Congressman John Shadegg (R-CD3) has announced that he will not seek reelection this year. He made the same announcement two years ago, then reneged on it.
This time he reallyreallyreally means it, honest.
Note: any speculation about possible Republican candidates is just that - speculation. In case you couldn't tell (because my writing is *so* subtle :) ), I am NOT a Republican and have few, if any, sources among the Rs.
A quick rundown of some possible candidates to replace him (announced and speculated about):
Jon Hulburd, Democrat, is the only announced candidate thus far. He was gearing up to challenge Shadegg; now he has to shift gears slightly and adjust to running for an open seat.
Phil Gordon, Democrat. He's currently the Mayor of Phoenix and is termed limited next year, so he wants to move onward and upward. If he gets in and gains any traction in this race, it will be on the strength of his fundraising and campaign machine. Grassroots Dems do NOT like Gordon - he's endorsed too many really bad Rs (Jim Weiers, Andrew Thomas) to endear himself to neighborhood Democratic activists. Has the ego to jump in anyway.
Jim Waring, Republican. Currently a state senator. Was rumored to be interested two years ago, but backed off when Shadegg unretired. Currently "exploring" a run at State Treasurer, but may forego that for a shot at DC. If he goes for it, State Sen. Thayer Verschoor will probably go for the Treasurer's job. Of the R names listed here, he may be the best of a very bad lot. Very conservative, but not a knuckledragger.
Pam Gorman, Republican. Currently a state senator, and like Waring, was rumored to be interested two years ago. Currently on the outs with Senate leadership for her "more conservative than thou" grandstanding on the state budget last year, so she may be very interested this time around.
Sean Noble, Republican. Formerly Shadegg's chief of staff and has long been considered Shadegg's heir apparent. Writes the blog Noble Thinking.
Steve May, Republican. Former state legislator. Actually formed a committee in 2008 and briefly ran against Shadegg, but backed off when the support wasn't there. Very conservative, strong military background, but with one big flaw by Republican standards - he's openly gay. If he runs for office again, any office, he will have a tough row to hoe in any R primary. I don't think that he lives in the district, but that is a minor detail in AZ. Just ask Virginian Rick Renzi.
Sam Crump, Republican. Currently a state representative. Very conservative, very ambitious, not known for playing well with others - threatened to challenge House Speaker Kirk Adams on the budget, and like Gorman, got slapped down for his trouble (but only temporarily). Also started to mount a campaign for AG, trying to bump more established Rs Tom Horne and Andrew Thomas from the race. Recently backed away from that to run for reelection to the state House. Very likely to jump in here, regardless of who else jumps in.
Any teabagger (pick one, any one.) Don't know which one, but given the state of the current GOP, at least one will jump in.
Other possible but less likely candidates:
Perennial candidate Susan Bitter Smith (R), an industry lobbyist and currently president of the governing board of the Central Arizona Project. She doesn't live in the district, but may view an open seat as an easier target than Harry Mitchell in CD5.
The aforementioned Tom Horne (R), currently State Superintendent of Public Instruction and a candidate for Attorney General. Possible, but not likely - Andrew Thomas' travails (a polite word for "expected federal indictment") leave him a clear path at the R nod for AG. A CD3 primary would be far less of a good bet for him.
Bob Lord (D), who mounted a strong challenge to Shadegg in 2008. Word is that he has been advising fellow D Hulburd. Expended a lot of energy in 2008, and may not have another run in him. Yet.
Vernon Parker (R), Mayor of Paradise Valley and an announced candidate for Governor. Has an uphill battle in a statewide race with his low name recognition, but is one of the bigger names in the district. Pure speculation on my part, but I wanted to toss out a name that no one else has so far. :)
Tedski's take and speculations at Rum, Romanism, Rebellion, here.
Anybody have their own guesses? Feel free to leave them in a comment...
Showing posts with label Lord. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lord. Show all posts
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Sunday, December 07, 2008
Best and worst bargains - 2008 elections
Edit on 12/8 to update County numbers, below...
Post-General Election campaign finance reports are in, and normally this would be the time to do a really geeky and dry post listing figures for contributions, expenditures, cash on hand, etc. However, since the election results are in, I'm going to do something a little different.
Still geeky and dry, but different. :))
Today's post will list the best bargains (based on lowest expenditures per vote for election victors) and the worst bargains (based on highest expenditures per vote for election losers.)
The expenditure figures taken from the cycle-to-date boxes of the campaigns' post-general reports; vote totals taken from the appropriate reporting authority, either the AZ Secretary of State or the Maricopa County Recorder.
Best Bargain - AZ Congressional races
Republican Trent Franks was easily the leader here, spending $400,019.59 to receive 200,914 votes, or $1.99/vote. Republican Jeff Flake was the second most frugal victor, spending $3.76/vote. By contrast, the victor who spent the *most* per vote was another Republican, John Shadegg. Shadegg spent $17.85/vote ($2,656,692.67 spent, 200914 votes received).
Worst Bargain - AZ Congressional races
Democrat Bob Lord, Shadegg's opponent in CD3, "won" this dubious distinction, spending $1,745,210.41 to receive 115,759 votes, for a $17.85/vote pace. The only losing candidate who spent at a pace that was even close to Lord's was Republican Tim Bee. Bee spent 13.25/vote in his failed campaign to unseat Gabrielle Giffords in CD8.
Giffords and Harry Mitchell (D-CD5) each spent more than $15/vote, but since they won their races (rather handily at that), the money spent was a good deal.
Note: Challengers Don Karg (R-CD4), Rebecca Schneider (D-CD6), and Joe Sweeney (R-CD7 [I think]) haven't filed post-general reports that I could find, but I doubt that any of them spent enough money to challenge Lord for the 'Worst Bargain' status.
The comparison of county campaigns was more difficult, because both major candidates for county attorney, Andrew Thomas and Tim Nelson, as well as supervisor candidates Fulton Brock, Joel Sinclaire, and Max Wilson haven't filed post-general reports yet. (Note: with Joel Sinclaire's passing, his committee has been suspended/terminated. I'm not sure if/when a final campaign finance report will be filed.)
Brock, Thomas, Nelson, and Wilson all have reports up on the County Recorder's website, and according to the time/date stamps on the forms, all reports were submitted on time.
However, I don't want it to be said that I'm not able to form conclusions based on incomplete information. :)))
Best Bargain - Maricopa County races
Right now, Don Stapley is the clear winner in this category, but that could change once his legal expenses are added in. At this point, however, the Republican incumbent spent $9933.45 to receive 164,381 votes, or $0.29/vote to retain his seat in SD2.
Note: Stapley was a little creative in filling out his report, neglecting to fill out the "cycle-to-date" column. The expenditure number listed in this post is a total of the "cycle-to-date" number from his pre-general report and the "current period" number from his post-general report.
Worst Bargain - Maricopa County races
Ed Hermes, the Democratic candidate in Supervisor District 1, "led" this category, spending $112,026.14 to garner 119,971 votes, for a $0.93/vote pace. While for the purposes of this post, this campaign qualifies as the "worst" bargain among the county races, I expect Ed to take the lessons of this cycle and apply them to another campaign, one that he may very well win.
Tim Nelson challenged for this one, spending over $438K in his unsuccessful campaign for County Attorney. However, while he spent nearly 4 times as much as Hermes, his countywide race garnered him more than 4 times the votes, dropping his dollars per vote number to $0.80.
One item of interest from Fulton Brock's post-general report were contributions from a couple in Oro Valley, which is in Pima County. The twosome share a name with some of the people involved in the Stapley indictment. On October 16, 2008, Jason and Kris Wolfswinkel each gave $390 (the maximum allowed individual contribution) to Brock's campaign.
Stapley's failure to report his involvement with some Wolfswinkel family businesses is at the heart of his legal travails.
Wouldn't it be sweet if Brock's name was added to the list of indicted Republicans? Yeah, I know it probably won't happen, but one has to wonder why some Pima County residents care enough about a Maricopa County supervisor's race to fork over the max contribution to his campaign.
Both of these could change once all reports are in, plus the numbers don't include the "independent" expenditures that benefitted Joe Arpaio and Andrew Thomas. However, they both won their races, no matter how unethically, so they don't qualify for "worst bargain" under the guidelines of this post.
I was going to do one of the comparisons for some of the ballot initiatives, but there were a couple of hurdles there - too many of the committees haven't filed reports, and in many cases, there are multiple committees in support/opposition of a given prop.
Comparison purposes -
To put some of these numbers in perspective, in 2004, then-Congressman JD Hayworth spent $7.58/vote to retain his seat. However, that was nearly 180 times the rate of his opponent, Elizabeth Rogers. She spent roughly $0.04 per vote.
Compare this to 2006, when both spent more per vote in their races. Hayworth spent $31.12/vote to lose to Harry Mitchell in CD5; Rogers spent $0.06/vote to win the Kyrene Justice of the Peace race.
OK, that's not really relevant to the rest of the post, but it should give pause to those who would support a speculated-upon Hayworth gubernortorial candidacy. It should also give hope to candidates like Rebecca Schneider and Marilyn Fox, who ran strong campaigns on limited budgets.
There is life after losing an election.
Let's see what happens in two years before considering them and others like them, to be electoral afterthoughts.
Other campaign and campaign finance news -
...According to the Secretary of State's website, the first official candidate committee for 2010 has been formed by Michelle Reagan, Republican State Representative from north Scottsdale. It's an exploratory committee and doesn't list the office that she is "exploring." My guess is State Senate, though Corporation Commission or State Treasurer are possibilities.
...Jim McAllister, an AZCentral.com Plugged In blogger, notes that victorious candidates Jim Lane (Scottsdale Mayor) and Lisa Borowsky (Scottsdale City Council) already have their hands out to developers, seeking contributions to retire their campaign debts.
Apparently, they don't read the news reports about indicted and convicted public officials.
...The AZ Republic has a story that current Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne will be forming a committee to explore a run for State Attorney General in 2010.
Ummm....yeah. Horne has spent most of two terms making the public education system in AZ one of the worst in the country, and now he wants us to set him loose on the legal system?
Later...
Post-General Election campaign finance reports are in, and normally this would be the time to do a really geeky and dry post listing figures for contributions, expenditures, cash on hand, etc. However, since the election results are in, I'm going to do something a little different.
Still geeky and dry, but different. :))
Today's post will list the best bargains (based on lowest expenditures per vote for election victors) and the worst bargains (based on highest expenditures per vote for election losers.)
The expenditure figures taken from the cycle-to-date boxes of the campaigns' post-general reports; vote totals taken from the appropriate reporting authority, either the AZ Secretary of State or the Maricopa County Recorder.
Best Bargain - AZ Congressional races
Republican Trent Franks was easily the leader here, spending $400,019.59 to receive 200,914 votes, or $1.99/vote. Republican Jeff Flake was the second most frugal victor, spending $3.76/vote. By contrast, the victor who spent the *most* per vote was another Republican, John Shadegg. Shadegg spent $17.85/vote ($2,656,692.67 spent, 200914 votes received).
Worst Bargain - AZ Congressional races
Democrat Bob Lord, Shadegg's opponent in CD3, "won" this dubious distinction, spending $1,745,210.41 to receive 115,759 votes, for a $17.85/vote pace. The only losing candidate who spent at a pace that was even close to Lord's was Republican Tim Bee. Bee spent 13.25/vote in his failed campaign to unseat Gabrielle Giffords in CD8.
Giffords and Harry Mitchell (D-CD5) each spent more than $15/vote, but since they won their races (rather handily at that), the money spent was a good deal.
Note: Challengers Don Karg (R-CD4), Rebecca Schneider (D-CD6), and Joe Sweeney (R-CD7 [I think]) haven't filed post-general reports that I could find, but I doubt that any of them spent enough money to challenge Lord for the 'Worst Bargain' status.
The comparison of county campaigns was more difficult, because both major candidates for county attorney, Andrew Thomas and Tim Nelson, as well as supervisor candidates Fulton Brock, Joel Sinclaire, and Max Wilson haven't filed post-general reports yet. (Note: with Joel Sinclaire's passing, his committee has been suspended/terminated. I'm not sure if/when a final campaign finance report will be filed.)
Brock, Thomas, Nelson, and Wilson all have reports up on the County Recorder's website, and according to the time/date stamps on the forms, all reports were submitted on time.
However, I don't want it to be said that I'm not able to form conclusions based on incomplete information. :)))
Best Bargain - Maricopa County races
Right now, Don Stapley is the clear winner in this category, but that could change once his legal expenses are added in. At this point, however, the Republican incumbent spent $9933.45 to receive 164,381 votes, or $0.29/vote to retain his seat in SD2.
Note: Stapley was a little creative in filling out his report, neglecting to fill out the "cycle-to-date" column. The expenditure number listed in this post is a total of the "cycle-to-date" number from his pre-general report and the "current period" number from his post-general report.
Worst Bargain - Maricopa County races
Ed Hermes, the Democratic candidate in Supervisor District 1, "led" this category, spending $112,026.14 to garner 119,971 votes, for a $0.93/vote pace. While for the purposes of this post, this campaign qualifies as the "worst" bargain among the county races, I expect Ed to take the lessons of this cycle and apply them to another campaign, one that he may very well win.
Tim Nelson challenged for this one, spending over $438K in his unsuccessful campaign for County Attorney. However, while he spent nearly 4 times as much as Hermes, his countywide race garnered him more than 4 times the votes, dropping his dollars per vote number to $0.80.
One item of interest from Fulton Brock's post-general report were contributions from a couple in Oro Valley, which is in Pima County. The twosome share a name with some of the people involved in the Stapley indictment. On October 16, 2008, Jason and Kris Wolfswinkel each gave $390 (the maximum allowed individual contribution) to Brock's campaign.
Stapley's failure to report his involvement with some Wolfswinkel family businesses is at the heart of his legal travails.
Wouldn't it be sweet if Brock's name was added to the list of indicted Republicans? Yeah, I know it probably won't happen, but one has to wonder why some Pima County residents care enough about a Maricopa County supervisor's race to fork over the max contribution to his campaign.
Both of these could change once all reports are in, plus the numbers don't include the "independent" expenditures that benefitted Joe Arpaio and Andrew Thomas. However, they both won their races, no matter how unethically, so they don't qualify for "worst bargain" under the guidelines of this post.
I was going to do one of the comparisons for some of the ballot initiatives, but there were a couple of hurdles there - too many of the committees haven't filed reports, and in many cases, there are multiple committees in support/opposition of a given prop.
Comparison purposes -
To put some of these numbers in perspective, in 2004, then-Congressman JD Hayworth spent $7.58/vote to retain his seat. However, that was nearly 180 times the rate of his opponent, Elizabeth Rogers. She spent roughly $0.04 per vote.
Compare this to 2006, when both spent more per vote in their races. Hayworth spent $31.12/vote to lose to Harry Mitchell in CD5; Rogers spent $0.06/vote to win the Kyrene Justice of the Peace race.
OK, that's not really relevant to the rest of the post, but it should give pause to those who would support a speculated-upon Hayworth gubernortorial candidacy. It should also give hope to candidates like Rebecca Schneider and Marilyn Fox, who ran strong campaigns on limited budgets.
There is life after losing an election.
Let's see what happens in two years before considering them and others like them, to be electoral afterthoughts.
Other campaign and campaign finance news -
...According to the Secretary of State's website, the first official candidate committee for 2010 has been formed by Michelle Reagan, Republican State Representative from north Scottsdale. It's an exploratory committee and doesn't list the office that she is "exploring." My guess is State Senate, though Corporation Commission or State Treasurer are possibilities.
...Jim McAllister, an AZCentral.com Plugged In blogger, notes that victorious candidates Jim Lane (Scottsdale Mayor) and Lisa Borowsky (Scottsdale City Council) already have their hands out to developers, seeking contributions to retire their campaign debts.
Apparently, they don't read the news reports about indicted and convicted public officials.
...The AZ Republic has a story that current Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne will be forming a committee to explore a run for State Attorney General in 2010.
Ummm....yeah. Horne has spent most of two terms making the public education system in AZ one of the worst in the country, and now he wants us to set him loose on the legal system?
Later...
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
East Valley Election Results
Well, East Valley, with some statewide and county races included...
Most results still unofficial, but most are still clear. All results courtesy the websites of the AZ Secretary of State, Maricopa County Recorder, and the Scottsdale City Clerk.
In CD5, incumbent Democratic Congressman Harry Mitchell is returning to D.C. with a comfortable margin of victory. With 245 of 248 precincts reporting, Mitchell leads David Schweikert 118,849 to 97,569.
In CD3, Democratic challenger Bob Lord fell short of defeating incumbent Republican John Shadegg (R-Club for Growth), receiving 92,614 votes to Shadegg's 117,439.
While Lord was able to significantly cut into a daunting Republican registration advantage, much like Mitchell did in CD5. However, unlike Mitchell, he's not, well, Harry Mitchell.
In the race for Corporation Commission, Democrats Sandra Kennedy and Paul Newman and Sam George are leading the race with 2219 of 2239 polls reporting. This one is close enough that one of them, Sam George, could be overtaken by Republican Bob Stump as provisional and early ballots are counted and added to the tallies.
In LD8, Republicans Michele Reagan and John Kavanagh were easily returned to the lege over Democratic challenger Stephanie Rimmer, 43,385 and 39,865 votes to 30,189, respectively. State Senator Carolyn Allen was unopposed for reelection.
In LD17, incumbent Democratic State Senator Meg Burton Cahill easily won reelection over Republican Jesse Hernandez, 28,510 to 18,106 while Democratic State Representatives Ed Ableser and David Schapira defeated Republican challengers Mark Thompson and Wes Waddle, with 24,242, 26,469, 19,081, and 15,030 votes respectively.
In LD18, Republican Russell Pearce (R-Nativist) handily won his race for the State Senate over Democrat Judah Nativio 19,510 to 15,250 (100% of precincts reporting) and Republicans Cecil Ash and Steve Court defeated Democrat Tammie Pursley and Independent Joe Brown.
It seems that the residents of west Mesa have to look forward to another two years of not having people in the lege who are there to represent *them*, not an extremist ideology.
In LD20, in a bit of an upset, Democrat Rae Waters will probably be joining Republican John McComish in the Arizona House of Representatives - she's got a small lead over Republican Jeff Dial. On the Senate side, sign-slashing and elderly-woman pushing incumbent Republican John Huppenthal defeated Democratic challenger Ted Maish.
In LD21, Republicans Warde Nichols and Steve Yarbrough stood off the challenge of Democrat Phil Hettmansperger, 45,757 and 37,403 votes to 36,232. Republican State Senator Jay Tibshraeny was unchallenged for reelection.
In LD22, Republicans Andy Biggs and Lauren Hendrix defeated Democrat Glenn Ray, with 48,157, 46,132, and 35,211 votes, respectively. On the senate side, Republican Thayer Verschoor was unchallenged for reelection.
In Maricopa County races...
In the four contested County Supervisor races, all four Republican incumbents were returned to office easily, with none of the Democratic challengers surpassing 46% of the vote inteir race.
Republican County Attorney Andrew Thomas defeated Democratic challenger Tim Nelson 514,820 votes to 440,197.
Republican Sheriff Joe Arpaio defeated Democrat Dan Saban 588,550 votes to 444,551.
Guess this means another four years of invaded libraries, shackled journalists, and unbridled corruption.
In the race for the Maricopa County Special Healthcare District, 3 out of the 5 candidates that were endorsed by the Maricopa County GOP lost, including District 3's Colette Rosati, who was spanked by Sue Gerard 85,369 votes to 43,909.
In the races for Scottsdale Mayor and City Council...
The race for Mayor is tight, but challenger Jim Lane has a nearly-800 vote lead over incumbent Mary Manross, 41,255 votes to 40,663. As for the City Council, it appears that incumbent Ron McCullagh will be returned to the council with newcomers Lisa Borowsky and Suzanne Klapp joining him. Incumbent Betty Drake is in fourth place, less than 900 votes behind Klapp.
Both the Mayoral and Council races could change slightly as the final mail-in and provisional ballot totals come in, but it appears that the face of Scottsdale's municipal government has changed.
However, there will still be a huge number of issues decided by a 4-3 margin.
(Wayne Ecton, Klapp and McCullagh on one side, with Lane, Tony Nelssen, and Bob Littlefield on the other. Lisa Borowsky will be the wild card. Expectations seem to be that she will mostly side with the Chamber of Commerce crowd, Ecton, Klapp, and McCullagh. We'll find out for sure starting in January.)
As for the ballot propositions, Prop 100 (barring a sales tax on real estate transfers) passed by a more than 3-to-1 margin; Prop 101 (Health Care Choice, aka 'banning all public health insurance plans') looks to be going down to defeat by a margin of approximately 2000 votes; Prop 102 (constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriages) passed by nearly 240,000 votes; Prop 105 (Majority Rules, aka "not voting counts as a 'No' vote) was easily defeated by a nearly 2-1 margin; Prop 200 (Payday Loan reform, aka 'permanent legalization of loan sharking'), was defeated by 400,000 votes; Prop 201 (Homeowners' Bill of Rights) went down to defeat by a more than 3-1 margin; Prop 202 (Stop Illegal Hiring, aka 'Protect Big Business' ability to depress wages and hire cheap labor') was defeated soundly (400K+ votes); and Prop 300 (legislative pay raises from the current salary of $24K to $30K) was also soundly defeated.
More later!
Most results still unofficial, but most are still clear. All results courtesy the websites of the AZ Secretary of State, Maricopa County Recorder, and the Scottsdale City Clerk.
In CD5, incumbent Democratic Congressman Harry Mitchell is returning to D.C. with a comfortable margin of victory. With 245 of 248 precincts reporting, Mitchell leads David Schweikert 118,849 to 97,569.
In CD3, Democratic challenger Bob Lord fell short of defeating incumbent Republican John Shadegg (R-Club for Growth), receiving 92,614 votes to Shadegg's 117,439.
While Lord was able to significantly cut into a daunting Republican registration advantage, much like Mitchell did in CD5. However, unlike Mitchell, he's not, well, Harry Mitchell.
In the race for Corporation Commission, Democrats Sandra Kennedy and Paul Newman and Sam George are leading the race with 2219 of 2239 polls reporting. This one is close enough that one of them, Sam George, could be overtaken by Republican Bob Stump as provisional and early ballots are counted and added to the tallies.
In LD8, Republicans Michele Reagan and John Kavanagh were easily returned to the lege over Democratic challenger Stephanie Rimmer, 43,385 and 39,865 votes to 30,189, respectively. State Senator Carolyn Allen was unopposed for reelection.
In LD17, incumbent Democratic State Senator Meg Burton Cahill easily won reelection over Republican Jesse Hernandez, 28,510 to 18,106 while Democratic State Representatives Ed Ableser and David Schapira defeated Republican challengers Mark Thompson and Wes Waddle, with 24,242, 26,469, 19,081, and 15,030 votes respectively.
In LD18, Republican Russell Pearce (R-Nativist) handily won his race for the State Senate over Democrat Judah Nativio 19,510 to 15,250 (100% of precincts reporting) and Republicans Cecil Ash and Steve Court defeated Democrat Tammie Pursley and Independent Joe Brown.
It seems that the residents of west Mesa have to look forward to another two years of not having people in the lege who are there to represent *them*, not an extremist ideology.
In LD20, in a bit of an upset, Democrat Rae Waters will probably be joining Republican John McComish in the Arizona House of Representatives - she's got a small lead over Republican Jeff Dial. On the Senate side, sign-slashing and elderly-woman pushing incumbent Republican John Huppenthal defeated Democratic challenger Ted Maish.
In LD21, Republicans Warde Nichols and Steve Yarbrough stood off the challenge of Democrat Phil Hettmansperger, 45,757 and 37,403 votes to 36,232. Republican State Senator Jay Tibshraeny was unchallenged for reelection.
In LD22, Republicans Andy Biggs and Lauren Hendrix defeated Democrat Glenn Ray, with 48,157, 46,132, and 35,211 votes, respectively. On the senate side, Republican Thayer Verschoor was unchallenged for reelection.
In Maricopa County races...
In the four contested County Supervisor races, all four Republican incumbents were returned to office easily, with none of the Democratic challengers surpassing 46% of the vote inteir race.
Republican County Attorney Andrew Thomas defeated Democratic challenger Tim Nelson 514,820 votes to 440,197.
Republican Sheriff Joe Arpaio defeated Democrat Dan Saban 588,550 votes to 444,551.
Guess this means another four years of invaded libraries, shackled journalists, and unbridled corruption.
In the race for the Maricopa County Special Healthcare District, 3 out of the 5 candidates that were endorsed by the Maricopa County GOP lost, including District 3's Colette Rosati, who was spanked by Sue Gerard 85,369 votes to 43,909.
In the races for Scottsdale Mayor and City Council...
The race for Mayor is tight, but challenger Jim Lane has a nearly-800 vote lead over incumbent Mary Manross, 41,255 votes to 40,663. As for the City Council, it appears that incumbent Ron McCullagh will be returned to the council with newcomers Lisa Borowsky and Suzanne Klapp joining him. Incumbent Betty Drake is in fourth place, less than 900 votes behind Klapp.
Both the Mayoral and Council races could change slightly as the final mail-in and provisional ballot totals come in, but it appears that the face of Scottsdale's municipal government has changed.
However, there will still be a huge number of issues decided by a 4-3 margin.
(Wayne Ecton, Klapp and McCullagh on one side, with Lane, Tony Nelssen, and Bob Littlefield on the other. Lisa Borowsky will be the wild card. Expectations seem to be that she will mostly side with the Chamber of Commerce crowd, Ecton, Klapp, and McCullagh. We'll find out for sure starting in January.)
As for the ballot propositions, Prop 100 (barring a sales tax on real estate transfers) passed by a more than 3-to-1 margin; Prop 101 (Health Care Choice, aka 'banning all public health insurance plans') looks to be going down to defeat by a margin of approximately 2000 votes; Prop 102 (constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriages) passed by nearly 240,000 votes; Prop 105 (Majority Rules, aka "not voting counts as a 'No' vote) was easily defeated by a nearly 2-1 margin; Prop 200 (Payday Loan reform, aka 'permanent legalization of loan sharking'), was defeated by 400,000 votes; Prop 201 (Homeowners' Bill of Rights) went down to defeat by a more than 3-1 margin; Prop 202 (Stop Illegal Hiring, aka 'Protect Big Business' ability to depress wages and hire cheap labor') was defeated soundly (400K+ votes); and Prop 300 (legislative pay raises from the current salary of $24K to $30K) was also soundly defeated.
More later!
Monday, October 20, 2008
Bob Lord has the Shadegg campaign making rookie mistakes
As Election Day draws ever closer, the strong challenge that the Bob Lord for Congress campaign is mounting against incumbent John Shadegg is pushing Shadegg's campaign into making so incredibly dumb moves...
Let's see -
There was using a picture of a veteran in a campaign ad without his permission...and then insulting that veteran (and former POW) with a condescending faux "apology."
There was putting out another spot without the legally required "paid for by" statement, which could result in the Shadegg campaign paying thousands of dollars more than other candidates to air their ads.
Now there's the embarrassment of losing a campaign credit card.
In a Democratic Party office.
From an AZ Dem press release -
According to PolitickerAZ, the Shadegg campaign has responded by saying that the credit card was brought to the Democratic office by one of his campaign volunteers in order to purchase an Obama bumper sticker.
Huh?????
So the question now is whether the intended purpose of the purchase of an Obama bumper sticker was to proclaim the Shadegg campaign's support for Barack Obama (something that I'm certain that Shadegg's good friend John McCain will want to discuss :) ) or if they were purchasing the bumper sticker to deface or misuse it in some way (just for harmless laughs, of course).
Something which may or may not be legal to do once they've taken ownership of a particular bumper sticker, but which, legal or not, is still utterly petty.
Why do I not believe that Shadegg's campaign wanted the bumper sticker because of its support of Obama?
Actually, I think they showed up at the Tempe office to spy or more, but that's only my opinion, not an actual accusation. Yet.
Anyway, given all of the dumb mistakes and the blatant disregard for campaign rules (written and unwritten), is it any surprise that the Shadegg campaign has retained the K Street law firm of Sidley Austin, or that one of the firm's partners is Thomas Green, one of the people who defended the Republican "plumbers" of Watergate break-in fame? According to campaign finance records, they spent nearly $12K with Sidley Austin in just the month and a half from August 14 to September 30. (page 100 and 101 of this .pdf from the FEC)
Sounds like the Shadegg campaign is doing one thing right - they're following the Boy Scout maxim of "be prepared."
Later!
Let's see -
There was using a picture of a veteran in a campaign ad without his permission...and then insulting that veteran (and former POW) with a condescending faux "apology."
There was putting out another spot without the legally required "paid for by" statement, which could result in the Shadegg campaign paying thousands of dollars more than other candidates to air their ads.
Now there's the embarrassment of losing a campaign credit card.
In a Democratic Party office.
From an AZ Dem press release -
A credit card for John Shadegg's campaign was found this weekend under the front desk of a Democratic Party office.
The card is issued to a senior Shadegg campaign operative, lists Shadegg's re-election organization and was found near Democratic campaign materials.
The Democratic Party notified Shadegg's campaign office that the card has been found. The party has also filed a report with the Tempe Police Department and with the credit card company.
"It's extremely disturbing that a senior campaign operative for Republican John Shadegg would leave a credit card under a desk at one of our offices," said Maria Weeg, Executive Director of the Arizona Democratic Party. "We let Congressman Shadegg know we found his credit card and requested Shadegg promptly explain what a member of his staff was doing in our office and how his campaign credit card arrived in our office."
According to PolitickerAZ, the Shadegg campaign has responded by saying that the credit card was brought to the Democratic office by one of his campaign volunteers in order to purchase an Obama bumper sticker.
Huh?????
So the question now is whether the intended purpose of the purchase of an Obama bumper sticker was to proclaim the Shadegg campaign's support for Barack Obama (something that I'm certain that Shadegg's good friend John McCain will want to discuss :) ) or if they were purchasing the bumper sticker to deface or misuse it in some way (just for harmless laughs, of course).
Something which may or may not be legal to do once they've taken ownership of a particular bumper sticker, but which, legal or not, is still utterly petty.
Why do I not believe that Shadegg's campaign wanted the bumper sticker because of its support of Obama?
Actually, I think they showed up at the Tempe office to spy or more, but that's only my opinion, not an actual accusation. Yet.
Anyway, given all of the dumb mistakes and the blatant disregard for campaign rules (written and unwritten), is it any surprise that the Shadegg campaign has retained the K Street law firm of Sidley Austin, or that one of the firm's partners is Thomas Green, one of the people who defended the Republican "plumbers" of Watergate break-in fame? According to campaign finance records, they spent nearly $12K with Sidley Austin in just the month and a half from August 14 to September 30. (page 100 and 101 of this .pdf from the FEC)
Sounds like the Shadegg campaign is doing one thing right - they're following the Boy Scout maxim of "be prepared."
Later!
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Wow! The AZ Congressional delegation can agree on something besides postal facility namings...
Of course, even on those rare occasions when AZ's federal legislators are on the same page, it's for very different reasons...
As has been reported in many places, the U.S. House of Representatives rejected the $700 billion bailout bill for Wall Street investment firms, and the entire Arizona delegation voted against it.
Note: more info on the bailout is available from the House Financial Services Committee here.
Their reasons were varied - from the Dems hating it because it didn't contain enough protections for taxpayers to the Reps hating it because it contained some protections.
A number of MSM pundits and writers have opined that the measure was defeated by members of the House who are facing tough reelection battles (AP via TriValleyCentral.com). There may be an element of truth in that idea, but an examination of even just the AZ delegation's situations belies that the notion is universally accurate -
Ed Pastor (D-CD4), Raul Grijalva (D-CD7), and Jeff Flake (R-CD6) are totally safe in their races.
Trent Franks (R-CD2) is close to safe in his, too.
Gabrielle Giffords (D-CD8) is facing a solid challenger in Tim Bee, but she is solidly positioned herself, and should retain her seat.
Harry Mitchell (D-CD5) is facing a tough fight because of his district's demographics (40K more registered Republicans) and John Shadegg (R-CD3) is facing the fight of his political career (a super-strong challenger in Bob Lord and his retire/unretire two-step earlier this year).
Rick Renzi (R-CD1) isn't even running (something about a federal indictment and upcoming trial).
So only two of the eight AZ Congresscritters who voted against the bailout are facing serious election threats (apologies to supporters of Tim Bee and John Thrasher, but that's the way I see it), yet all eight voted against it.
Simply put, the Bush Administration's bailout proposal was just a bad idea, even for people who believe that a government response to the turmoil in the markets is appropriate.
After all of the finger-pointing dies down (publicly, anyway), look for some sort of bailout proposal to come out of the House, probably with a price tag that's much lower than the Administration's desired $700 billion blank check, and also with some serious safeguards for the taxpayers' money.
At this point though, any changes will probably appeal more to Democrats looking to protect taxpayers' interests than appeal to Republicans looking to use this crisis as an excuse to further deregulate the financial markets.
Don't expect the AZ delegation to be in so much agreement next time.
On the Democratic side, the AZ Star on the reasons that Reps. Grijlava and Giffords voted against the bill here; the Ahwatukee Foothills News on Rep. Harry Mitchell's objections here. Bob Lord's (D challenger in CD3) press release here.
On the Republican side, Rep. Shadegg's op-ed in USA Today is here; a Rep. Flake quote is here (Phoenix Business Journal).
Note2: I'd have linked to the websites of Reps. Giffords and Pastor, but the House website is still experiencing problems related to its heavy site traffic on Monday, and couldn't access those pages.
Note3: ever-loyal (and perceptive!) reader and frequent commenter Elizabeth noted in an email that after the failure of the bailout on Monday, followed by the stock market's precipitous drop, the Washington Post ran this story on the front page of their website.
It chronicles what is truly the greatest crisis facing American society today - the decline in home run totals in Major League Baseball.
Later...
As has been reported in many places, the U.S. House of Representatives rejected the $700 billion bailout bill for Wall Street investment firms, and the entire Arizona delegation voted against it.
Note: more info on the bailout is available from the House Financial Services Committee here.
Their reasons were varied - from the Dems hating it because it didn't contain enough protections for taxpayers to the Reps hating it because it contained some protections.
A number of MSM pundits and writers have opined that the measure was defeated by members of the House who are facing tough reelection battles (AP via TriValleyCentral.com). There may be an element of truth in that idea, but an examination of even just the AZ delegation's situations belies that the notion is universally accurate -
Ed Pastor (D-CD4), Raul Grijalva (D-CD7), and Jeff Flake (R-CD6) are totally safe in their races.
Trent Franks (R-CD2) is close to safe in his, too.
Gabrielle Giffords (D-CD8) is facing a solid challenger in Tim Bee, but she is solidly positioned herself, and should retain her seat.
Harry Mitchell (D-CD5) is facing a tough fight because of his district's demographics (40K more registered Republicans) and John Shadegg (R-CD3) is facing the fight of his political career (a super-strong challenger in Bob Lord and his retire/unretire two-step earlier this year).
Rick Renzi (R-CD1) isn't even running (something about a federal indictment and upcoming trial).
So only two of the eight AZ Congresscritters who voted against the bailout are facing serious election threats (apologies to supporters of Tim Bee and John Thrasher, but that's the way I see it), yet all eight voted against it.
Simply put, the Bush Administration's bailout proposal was just a bad idea, even for people who believe that a government response to the turmoil in the markets is appropriate.
After all of the finger-pointing dies down (publicly, anyway), look for some sort of bailout proposal to come out of the House, probably with a price tag that's much lower than the Administration's desired $700 billion blank check, and also with some serious safeguards for the taxpayers' money.
At this point though, any changes will probably appeal more to Democrats looking to protect taxpayers' interests than appeal to Republicans looking to use this crisis as an excuse to further deregulate the financial markets.
Don't expect the AZ delegation to be in so much agreement next time.
On the Democratic side, the AZ Star on the reasons that Reps. Grijlava and Giffords voted against the bill here; the Ahwatukee Foothills News on Rep. Harry Mitchell's objections here. Bob Lord's (D challenger in CD3) press release here.
On the Republican side, Rep. Shadegg's op-ed in USA Today is here; a Rep. Flake quote is here (Phoenix Business Journal).
Note2: I'd have linked to the websites of Reps. Giffords and Pastor, but the House website is still experiencing problems related to its heavy site traffic on Monday, and couldn't access those pages.
Note3: ever-loyal (and perceptive!) reader and frequent commenter Elizabeth noted in an email that after the failure of the bailout on Monday, followed by the stock market's precipitous drop, the Washington Post ran this story on the front page of their website.
It chronicles what is truly the greatest crisis facing American society today - the decline in home run totals in Major League Baseball.
Later...
Monday, September 01, 2008
Labor Day and candidates for office: A quick comparison
On one hand, we have Bob Lord, the rising Democratic challenger in CD3, who spent his day walking neighborhoods of the district and talking to voters, and attending the AFL-CIO Labor Day picnic in Phoenix.
On the other hand, we have John Shadegg, the embattled, retiree-wannabe incumbent, who spent the morning dining in a luxury hotel in St. Paul, Minnesota calling the Democratic Presidential ticket of Senators Barack Obama and Joe Biden 'a product of the "radical left." '
So now he's calling two sitting U.S. Senators "radicals? Two members of what is perhaps the most exclusive and privileged club in America? LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL!
They're radicals only by the standards of extremist ideologues, not responsible public servants.
In any event, today, Bob Lord issued a statement of appreciation and commemoration of American workers -
Have a happy and safe Labor Day!
On the other hand, we have John Shadegg, the embattled, retiree-wannabe incumbent, who spent the morning dining in a luxury hotel in St. Paul, Minnesota calling the Democratic Presidential ticket of Senators Barack Obama and Joe Biden 'a product of the "radical left." '
So now he's calling two sitting U.S. Senators "radicals? Two members of what is perhaps the most exclusive and privileged club in America? LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL!
They're radicals only by the standards of extremist ideologues, not responsible public servants.
In any event, today, Bob Lord issued a statement of appreciation and commemoration of American workers -
On Labor Day, Arizonans and Americans observe their hard work, the quest for the American Dream and the importance of preserving the American Dream for our children and grandchildren.
We take time off to appreciate the hard work our parents and grandparents did so that they could make life better for us. We take time to appreciate those of us who have to work today, even though most of us have the day off. And most importantly, we take the time to recognize those of us who can't get by because we lost our jobs to the failed economic policies of the current leadership.
Fortunately, my wife Tammy and I both were lucky enough to live the American Dream. We both were born to modest circumstances, but we were both fortunate enough to attend fantastic public schools. We worked hard, we learned and we built a very good life for ourselves and our seven children.
On this Labor Day we celebrate the contributions workers have made to better our country. We have worked so hard and we have come so far and things will get better, because Arizona deserves better.
We just need leaders who are willing to make that change.
President Bush and John Shadegg's economic policies have resulted in hundreds of thousands of jobs lost, a huge housing and financial crisis, and a middle class that is holding on by a thread.
This is about investing in America's future, and Arizona can lead the way. We have the workers, we have that American drive that says, yes, we can do it and we will succeed.
Thank you for all your hard work.
Have a happy and safe Labor Day!
Monday, August 18, 2008
Short Attention Span Musing....
...Your humble but ever so wise wiseass blogger is finally moving into the 20th Century. I have acquired that ubiquitous but possibly cancer-causing electronic leash known as a cell phone. For years, I've avoided getting one but since I'm driving to Denver this week across three relatively uninhabited states, it was time.
Of course, when I get the first bill next month, it may be time for screaming... :))
...According to PolitickerAZ, in CD3 the Shadegg campaign is finally talking to the Lord campaign about debates. They're still in the "posturing" phase of the negotiations (the Shadegg campaign wants six debates over the 8 or so weeks between the primary and the general election) so nothing may come of it, but that still puts John Shadegg, someone who's been mailing it in all year, ahead of Joe Arpaio, who still refuses to publicly debate Dan Saban, his challenger for the Maricopa County Sheriff's job.
Somebody needs to let Joe know that it doesn't look good when even a candidate who's tried to retire this year and who thinks his job is "boring" is putting more effort toward his reelection bid than he is.
Not good at all.
...Of course, Shadegg is still doing everything he can to avoid Bob Lord and to minimize his contact with the residents of CD3 (you know - his constituents).
- First, he's been staying in D.C., leading his Republican colleagues in a shameless campaign to befoul America coastlines to benefit Big Oil's profit margins. (The Phoenix Business Journal)
- Next week (August 25 - 28), he's going to Alaska to visit Prudhoe Bay to advocate for the pollution of ANWR, also to benefit Big Oil's profit margins. (PolitickerAZ)
- The week after that (September 1 -4) is the Republican National Convention in Minnesota. The event will be held at the XCEL Energy Center.(GOPConvention2008)
And then on September 8, the week after that, the U.S. House of Representatives is back in session.
In other words, Shadegg is spending his summer district work period doing almost anything but working in his district.
...Posting will be lighter than normal this week, due to the aforementioned trip to Denver (projected high temps for the next week: mid to upper 80s; projected low temps: mid to upper 50s.) :))
Later!
Of course, when I get the first bill next month, it may be time for screaming... :))
...According to PolitickerAZ, in CD3 the Shadegg campaign is finally talking to the Lord campaign about debates. They're still in the "posturing" phase of the negotiations (the Shadegg campaign wants six debates over the 8 or so weeks between the primary and the general election) so nothing may come of it, but that still puts John Shadegg, someone who's been mailing it in all year, ahead of Joe Arpaio, who still refuses to publicly debate Dan Saban, his challenger for the Maricopa County Sheriff's job.
Somebody needs to let Joe know that it doesn't look good when even a candidate who's tried to retire this year and who thinks his job is "boring" is putting more effort toward his reelection bid than he is.
Not good at all.
...Of course, Shadegg is still doing everything he can to avoid Bob Lord and to minimize his contact with the residents of CD3 (you know - his constituents).
- First, he's been staying in D.C., leading his Republican colleagues in a shameless campaign to befoul America coastlines to benefit Big Oil's profit margins. (The Phoenix Business Journal)
- Next week (August 25 - 28), he's going to Alaska to visit Prudhoe Bay to advocate for the pollution of ANWR, also to benefit Big Oil's profit margins. (PolitickerAZ)
- The week after that (September 1 -4) is the Republican National Convention in Minnesota. The event will be held at the XCEL Energy Center.(GOPConvention2008)
And then on September 8, the week after that, the U.S. House of Representatives is back in session.
In other words, Shadegg is spending his summer district work period doing almost anything but working in his district.
...Posting will be lighter than normal this week, due to the aforementioned trip to Denver (projected high temps for the next week: mid to upper 80s; projected low temps: mid to upper 50s.) :))
Later!
Friday, August 01, 2008
Congressional Republicans are working for Big Oil
...at least they aren't hiding it anymore. That's a good thing, right?
After the House adjourned for its summer work period (reconvening on September 8 after both Presidential conventions), a number of House Republicans took to the House floor to protest the fact that the Democrats hadn't passed any measures allowing oil drilling offshore or in ANWR, moves that aren't guaranteed to reduce energy prices for Americans, but would be certain to enhance the already record-level profits of Big Oil.
CBSNews.com has coverage here, and in a moment of moral weakness (referred to as "honesty" by normal folks), they posted a banner above the story of the Republicans' faux indignation. That banner told the real story of the day's events.
It read simply - "Presented by ExxonMobil". See pic below.
After the House adjourned for its summer work period (reconvening on September 8 after both Presidential conventions), a number of House Republicans took to the House floor to protest the fact that the Democrats hadn't passed any measures allowing oil drilling offshore or in ANWR, moves that aren't guaranteed to reduce energy prices for Americans, but would be certain to enhance the already record-level profits of Big Oil.
CBSNews.com has coverage here, and in a moment of moral weakness (referred to as "honesty" by normal folks), they posted a banner above the story of the Republicans' faux indignation. That banner told the real story of the day's events.
It read simply - "Presented by ExxonMobil". See pic below.
The honesty epidemic spread all the way down to individual Congresscritters, such as AZ's own John Shadegg (R - Calgon take me away). Shadegg was quoted in the article -
"I love this," Shadegg told reporters up in the press gallery afterward. "Congress can be so boring. ... This is a kick."In essence, Shadegg finally admitted openly that sitting in a darkened room with only other extremist Republicans to talk to is more interesting to him than doing the job he was hired for - representing the residents of Arizona's Third Congressional District in Congress.
If Shadegg decides to get serious about retaining his seat (more likely, if one of his "financial supporters" tugs on the leash to get his attention), he's going to spend the next five weeks trying to take back the gifts that he's been handing to the Bob Lord campaign.
Later...
Thursday, July 31, 2008
John Shadegg - apparently already checked out
As if his retire/unretire two-step in February didn't make it clear to the voters of CD3 that he's no longer interested in working for them, John Shadegg took the opportunity in a Wednesday interview with PolitickerAZ to reinforce the point.
From the interview -
Shadegg has spent most of the year mailing it in, even when he has been in D.C. *working* for his constituents (some examples here, here, here, and here).
More evidence of this? During the current session of Congress, the 110th, records show that he has spoken on the floor of the House or has submitted statements for the record 58 times - 50 times in 2007, and only eight since his flirtation with retirement in February. By contrast, Harry Mitchell, an icon in Arizona but only another freshman in D.C. is on the record 104 times since January 2007, 51 of which happened this year. For the most part, first-termers from both parties are expected to be seen and not heard, so that total number (104) isn't particularly high or low.
For those of you who are among the math-challenged, that means that 53 of the entries took place last year. :)
All of which shows that by that measure, Mitchell and Shadegg were approximately equally active last year; however, since Shadegg moved to hang it up, he's less than 1/6 as active as Mitchell.
In other words, when Shadegg tried to walk away, he should have kept going - it would have been better for his constituents in CD3 (not that he cares about them) and it would have looked better for him when he starts running for another office (which probably *is* something that he cares about.)
Ya know, maybe he should just withdraw now to give the Republicans in CD3 a chance to run a write-in candidate. Otherwise, he's just ceding the district to his Democratic challenger, Bob Lord.
From the interview -
WASHINGTON -- U.S. Rep. John Shadegg (R-Phoenix) is making no bones about it: He has his eye on John McCain’s U.S. Senate seat.
“I see my friends in the Senate deeply engaged in fights where even in the minority you matter,” said Shadegg, who won a seat in Congress in the GOP’s 1994 rout but has since seen his party lose its majority. “Yeah, I could find that very interesting, very appealing.”
Asked point-blank if he would take McCain’s current position if given the opportunity, Shadegg responded: “Yes.”
Shadegg has spent most of the year mailing it in, even when he has been in D.C. *working* for his constituents (some examples here, here, here, and here).
More evidence of this? During the current session of Congress, the 110th, records show that he has spoken on the floor of the House or has submitted statements for the record 58 times - 50 times in 2007, and only eight since his flirtation with retirement in February. By contrast, Harry Mitchell, an icon in Arizona but only another freshman in D.C. is on the record 104 times since January 2007, 51 of which happened this year. For the most part, first-termers from both parties are expected to be seen and not heard, so that total number (104) isn't particularly high or low.
For those of you who are among the math-challenged, that means that 53 of the entries took place last year. :)
All of which shows that by that measure, Mitchell and Shadegg were approximately equally active last year; however, since Shadegg moved to hang it up, he's less than 1/6 as active as Mitchell.
In other words, when Shadegg tried to walk away, he should have kept going - it would have been better for his constituents in CD3 (not that he cares about them) and it would have looked better for him when he starts running for another office (which probably *is* something that he cares about.)
Ya know, maybe he should just withdraw now to give the Republicans in CD3 a chance to run a write-in candidate. Otherwise, he's just ceding the district to his Democratic challenger, Bob Lord.
Friday, July 25, 2008
Headlines...
Still have the whole "short attention span" thing going on...
Today, though, it seems to be combined with a fascination with betting... :)
...From AZCentral.com -
Anyone want to start a pool on how long it takes a Republican legislator to use Thursday's incident at SMCC as justification to propose another "guns in schools" bill?
...From AP -
Assuming that the defendants and their families seek donations to pay for their legal fees, anyone want to start a pool on how much money they receive from the Pearce/Ready/Childress crowd here in AZ?
From AP -
Anybody want in on a pool based on the number of Lynwood cops signing up for their new "Ruler Patrol"? I've got dibs on "0"... :)
From Politicker.com -
Note: the full video is at the Politicker link.
...And in the "certain to generate headlines" department, according to next week's House schedule (courtesy The Weekly Leader from Steny Hoyer's office), the House will be considering H.R. 1338, the Paycheck Fairness Act. The bill would accord women faced with gender discrimination some of the same legal remedies available to victims of racial discrimination (think: lawsuits for both compensatory and punitive damages). The bill passed the House Education and Labor Committee this week on a party-line vote after Republicans trotted out "trial lawyers" and "gas prices" as among the reasons that they opposed the bill. (Workforce Management)
Anybody want to bet against more of the same when the bill reaches the House floor on Thursday or Friday?
Didn't think so. Hell, they'll probably add "ANWR," "offshore drilling," and "terrorism" to the list just to spice things up. :))
Democratic press release on the bill here.
Republican press release on the bill here.
Note: all four Democratic members of AZ's Congressional delegation - Harry Mitchell, Gabrielle Giffords, Raul Grijalva, and Ed Pastor - are among the 230 cosponsors of the bill.
...Finally, in a 'non-headline' item, the AZ Republic has posted the responses to its candidate questionnaires online here. The list of respondents is incomplete. In some cases, it's obvious by the presence of one or another opponent in a given race that some candidates were asked but simply didn't respond. In other cases, there is only one unchallenged contender so they may not have even been asked to complete a questionnaire.
Later!
Today, though, it seems to be combined with a fascination with betting... :)
...From AZCentral.com -
Gunman suspected of shooting 3 apologizes to 'innocent' victims
The 22-year-old Phoenix man suspected of shooting three people at South Mountain Community College confessed and apologized to victims Friday during his initial court appearance.
Anyone want to start a pool on how long it takes a Republican legislator to use Thursday's incident at SMCC as justification to propose another "guns in schools" bill?
...From AP -
Pa. teens charged in fatal beating of immigrant
PORT CARBON, Pa. (AP) — Three white teens were charged Friday in what officials said was an epithet-filled fatal beating of an illegal Mexican immigrant in a small northeast Pennsylvania coal town. Brandon J. Piekarsky, 16, and Colin J. Walsh, 17, were charged as adults with homicide and ethnic intimidation in the July 12 attack on Luis Ramirez.
Assuming that the defendants and their families seek donations to pay for their legal fees, anyone want to start a pool on how much money they receive from the Pearce/Ready/Childress crowd here in AZ?
From AP -
It's the law: No sagging pants in Chicago suburb
LYNWOOD, Ill. (AP) — Be careful if you have saggy pants in the south Chicago suburb of Lynwood. Village leaders have passed an ordinance that would levy $25 fines against anyone showing three inches or more of their underwear in public.
Anybody want in on a pool based on the number of Lynwood cops signing up for their new "Ruler Patrol"? I've got dibs on "0"... :)
From Politicker.com -
Arizona Dems use Heller's statement in ad knocking Republican incumbentAnyone want in on a pool on how loudly Shadegg tells Heller to "shut the Heller up! Bob Lord doesn't need your help!"? (Sorry - couldn't resist that one. :)) )
The Arizona Democratic Party has released an Internet video ripping U.S. Rep. John Shadegg (R-Ariz.), and the ad's main message comes from Republican Congressman Dean Heller (R-Carson City).
The video features a photo of Heller with remarks he made earlier this month to the Las Vegas Review Journal, saying the 1994 GOP Congressional freshman — famous for seizing the U.S. House from Democrats for the first time in decades — had been changed by the culture in Washington.
Note: the full video is at the Politicker link.
...And in the "certain to generate headlines" department, according to next week's House schedule (courtesy The Weekly Leader from Steny Hoyer's office), the House will be considering H.R. 1338, the Paycheck Fairness Act. The bill would accord women faced with gender discrimination some of the same legal remedies available to victims of racial discrimination (think: lawsuits for both compensatory and punitive damages). The bill passed the House Education and Labor Committee this week on a party-line vote after Republicans trotted out "trial lawyers" and "gas prices" as among the reasons that they opposed the bill. (Workforce Management)
Anybody want to bet against more of the same when the bill reaches the House floor on Thursday or Friday?
Didn't think so. Hell, they'll probably add "ANWR," "offshore drilling," and "terrorism" to the list just to spice things up. :))
Democratic press release on the bill here.
Republican press release on the bill here.
Note: all four Democratic members of AZ's Congressional delegation - Harry Mitchell, Gabrielle Giffords, Raul Grijalva, and Ed Pastor - are among the 230 cosponsors of the bill.
...Finally, in a 'non-headline' item, the AZ Republic has posted the responses to its candidate questionnaires online here. The list of respondents is incomplete. In some cases, it's obvious by the presence of one or another opponent in a given race that some candidates were asked but simply didn't respond. In other cases, there is only one unchallenged contender so they may not have even been asked to complete a questionnaire.
Later!
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Lord Sparring With Shadegg On Education...
The problem, for Shadegg anyway, is that it's a one-sided fight.
Let's start with the basics - while Shadegg's campaign site touts the fact that he is married to a public teacher which helps him to "understand" the importance of education and teaching-related issues, that "understanding" hasn't been transformed into real-world support for students or teachers.
A quick comparison -
On math and science instruction:
Lord (courtesy his education plan/position paper unless otherwise noted) - "Every grade level should have a robust science and math curriculum, and the recruitment of math and science graduates into the teaching profession should be a priority."
Shadegg - voted against the 21st Century Competitiveness Act, which strengthened math and science instruction.
On early childhood education:
Lord - "We must make an increased investment in early childhood education, like early Head Start and Head Start, and help states enact universal pre-school programs and all-day Kindergarten."
Shadegg - voted against passage of the Improving Head Start for School Readiness Act (H.R. 1429), an act to update and extend the Head Start Program.
On access to higher education:
Lord - "Any child who works hard, does well in school, and wants to attend college should have the opportunity to do so. Affordable student loans with low interest rates give children the chance to go after their dreams. Increased Pell Grants also will expand college access to thousands of students."
Shadegg - voted against the College Cost Reduction Act of 2007 (H.R. 2669), an act that included language that lowered student loan interest rates, increased the maximum amount for Pell Grant awards, and increased support for those students who choose to become teachers. (You know - the career that his own wife chose, a choice that he believes grants to him an insight into the educational needs of the country.)
On health care for young students:
Lord (from a press release on Bush's veto of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) expansion) - "Vetoing this bill puts tens of thousands of Arizona's most vulnerable children at risk of losing their health insurance," said Bob Lord. "It is not just President Bush who is to blame. John Shadegg has stood against this program since its creation and he continues to stand against offering basic health insurance to our poorest children."
Shadegg - Rationalized his opposition to SCHIP by calling the program a "fraud". (Page H10873 of the Congressional Record)
Perhaps the best summary of the relative positions on education of Lord and Shadegg comes from the National Education Association (NEA) -
Shadegg earns an "F" or its equivalent from the NEA, year after year - 2007 - F, 2006 - F. 2005 - C (must've backslid that year :) ), 2003-2004 - 15%, 2001-2002 - 0%.
Lord earns the NEA's endorsement.
If there are any other questions -
On Friday, Bob Lord will be meeting with Arizona educators for a "Back to School Education Roundtable Discussion" at the Phoenix Public Library Mesquite Branch, 4525 Paradise Village Parkway North, Phoenix from 9:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. The public is invited.
Next week, John Shadegg will be hobnobbing in D.C. with lobbyists and other ultra-conservatives to raise money for conservative candidates for Senate.
OK, so there probably aren't any other questions. I just wanted to throw that out there. :))
Later!
Let's start with the basics - while Shadegg's campaign site touts the fact that he is married to a public teacher which helps him to "understand" the importance of education and teaching-related issues, that "understanding" hasn't been transformed into real-world support for students or teachers.
A quick comparison -
On math and science instruction:
Lord (courtesy his education plan/position paper unless otherwise noted) - "Every grade level should have a robust science and math curriculum, and the recruitment of math and science graduates into the teaching profession should be a priority."
Shadegg - voted against the 21st Century Competitiveness Act, which strengthened math and science instruction.
On early childhood education:
Lord - "We must make an increased investment in early childhood education, like early Head Start and Head Start, and help states enact universal pre-school programs and all-day Kindergarten."
Shadegg - voted against passage of the Improving Head Start for School Readiness Act (H.R. 1429), an act to update and extend the Head Start Program.
On access to higher education:
Lord - "Any child who works hard, does well in school, and wants to attend college should have the opportunity to do so. Affordable student loans with low interest rates give children the chance to go after their dreams. Increased Pell Grants also will expand college access to thousands of students."
Shadegg - voted against the College Cost Reduction Act of 2007 (H.R. 2669), an act that included language that lowered student loan interest rates, increased the maximum amount for Pell Grant awards, and increased support for those students who choose to become teachers. (You know - the career that his own wife chose, a choice that he believes grants to him an insight into the educational needs of the country.)
On health care for young students:
Lord (from a press release on Bush's veto of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) expansion) - "Vetoing this bill puts tens of thousands of Arizona's most vulnerable children at risk of losing their health insurance," said Bob Lord. "It is not just President Bush who is to blame. John Shadegg has stood against this program since its creation and he continues to stand against offering basic health insurance to our poorest children."
Shadegg - Rationalized his opposition to SCHIP by calling the program a "fraud". (Page H10873 of the Congressional Record)
Perhaps the best summary of the relative positions on education of Lord and Shadegg comes from the National Education Association (NEA) -
Shadegg earns an "F" or its equivalent from the NEA, year after year - 2007 - F, 2006 - F. 2005 - C (must've backslid that year :) ), 2003-2004 - 15%, 2001-2002 - 0%.
Lord earns the NEA's endorsement.
If there are any other questions -
On Friday, Bob Lord will be meeting with Arizona educators for a "Back to School Education Roundtable Discussion" at the Phoenix Public Library Mesquite Branch, 4525 Paradise Village Parkway North, Phoenix from 9:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. The public is invited.
Next week, John Shadegg will be hobnobbing in D.C. with lobbyists and other ultra-conservatives to raise money for conservative candidates for Senate.
OK, so there probably aren't any other questions. I just wanted to throw that out there. :))
Later!
Sunday, July 20, 2008
The John Sydney McCain Memorial Crappie Award
It's time for another tribute to political flip-floppery.
The competition for this week's edition of this dubious yet apparently highly-coveted honor (well, there always seems to be many contenders for the Award, so they must covet it, right?) was fierce. Two old pros and one relative rookie fought tooth and fin over this week's award like it was a minnow on a hook.
First, let's be clear up front - if the award hadn't already been named after McCain, he would have won the award going away for first criticizing Barack Obama for not having visited Iraq (May 2008) but then criticizing Obama for this month's visit to Iraq and Afghanistan (June 2008).
As if that wasn't enough, in his latest campaign ad, McCain also criticized Senator Obama for not holding hearings on Afghanistan in the Senate subcommittee that he chairs (European Affairs Subcommittee of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee) while blithely ignoring the fact that McCain, the ranking Republican member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, hasn't attended any of his own committee's hearings on the same subject.
However hard he strove for the award though, out of fairness to the legion of other contenders, he has been retired from consideration.
Also in the running was John Shadegg, who, in a shamelessly cynical election-year ploy, voted to override the President's veto of a Medicare bill that he originally voted against anyway. However, I already wrote about that move, so I won't add to his embarrassment by awarding him another Crappie.
Have no fear though - he's got plenty of time between now and when he loses his job in November to Bob Lord to earn many more Crappies.
This week's winner is a first-timer, Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas.
The AZ Republic broke a story about how a Thomas staffer at the County Attorney's office, paralegal Phillip Quihuis, is one of the leaders of a group seeking to force a recall election of Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon, a political adversary of Sheriff Joe Arpaio, Thomas' political mentor.
When asked about Quihuis' convenient (for Thomas) side project, Thomas didn't criticize or question it, he simply stated "I'm not involved in it. He has constitutional rights. "
Yes, this Andrew Thomas who is so concerned with civil liberties and constitutional rights is the same one who ordered an investigation into the Phoenix New Times. critics of he and Arpaio, an investigation that led to the false arrests of two of the New Times founders.
For this back one-and-a-half twisting tuck of a flip-flop (lackeys have Constitutional rights, journalists don't), Andrew Thomas is the winner of this week's John Sydney McCain Memorial Crappie Award.
This may be Thomas's first Crappie, but like Shadegg, he has plenty of time to win more before losing his position to either Gerald Richard or Tim Nelson.
Later today, travel over to Nevada's Desert Beacon for her latest edition of the always entertaining, informative, and pointed Sunday Deck Bass Award. And if you're feeling really adventurous and want to take a road trip that won't burn up any of that $4.00+ gas that is the Bush Administration's legacy to the American people, journey up to Minnesota's Extemperaneous Discourse to see if a rare but tasty Sunday Eel Pout Award is on the menu.
Have a good weekend!
The competition for this week's edition of this dubious yet apparently highly-coveted honor (well, there always seems to be many contenders for the Award, so they must covet it, right?) was fierce. Two old pros and one relative rookie fought tooth and fin over this week's award like it was a minnow on a hook.
First, let's be clear up front - if the award hadn't already been named after McCain, he would have won the award going away for first criticizing Barack Obama for not having visited Iraq (May 2008) but then criticizing Obama for this month's visit to Iraq and Afghanistan (June 2008).
As if that wasn't enough, in his latest campaign ad, McCain also criticized Senator Obama for not holding hearings on Afghanistan in the Senate subcommittee that he chairs (European Affairs Subcommittee of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee) while blithely ignoring the fact that McCain, the ranking Republican member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, hasn't attended any of his own committee's hearings on the same subject.
However hard he strove for the award though, out of fairness to the legion of other contenders, he has been retired from consideration.
Also in the running was John Shadegg, who, in a shamelessly cynical election-year ploy, voted to override the President's veto of a Medicare bill that he originally voted against anyway. However, I already wrote about that move, so I won't add to his embarrassment by awarding him another Crappie.
Have no fear though - he's got plenty of time between now and when he loses his job in November to Bob Lord to earn many more Crappies.
This week's winner is a first-timer, Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas.
The AZ Republic broke a story about how a Thomas staffer at the County Attorney's office, paralegal Phillip Quihuis, is one of the leaders of a group seeking to force a recall election of Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon, a political adversary of Sheriff Joe Arpaio, Thomas' political mentor.
When asked about Quihuis' convenient (for Thomas) side project, Thomas didn't criticize or question it, he simply stated "I'm not involved in it. He has constitutional rights. "
Yes, this Andrew Thomas who is so concerned with civil liberties and constitutional rights is the same one who ordered an investigation into the Phoenix New Times. critics of he and Arpaio, an investigation that led to the false arrests of two of the New Times founders.
For this back one-and-a-half twisting tuck of a flip-flop (lackeys have Constitutional rights, journalists don't), Andrew Thomas is the winner of this week's John Sydney McCain Memorial Crappie Award.
This may be Thomas's first Crappie, but like Shadegg, he has plenty of time to win more before losing his position to either Gerald Richard or Tim Nelson.
Later today, travel over to Nevada's Desert Beacon for her latest edition of the always entertaining, informative, and pointed Sunday Deck Bass Award. And if you're feeling really adventurous and want to take a road trip that won't burn up any of that $4.00+ gas that is the Bush Administration's legacy to the American people, journey up to Minnesota's Extemperaneous Discourse to see if a rare but tasty Sunday Eel Pout Award is on the menu.
Have a good weekend!
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Short Attention Span Musing
Responding to some criticism that my posts have been boring recently (lacking in 'wiseass' content), so how 'bout this????
...From the "they probably expect us to ignore the irony" department -
A U.S. attorney has issued a report decrying the conditions in a jail, citing beatings of prisoners by staff, poor medical, and dangerous building conditions as among the reasons that he found that "the jail had systematically violated the constitutional rights of inmates." (NY Times)
Where is this den of brazen brutality located?
Abu Ghraib? Nope, not even the right hemisphere.
Guantanamo? Much closer, but not close enough.
No, the jail that the feds find so objectionable is the Cook County Jail.
In Illinois.
Apparently, the "do as we say, not as we do" gang is still running the show...
...From the "It must be an even numbered year" department,,,,
On Tuesday, both the House and the Senate voted to override Bush's veto of H.R. 6331, The Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008. All four of Arizona's Democratic congressmen voted to override the veto, which wasn't a surprise. However, they were joined by a Republican, and it wasn't Rick Renzi, who occasionally (*very* occasionally :) ) crosses party lines on a specific vote.
Nope, it was John Shadegg (CD3).
The same John Shadegg who scored a 100 in the American Conservative Union's rankings and tied for the most conservative in the House in the National Journal's rankings.
One might think that this vote illustrates Shadegg's (new-found) concern for plight of those of his constituents who rely on Medicare, whether as patients or physicians (and we should expect a press release or 5 trumpeting his "heartfelt" concern). However, there is one point that every one of his constituents should remember - on June 24, he voted against the original bill.
And not only did he vote against the bill on its first trip though the House, he tried to prevent even its mere consideration by twice voting to adjourn the House during debate on H.R. 6331. (here and here)
In other words, Tuesday's vote was just for show, not substance - he's only concerned with his own plight.
Possible unemployment after November.
Yep, Shadegg is definitely hearing Bob Lord's footsteps...
Note: The Senate also voted to override the President's veto of H.R. 6331, by a vote of 70 - 26. Arizona's senatorial delegation voted as is their pattern - Kyl voted against Medicare, and McCain skipped the vote.
...and from the "See! I occasionally pick on Democrats, too!" department -
From the AZ Republic -
Good freakin' God! Don't we drop enough money on air trips already?? What's next? Bingo tournaments on the Red Line (the bus route through the airport? Video poker machines on Supershuttle vans??
Later!
...From the "they probably expect us to ignore the irony" department -
A U.S. attorney has issued a report decrying the conditions in a jail, citing beatings of prisoners by staff, poor medical, and dangerous building conditions as among the reasons that he found that "the jail had systematically violated the constitutional rights of inmates." (NY Times)
Where is this den of brazen brutality located?
Abu Ghraib? Nope, not even the right hemisphere.
Guantanamo? Much closer, but not close enough.
No, the jail that the feds find so objectionable is the Cook County Jail.
In Illinois.
Apparently, the "do as we say, not as we do" gang is still running the show...
...From the "It must be an even numbered year" department,,,,
On Tuesday, both the House and the Senate voted to override Bush's veto of H.R. 6331, The Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008. All four of Arizona's Democratic congressmen voted to override the veto, which wasn't a surprise. However, they were joined by a Republican, and it wasn't Rick Renzi, who occasionally (*very* occasionally :) ) crosses party lines on a specific vote.
Nope, it was John Shadegg (CD3).
The same John Shadegg who scored a 100 in the American Conservative Union's rankings and tied for the most conservative in the House in the National Journal's rankings.
One might think that this vote illustrates Shadegg's (new-found) concern for plight of those of his constituents who rely on Medicare, whether as patients or physicians (and we should expect a press release or 5 trumpeting his "heartfelt" concern). However, there is one point that every one of his constituents should remember - on June 24, he voted against the original bill.
And not only did he vote against the bill on its first trip though the House, he tried to prevent even its mere consideration by twice voting to adjourn the House during debate on H.R. 6331. (here and here)
In other words, Tuesday's vote was just for show, not substance - he's only concerned with his own plight.
Possible unemployment after November.
Yep, Shadegg is definitely hearing Bob Lord's footsteps...
Note: The Senate also voted to override the President's veto of H.R. 6331, by a vote of 70 - 26. Arizona's senatorial delegation voted as is their pattern - Kyl voted against Medicare, and McCain skipped the vote.
...and from the "See! I occasionally pick on Democrats, too!" department -
From the AZ Republic -
Could Sky Harbor soon become home to an army of one-armed bandits?
It might, if Mayor Phil Gordon has his way. Gordon wants to explore the possibility of partnering with a Native American tribe to bring slot machines to the airport.
Good freakin' God! Don't we drop enough money on air trips already?? What's next? Bingo tournaments on the Red Line (the bus route through the airport? Video poker machines on Supershuttle vans??
Later!
FEC Reports are in....
Others have covered this area already, but have tended to focus on their own CDs; the basic raw numbers from all CDs with active committees are included in this post.
Key - candidate - net contributions, individual contributions, PAC contributions, net expenditures, cash on hand. (Net contributions may not match the total of individual and PAC contributions due to refunds, candidate contributions to their own campaigns, or other reasons. Generally, any such variance isn't significant.
CD1 -
Ann Kirkpatrick (D), challenger - $328053.05, $218453.05, $109600.00, $125340.27, $668177.46
Howard Shanker (D), challenger - $33274.60, $33274.60, $0, $46603.04, $20972.36
Mary Kim Titla (D), challenger - $54104.75, $52466.36, $1638.39, $45039.94, $57385.88
Sydney Hay (R), challenger - $95033.73, $76518.73, $18515.00, $59959.65, $257408.09
Preston Korn (R), challenger - $2885.00, $2885.00, $0, $7362.48, $9173.96
CD2 -
John Thrasher (D), challenger - $8295.00, $7895.00, $0, $6599.59, $14207.90
Trent Franks (R), incumbent - $88386.00, $53261.00, $35625.00, $44885.27, $129774.83
CD3 -
Bob Lord (D), challenger - $233202.50, $161794.90, $73507.60, $158933.66, $706523.25
John Shadegg (R), incumbent - $536024.78, $421210.36, $140014.42, $121592.91, $1354246.30
The Shadegg campaign is gloating about their fundraising success during the April - June reporting period, but there's more than a little element of "whistling past the graveyard" in their press releases - Bob Lord is easily the strongest challenger, Dem or Rep, in the state and he's mounting a challenge to Shadegg that is far tougher than any challenge he's faced since entering Congress.
Note: The grand opening of the Lord campaign headquarters is this Saturday, July 19, at 4736 N. 44th St., Phoenix (just south of Camelback) from 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.
CD4 -
Ed Pastor (D), incumbent - $229493.13, $117377.88, $113515.25, $69158.20, $1428843.55
CD5 -
Harry Mitchell (D), incumbent - $335002.66, $224962.13, $113175.00, $85554.75, $1372464.22
David Schweikert (R), challenger - $162749.05, $162749.05, $0, $155851.16, $520990.10
Jim Ogsbury (R), challenger - $49783.24, $46783.24, $3000.00, $79435.55, $323442.10
Laura Knaperek (R), challenger - $34249.00, $37549.00, $0, $23200.05, $105520.79
Mark Anderson (R), challenger - $29278.14, $29278.14, $0, $25618.73, $68791.33
Susan Bitter Smith (R), challenger - $150379.51, $110603.51, $7000.00, $52363.67, $247945.89
The Republican challengers to Harry Mitchell have made some major bets on their abilities to emerge victoriously from the primary and then move on to defeat Mitchell - they've accumulated over $700K in loans and debts - Ogsbury and Schweikert at $250K each, Bitter Smith at more than $156K, and Knaperek has $50K in campaign debt. The only CD5 Rep who lists no campaign loans or obligations is Mark Anderson. In most cases, the loans/debt constitute a significant percentage (half or more) of the candidates' cash on hand totals.
Expect the following headline in mid-November - "Join the LD8 and LD17 Republicans for a joint campaign-debt retirement bake sale and car wash."
OK, OK, probably not... :))
Candie Dates (love that name!) at Sonoran Alliance has a post with some good graphs showing the CD5 challengers' financial positions.
CD6 -
Chris Gramazio (D), challenger - $3137.15, $3075.00, $0, 2539.24, $597.91
Jeff Flake (R), incumbent - $200035.00, $194835.00, $8800.00, $74097.13, $1091474.52
CD7 -
Raul Grijalva (D), incumbent - $125,398.00, $64,398.00, $61,000.00, $89,625.11, $171,043.21.
CD8 -
Gabrielle Giffords (D), incumbent - $562167.97, $381748.16, $181753.35, $156814.05, $2077845.80
Tim Bee (R), challenger - $390406.65, $307856.32, $79950.00, $229078.66, $687703.62
No reports that I could find from challengers Rebecca Schneider (D - CD6), Lee Gentry (R - CD5), Don Karg (R - CD4), or Joe Sweeney and Gene Chewning (Rs - CD7).
Withdrawn candidates - Annie Loyd (I - CD3).
Later!
Key - candidate - net contributions, individual contributions, PAC contributions, net expenditures, cash on hand. (Net contributions may not match the total of individual and PAC contributions due to refunds, candidate contributions to their own campaigns, or other reasons. Generally, any such variance isn't significant.
CD1 -
Ann Kirkpatrick (D), challenger - $328053.05, $218453.05, $109600.00, $125340.27, $668177.46
Howard Shanker (D), challenger - $33274.60, $33274.60, $0, $46603.04, $20972.36
Mary Kim Titla (D), challenger - $54104.75, $52466.36, $1638.39, $45039.94, $57385.88
Sydney Hay (R), challenger - $95033.73, $76518.73, $18515.00, $59959.65, $257408.09
Preston Korn (R), challenger - $2885.00, $2885.00, $0, $7362.48, $9173.96
CD2 -
John Thrasher (D), challenger - $8295.00, $7895.00, $0, $6599.59, $14207.90
Trent Franks (R), incumbent - $88386.00, $53261.00, $35625.00, $44885.27, $129774.83
CD3 -
Bob Lord (D), challenger - $233202.50, $161794.90, $73507.60, $158933.66, $706523.25
John Shadegg (R), incumbent - $536024.78, $421210.36, $140014.42, $121592.91, $1354246.30
The Shadegg campaign is gloating about their fundraising success during the April - June reporting period, but there's more than a little element of "whistling past the graveyard" in their press releases - Bob Lord is easily the strongest challenger, Dem or Rep, in the state and he's mounting a challenge to Shadegg that is far tougher than any challenge he's faced since entering Congress.
Note: The grand opening of the Lord campaign headquarters is this Saturday, July 19, at 4736 N. 44th St., Phoenix (just south of Camelback) from 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.
CD4 -
Ed Pastor (D), incumbent - $229493.13, $117377.88, $113515.25, $69158.20, $1428843.55
CD5 -
Harry Mitchell (D), incumbent - $335002.66, $224962.13, $113175.00, $85554.75, $1372464.22
David Schweikert (R), challenger - $162749.05, $162749.05, $0, $155851.16, $520990.10
Jim Ogsbury (R), challenger - $49783.24, $46783.24, $3000.00, $79435.55, $323442.10
Laura Knaperek (R), challenger - $34249.00, $37549.00, $0, $23200.05, $105520.79
Mark Anderson (R), challenger - $29278.14, $29278.14, $0, $25618.73, $68791.33
Susan Bitter Smith (R), challenger - $150379.51, $110603.51, $7000.00, $52363.67, $247945.89
The Republican challengers to Harry Mitchell have made some major bets on their abilities to emerge victoriously from the primary and then move on to defeat Mitchell - they've accumulated over $700K in loans and debts - Ogsbury and Schweikert at $250K each, Bitter Smith at more than $156K, and Knaperek has $50K in campaign debt. The only CD5 Rep who lists no campaign loans or obligations is Mark Anderson. In most cases, the loans/debt constitute a significant percentage (half or more) of the candidates' cash on hand totals.
Expect the following headline in mid-November - "Join the LD8 and LD17 Republicans for a joint campaign-debt retirement bake sale and car wash."
OK, OK, probably not... :))
Candie Dates (love that name!) at Sonoran Alliance has a post with some good graphs showing the CD5 challengers' financial positions.
CD6 -
Chris Gramazio (D), challenger - $3137.15, $3075.00, $0, 2539.24, $597.91
Jeff Flake (R), incumbent - $200035.00, $194835.00, $8800.00, $74097.13, $1091474.52
CD7 -
Raul Grijalva (D), incumbent - $125,398.00, $64,398.00, $61,000.00, $89,625.11, $171,043.21.
CD8 -
Gabrielle Giffords (D), incumbent - $562167.97, $381748.16, $181753.35, $156814.05, $2077845.80
Tim Bee (R), challenger - $390406.65, $307856.32, $79950.00, $229078.66, $687703.62
No reports that I could find from challengers Rebecca Schneider (D - CD6), Lee Gentry (R - CD5), Don Karg (R - CD4), or Joe Sweeney and Gene Chewning (Rs - CD7).
Withdrawn candidates - Annie Loyd (I - CD3).
Later!
Sunday, July 13, 2008
FEC reports starting to trickle in
There's only two days until the deadline (July 15), but during an election year, most campaigns wait until the last possible minute to reveal how they're doing financially. It's a tactical thing - they're trying to deny any advantage to their opponents.
So far, only a few candidates have submitted their reports. I'll update with a more complete post later this week.
Because the candidate report pickings are slim, I'll include some info from other committees.
From July reports, unless otherwise noted:
Arizona Libertarian Party - Received $35.00, spent $1.62, cash on hand $5067.56
Arizona Republican Party (June report) - Received $98148.51, spent $96082.28, cash on hand $112626.81. Pretty good month there.
Arizona State Democratic Central Executive Committee (June report) - Received $207242.03, spent $109015.08. cash on hand $117746.50. Hmmmm....better than 'pretty good' month there. Much better. :)
Arizona Cotton Growers Association - Received $550.00, spent $2960.53, cash on hand $5246.92. Interesting contributions by the ACGA - $500 each to John Shadegg, Ed Pastor, and Susan Bitter Smith (all running for Congress); $390 to Kevin Gibbons, running for LD18 state senate.
CVS/Caremark Corporation Employees PAC (June report) - Received $19365.00, spent $82000.00, cash on hand $-16983.00. This particular PAC made this list because it has a Scottsdale mailing address. And it spent over $35K in May alone on contributions to races for the Texas legislature. Be interesting to see what they are trying to buy next session.
AgPAC of the Arizona Farm Bureau Federation - Received $10229.26, spent $1007.00, cash on hand $9222.26. Interesting contributions by AgPAC - $500 to John Shadegg, $250 each to Kevin Gibbons (LD18) and Steve Pierce (LD1), Republican candidates for state senate.
Bob Lord, CD3 challenger (Democrat) - No report yet, but his campaign is claiming a very successful quarter. It wouldn't be surprising if the claim is true - John Shadegg has been out shaking every money tree that he can find; there's probably a reason that he's running scared..
Trent Franks, CD2 incumbent (Republican) - Received $57377.44 ($32084.37 from PACs), spent $32800.56, cash on hand $147351.71.
Rick Renzi, CD1 incumbent, not running for reelection (Republican) - Received nada, spent $141.44, cash on hand $3825.02. Campaign committee debt of $456089.91 (candidate loads to his own election committee and legal fees.)
I just like putting up the Renzi numbers. :))
More later this week!
So far, only a few candidates have submitted their reports. I'll update with a more complete post later this week.
Because the candidate report pickings are slim, I'll include some info from other committees.
From July reports, unless otherwise noted:
Arizona Libertarian Party - Received $35.00, spent $1.62, cash on hand $5067.56
Arizona Republican Party (June report) - Received $98148.51, spent $96082.28, cash on hand $112626.81. Pretty good month there.
Arizona State Democratic Central Executive Committee (June report) - Received $207242.03, spent $109015.08. cash on hand $117746.50. Hmmmm....better than 'pretty good' month there. Much better. :)
Arizona Cotton Growers Association - Received $550.00, spent $2960.53, cash on hand $5246.92. Interesting contributions by the ACGA - $500 each to John Shadegg, Ed Pastor, and Susan Bitter Smith (all running for Congress); $390 to Kevin Gibbons, running for LD18 state senate.
CVS/Caremark Corporation Employees PAC (June report) - Received $19365.00, spent $82000.00, cash on hand $-16983.00. This particular PAC made this list because it has a Scottsdale mailing address. And it spent over $35K in May alone on contributions to races for the Texas legislature. Be interesting to see what they are trying to buy next session.
AgPAC of the Arizona Farm Bureau Federation - Received $10229.26, spent $1007.00, cash on hand $9222.26. Interesting contributions by AgPAC - $500 to John Shadegg, $250 each to Kevin Gibbons (LD18) and Steve Pierce (LD1), Republican candidates for state senate.
Bob Lord, CD3 challenger (Democrat) - No report yet, but his campaign is claiming a very successful quarter. It wouldn't be surprising if the claim is true - John Shadegg has been out shaking every money tree that he can find; there's probably a reason that he's running scared..
Trent Franks, CD2 incumbent (Republican) - Received $57377.44 ($32084.37 from PACs), spent $32800.56, cash on hand $147351.71.
Rick Renzi, CD1 incumbent, not running for reelection (Republican) - Received nada, spent $141.44, cash on hand $3825.02. Campaign committee debt of $456089.91 (candidate loads to his own election committee and legal fees.)
I just like putting up the Renzi numbers. :))
More later this week!
Friday, June 27, 2008
John Shadegg - Newest Punter For The Cardinals??
Maybe he thinks that by not voting *against* a bill that would help American consumers facing skyrocketing gas prices, the consumers (and voters) of his district won't notice that he didn't vote *for* it, and them, either.
On Thursday, the House had nine roll call votes -
Roll Call #462, 11:52 a.m. EDT, Ordering the previous question (aka - ending debate) on H. Res. 1304, allowing for consideration of H.R. 6052 (a bill encouraging Americans to conserve energy by using public transportation). The motion passed 228 - 198, Shadegg voting nay (to continue deliberations).
Roll Call #463, 12:02 p.m., On passage of H. Res. 1304. Resolution passed 230 - 196, Shadegg voting nay (against allowing consideration of H.R. 6052).
Roll Call #464, 12:09 p.m., On passage of H. Res. 1291; passed 421 - 0, Shadegg voting yea.
Roll Call #465, 4:45 p.m., On approval of an amendment of H.R. 6052; passed 421 - 0, Shadegg voing yea.
Roll Call #466, 5:21 p.m. On a motion to recommit (aka - kill) H.R. 6052; failed 199 - 211, Shadegg voting yea.
Roll Call #467, 5:28 p.m., On Passage of H.R. 6052; passed 322 - 98, Shadegg voting nay (apparently he doesn't want people to use public transportation, perhaps because it might cut into the profit margins of Big Oil and the auto industry.)
Roll Call #468, 5:36 p.m.. On passage of H.R. 6377, the Energy Markets Emergency Act of 2008; passed 402 - 19, Shadegg voting yea. This bill would "direct the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to utilize all its authority, including its emergency powers, to curb immediately the role of excessive speculation in any contract market within the jurisdiction and control of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, on or through which energy futures or swaps are traded, and to eliminate excessive speculation, price distortion, sudden or unreasonable fluctuations or unwarranted changes in prices, or other unlawful activity that is causing major market disturbances that prevent the market from accurately reflecting the forces of supply and demand for energy commodities."
Roll Call #469, 5:44 p.m., On passage of H.R. 6251, the Responsible Federal Oil and Gas Lease Act; failed 223 - 195 (2/3 required), Shadegg not voting. This bill would have compelled oil companies that leased public lands to drill for oil to actually drill and produce oil from that leased land, or be barred from acquiring more leases.
Roll Call #470, 5:51 p.m., On passage of H. Res. 1098, Supporting the goals and ideals of the Year of the American Veteran; passed 409 - 0, Shadegg voting yea.
So let's see...during an agonizingly long voting day of almost 6 hours (yes, that "agonizingly" is dripping with sarcasm), Shadegg makes every vote but for the one on the only bill under consideration that day that had some teeth in it, one that could have made a difference to the American people.
Coincidence? Probably not. Consider this -
One one hand, Shadegg is beholden to Big Oil, having received hundreds of thousands of dollars in contributions from petroleum and other energy interests over the years.
On the other hand, he's been getting some serious heat for being out of touch with his constituents and their concerns and needs.
Hmmm......so, what to do, what to do??? If he votes for the measure, he alienates some of his biggest campaign contributors (and possible future employers); if he votes against it, he further alienates the average resident of his district (increasing the likelihood that he will need a "future employer" after November's election).
Damned if you do, damned if you don't....
What's a weary, ready-to-retire-but-they-won't-let-him=go pol to do?
What else? Call upon all of his experience and guile and do something that no one will expect.
The legislative equivalent of football's quick kick - simply skip the tough vote.
And for this he gets paid almost $170K per year???
Anyway, perhaps somebody should let Shadegg know - it was a nice try, but he didn't fool anyone.
BTW - I'm not exactly the first one to notice Shadegg's little attempt at a slide-step. From a Bob Lord for Congress press release -
Expect a counter-release from the Shadegg campaign admonishing the Lord campaign for not saying "thank you" for the early Christmas gift. :)
Oh, and if Shadegg takes the title of this post to heart - Cards training camp starts July 25th.
Skipping out on that means that you get cut from the team. Keep this up, and Shadegg will be cut from the Congressional teams.
Later!
On Thursday, the House had nine roll call votes -
Roll Call #462, 11:52 a.m. EDT, Ordering the previous question (aka - ending debate) on H. Res. 1304, allowing for consideration of H.R. 6052 (a bill encouraging Americans to conserve energy by using public transportation). The motion passed 228 - 198, Shadegg voting nay (to continue deliberations).
Roll Call #463, 12:02 p.m., On passage of H. Res. 1304. Resolution passed 230 - 196, Shadegg voting nay (against allowing consideration of H.R. 6052).
Roll Call #464, 12:09 p.m., On passage of H. Res. 1291; passed 421 - 0, Shadegg voting yea.
Roll Call #465, 4:45 p.m., On approval of an amendment of H.R. 6052; passed 421 - 0, Shadegg voing yea.
Roll Call #466, 5:21 p.m. On a motion to recommit (aka - kill) H.R. 6052; failed 199 - 211, Shadegg voting yea.
Roll Call #467, 5:28 p.m., On Passage of H.R. 6052; passed 322 - 98, Shadegg voting nay (apparently he doesn't want people to use public transportation, perhaps because it might cut into the profit margins of Big Oil and the auto industry.)
Roll Call #468, 5:36 p.m.. On passage of H.R. 6377, the Energy Markets Emergency Act of 2008; passed 402 - 19, Shadegg voting yea. This bill would "direct the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to utilize all its authority, including its emergency powers, to curb immediately the role of excessive speculation in any contract market within the jurisdiction and control of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, on or through which energy futures or swaps are traded, and to eliminate excessive speculation, price distortion, sudden or unreasonable fluctuations or unwarranted changes in prices, or other unlawful activity that is causing major market disturbances that prevent the market from accurately reflecting the forces of supply and demand for energy commodities."
Roll Call #469, 5:44 p.m., On passage of H.R. 6251, the Responsible Federal Oil and Gas Lease Act; failed 223 - 195 (2/3 required), Shadegg not voting. This bill would have compelled oil companies that leased public lands to drill for oil to actually drill and produce oil from that leased land, or be barred from acquiring more leases.
Roll Call #470, 5:51 p.m., On passage of H. Res. 1098, Supporting the goals and ideals of the Year of the American Veteran; passed 409 - 0, Shadegg voting yea.
So let's see...during an agonizingly long voting day of almost 6 hours (yes, that "agonizingly" is dripping with sarcasm), Shadegg makes every vote but for the one on the only bill under consideration that day that had some teeth in it, one that could have made a difference to the American people.
Coincidence? Probably not. Consider this -
One one hand, Shadegg is beholden to Big Oil, having received hundreds of thousands of dollars in contributions from petroleum and other energy interests over the years.
On the other hand, he's been getting some serious heat for being out of touch with his constituents and their concerns and needs.
Hmmm......so, what to do, what to do??? If he votes for the measure, he alienates some of his biggest campaign contributors (and possible future employers); if he votes against it, he further alienates the average resident of his district (increasing the likelihood that he will need a "future employer" after November's election).
Damned if you do, damned if you don't....
What's a weary, ready-to-retire-but-they-won't-let-him=go pol to do?
What else? Call upon all of his experience and guile and do something that no one will expect.
The legislative equivalent of football's quick kick - simply skip the tough vote.
And for this he gets paid almost $170K per year???
Anyway, perhaps somebody should let Shadegg know - it was a nice try, but he didn't fool anyone.
BTW - I'm not exactly the first one to notice Shadegg's little attempt at a slide-step. From a Bob Lord for Congress press release -
"While we are paying $4.14 per gallon for gas here in Phoenix, John Shadegg intentionally skipped a vote that would force oil companies to drill for oil on the land they already lease," said Andrew Eldredge-Martin, Lord's campaign manager. "The Bush-Shadegg philosophy on energy gives the oil companies all our public lands, lets the companies sit inactive on the land, leaves consumers to fend for themselves, and allows Shadegg to keep taking big checks from the oil, gas and energy industry. This philosophy is bankrupt, just like we will all be soon if we don't take action on gas prices."
Expect a counter-release from the Shadegg campaign admonishing the Lord campaign for not saying "thank you" for the early Christmas gift. :)
Oh, and if Shadegg takes the title of this post to heart - Cards training camp starts July 25th.
Skipping out on that means that you get cut from the team. Keep this up, and Shadegg will be cut from the Congressional teams.
Later!
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Shadegg: Voting For Ideology and Big Business Before Constituents. Again.
On Tuesday, the House passed H.R. 6331, the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008 by a vote of 355 - 59. All 59 opposing votes were from Republicans.
Among other things, the Act would stop a reduction in Medicare reimbursements to doctors, lowers payments to Medicare Advantage Plans (private Medicare plans), and require that any health care providers who are delinquent in their federal income taxes have the back taxes deducted from their Medicare reimbursement payments. (KGMB-TV in Hawaii)
Unsurprisingly, John Shadegg (CD3) was one of those opposed to the bill.
At first blush, his opposition to what is essentially a "cleanup" bill seems counterintuitive - the bill sounds good (improving Medicare? That's something everyone wants, isn't it?) and Shadegg is in the toughest election fight since he entered Congress (thank you Bob Lord!) - he needs all the "good" votes that he can get. In addition, the bill is relatively inexpensive (reducing federal expenditures by $100 million over the next 5 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office.)
So why did Shadegg oppose efforts to improve Medicare for patients and health care providers?
He just doesn't *like* Medicare or any program that allows elderly or poor patients to bypass profiteering corporate gatekeepers to health care.
He shows this by combining efforts to make Medicare unworkable (like with this vote) and sponsoring bills like H.R. 4460, a bill to push private insurers' plans by allowing them to bypass state regulations and consumer safeguards.
Lastly, he has a supreme [lack of] understanding of and empathy for the uninsured folks in the country and his district.
According to The Yellowsheet Reports, a newsletter published by the Arizona Capitol Times, on Monday, he spoke at a cocktail party for The Center for Medicine in the Public Interest (CMPI). (Yellowsheet is subscription-only, so no link, but here is Kos' take on the same topic, with a quote.)
CMPI is something of a misnomer - the "public" interest isn't really their interest - it's actually just a Big Pharma and Big Health Care industry front group. (Source Watch)
The organization opposes any government involvement in health care, including enacting and enforcing such trivial things as safety regulations for pharmaceuticals.
Anyway, during the party, Shadegg dropped this gem (courtesy the Yellowsheet Report via Kos) -
Apparently, Shadegg doesn't understand the difference between "health" care and "acute" care. Furthermore, he doesn't understand the impact that forgoing an actual long-term health care regimen can have on quality of life, especially in growing children and the elderly.
Somebody needs to sit Congressman Shadegg and tell him to keep his mouth closed until they can figure out if Congress' taxpayer-funded health insurance covers foot-ectomies (removal of the foot from the mouth).
Later!
Among other things, the Act would stop a reduction in Medicare reimbursements to doctors, lowers payments to Medicare Advantage Plans (private Medicare plans), and require that any health care providers who are delinquent in their federal income taxes have the back taxes deducted from their Medicare reimbursement payments. (KGMB-TV in Hawaii)
Unsurprisingly, John Shadegg (CD3) was one of those opposed to the bill.
At first blush, his opposition to what is essentially a "cleanup" bill seems counterintuitive - the bill sounds good (improving Medicare? That's something everyone wants, isn't it?) and Shadegg is in the toughest election fight since he entered Congress (thank you Bob Lord!) - he needs all the "good" votes that he can get. In addition, the bill is relatively inexpensive (reducing federal expenditures by $100 million over the next 5 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office.)
So why did Shadegg oppose efforts to improve Medicare for patients and health care providers?
He just doesn't *like* Medicare or any program that allows elderly or poor patients to bypass profiteering corporate gatekeepers to health care.
He shows this by combining efforts to make Medicare unworkable (like with this vote) and sponsoring bills like H.R. 4460, a bill to push private insurers' plans by allowing them to bypass state regulations and consumer safeguards.
Lastly, he has a supreme [lack of] understanding of and empathy for the uninsured folks in the country and his district.
According to The Yellowsheet Reports, a newsletter published by the Arizona Capitol Times, on Monday, he spoke at a cocktail party for The Center for Medicine in the Public Interest (CMPI). (Yellowsheet is subscription-only, so no link, but here is Kos' take on the same topic, with a quote.)
CMPI is something of a misnomer - the "public" interest isn't really their interest - it's actually just a Big Pharma and Big Health Care industry front group. (Source Watch)
The organization opposes any government involvement in health care, including enacting and enforcing such trivial things as safety regulations for pharmaceuticals.
Anyway, during the party, Shadegg dropped this gem (courtesy the Yellowsheet Report via Kos) -
Shadegg said, that contrary to what many believe, no one in this country goes without health care. "We're covering them in the emergency rooms and paying a very, very high price to have them walk into the emergency room with a cold or flu."
Apparently, Shadegg doesn't understand the difference between "health" care and "acute" care. Furthermore, he doesn't understand the impact that forgoing an actual long-term health care regimen can have on quality of life, especially in growing children and the elderly.
Somebody needs to sit Congressman Shadegg and tell him to keep his mouth closed until they can figure out if Congress' taxpayer-funded health insurance covers foot-ectomies (removal of the foot from the mouth).
Later!
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Republicans try to hold unemployment benefits hostage...
...hostage to increased oil company profits...
In one of the Republicans' most shameless displays of contempt for the average American in recent memory (well, in nearly two years, anyway), House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) actually argued on the House floor that opening up ANWR to oil drilling is more important than helping unemployed Americans. (I'll update with a quote after the Congressional Record of today's debate is posted tomorrow.)
Edit on 9/13 to add the aforementioned quote...
Boehner, from page H5356 of the Congressional Record -
The bill under consideration, H.R. 5749, the Emergency Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 2008, would extend unemployment benefits by 13 weeks. The bill was heard on Wednesday under suspension of the rules, but failed to garner the 2/3 majority needed for passage. It was brought back today under a rule that would allow it to pass with a simple majority.
Additionally, one of the Reps' biggest objections to the bill is that its benefits are not limited to states with the highest levels of unemployment. The example they cited most frequently was Oklahoma, whose rate stands at 3.2%.
Guess they think that someone who is unemployed in OK is less out of a job than someone who is unemployed in Michigan (6.9%).
Boehner and the Reps frequently cited their desire to help workers in Michigan while decrying the "election year politics" that they said are behind the measure.
Wonder who's playing "election year politics" here - in the race for the presidency, Michigan is considered a battleground state with 17 electoral votes, Oklahoma is safe Republican and only has 7 electoral votes.
In the end, H.R. 5749 passed 274 - 137, with the votes of the Arizona delegation breaking along party lines - Democrats Mitchell, Giffords, Grijalva, and Pastor in favor, Republicans Shadegg, Franks, and Renzi opposed, and Flake absent (bereavement).
Note: The Arizona breakdown for yesterday's vote on the bill was the same - Democrats in favor of extending unemployment benefits, Reps opposed, Flake absent.
Regarding local "election year" political considerations, I can understand why Rick Renzi didn't vote for the bill. He's not running again, so he has no real motive to work for his constituents. I can even understand why Trent Franks didn't vote for it - while he is facing a challenge from respected teacher John Thrasher, he still looks fairly safe in his district, which has a Rep registration advantage of over 60,000.
But why is John Shadegg voting against a bill that even his fellow Republicans think won't get passed in the Senate, much less signed into law by the President? I realize that his ideology is very to him, but a vote for this bill would have given Shadegg a little protections from criticisms that he doesn't care for (or work for) working families, including active and veteran military families, that have been disproportionately impacted by the downturn in the economy.
Of course, with Shadegg safe in his corporate-funded D.C. sinecure, he has no personal economic worries anyway (an illustration of his carefree attitude is available for download; it's an interview for last year's Conservative Leadership Conference (tip o' the hat to The Irregular Times for heads-up on the interview).
As it is, he's given Democratic challenger Bob Lord another opening.
From an email press release -
Bob Lord is a *lot* more tactful than I am - Shadegg is taking his working- and middle-class constituents and throwing them under the proverbial bus.
CNN coverage of the unemployment legislation and vote here.
Other House campaign news -
...Humorous site of the day - AZ5 Primary Watch. This isn't a satire site, though it's so over the top that it sometimes reads like one. Instead, it's an attack "blog" anonymously authored by Laura Knaperek, one of her family members, or one of her supporters.
How do I know it's a Knaperek blog? Well, the only Rep candidates in CD5 that it *hasn't* attacked are Mark Anderson and Laura Knaperek.
I've met them both, and this doesn't really seem like his style.
On the other hand, I've heard her speak in person regarding liberals using the same terminology and rhetorical style that this blog uses toward liberals.
My early prediction: The CD5 Republican primary will be the dirtiest race in the state this year.
Unless Knaperek wins the primary, in which case the CD5 general election will win that dubious award.
Later!
In one of the Republicans' most shameless displays of contempt for the average American in recent memory (well, in nearly two years, anyway), House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) actually argued on the House floor that opening up ANWR to oil drilling is more important than helping unemployed Americans. (I'll update with a quote after the Congressional Record of today's debate is posted tomorrow.)
Edit on 9/13 to add the aforementioned quote...
Boehner, from page H5356 of the Congressional Record -
Why aren't they thinking about the hardworking men and women in America, who go to work every day, they pay taxes, they do tough jobs, they have to give part of their money to us so that we can spend it on behalf of the American people to provide services? We should always remember that it's the hardworking people in America that provide the taxpayer funds that we spend. And our job is to spend those funds in a responsible way, and this is not, in my view, a responsible bill.
{snip}
I think the American people want us to achieve energy independence, and the only way we're going to get there is to do what I call, "all of the above.'' We need to conserve more in America. We need biofuels; we need alternative fuels; we need to get serious about nuclear energy; and we need to produce more oil and gas here in the United States instead of depending on some 70 percent of it coming from foreign sources.
Helping unemployed Americans is "irresponsible" while guaranteeing drilling into (and destroying!) ANWR isn't?
Oh, and how does more oil drilling fit into a discussion of unemployment benefits?
End edit...
Boehner's press release on the legislation is here; his press release on oil drilling (as well as blaming Nancy Pelosi for rising prices at the pump) is here.The bill under consideration, H.R. 5749, the Emergency Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 2008, would extend unemployment benefits by 13 weeks. The bill was heard on Wednesday under suspension of the rules, but failed to garner the 2/3 majority needed for passage. It was brought back today under a rule that would allow it to pass with a simple majority.
Additionally, one of the Reps' biggest objections to the bill is that its benefits are not limited to states with the highest levels of unemployment. The example they cited most frequently was Oklahoma, whose rate stands at 3.2%.
Guess they think that someone who is unemployed in OK is less out of a job than someone who is unemployed in Michigan (6.9%).
Boehner and the Reps frequently cited their desire to help workers in Michigan while decrying the "election year politics" that they said are behind the measure.
Wonder who's playing "election year politics" here - in the race for the presidency, Michigan is considered a battleground state with 17 electoral votes, Oklahoma is safe Republican and only has 7 electoral votes.
In the end, H.R. 5749 passed 274 - 137, with the votes of the Arizona delegation breaking along party lines - Democrats Mitchell, Giffords, Grijalva, and Pastor in favor, Republicans Shadegg, Franks, and Renzi opposed, and Flake absent (bereavement).
Note: The Arizona breakdown for yesterday's vote on the bill was the same - Democrats in favor of extending unemployment benefits, Reps opposed, Flake absent.
Regarding local "election year" political considerations, I can understand why Rick Renzi didn't vote for the bill. He's not running again, so he has no real motive to work for his constituents. I can even understand why Trent Franks didn't vote for it - while he is facing a challenge from respected teacher John Thrasher, he still looks fairly safe in his district, which has a Rep registration advantage of over 60,000.
But why is John Shadegg voting against a bill that even his fellow Republicans think won't get passed in the Senate, much less signed into law by the President? I realize that his ideology is very to him, but a vote for this bill would have given Shadegg a little protections from criticisms that he doesn't care for (or work for) working families, including active and veteran military families, that have been disproportionately impacted by the downturn in the economy.
Of course, with Shadegg safe in his corporate-funded D.C. sinecure, he has no personal economic worries anyway (an illustration of his carefree attitude is available for download; it's an interview for last year's Conservative Leadership Conference (tip o' the hat to The Irregular Times for heads-up on the interview).
As it is, he's given Democratic challenger Bob Lord another opening.
From an email press release -
"After months of hundreds of thousands of job losses for American workers, it’s unfathomable why my opponent would vote against such important relief legislation for Arizona’s middle class families in such a difficult time for our nation,” Lord said.
Bob Lord is a *lot* more tactful than I am - Shadegg is taking his working- and middle-class constituents and throwing them under the proverbial bus.
CNN coverage of the unemployment legislation and vote here.
Other House campaign news -
...Humorous site of the day - AZ5 Primary Watch. This isn't a satire site, though it's so over the top that it sometimes reads like one. Instead, it's an attack "blog" anonymously authored by Laura Knaperek, one of her family members, or one of her supporters.
How do I know it's a Knaperek blog? Well, the only Rep candidates in CD5 that it *hasn't* attacked are Mark Anderson and Laura Knaperek.
I've met them both, and this doesn't really seem like his style.
On the other hand, I've heard her speak in person regarding liberals using the same terminology and rhetorical style that this blog uses toward liberals.
My early prediction: The CD5 Republican primary will be the dirtiest race in the state this year.
Unless Knaperek wins the primary, in which case the CD5 general election will win that dubious award.
Later!
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
"That's not too important"
Edit on 6/13 to correct an error regarding financial reporting dates...
John McCain, in an unusually honest moment, admitted that he believes that it's "not too important" when or if the our troops are brought home from Iraq.
In an interview on Wednesday's Today Show on NBC, host Matt Lauer asked McCain if he knew when the troops would come home.
His response?
Later!
John McCain, in an unusually honest moment, admitted that he believes that it's "not too important" when or if the our troops are brought home from Iraq.
In an interview on Wednesday's Today Show on NBC, host Matt Lauer asked McCain if he knew when the troops would come home.
His response?
No, but that's not too important. What's important is the casualties in Iraq.
He went on to rationalize his statement by conflating his intent to permanently deploy American troops in Iraq with the permanent presence of troops in South Korea, Japan, and Germany, and the relatively low levels of casualties in those places (relative to the meatgrinder in Iraq, anyway).
What he conveniently forgot to mention is that in those countries U.S. troops have served as a stabilizing influence in countries that have either attacked us in the past (Japan, Germany) and are now allies, or have been threatened or attacked by others and needed a continuing protective presence (South Korea, Germany again).
He also conveniently forgot to mention that Iraq never attacked the U.S., or that the biggest outside threat to Iraq is, well, *us.*
To use a sports metaphor, McCain served up a batting practice fastball to the Democrats today, one that Democrats ranging from Sens. Harry Reid, John Kerry and Joe Biden in D.C. and all the way to wiseass bloggers from McCain's home state are taking turns hitting out of the park.
As an aside, this past weekend, two of the big guns for the AZ Republicans, McCain and Jon Kyl (R-Big Pharma), held a fundraiser for embattled CD3 Congressman John Shadegg (coverage here), rumored to be a successful one. We should find out in a month or so - the next FEC report is due in by July 15.
Wonder how many of the donors that McCain roped in for his friend Shadegg have ties to defense contractors, Big Oil, or others who are profiting from the Iraq Forever War?
I suppose we'll just have to wait until July. Of course, if that number is accurate, Shadegg and company will start crowing, and soon - they need good news to rally the faithful around Shadegg in the face of the ever-stronger challenge from Democratic candidate Bob Lord.
Baltimore Sun coverage here.
Daily Voice coverage here.Later!
Thursday, June 05, 2008
Politics 101: A Tale of Two Incumbents
...On one hand, we have freshman Democrat Harry Mitchell. He's defending his seat a district where he faces a crowded field of Republican challengers hoping to take advantage of a daunting Republican registration advantage in the district.
Instead of running scared (which has never been Mitchell's style in nearly four decades of public service anyway), he has simply been doing his job, working for the people of his district.
- He's been working tirelessly since he took office in January 2007 to support the Fifth District's (and America's!) veterans with H.R. 5740, the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008, prodding the Veterans' Administration over its almost-criminally lax efforts to meet the medical, psychological, and social needs of injured veterans (here, here, and here), meeting with his Veterans Advisory Council here in the district, or myriad other efforts on behalf of vets.
Here his efforts have been less focused on ideology than on people.
- Since late last year, Mitchell and his staff have been working to address the failures at a water treatment facility that resulted in many of his constituents being exposed to TCE-contaminated drinking water. Again, his instincts are to help his constituents.
- More recently (Wednesday, as a matter of fact), he's working to help Corona del Sol High School by bringing national attention to the plight of students, faculty, and staff. They've been dealing with air-quality related medical ailments as a result of the poor air inside the aging school.
AZ Rep coverage of his floor speech here; the actual floor statement starts on this page of the Congressional Record, and goes on to the next.
Yet again, he focuses on working for his constituents.
In short, the longtime teacher, Tempe city council member and mayor understands Politics 101, best summed up by the title of Tip O'Neill's book, "All Politics Is Local."
...On the other hand, we have 7-term incumbent Republican incumbent John Shadegg. He's defending his seat against a relative political newcomer in Bob Lord (he's not new to public service, but is new to elected office). He's in a district that has an even wider Republican registration advantage than CD5 and he's an experienced campaigner.
This should be a cakewalk for him, right?
It probably would be, except that he is failing Politics 101, and failing miserably.
- He fights against efforts to help America's (and the Third District's) veterans, whether in empty gestures of support, or in a pattern of outright opposition, usually rationalized with in the name of his "small or no government" ideology.
- When many of his constituents in Paradise Valley were dealing water taps that delivered poison instead of water, he ignored it in favor of campaigning for fellow Republican John McCain in South Carolina.
He couldn't even be bothered to send an intern to NIBW meetings or have a low-level staffer write a press release expressing his concern over the issue.
- He even opposed the Act (H.R. 3021) that Harry Mitchell spoke in support of on Wednesday, voting against modernizing public schools and educational facilities.
Even the invitations to his re-election fundraisers don't bother to tout the work that Shadegg has done for his constituents, because there isn't any such work to tout.
The invite for this Saturday's fundraiser with Sens. McCain and Kyl touts Shadegg's record as "one of the most principled and steady conservative leaders" in Congress.
In something of an ironic twist, Saturday's fundraiser is at a home in Paradise Valley. Wonder if the house is in the service area of Arizona American Water, operator of the treatment facility that caused all the furor in November and January?
Mitchell's record is one of concern for and advocacy on behalf of his constituents; Shadegg's record is that of someone who places the interests of his party and his large campaign contributors above the interests of his constituents.
Is it any wonder that Harry Mitchell is ahead of the leading Republican contenders in this April poll of head-to-head matchups, and that John Shadegg's support is in decline and free fall in this current poll?
Part of Shadegg's problem may be his experience, or lack of it - unlike Mitchell who had a long resume of public service prior to entering Congress, Shadegg's pre-Congress resume is primarily that of a professional Republican, not a professional public servant. The closest he came was as a special assistant attorney general during the 1980s under Republican AG Bob Corbin.
Not exactly a job that motivates the jobholder to worry about the concerns of the people he meets during the course of his duties. :))
Anyway, about the only good news from the poll for Shadegg was the fact that he is outpolling the President - Bush has a 30% favorable rating, and Shadegg has 31% support for his reelection.
On second thought, maybe that isn't such good news... :)
Note: If you are interested in seeing the actual invitation to Shadegg's fundraiser, leave a comment with your email addy; I'll be happy to forward it.
Later!
Instead of running scared (which has never been Mitchell's style in nearly four decades of public service anyway), he has simply been doing his job, working for the people of his district.
- He's been working tirelessly since he took office in January 2007 to support the Fifth District's (and America's!) veterans with H.R. 5740, the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008, prodding the Veterans' Administration over its almost-criminally lax efforts to meet the medical, psychological, and social needs of injured veterans (here, here, and here), meeting with his Veterans Advisory Council here in the district, or myriad other efforts on behalf of vets.
Here his efforts have been less focused on ideology than on people.
- Since late last year, Mitchell and his staff have been working to address the failures at a water treatment facility that resulted in many of his constituents being exposed to TCE-contaminated drinking water. Again, his instincts are to help his constituents.
- More recently (Wednesday, as a matter of fact), he's working to help Corona del Sol High School by bringing national attention to the plight of students, faculty, and staff. They've been dealing with air-quality related medical ailments as a result of the poor air inside the aging school.
AZ Rep coverage of his floor speech here; the actual floor statement starts on this page of the Congressional Record, and goes on to the next.
Yet again, he focuses on working for his constituents.
In short, the longtime teacher, Tempe city council member and mayor understands Politics 101, best summed up by the title of Tip O'Neill's book, "All Politics Is Local."
...On the other hand, we have 7-term incumbent Republican incumbent John Shadegg. He's defending his seat against a relative political newcomer in Bob Lord (he's not new to public service, but is new to elected office). He's in a district that has an even wider Republican registration advantage than CD5 and he's an experienced campaigner.
This should be a cakewalk for him, right?
It probably would be, except that he is failing Politics 101, and failing miserably.
- He fights against efforts to help America's (and the Third District's) veterans, whether in empty gestures of support, or in a pattern of outright opposition, usually rationalized with in the name of his "small or no government" ideology.
- When many of his constituents in Paradise Valley were dealing water taps that delivered poison instead of water, he ignored it in favor of campaigning for fellow Republican John McCain in South Carolina.
He couldn't even be bothered to send an intern to NIBW meetings or have a low-level staffer write a press release expressing his concern over the issue.
- He even opposed the Act (H.R. 3021) that Harry Mitchell spoke in support of on Wednesday, voting against modernizing public schools and educational facilities.
Even the invitations to his re-election fundraisers don't bother to tout the work that Shadegg has done for his constituents, because there isn't any such work to tout.
The invite for this Saturday's fundraiser with Sens. McCain and Kyl touts Shadegg's record as "one of the most principled and steady conservative leaders" in Congress.
In something of an ironic twist, Saturday's fundraiser is at a home in Paradise Valley. Wonder if the house is in the service area of Arizona American Water, operator of the treatment facility that caused all the furor in November and January?
Mitchell's record is one of concern for and advocacy on behalf of his constituents; Shadegg's record is that of someone who places the interests of his party and his large campaign contributors above the interests of his constituents.
Is it any wonder that Harry Mitchell is ahead of the leading Republican contenders in this April poll of head-to-head matchups, and that John Shadegg's support is in decline and free fall in this current poll?
Part of Shadegg's problem may be his experience, or lack of it - unlike Mitchell who had a long resume of public service prior to entering Congress, Shadegg's pre-Congress resume is primarily that of a professional Republican, not a professional public servant. The closest he came was as a special assistant attorney general during the 1980s under Republican AG Bob Corbin.
Not exactly a job that motivates the jobholder to worry about the concerns of the people he meets during the course of his duties. :))
Anyway, about the only good news from the poll for Shadegg was the fact that he is outpolling the President - Bush has a 30% favorable rating, and Shadegg has 31% support for his reelection.
On second thought, maybe that isn't such good news... :)
Note: If you are interested in seeing the actual invitation to Shadegg's fundraiser, leave a comment with your email addy; I'll be happy to forward it.
Later!
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