Al Melvin, tell us what you really think about the Tucson Weekly
June 19, 2012
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by David Safier If memory serves, awhile back Cap'n Al Melvin berated a cafe owner for allowing the free Tucson Weekly in his establishment. Has the Cap'n forgotten his old grudge? The Range posted this tweet from Melvin: OK, we all know the Star and the Republic are blatantly pinko publications. But what about the … Read more
Karl Rove’s Crossroads GPS is in the court’s crosshairs
June 19, 2012
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
Excuuuse my French, but it's about effin' time! Karl Rove's Crossroads GPS is in the court's crosshairs. The New York Times reports Obama's Lawyer Demands Information on Group's Donors – NYTimes.com:
The lawyer for President Obama demanded on Tuesday that Crossroads GPS disclose its donors, saying in a complaint to the Federal Election Commission that the group is plainly a “political committee” subject to federal reporting requirements.
In the complaint, obtained by The New York Times, Robert F. Bauer, the campaign’s chief counsel, writes that the group — founded by Karl Rove, among others — can no longer shield the identity of its donors by defining itself as a “social welfare” organization.
“Crossroads seems to believe that it can run out the clock and spend massive sums of money in this election without accounting for a trace of its funding,” Mr. Bauer wrote in the complaint, filed Tuesday. “Now, a federal appellate court has issued a ruling that makes clear that Crossroads is out of time.”
The case Mr. Bauer cites is “Real Truth About Obama v. FEC,” in which the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled that the government must determine the “major purpose” of groups like Crossroads.
In a letter to Mr. Rove and Steven Law, the president of Crossroads, Mr. Bauer urges them to immediately disclose their donors.
“Will Crossroads fight this out, knowing that disclosure is inevitable but looking to delay until after the election?” Mr. Bauer wrote.
Public Policy Polling: Carmona trails Flake by just 2 points
June 19, 2012
Posted by AzBlueMeanie: The Arizona Republic reports at its AZ/DC Blog – azdc – Poll shows Carmona trailing Flake by just 2 points: A new poll out out Tuesday shows Democratic former U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona in a dead heat with U.S. Rep. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., in the race for retiring U.S. Sen. Jon … Read more
Payday-Paton.com Returns!
June 19, 2012
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
It worked so well in 2010 that the Arizona Democratic Party is bringing it back for a return engagement in 2012. Payday-Paton.com retuns!
Press release from the Arizona Democratic Party:
Payday-Paton.com Gives CD1 Voters The Facts About Jonathan "Payday" Paton
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 19, 2012
PHOENIX, AZ—Payday Paton is back, and what a difference two years makes. Or does it?
In 2010, Republican Jonathan Paton hoped to unseat Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, but he was soundly defeated in the GOP primary by Jesse Kelly after voters learned about Paton’s past as a payday-lending lobbyist.
In 2012, Paton is jumping into a district that hardly knows him or his values. They don’t know he was a payday-lending lobbyist, that he supports the reckless Ryan plan to dismantle Medicare or that he has flip-flopped on important issues. And that means Paton needs a proper introduction to the residents of Arizona’s Congressional District 1.
Today, the Arizona Democratic Party is launching www.Payday-Paton.com because CD1 voters have a right to the facts about Jonathan “Payday” Paton:
- Paton was a paid lobbyist and spokesman for the predatory payday lending industry. [Tucson Citizen, Jan. 22, 2004].
- Paton actively championed the payday-lending industry’s deceptive ballot initiative, Prop. 200, to bail out the industry [Paton’s 2008 ballot argument].
- Paton was on the payroll of the same payday-lending lobbyists who ran the Prop. 200 campaign — while he was serving in the state Legislature. [Paton's 2008 financial disclosure form].
CD1 voters, meet Payday Paton. Visit www.Payday-Paton.com to learn more, then follow us at Facebook.com/PaydayPaton2012 and Twitter.com/PaydayPaton2012.
Watch our video (below the fold):
But I thought Republicans say federal money never produced a single byte of data
June 19, 2012
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by David Safier Look who's happy about getting 5 million dollars of that nasty Obama money to improve the AZ Dept of Ed data systems. John Huppenthal. Arizona is one of two dozen states receiving federal grants to improve their data systems. The $5 million grant to Arizona, along with up to $6.6 million in … Read more
The ‘Hispanic Oprah’ endorses President Obama
June 19, 2012
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
Cristina Saralegui, a Latina talk show host often referred to as the "Hispanic Oprah," has thrown her support to Obama, and is featured in a new video from the Obama campaign. (video below the fold).
POLITICO discovers the Martha McSally gambit
June 19, 2012
Posted by AzblueMeanie:
Blog for Arizona told you about the Martha McSally gambit: her campaign was telling voters to vote for Ron Barber in the Special Election to defeat Jesse Kelly so they could vote for her in the August GOP primary.
(Anecdote: The hand-count auditors who audited the Special Election ballots in Pima County last Saturday tell me that there were some write-in votes for Martha McSally. These votes were not counted because McSally was not a qualified write-in candidate, so we will never know how many voters cast their ballot for McSally).
On Monday, POLITICO reported that Ron Barber staffer claims strange encounter with GOP aide – POLITICO.com:
In the waning days of last week’s hard-fought Arizona special election, Democrat Ron Barber’s aides said they received some unsolicited advice from an unexpected source: the campaign of a Republican who covets the House seat Barber will soon be sworn into.
On the Thursday before the election, a top aide to Republican Martha McSally, a retired Air Force officer and a tea party favorite, approached a Barber aide at an event on the University of Arizona’s Tucson campus. That’s when something strange happened, according to the Barber campaign: The McSally aide, spokesman Sam Stone, offered the 22-year-old Barber staffer advice on how to beat Jesse Kelly, the GOP nominee who was running against Barber in the special election.
Stone had plenty of reason to want Barber to win: His boss, McSally, is a candidate for the Southern Arizona seat in the regularly scheduled November election. Had Kelly defeated Barber, it would have all but ended McSally’s hope of winning the seat because she would have had to run against an incumbent Republican. A Kelly loss, on the other hand, would have made her the odds-on favorite to rival Barber in the fall.
Mission accomplished!
Jonathan ‘Payday’ Paton: ‘never mind’
June 19, 2012
Posted by AzBlueMeanie: One does not file an election challenge to a candidate's petitions unless one has done the research and knows for certain that there are enough invalid signatures to disqualify the candidate. Otherwise, what is the point? Jonathan "Payday" Paton pulled an Emily Litella on Monday: "Never mind." The Arizona Capitol Times (subscription … Read more
