Sunday Morning Crappie

The idea for this was blatantly, shamelessly, and gratefully stolen from Desert Beacon's "Sunday Deck Bass" series...thanks DB!

This intermittent series will highlight those politicos, mostly but not exclusively Arizona-based, who flip-flop on significant issues, much like a fish does after being reeled into the bottom of the boat.

I've wanted to do something like this for a while and was searching for a title. Not being schooled in the finer points of fishing in Arizona, I asked a coworker about which species of fish was Arizona known for.

Her first choice, bass, was already taken by DB.

Her second choice was crappie.

It was obvious that the gods of snarkiness were smiling upon me. :))

Oh, for those of you whose minds are in the toilet, she pronounced the word "craw-pee."

Anyway, on to this week's award for sometimes convenient, frequently creative, and always astounding flip-flopping.

3rd Place goes to Harold Ickes, senior adviser to the Clinton for President campaign. A few months ago, he supported the DNC's move to strip Florida and Michigan of its delegates because those states decided to hold their primaries before February 5.

However, now that his candidate is in the fight of her political life and needs every delegate she can lay her hands on, he wants the DNC to seat the delegates from those states.

His stated reason for this is pure - he doesn't want to see the voters in those states "disenfranchised."

Of course, the fact that his candidate won the primaries in both states (she was the only major candidate even on the ballot in Michigan) has nothing to do with it.

Story: AP via Yahoo! News.

2nd Place goes to Arizona Congressman John Shadegg (R-AZ3) for first announcing his retirement from Congress (citing family reasons) before reconsidering his decision (citing a letter from his Republican colleagues in the House.)

He may be the #2 Crappie, but he's the #1 tease - State Sens. Pamela Gorman and Jim Waring were both considering runs at the CD3 seat, but now their announcements are on hold, waiting for Shadegg to make a final decision.

Well, "final" until he changes it.

Both Ickes and Shadegg made strong runs at this week's award, but the winner, in a near walk-over, is Arizona Senator and Republican presidential front-runner John McCain.

McCain, a former prisoner of war, victim of torture and long-time opponent of torture voted this week against banning the torture technique of waterboarding.

I'm torn between closing this with "Torture - McCain was against it before he was for it" and "John McCain on torture: 'bad when it's applied to me; good when it's applied to the rest of you saps.' "

Whatthehell - why not use both?

Later!