCAR: drafting. Obama and his team are hoping that Barber can turn out key voters in the Democratic stronghold of Southern Arizona while Carmona does the same for him statewide.

Instead of leading them to victory, Obama hopes to be there, using his money, organization and influence to reduce the drag on his chosen candidates, and cling to their fenders at the end of the race in the hope that they can pull him across the finish line as well. It’s a plan that depends on having two unknown, and now unknowable, candidates unsullied by having to expose their positions in contested primaries.

What Richard Carmona and Ron Barber really believe is, essentially, immaterial at this point. Like Obama in 2008, they can say anything they want.  Now we’ll have to find out if voters are willing to believe the magic act once again.

Sam Stone is a Republican political consultant in Southern Arizona.

Sen. Rich Crandall – Coward or “Practical”

After the new legislative district lines came out a few months ago, there was much speculation (and anticipation), about the potential AZ Senate matchup between would-be comeback kid Russell Pearce and his top Senate Republican nemisis Rich Crandall.  The consensus pointed to Crandall getting crushed by Pearce.

After all, in 2010 Crandall lost over 40% of the vote to newbie challenger James Molina, even though Molina dropped out of the race almost a month before early ballots.  Even a charitable view of this outcome points to a 20%+ protest vote against Crandall – a HUGE number for a relatively low profile state legislative race.

Fast forward to March.  First, Crandall announced he was retiring and endorsed wealthy LDS RINO Bob Worsley against Pearce.  Then soon after, Crandall filed run in the new LD16 against freshman Rep. John Fillmore.  Crandall will have to move to run in LD16, which he justifies by noting his kids go to school there.  He’s been drafted to run, you see, because the state would be unable to sustain itself without the benefit of his insight on education.

The truth is somewhat less flattering for him.  First, the Elites, who Crandall loves to consider himself a leader among, threw him under the bus because they knew he’d lose to Pearce.  He tried to make it look like his idea so it wouldn’t be so obvious.  But since he wants a position in a national educrat organization that requires that he be a sitting legislator to be eligible, he decided to carpetbag over to LD16, where he would avoid facing Pearce.

All Arizona conservatives should hope that the voters of LD16 who aren’t as familiar with Crandall as his abandoned district will see through his conservative facade and recognize the coward that is underneath.

Vote for Russell Pearce in this poll now!

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
Tuesday, May 1, 2012

The blog Western Free Press has put up a push-poll to ensure that untested, unreliable Republican Bob Worsley leads over Russell Pearce. Worsley does not have anything posted on the issues page of his campaign website. Where does he stand on illegal immigration? Abortion? Tax increases and spending? There is a reason why he has left this information off his website.

Don’t let this blog skew the results of their poll. Vote for Russell now.
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Congressman Gosar Town Hall TONIGHT

The Arizona Energy Forum cordially invites you to a Town Hall Forum featuring:

Congressman Paul Gosar (AZ-01)
Tuesday, May 1st
6:00pm-7:30pm

Prescott Resort & Conference Center
1500 State Route 69
Prescott, AZ 86301

Also speaking:

Prescott Valley Mayor Harvey Skoog

Come listen to Congressman Paul Gosar speak about national energy
policy, rising gas prices, and other issues affecting our community.

This forum is free and open to the public.

For more information or to RSVP, please call Paul Layeux at 602.955.2186
or email arizonaenergyforum@live.com.

The Arizona Energy Forum is a bipartisan coalition of Arizona citizens that support energy
policies that protect our nation’s energy and economic security, hearby protecting American jobs, and keeping energy prices low for American families.

May 4 is Education Savings Account Application Deadline

By Jonathan Butcher

Friday, May 4th is the deadline for parents of students with special needs to apply for an education savings account for next school year.

These accounts give parents their children’s share of school funds to use on textbooks, virtual school classes, private school tuition, or even college savings plans. Approximately 150 families participated this year.

The only program of its kind in the U.S., education savings accounts allow parents to customize their child’s education. Parents can select a variety of educational services for their child in order to create a specialized learning experience that will challenge their child and prepare them for life in the real world.

Here are a few commonly asked questions and answers about education savings accounts.

  • What is an education savings account (or “Empowerment Scholarship Account”)? Education savings accounts are private accounts under parents’ control. Parents of students with special needs complete an application with the Arizona Department of Education and receive their share of school funds. Families can use the funds for many educational expenses, including online courses, textbooks, and private school tuition. A complete list of approved expenses is available here.
  • Who is eligible? All students with an IEP or 504 plan who attended a public school for the first 100 days of this school year are eligible to apply. Students who received a scholarship from a school tuition organization (STO) under “Lexie’s Law” are also eligible. Families that used a savings account this school year will receive a renewal contract from the Arizona Department of Education (more information for participating families is available from the Department of Education here).
  • How do you apply? Applications are available on the Arizona Department of Education’s Web site. Friday, May 4 is the deadline for next school year.
  • Where can I learn more? To learn more, visit the Goldwater Institute’s “Education Savings Accounts: Questions and Answers” or the Arizona Department of Education’s information page.

These savings accounts are changing the lives of children with special needs. If you know a family who would qualify for an account, I hope you’ll share this information and encourage them to apply today.

Jonathan Butcher is education director for the Goldwater Institute.

Learn more:

Arizona Department of Education: Empowerment Scholarship Accounts 

Arizona Department of Education: ESA Application Guidelines

Goldwater Institute: Education Savings Accounts: Questions and Answers

Goldwater Institute: Education Savings Accounts Extend Hope, Opportunities

Defunding Planned Parenthood

The Legislature once again demonstrated why Arizona has become one of the most pro-life states in the country. On Wednesday, the Senate passed HB 2800, sponsored by Rep. Justin Olson. This bill prohibits federal dollars that pass through the state for family planning from going to abortion providers, including Planned Parenthood. Click here to see how your Senator voted. The bill now awaits Gov. Brewer’s signature.To no one’s surprise, of course, Planned Parenthood continues to attack the bill in two ways:

  1. They claim they do not use taxpayer dollars to pay for abortions. Yet one taxpayer dollar that goes to Planned Parenthood for anything frees up another dollar to fund their abortion operation. Any funding to Planned Parenthood supports abortions.
  2. Despite being Arizona’s largest abortion provider, Planned Parenthood claims this bill will deny women access to other medical procedures including cancer screenings and women’s health services. Once again, this is not true. The bill does not reduce the funding by one penny – it simply prioritizes the funding to healthcare providers who can provide more comprehensive services. There are plenty of options for women to access care in Arizona.

National Day of Prayer

Since our nation’s beginning, every leader has recognized the important role prayer plays in safeguarding our future.The National Day of Prayer is this Thursday, May 3. This year’s theme verse is Psalm 33:12 “Blessed is the Nation Whose God is the Lord.”

Our friends at BridgeBuilders are hosting a prayer event at the state Capitol that day. Check out other prayer events across the state at the National Day of Prayer website.

Take time on Thursday to lift Arizona and America up in prayer. Attend an event. Pray with your family, especially your children. Pray for wisdom and protection for our leaders at all levels of government. Ask for the church to stand up this election season and that the foundational values of life, marriage and family, and religious liberty are protected and respected in our nation.

The National Movement

The Susan B. Anthony List has been working with state organizations across the country to defund Planned Parenthood. This year, Ohio, New Hampshire, Iowa, and Oklahoma are considering legislation similar to Arizona’s HB 2800. We’re grateful to have been able to work with SBA List to see HB 2800 pass in Arizona.In 2011, eight states successfully defunded Planned Parenthood of more than $61.7 million.

Rushing Toward Adjournment

After a slow week at the Capitol, news comes late this week that the Legislature and Governor may have reached an agreement on the state budget. That means adjournment could happen early next week. Three key CAP-supported bills still need final votes in both houses: SB 1365 to protect the rights of conscience for individuals in employment, HB 2774 to clarify the property tax exemption for churches, and HB 2622 to expand and refine Arizona’s empowerment scholarship account program. Vetoed by Gov. Brewer a few weeks ago, the “ESA” bill has been modified to meet Gov. Brewer’s concerns. Stay up to date with CAP’s bill tracker.

Finding a Solution

The state Senate gave final approval to HB 2625, which exempts religiously affiliated employers from being forced to violate their religious beliefs by covering abortion-inducing drugs and contraceptives in their insurance plans.The bill passed by a 19-9 vote and now heads to Gov. Brewer’s desk. Click here to see how your Senator voted.

While there is still work to be done to protect the religious conscience rights of all employers, this bill is an important step in the right direction.

Gov. Brewer Needs to Hear from You!

Now that these two important bills are heading to the Governor, she needs to hear from you that you support HB 2800 and HB 2625!

Click here to send Gov. Brewer a message online.

U.S. Senator Jim DeMint Endorses Jeff Flake for US Senate

Jeff Flake

“When it comes to fighting wasteful Washington spending and parochial politics, nobody has done more to advance the cause of freedom than Jeff Flake. Nobody.” 

PHOENIX – Jeff Flake, a conservative candidate for the United States Senate, today received the endorsement of U.S. Senator Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) and the Senate Conservative Fund (SCF), which he founded. In a letter to SCF members, DeMint wrote:

“When it comes to fighting wasteful Washington spending and parochial politics, nobody has done more to advance the cause of freedom than Jeff Flake. Nobody.

“Jeff Flake has fought a lonely battle against earmarks for years, even when it meant standing up to members of his own party who refused to stop pork barrel spending. Without his leadership, House Republicans would not have adopted the earmark moratorium last year.

“Jeff Flake has also authored legislation to devolve the federal highway program back to the states where it belongs. His plan would empower states to build moreroads with less money by removing union wage mandates and unnecessary federal red tape.”

“Senator DeMint is one of the most recognized national conservative leaders and has been a reformer in the U.S. Senate,” said Jeff Flake. “I am grateful to have his support in this race and I look forward to joining his efforts in the Senate to support economic freedom and limited government.”

The SCF is dedicated to electing strong conservative leaders to the United States Senate who have the courage to fight for the timeless conservative principles of limited government, strong national defense, and traditional family values.

Click here to see DeMint’s letter: http://senateconservatives.com/site/post/1431/jeff-flake-for-u-s-senate

Jeff Flake has also received the endorsements of several leading conservative organizations and leaders, including Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery, Arizona Right to Life, the Club for Growth PAC, FreedomWorks PAC, the National Taxpayers Union Campaign Fund, Arizona Sportsmen for Wildlife, Governor Bobby Jindal, Congressman Paul Ryan, and Senators Pat Toomey and Mike Lee.

For more information on Jeff Flake and why he’s running for the U.S. Senate, please visit his website at www.JeffFlake.com.

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