CD2 Candidate Ann Kirkpatrick Opens New HQ, Launches Dozens of Canvassers

Ann Kirkpatrick, the Democratic candidate for Congress in Tucson’s CD2, opened her new headquarters at 4742 N Oracle Rd, Tucson, AZ 85705, and launched dozens of volunteers to knock on doors for her and US Senate candidate Kyrsten Sinema.

She said the key issues in the race are: protecting choice in women’s health care, immigration reform including citizenship for the DACA recipients, and halting the separation of children from their parents at the border.

She has also called for creating a public option for Americans to buy into Medicare, protecting Medicare and Social Security from Republican attempts to cut earned benefits, and giving Medicare the power to negotiate drug prices to reduce costs for our seniors.

I canvassed 49 houses myself for four hours in the 101° heat and found that these issues resonated with voters I talked to. I met:

  • An independent voter who is Latino and who is upset by the US immigration policy.
  • A Republican who said he was upset with Trump and will vote for Kirkpatrick and Sinema to put a check on the president.
  • An independent who wanted to know where to donate to the Sinema campaign.

All three of them wanted to volunteer for the Democrats.

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Martha McSally is a creature of the military-industrial-congressional complex

Rep. Martha McSally (R-Raytheon) epitomizes what President Dwight D. Eisenhower warned this nation against in his farewell address in 1961:

This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence – economic, political, even spiritual – is felt in every city, every Statehouse, every office of the Federal government. We recognize the imperative need for this development. Yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. Our toil, resources and livelihood are all involved; so is the very structure of our society.

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We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together.

Eisenhower’s orignal draft of the speech referred to the military-industrial-congressional complex.

In a series of negative campaign ads attacking her opponent, McSally presents a hyper-militarism. She always portrays herself in uniform for the persona of a  “woman warrior” to contrast with an old photo of Kyrsten Sinema in a pink tutu, as a girlie-girl “lefty-looney.”

The primary focus of McSally’s negative attack ads is to assert that Kyrsten Sinema “denigrated the service” of those in the military in protesting the Iraq war. Politifact rates this claim false, unsupported by any evidence. Did Arizona’s Kyrsten Sinema protest troops in a pink tutu and denigrated their service?”

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Political Calendar: Week of September 16, 2018

The Political Calendar is posted on Sundays. Please send us notice of your political events prior to the Sunday before your event (7 days would be most helpful). See the calendar icon in the right-hand column of the blog page for easy access to the calendar.

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Political Calendar for the Week of September 16, 2018:

Coconino County Democratic Party’s annual Monsoon Picnic

Sunday, September 16, 10:30 a.m.: Coconino County Democratic Party’s annual Monsoon Picnic, at the County Fairgrounds (Maricopa Ramada), 2446 Fort Tuthill Loop, Flagstaff. A business meeting for PCs will begin promptly at 10:30 and conclude before 11 a.m. The public portion of the event will begin at 11 a.m. with food and candidate speeches. This is a potluck with the party providing pulled pork sandwiches, veggie burgers, hot dogs, buns, and drinks. We ask that those whose last names begin with A-M bring a salad or side dish and those whose last names begin with N-Z bring a dessert. (Bring reusable plates and utensils if you can. We will provide paper and plastic.) For more information please call (928) 214-0393 or email Kevin Ordean at Kordean@ccdem.org.

Monday, September 17: Constitution Day/Citizenship Day, commemorates the day the U.S. Constitutional Convention signed the Constitution in 1787.

Monday, September 17, Noon: Democrats of Greater Tucson luncheon, Dragon’s View Restaurant (400 N. Bonita, South of St. Mary’s Road between the Freeway and Grande Avenue, turn South at Furr’s Cafeteria). New price: buffet lunch is $10.00 cash, $12 credit; just a drink is $3.50. Featured speaker is Larry Bodine of Blog For Arizona on Local Political Journalism. Next Week: DGT President Brian Bickel on Pima County Bond Questions on the ballot.

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