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Boston, MA – Today, Governor Mitt Romney announced the Romney for President Exploratory Committee Arizona Finance Steering Committee. Together, the Finance Steering Committee will help Governor Romney raise the resources needed to campaign in Arizona and across the nation.
"I am gratified to have the support of these outstanding men and women. The team we have put together in Arizona is a collection of some of the state's best, most energetic and most committed leaders. With their help, I know our vision for the future will be heard loudly in Arizona," said Governor Romney.
The Steering Committee, along with many others, held its first meeting on Thursday, January 25, in preparation for Governor Romney's next visit to Arizona.
Governor Romney has made numerous trips to Arizona meeting with top business and political leaders, in addition to numerous members of the Arizona media.
In addition to today's announcement regarding Governor Romney's finance team in Arizona, the campaign will soon be announcing its political team and endorsements in Arizona.
Background On The Arizona Finance Steering Committee
Co-Chair Paul And Susan Gilbert: One of Arizona's most recognized attorneys, Paul Gilbert is co-founder of the Beus Gilbert Law Firm in Scottsdale, Arizona. Gilbert and his wife, Susan, recently attended and participated in Governor Romney's successful $6.5 million "National Call Day" in Boston.
Co-Chair Lee Hanley: Hanley is the Founding Principal and Chairman of Vestar, one of America's leading developer/managers of large scale retail shopping centers. Lee has served on a wide variety of civic and charitable boards in the Phoenix area. Hanley also participated in Governor Romney's "National Call Day."
Co-Chair Kevin DeMenna: DeMenna previously served as Finance Chairman for Arizona's 2002 Republican gubernatorial nominee. Last Friday, he was recognized by the Arizona State Republican Party with its Harry Rosenzweig Award for being the state's top Republican fundraiser. He was recently recognized by the Arizona Capitol Times as being among the most influential people at the State Capitol.
Co-Chair Harry Cavanagh: Cavanagh has been a pillar in Arizona's business, legal and philanthropic communities since moving to the state decades ago. He was the founder of the O'Connor Cavanagh Law Firm and is now the namesake of the Phoenix-based Cavanagh Law Firm.
Co-Chair Wil Cardon: Cardon is the President & CEO of The Cardon Group, one of Arizona's most active and well known real estate companies.
State Finance Director Corinne Lovas: Lovas is considered the top political fundraiser in Arizona and the Southwest. She has enjoyed countless successes on behalf of U.S. Senator Jon Kyl, President Bush's 2004 re-election campaign, the Republican National Committee and numerous other Republican candidates and causes.
The "Million Geezer" march was at the Capitol last week. Well they got the name half right.
Here's how the Citizen covered the event.
Busloads of retirees from the Sun Cities, Tucson and Green Valley marched on the Arizona House of Representatives on Wednesday hoping to force action on proposed right-to-die legislation for the terminally ill.
In a truly extraordinary column, the Republic's E.J. Montini wrote that he recently put his cat to sleep and compared it to the death of his mother.
A few years ago, my family watched helplessly as my mother suffered through the last awful weeks of a painful terminal illness.
I can't say what she would have done if options were presented to her. But it does seem odd, and cruel, that she had fewer choices for herself than I had for my cat.
Somehow Montini has missed the point that his mother is very different than his cat. Human life is inherently valuable. We don't weigh whether it is past its prime and decide if it's worth keeping. We don't balance the remaining benefit of life with the remaining cost of life the way we do with cats.
Why not? Well, there are plenty of reasons why people--even old and sick people--are not given the same options as cats. My reason was written about 3,000 years ago.
13 For You formed my inward parts;
You covered me in my mother’s womb.
14 I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;[b]
Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well.
15 My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.
And in Your book they all were written,
The days fashioned for me,
When as yet there were none of them.
Psalm 139
Is John McCain about to get Swift Boated? Sidney Blumenthal is the one person whom I trust less than I trust Michael Moore and Blumenthal appears to be the force behind this video. So consider the source. However, absent some video slight of hand, this appears to be the Senator in his own words. I don't know if it will be as devesating as the Swift Boat Vets were for Kerry, but it's got potential.
Former Senator Toni Hellon had accepted a position with the Children's Action Alliance, but has chosen to remain in Tucson and work with Patti Noland.
God occasionally matches the perfect candidate with the perfect job. A great example of this phenomenon is when former Arizona State Senator and Corporation Commissioner Marc Spitzer was appointed to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). FERC is the five member board that oversees the country's energy policy and Spitzer is the technical guru who can not only understand it, but actually seems to enjoy it.
Our paths have often crossed. Spitzer served in the Senate when I was in the House and he was still in the Senate when I was Senate Chief of Staff. I spend most of my time now working with the Arizona Corporation Commission, so when Spitzer was elected to the ACC in 2000, we had the chance to work together again. Last July, Spitzer was appointed to the FERC.
He called me on Saturday and said he was going to be in town for the weekend, I suggested lunch and he said he was dying for good Mexican food. He came straight from the airport and we met at Rosita's on 24th street and McDowell.
Talking to Marc Spitzer is such a unique experience that I have trouble describing it. My wife likes to watch a show called "24." I don't watch it on account of TV drives me crazy. However, I occasionally walk through the living room during, say, episode 20 and say "who's that guy?" That drives her crazy, so to avoid the risk of sleeping outside, I usually stand there silently for a few minutes and try to figure out what's going on.
That's how I feel when I'm having lunch with Spitzer. He's famous for saying things like "The fallacy of the stasis is responsible for our present conundrum." He will mention a name and it's obvious by the way he says it that he thinks I know who he's talking about. After a few sentences, I usually have it nailed down to the CEO of some Eastern Utility, or Grover Cleavland's Vice President. Half way through the conversation, I say to myself "Dude, you should have paid more attention in college."
Rather than try to actually interview Marc at lunch, I thought I would leave you with two items about Spitzer that I found interesting: The first is an interview with Richard Ducote in the Star.
Marc Spitzer, now one of five members of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, told a Tucson energy industry conference that "a lot of the heavy lifting" for the nation's energy policy must be done at the state level.
The second is a newsletter that provides a really interesting profile of him.
The trappings of his life are displayed throughout his office, with memorabilia from Philadelphia where Marc Spitzer was born and raised, and Arizona where his meteoric career catapulted him FERC's direction.
I think the nation's energy policy is in good hands. But if you are going to appear before the FERC, you had better look up the Fallacy of the Stasis...and come to think of it, it would be a good idea to know who Cleavland's Vice President was.
Randy Pullen has been elected the Republican Party Chairman by a 4 vote Margin.
The interval between a man's first kiss and first heart attack contains many milestones, most of which pass without notice. Occasionally however, an event occurs that conflicts with our perceptions of reality. Those little milestones become defining moments.
This week I had two of those moments. On Tuesday I met with a dermatologist who decided it would be a good idea to cut little pieces off my face--nothing cancerous, or even pre-cancerous--just stuff that wasn't there in my 20s and doesn't need to be there in my 40s. It's not a big deal, but now when I see myself in the mirror, I look like I've been hunting with Dick Cheney.
That reflected image conflicts with my "mental age." We all have a subconscious image of ourselves that includes how old we think we are. My mental age is about 27. I have the same friends as I did when I was 27, I feel about the same and my job is similar. When I meet people who are 27, I think of them as peers. Then they call me "Mr. Patterson."
The second milestone this week was the realization that my music is no longer radical. Sure, I still listen to Queen, the Stones, CCR, Bob Seager, Fleetwood Mac, the Eagles and the Doobie Brothers, but I thought they were current. After all, when I listen to KSLX, it's still playing the same songs I heard in high school.
That bubble burst last weekend when I read this.
You’ve heard “Stairway to Heaven” a million times, but you’ve never heard it like this. And you’ve never heard the Phoenix Symphony — joined by a four-piece rock band — play anything close to the power and fury of music icons Led Zeppelin.
My gosh, the Phoenix Symphony is playing Led Zeppelin. Soon the Stones will be playing the Sun Dome.
So it's been a tough week. My world view has met a harsh reality and I've been forced to confront the fact that things are changing. I console myself with the understanding that at least I still have...my hair...oh crap.
KJZZ is reporting that there is a big shake up at the Arizona Republic. ( Phoenix, AZ ) Reporters, editors and photographers at The Arizona Republic learned this week that they'll have to re-apply for their jobs. As KJZZ's Marcos Najera reports, the announcement signals a shift in how the Republic delivers content.
Here's a great picture that my mom took of her back yard in Tucson. Click it to enlarge.
John McCain has an amazing knack for deflecting critisism with a great line. During his intitial Congressional run, McCain was new to Arizona and was accused of being a carpet bagger. His response was that the placed he's lived the longest is Hanoi. End of debate.
When recently asked if his age was an issue, McCain said that he was "older than dirt and had more scars than Frankenstein." But one picture is worth a thousand sound bites, and falling asleep during the State of the Union Speech is, shall we say, rather un-presidential.
Update: Several people have commented I'm not being fair to McCain and that he may be reading. OK, but is it 72 point type? I've haven't met any one over 60 who could read a document without glasses.
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Lisa James has extensive experience in politics. Click here for a copy of her bio. Here's a link to her website.
Why are you running?
I am running because I have a passion, some might call it an addiction, to Republican politics. I started working for Republicans as a teenager in Illinois. Some positions have been paid, most have been as a volunteer. I truly feel the serving as Chairman is the next step in that service. I feel that '08 brings a great opportunity to unite our Party, to involve more Republicans in the process and to make a great impact on all races--from the court house to the White House. I also chose to run because the people I have worked with over the years have asked me to do so--people from all levels of our Party--including grassroots volunteers, precinct committeeman, legislative district chairs, county chairs, legislators and members of the congressional delegation.
What are you going to do to change the party?
I want the Party to be a place where we practice Reagan's 11th Commandment and welcome Republicans to enthusiastically support their candidates. We are the Party of freedom, the party of smaller government, the party of responsibility, the party of individual rights, the party of life, the Party of lower taxes, the Party everyone should want to come home to. I would propose a two way street for communications--asking for input from all levels of our Republican family. I would also propose that we increase our volunteer trainings, increase outreach to the rural counties, step up candidate recruitment and trainings, enhance our research and focus on raising the much needed dollars for '08 in '07 to limit our competition with our own candidates.
How are you going to treat the moderates?
We need to realize that we are never going to agree on 100% of the issues, 100% of the time with 100% of the people. What need to focus on bringing more people into the Party to achieve success in November. Everyone deserves a seat at the table. I am about as conservative as one can get--however, I understand that tearing people down does not want to make the join our family--listening and communicating in a positive way will lead us down a road together and will assure Victory in '08 and beyond.
Why is there such a disconnect between the establishment conservatives and the non establishment conservatives?
I think many of the "non-establishment" conservatives have great relationships with members of the "establishment" conservatives. While I welcome and am truly humbled to have the support of the Delegation, I am equally humbled and appreciative of the support I have received from hundreds of grassroots conservatives. I look forward to building and using a bridge between all levels of elected officials and those who work at the volunteer level.
Will the delegation back you?
Yes, the delegation will support me and I will call on them. They are vital to our fundraising success. They do inspire volunteers--anyone who was at the State Party at midnight the Friday before the election saw John Shadegg welcoming volunteers and rallying them for final 72 hours. Many of them stopped by the various Victory offices and led walks and phone banks last fall. I am excited about what we can do together.
Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions. Good luck on Saturday.
Thanks Greg.
Randy Pullen has had extensive experience in business and politics. Click here for a copy of his resume. Here's a link to his website.
Over the last couple weeks or so, Pullen and I have had a chance to discuss the Chairman's race via email. (My conversation with Lisa James runs tomorrow.)
Why are you running?
I am running because I think I can make a difference in the party. There are a number of issues that need to be addressed; however, the most important one is to reestablish trust between the party leadership and the grassroots. There has not been a real sense of trust since Dodie Londen was chair. The knowledge and experience I have obtained during my 30+ year business career along with my volunteer experience at all levels of the Republican Party in Arizona and nationally over the past 8 years give me a great perspective on how to build the party and make it more effective and in the end, win elections.
What are you going to do to change the party?
Overall, I will make the county and legislative district republican party leadership responsible for a lot of the party building activity this year and next. We need to establish a budget committee, finance committee, registration committee and a training committee. None of these really exist right now. Committees will have responsibilities to develop a plan of action and implement. My role and that of the executive committee and paid staff will be to set goals and standards and measure progress. If goals are not being met, we will make adjustments. I will also ask the executive committee to approve the appointment of a woman to serve as Co-Chairman and work with me to build the party. This is a similar position that exists in many other states and at the RNC. The Co-Chair is of the opposite gender of the Chair. This is just a start in creating an effective, sustainable party organization. Overtime, as trust reemerges and the lines of communications improve between the state party leadership and the county leadership, we will distribute out more responsibility and authority to the county and district level. This will result in developing more party leaders around the state. This approach is similar to what is followed in several other state parties that are very successful.
How are you going to treat the moderates?
I will continue to treat them as I do right now, with respect. This is a two way street. Moderates need to be respectful of conservatives. We agree on a lot of issues. I think the CD8 primary election is an example of what not to do. Regardless of who won the republican nomination in the primary election, there was little time for either the conservative, Randy Graf, or the moderate, Steve Huffman, to recover and win the general election. I will work with party leadership around the state and nationally to attempt to head off such ugly primary confrontations in Arizona.
Why is there such a disconnect between the establishment conservatives and the non establishment conservatives?
By establishment conservatives, I assume you are referring to our congressional delegation, because there is a very strong connection between party grassroots (i.e., non-establishment conservatives) and state elected officials. I, as well as county party leadership around the state, have had and continue to have very good rapport with republican leadership in the legislature, the Secretary of State’s office, Corporation Commissioners and county offices. The congressional delegation has been the defacto leadership of the state party since Governor Symington resigned from office. They have essentially selected the Chairman of the state party since Dodie Londen. If you were to look around the country you will find very few state parties that are controlled by their congressional delegations. The role of a state party is much broader than national elections as it is responsible for winning state and local elections. The RNC, NRCC and SRCC exist to support national races. Their roles overlap those of the state parties in a number of areas including voter registration, get out the vote efforts and fundraising. We need to make sure we are not stepping on each other toes and are as helpful to each other as possible and is permitted by law.
Will the delegation back you?
I believe they will support me. While we have some differences of opinions on a few policies, particularly illegal immigration and campaign reform, we hold the same republican principles and values. If elected Chairman, I will reach out to each of them in order to understanding fully what their expectations are as well as creating lines of communications to discuss issues and opportunities that will undoubtedly arise in the near future.
I'm received emails and folks have commented on espresso pundit, that you have given a lot of money to Democratic Candidates.
My business included working on projects in the City of Tempe as a consultant. I have written checks to a number of Ds over the years involved in City government. Harry was running for the Senate, but was still very much involved in local politics.
I also wrote checks to Paul Johnson when he was running for council in Phoenix in 1990 and Mayor in 1994. He then rolled the 1994 mayoral money into his Governor's race in 1994. I also wrote him a check for $500 in 1998. Paul is a good friend and still is. We have a cup of coffee every once in a while. He endorsed me for my race for mayor in 1999. Besides writing a check, I never did a fundraiser or endorsed him or Harry, it was strictly personal or business related.
These contributions pale in comparison to how much I have raised or given to Republican candidates. As Co-chair of the Finance committee for AZGOP in 2000, I helped raise over $2,000,000. I raised about $60,000 for Matt in 2002. I raised almost $25,000 for Randy Graf last year in the General election. I spent another $10,000 going to RNC meetings.
Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions. Good luck on Saturday.
Thanks Greg.
I'm quick to mock my Conservative lobbyist friends when they take advantage of an opportunity to suck up to the Governor. So for the sake to full disclosure, I must admit that I said nice things about Congresswoman Giffords in this weekend's Tucson Citizen.
Here's a great example of overt bias. The mainstream media and the self proclaimed "civil libertarians" are aghast at the Bush administration's use of "warrant less wiretaps." However, our local version has been largely ignored by the media. Attorney General Terry Goddard has been seizing out of state wire transfers based on profiles of the participants. Goddard was thoroughly slapped down by judge fields.
The Attorney General...has a theory that because Arizona has problems with illegal drugs and undocumented persons within the State, it can search and seize money transfers from other States to the Republic of Mexico, question the recipients of the transfer and, if the telephonic explanation to an Arizona law enforcement agent is not sufficient, then forfeit the money. Unfortunately there are several legal problems with the actions of the State agents.
Ouch. That's going to leave a mark. Judge Fields goes on to list some of these unfortunate legal problems with the AG's theory.
There are no facts to support statutory or constitutional jurisdiction to conduct the extra territorial searches and seizures by Arizona. Additionally, the seizure warrant here is a general warrant allowing government agents to search for and seize property in order to determine if there has been a crime committed and if the property is evidence of the crime. General warrants are prohibited by the fourth amendment to the U.S. Constitution. A search/seizure warrant can only be based on particularized probable cause.
What? Do you mean to tell me that the Arizona Attorney General can't seize money that's being sent from El Paso to Sonora just because the guy who is sending it fits his profile of a smuggler? That's an outrage.
You don't need to be a lawyer to see the problems with Mr. Goddard's "theory," all you have to do is watch a couple episodes of "Law and Order" to know that you need probable cause to get a search warrant.
Where are all the civil libertarians who won't let Wal Mart repossess a stereo without a full blown hearing? What are they going to do to protect the guy who works in Sante Fe and sends his paycheck to his wife in Sonora and finds out that the Arizona Attorney General seized the funds without a warrant? Who is going to stick up for him? Sure, if he can convince the AG that the money is really his, he might be able to get it back. Is that due process? What if he's not in the country legally? Is he going to call the AG hot line or just let the money go?
What about the media reaction? The Republic buried the story on B2.
Incredibly, the Republic's Richard Ruelas seems to actually defend the program.
Goddard led a program that targeted wire transfers coming into Arizona. His office developed a profile of what a transfer to a smuggler looked like and got court orders that seized that cash. People would have to prove the money was a legitimate transfer to get the cash. The rest were assumed to be proceeds of smuggling. It worked so well that smugglers started getting money transferred into Mexico rather than Arizona. Goddard tried chasing the transactions across the border, but Western Union cried foul and a judge halted his efforts.
To its credit, the Tribune editorialized against the program.
That’s the type of blatant unreasonable seizures that the Fourth Amendment strictly forbids. This practice would be little different than allowing the police to break into every home in higher-crime neighborhoods to search for drug dealers and gang members, including the abodes of innocent residents who don’t want the long arm of the law rummaging through their closets.
Where are the self-proclaimed civil libertarians? Where's the outrage from the immigrants rights advocates? Where's State Representative Krysten Sinema, mmigration advocate Salvador Reza and ACLU Director Eleanor Eisenstat? Sitting on their hands that's where. Because the reactions from the left aren't based on what's being done, they are based on who is doing it. It's not what's being said, it's who is saying it. Goddard gets a free pass from this group.
What if a conservative, say Maricopa County Attorney Andy Thomas, seized money from alleged smugglers in other states using a general warrant? The candlelight vigils would be A1 above the fold in every newspaper in the state. However, I don't think that's likely to happen. I'm sure Mr. Thomas has seen Law and Order.
I'm used to Jon Talton's stream of consciousness approach to his columns. The non sequiters in his standard "Phoenix Sucks, Move to Denver" diatribes no longer bother me. Talton's ramblings are generally harmless because he doesn't usually direct them at people. But what's up with this column about APS CEO Bill Post?
Even with an options-timing scandal hanging over him, Apple CEO Steve Jobs can take the stage as a rock star, bringing out the next revolutionary gadget, the iPhone, to near-universal acclaim.
It's different for Bill Post, chief executive of Pinnacle West Capital Corp., the parent of Arizona Public Service Co. His customers think of him, if at all, only in the rare event that they turn on the light switch and nothing happens.
What the heck does that mean? Is Talton trying to say the Palo Verde troubles rise to the level of a scandal? Is he insinuating that Post is in trouble? Talton never answers the question, the rest of the column is overwrought prose about how electricity is "carried on silent, slender lifelines to big cities and isolated settlements" and power is life-or-death for millions who get to live in air-conditioned bliss in the hostility of the Arizona summer.
Talton concludes that the problems with Palo Verde may jeopardize nuclear energy's place in Arizona's power future. Well duh.
What about Bill Post, Steve Jobs and scandal? Talton raises the issue but never addresses it. I've worked with Post for many years and I certainly don't think that Palo Verde's problems are part of a scandal. It seems to me that APS is making the changes needed to address the problem.
If the Republic is going to continue giving Talton free reign to write incoherent rants, the publisher should probably make sure Talton leaves the names of local CEOs out of it.
(A note on the photo: I used one of my favorite Palo Verde pictures for this post. There's nothing more beautiful than the sight of a containment dome reflected in an evaporation pond. It brings a tear to my eye.)
Rep. Sinema is sponsoring a bill that appears designed to target the minutemen. The law defines Domestic Terrorism and imposes penalties on that can include jail time.
The statute makes it illegal for a group of people to work together in order to patrol to detect illegal activity unles they are affiliated with law enforcement. Are Block Watch groups affiliated with local law enforcment? Maybe. How about if a couple neighbors decide they are going to walk around and keep an eye on things. Are they terrorists?
Is it so important to stop the Minutemen that we are going to make it a crime for people to work together to stop crime? That's an Allice in Wonderland approach. If there is crime in your area, the Legislature will simply make it illegal for you to work with your neighbors to patrol to detect it.
Here's the definition from the statute.
A. An individual or group of individuals commits domestic terrorism if the individual or group of individuals are not affiliated with a local, state or federal law enforcement entity and associate with another individual or group of individuals as an organization, group, corporation or company for the purpose of patrolling to detect alleged illegal activity or to individually patrol for the purpose of detecting alleged illegal activity and if the individual or group of individuals is armed with a firearm or other weapon.
This just in from Time magazine.
Time Inc., the country's largest magazine publisher, spent the morning telling hundreds of staffers their jobs were being eliminated -- in its latest and largest yet round of staff cuts -- for the company's good.
Meanwhile, the sale of the LA Times is going badly. An analysts on Public Radio's "Market Place" was asked to describe the auction last night and simply said "Ouch!"
We learned in high school that industries become obsolete and disapear--bugy whip makers, milk men and movie theater ushers are gone. The Oldmobile went the way of the Nash, but no one seemed to realize the speed with which the internet would wipe out businesses and indeed entire professions. Tower Record's business model became obsolete and it folded. My kids have never seen a "Record Store." Travel agents are nearly gone. Call a broker to buy stock? Give me a break.
Just as I marvel that a man in a green truck used to bring milk to my door each morning, my children will marvel that a someone used to bring a 5 pound stack of paper to our door step at 5:00 every morning.
I don't know what will surprise them more, that I paid to buy it, or that someone got paid to write it.
There have been widespread rumors of serious tension in the House Democratic Caucus. 
I was reading the Arizona Capitol Times Government Resource Directory and was very pleased to learn that Gabby Giffords has decided to switch back to the Republican Party. This is a good move since District 8 has a slight Republican voting edge. Since Tom Simplot switched to the Democratic Party this week, I guess we are even.
One of the advantages of blogs is that I can post immediately. The other advantage is that when I make a silly mistake someone emails me and I can change it. I guess that's a bit harder when you print stuff on dead trees.
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If you, your agency, party, caucus, cause, interest group or boss has information that you want to get out to the political community. Send it to our information guru and webmaster debbie@espressostraight.com.
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I am currently in Balad which is sort of the Chicago O'Hare of Iraq. I've been up for about 48 hours. I'm tired, dirty and a little spacey. My latest trip was supposed to take me from Liberty to Speicher. Speicher is the camp at Tikrit, Saddam's old home town. I wish I could say it was a pleasant trip. It really wasn't. In the middle of it the Army decided to kick everyone off of the chinooks in Warhorse (the camp at Bukaba). They dropped us off in the airfield which was basically a mud puddle with a port-a-john. It was freezing out there. No tent or anything, just mud. It gave me a chance to do something, however, that I never really do in Tucson: look at the stars. For the first time in a long time I was able to look at the night sky with unbelievable clarity. Orion was there and the Cyclades. it was nice to see the same thing I can see at home to make me believe for a moment that we are under the same stars at least. They eventually came back and picked us up. They had stopped to make a trip to Pollywada (which still sounds like a toad city Lewis Carroll would have created for "Alice in Wonderland"). If I ever have kids I'm going to create a land called Pollywada to tell them stories about. The people would obviously be called "Pollywadans". Tikrit sucked but the chow hall confirmed my growing suspicion that Camp Slayer really does have the worst chow hall in the CENTCOM theater of operations.
Well, I've got to wait for another several hours to catch a bird back to Baghdad.
1LT Jonathan L. Paton
Most bloggers are ambivalent towards John McCain and I'm frankly no exception. While I admire his life story and political skills, I think McCain/Feingold is poor public policy not to mention that it appears to be unconstitutional. McCain played the role of obstructionist during the negotiations for Bush's tax cuts while his stand on the border issues troubles many activists. McCain's support of the local marriage amendment and opposition to the federal marriage amendment seems disjointed and it would help his cause a bit if McCain's inner circle would stop appearing on lists of "Republicans for Napolitano."
But I like a fair fight and the "straw poll" that got passed around at the Maricopa County Republican meeting wasn't a fair fight. There was no notice that a "poll" would be taken, and since it wasn't an official vote, it didn't have to follow any of the procedures that would ensure the fairness of an official resolution. The "straw poll" was just a piece of paper handed out at the meeting. It was a hit piece, a whack job.
However, the media are quick to pounce on any indication that McCain might be unpopular in his home state.
Arizona Sen. John McCain fared poorly and lost a straw poll among Phoenix-area Republicans in a potential matchup with other GOP presidential candidates.
McCain finished a disappointing fourth in a straw poll of those attending recent meetings of the Maricopa County Republican Party.
Let's get real. If McCain had a primary for the seat that he currently holds, he would crush all contenders. If McCain's negatives were as high as some in the Party would like to think they are, then someone would try to take him on. But that would be a fair fight, and at the end of it, the challenger would just be a greasy spot in the freeway.
Post Script. I'll leave the comments open on this post, but if they are anonymous and inflammatory, they won't last long.
The worst public policy abuses happen at the local level. Sure the IRS is a pain, but they deal with so many people that it's unlikely that they will really single you out for destruction. It's the city, county or, God forbid, coastal commission that allows some functionary to jerk you around. Local governments are totally oblivious to the undercurrent of resentment held by those who have had to deal with them. I think that's one reason why Prop. 207 passed so overwhelmingly.
Here's a great example. A restaurant has an outdoor patio and a one man band. Occasionally someone gets up to dance. The County decided that this means that the business is really an outdoor dance hall in the guise of a restaurant. This must be stopped.
"A Pinal County restaurant owner has been ordered to stop allowing his patrons to dance outdoors or face a $5,000-a-day fine. The ruling, issued by a Pinal County hearing officer Tuesday, comes after a two-part zoning compliance hearing that began last week.
Dale Bell, the owner of Sana Tan Flat, a restaurant and saloon in an unincorporated area of Pinal County southeast of Queen Creek, challenged the county when it said he was violating zoning ordinances by allowing his customers to dance when a one-man band played on an outdoor stage."
Here's an interesting coincidence. Check out Governor Napolitano's inauguration speech and then compare her theme to some other speeches.
It is that ‘One Arizona’ that I dream of. ‘One Arizona’ in which the quality of the education of our children is so good, they compete with pride with the best graduates from every corner of the world.
‘One Arizona’ that, because of that education foundation, is a place where science and research flourish, where cures are found, and technology is advanced.
‘One Arizona’ – a place where families are confident and secure in the knowledge that we are constantly moving forward, together.
Wow, that's moving. Here's what Governor Gibbons said:
A future that brings together the diverse communities and citizens of this great state into a common cause- One Nevada. Together we can create a new ideal of what it is to live the American Dream.
One Nevada is a place where all of our communities set aside what separates us, and embrace what unites us from our citizens who mine the earth, drive trucks along our highways, or serve our tourists in our hotels, to those that teach in our schools and those who enforce our laws, we come together ONE Nevada.
Here's what Elliot Spitzer said at his inauguration.
One New York with an economic climate that attracts young people and businesses; One New York with a vibrant education system that demands accountability and rewards excellence;
One New York with a health care system that puts patients first at a price we can afford;
One New York with a government that responds to the public interest instead of special interests.
One New York means a government that values every single person; one that recognizes that we will succeed or fail together; and one that provides opportunity for all, but demands individual responsibility.
This is Walter. I noticed him on Camelback and 68th street last Friday while I was taking the kids to school. As I drove past him, I thought "wow, what a crazy guy. He feels so passionate about an issue that he puts his thoughts on a big poster and he's displayed them out there for all to see. He must work hours for no pay and he doesn't know or care who reads them or what they think."
Then it hit me and I said to myself..."Dude, that guy is you with poor typing skills."
I may think he's crazy, but I bet he doesn't have a collection of white Styrofoam cups and he can alter the route he takes through Costco. And don't get me started on the whole CIA thing.
Thank God for blogs. Walter is wearing a suit (and one glove) in the freezing rain. I get to post my thoughts from home while wearing pajamas and since I can't spell half of the words on his sign, thank God for spell check too.
Through my efforts at shameless self promotion, you undoubtably know that espesso pundit was named the Best Political Website by the Arizona Capitol Times. I will confess, however, that my award is much like winning the Oscar for Best Lighting.
The award that is truly coveted--the award that makes or breaks careers is of course "Best Hair". I wasn't even nominated. However, you will understand my delight when I showed up at the Maricopa County Republican Party organizational meeting this morning and found this year's award winners, Marcus Dell'Artino and Pamela Gorman in the same room. Stardom hasn't gone to their heavily maned heads because they were kind enough to pose for this picture.
With the the Governor safely re-elected the bubble that has protected her from adverse media coverage is starting to shrink. She can't be happy with press accounts of her budget that appeared in this morning's Star, Tribune and Republic.
Here's the headline from the Star:
"Governor's $10B budget short of cash." Janet Napolitano's proposed $10.4 billion budget, which relies on borrowing hundreds of millions of dollars...
Here's how the Tribune handled the story. Gov. Janet Napolitano on Friday unveiled her budget proposal for next year, which includes $10.4 billion in spending and a plan to borrow hundreds of millions of dollars...
The Republic has a better headline for the Governor, but the article gets a point right that the Star and Tribune missed. Janet Napolitano's $11.4 billion budget. It includes $10.4 billion in operating dollars and an extra $1 billion in borrowing...
That's right, it's not a $10.4 billion budget; she is proposing to spend $11.4 billion. The $10.4 billion number is the amount of total revenue that the state is going to take in. She's burning through that amount and then borrowing another billion. So the total budget is clearly $11.4 billion.
State Revenue increased by about 3%, but the Governor is proposing to increase the budget by about 13% and nearly all of her increase will be financed with debt...this despite a Constitutional prohibition against debt and her mandate to submit a balanced budget.
In the wake of Nixon's 1972 landslide, New York Times film critic Pauline Kael was famously quoted asking "How could Nixon have won? No one I know voted for him." The quote is probably urban legend, but it has come to symbolize the intellectual cocoon that the elite place around themselves.
Republic Editorial writer Linda Valdez demonstrates the same ignorance in this morning's Republic with her "Quick Hit." Conventional wisdom says GOP legislative leadership stands in the way of Gov. Janet Napolitano and her smart, ambitious, statewide agenda for Arizona.
Conventional wisdom? Something so clear that its acceptance is nearly universal? Sure, there are some people who believe that the Governor has a smart, ambitious, statewide agenda and that the Republicans in the Legislature are the only thing standing in the way of Janet's utopia. But the only people who believe that this is the "conventional wisdom" are standing around the water cooler at the Arizona Republic.
J School Statistics
In addition to her isolation in the echo chamber that is the Arizona Republic, Valdez has a handicap that plagues many journalists; she went to journalism school. Here's what passes for J school logic.
Those guys don't represent a large constituency, and they shouldn't block progress. This is not a meeting of equals. Napolitano has a mandate from 959,830 voters. House Speaker Jim Weiers got 17,093 votes and Senate President Tim Bee got 49,268 in the last election.
What an asinine comparision. I don't see anyone saying that Nancy Pelosi was elected from a small district in Northern California, so she's not allowed to be on the same policy stage as President Bush.
Obviously the respective vote totals are meaningless. Sure, Napolitano got 959,830 votes, to Bee's 49,268, but Mine Inspector Joe Hart is the one with the mandate; Hart received 1,057,097 votes and inflicted a crushing defeat on Napolitano. I'm looking forward to seeing his budget proposals.
I've always been impressed with Arnold. His life story demonstrates that there is no limit to what you can achieve if you have great genes and own a pharmacy.
Sure, Arnold is gifted at self promotion and has calves that are bigger than my wife's waist, but what really impressed me about Arnold was his politics. He came from a Socialist country, married a Kennedy and got rich...all while remaining an economic conservative.
While in college, I said to myself "wow, I can be just like him...except for the great body, the genius for self promotion and the rich wife." Well, at least we are both conservative.
I only kept two books from my undergrad days--Milton Friedman's Free to Choose and Arnold's Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding. You can imagine my delight when I found a copy of Milton Friedman's PBS Television adaptation of Free to Choose available streaming on line. You can imagine my shock when I realized that a young Arnold was doing the introduction.
Arnold beams in the intro as he talks about the power of the market and tells how Free to Choose has influenced his life. He attributes his success to many of the principles in the book. But what happens when maintaining that success depends on abandoning those principles? Which one's more important? I guess Arnold has made his choice.
On Monday the former movie star unveiled a plan to offer universal health care to Californians, 6.5 million of whom currently lack medical insurance. The governor says his plan, which will face a battle for approval in the California legislature, will cost $12 billion. That money would come from what Schwarzenegger calls new “fees” imposed on doctors and businesses – new taxes, in effect, though defining them as fees means they can be adopted by a simple majority of state lawmakers, rather than requiring two thirds.
The media describe this type of conversion as "growing in office." Conservatives describe this type of conversion as "selling out."
In the introduction, Arnold quotes Milton Friedman's famous statement that "a society that puts equality before freedom ends up with neither." Maybe he forgot the corollary that a man who puts power above principle ends up with neither.
Dear Greg,
The Arizona Republican party is facing its greatest challenge. How do we reestablish the pride of ownership that comes from calling oneself a Republican? I know personally how painful this last election was to good Republicans. Greg, two political junkies like us could spend weeks assigning blame, but that does not answer the question and certainly does not move us forward.
To that point, we have a very important decision to make, who will be the new State Republican Party Chairman? Randy Pullen and Lisa James have thrown their hats in the ring and I would like to share my thoughts on this matter.
Over the past few years, Randy Pullen has been a good political friend to me in our home District 11. He is one of the few people that increased their commitment to party activity after his unsuccessful bid for mayor. His accomplishments on Prop 200 have made him one of the standard bearers on immigration issues. Before the 2006 election, I believed him to be the logical choice for Chairman, and I told him so.
Lisa James is a familiar face in Arizona Republican circles, but I only came to know her better this past year. Lisa, like many others, worked very hard in the last election and was a fixture at party headquarters, living off Diet Coke and phone calls, giving a great deal of her time in a difficult cycle. I discovered that we both attend Scottsdale Bible Church. She also worked for the state legislature in Illinois and in 2000 she took the bold step of supporting then Governor Bush over our home town Senator McCain in the Republican primary. She later joined the Bush-for-President Advisory Board. On the issues, she is as good as they come: pro-life, school choice, low taxes, etc., all in line with the party’s platform and also my personal views.
Both are good candidates, but I want to tell you why I now believe that Lisa James is the right person for the job.
First, somewhere along the way, the party chairman fight got mixed up with the John McCain v Rob Haney fight from District 11. I am an unabashed Rob Haney supporter and I think it is great that the maverick McCain has to endure the maverick Haney. However, to extrapolate that fight to the state party will only finish what this election started, a complete rout.
Next, we need to find synergy between the State and Local elected officials and the congressional delegation. We have not unified our efforts against the democrats the way we should. Lisa has worked closely with both types of officials and can better interpret what would be meaningful.
Also, money—Lisa will have the confidence of more people who write big checks. If you do not think money is important, then you did not see the last election. Lisa is right on the issues and in good standing with the congressional delegation and funding will follow her.
Additionally, she is a woman. We have a female governor and it sometimes is hard for the public to see only men attacking her political views. Lisa is smart and articulate and can level criticism at our Governor without being seen as mean.
Greg I don’t know your thoughts on this matter, but I assume that like me you are giving it much consideration. Randy is a good man and he has earned my respect, but he is not the right person for this job at this time. The voters told us clearly in November, “We do not believe you.” We need leadership to reestablish the public trust before the voters will once again say, “We’re with you.”
Thank you,
John Allen
Former State Representative, District 11
Now these are the names of the children of Israel who came to Egypt; each man and his household...
I just received this tip:
I understand the second term exodus has begun. Becky Hill, the governor’s education adviser, went to work for Mike Williams. There are also rumors of a shake up at commerce.
I seem to remember that the Governor's political commercials emphasized tax cuts, fiscal restraint and border security. I guess that the guy who wrote her State of the State address must have missed the commercials. It seems like her priorities are now of the spending variety.
I find it interesting to observe the inexorable expansion of government. It used to be that all government programs were for "the children" then they expanded to K-12, now the Governor has her P-20 Council. Throw in her emphasis on Government run health care and we have the proverbial cradle to grave. At this rate government will eventually be from Erection to Resurrection.
Here's an example from her speech:
"Only five states have a higher rate of children without health insurance. We owe it to our children to do better - we owe it to their future . . . Here is my plan: This year, we will make sure that every Arizona child under the age of 19, and whose family makes less than $60,000 per year, has affordable health care through AHCCCS and our KidsCare Program."
However, today's Opinion Journal points out why it's so difficult to decrease the number of uninsured.
Why doesn't increased government power tend to solve the problem of the uninsured? There are two main reasons. First, when government provides health insurance, many people who take advantage of it drop their own privately provided health insurance. In a 1996 article in the Quarterly Journal of Economics, Harvard economists David M. Cutler and Jonathan Gruber found a 50% "crowding-out effect." As the federal Medicaid program expanded, for every two people who gained insurance through Medicaid, one dropped private health insurance. Although this is a net addition of one, the costs to taxpayers are much higher than expected because now half of the newly covered, instead of paying their own way as they previously did, become wards of the state.
Second, of the 46 million or so people without health insurance at any given time, about 45% will have health insurance within four months. This is one of the main findings of a 2003 study by the Congressional Budget Office, "How Many People Lack Health Insurance and for How Long?" That shouldn't be surprising in a country where most private health insurance is employer-provided and most unemployment spells last 11 weeks or less. Solutions that involve government mandates on employers or employees will, therefore, miss connecting with about half of the people who are uninsured at a given point in time.
The article goes on to provide practical ways in which the government can ensure that folks have access to the health care that they need.
Abolishing these mandates would allow people who don't want to be covered for these things to buy cheaper insurance, while still allowing those who want them to buy and pay for them. Would such an approach work? That's like asking whether, if the government currently required new cars to have CD players, eliminating that requirement would lower the price of a car. Of course it would work.
Occasionally I like to profile someone who I think is interesting. Last year I interviewed: Len Munsil, Mary Peters, Jan Flores, John Green, Phil Gordon, Fife Symington and others. This year I'm going profile folks who I think are doing interesting things in government.
Espresso Pundit readers will already know that I'm good friends with Maricopa County Treasurer David Schweikert. We served in the House together in the early 1990s, and we campaigned together and in 1994, when he ran for Congress and I ran for the Corporation Commission. He lost to Hayworth and I lost to Kunasek. Most candidates who get crushed in their races team up and become consultants. But Schweikert got appointed to run the State Board of Equalization and I was appointed to RUCO.
One thing that you may not know is that Schweikert is a total geek. When we arrived at the Capitol as Freshmen in 1991, he brought a computer that weighed 40 pounds, cost $4,000 and had a 10 megabyte hard drive. The rest of us gathered around it and said... "what's a hard drive?"
Schweikert remade the State Board of Equalization in his image. When he took over in 1995, all the filings were on paper. The budget was $1.1 million and the filings took three weeks to process. After he had been there a year or so, I asked him about the budget and the filing time. He said that the total filings were up, the total budget was down and the filing period was four days. When he left the agency, I asked him the same question and the total filings were up, the total budget had been cut nearly in half and the filings were instant. The office was paperless and the filings were immediately confirmed by email.
My favorite story is that his office needed computers but the agency could only buy from approved state vendors and he was shocked at how expensive they were on the state contract. So his office used petty cash to buy "spare parts" at Fry's Electronics and they assembled their own computers.
In 2004, Schweikert was elected Maricopa County Treasurer. He jokes
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