Dr. Chat, as he likes to be called, is standing for the Democratic nomination against John
Thrasher, and ultimately for the right to take on incumbent Republican
Trent Franks. Dr. Chat dropped in on a meeting of Drinking Liberally in Tucson two weeks ago. It’s not unusual for a Congresssional candidate to stop by Drinking Liberally, but it is unusual for one to drive down from Phoenix just to do so.
Dr. Chat spent a very pleasant evening with us and asked if I would like to interview him. Unfortunately, not being from his district, I knew couldn’t address properly the many purely local issues that some voters would be interested in knowing about. But I did feel I could give prospective voters a good idea where Chat stands on major issues with just 20 questions. I’ll be sending the same questions (except maybe the first) to Chat’s rival for the nomination.
Yes, that’s Al Gore in the photo above. And no, Chat didn’t just slide up to him and get a snap; Chat went to school with Gore in Tennessee. Chat told me that a 20-something Gore once called him and a group of college friends together for their advice and support as he was contemplating his first run for Congress, and just recently, as Chat considered running for Congress, he reversed the roles and asked Gore for his advice on running. Not a bad coach to have in your corner when taking on an entrenched incumbent.
I haven’t done any follow-up questions based on Chat’s responses, but I’m hoping to rely on you readers to ask additional or clarifying questions. Chat reads this blog and I’m sure that he would be interested in addressing your comments and follow-up questions.
The first question may come as something of a surprise: Chat recently changed his party affiliation because, as he says, his party left him. Don’t be under any illusions: Chat is very much still a liberal Republican in his views, and he doesn’t pretend otherwise. But as there is no longer any room in the Republican tent for progressive independents like Chat, his campaign is testing the waters for a new alignment in American politics.
1) When did you change parties and why?