...specifically, the Independent, undecided, and moderate Republican voters.
Dear Independent, Undecided, and Moderate Republican Voters of Arizona's Fifth Congressional District,
Hi. My name is Craig, and I'm writing to you about the decision you will make in a little over six weeks; your choice of who will represent you in Congress for the next two years.
There are two major candidates asking for your vote: Democrat Harry Mitchell and Republican incumbent J.D. Hayworth. A third candidate, Libertarian Warren Severin, is also on the November 7th ballot. While some of his positions are interesting, he does not have a realistic chance of winning.
The other two candidates, Mitchell and Hayworth, present a study in contrasts -
One candidate is a lifelong public servant; the other got into politics when he decided that working as a sports anchor on the local news wasn't lucrative enough...
One candidate is a coalition-builder; the other is a lightning rod...
One candidate looks you straight in the eye when he speaks to you; the other looks straight at the T.V. camera...
One candidate is a steady workhorse; the other is a blustery show horse...
One candidate is respected and endorsed by friends, colleagues, and even former adversaries in the political arena; the other cannot even earn the endorsements of the other Republican members of the Arizona Congressional delegation...
If he were to never seek or hold another public office, one candidate would still be a beloved icon; the other would be a footnote (well, perhaps after he finished his inevitable stint as a talking head on Fox News)...
One candidate is known by the many lives he has touched; the other is known by the many wallets that he has touched...
One candidate is Harry Mitchell; the other is J.D. Hayworth.
Please consider these things when you make your choice on November 7.
Thank you, and good night.
2 comments:
Hello Craig,
I'm writing this comment to 1) admit that you make some eloquent points and 2) to point out that there is one topic you failed to touch on.
One candidate has called for the immediate removal of American occupation forces in Iraq. That candidate is Warren Severin. The remaining candidates have either failed to support the immediate removal of US troops (Harry Mitchell) or support the continued deployment of troops in Iraq (JD Hayworth).
As for a realistic chance of winning, any candidate on the ballot may win and any prediction that Severin's won't win is just that, a prediction. Such a prediction may come true or it may fail to come to pass.
Warren Severin will win if enough people have decided that they are fed up with the status quo candidates such as Mitchell and Hayworth.
Have 51% of voters reached that point? We will find out after Tuesday, November 7th. I plan to vote for Warren Severin and encourage anyone who can recognize the futility of the continued American occupation of Iraq to join me.
Hi Thane, and thanks for visiting my blog.
I agree with you on withdrawing our forces from Iraq; I'm just not a one-issue voter (though if I were to become one, Iraq is important enough to be worthy of consideration as the "one-issue".)
As for Warren Severin and his chances of winning, I'll stand by my prediction (yes, you're correct, it really is a prediction as much as an evaluation.)
I actually agree with Libertarians on most social issues, which is mostly "live and let live" with regard to the behavior of freely consenting adults.
Where I differ, and I believe most other people differ, is on the role of government.
Libertarians focus on the "secure the blessings of liberty" part of the Preamble of the Constitution but ignore the "promote the general welfare" part.
There are some things that just won't *ever* be done as well by private business as would be done by government. Education is a prime example of this.
Private schools, like all private businesses, are focused on revenue and profit; if teaching a broad array of subjects to poor students brings in the most money, that is what they do.
If not, they start cutting corners to maximize their profits. Regardless of what that means to the students.
At the candidate forum held a couple of weeks ago, Warren Severin said some things, such as removing our troops from Iraq, that went over very well with the crowd.
However, he absolutely lost the crowd when he told us that he was opposed to public education.
Do I wish Harry Mitchell would come out more strongly against the American occupation of Iraq? Of course, and I say that as someone who has volunteered and contributed to the campaign.
However, even more important than removing our troops is changing the Washington culture that sent them there in the first place, and that culture isn't just about misusing our troops to enhance Halliburton's (and others') bottom line.
I think that Harry Mitchell is the best candidate to address the whole problem, not just Iraq.
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