Extreme Makeover: Jesse Kelly 2.0

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Democrat Ron Barber turned his Congressional District 8 campaign's focus onto Social Security and Medicare on Monday. Arizona Public Media | Arizona | Social Security, Medicare Top CD8 Agenda:

Barber said he will not vote for any massive cuts of benefits to Medicare or privatization of Social Security that would leave beneficiaries to face the ups and downs of the stock market.

“I will go to Congress, if you’ll help me, to be a strong voice in Congress, and I pledge to you today, as I have every day since this campaign started, to protect and preserve Social Security and Medicare," Barber said.

That’s what Jesse Kelly now says, too.

[But] iIn 2010, when he ran against then Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords for the CD8 seat, Kelly said he wanted to phase out and eliminate Social Security and Medicare.

Barber didn’t let that go unnoticed Monday. . . “I’ll just say this: My opponent is experiencing an extreme makeover," Barber said.

Funny, I said the same thing about Jesse Kelly back in 2010. So Blog for Arizona is going to go back through our posts from 2010 and repost some of them to demonstrate the "extreme makeover" the RNCC is doing to make Jesse Kelly 2.0 appear more palatable to voters in 2012.

Kelly's gauzy ads full of platitudes, bumper sticker slogans, and ad hominem attacks on President Obama tell voters nothing about the candidate. The whole point of this "extreme makeover" is to make Jesse Kelly 2.0 appear as a nice young man who loves his dear old grandpa, and Jesse Kelly 2.0 isn't that wild-eyed radical extremist from 2010. The RNCC and Jesse Kelly want you to forget that Jesse Kelly ever existed. They want you to believe he is no longer an extremist who is a risk we cannot afford.

This is why Kelly is now avoiding the media like the plague and everything comes through his campaign spokespersons, one of whom is the Arizona Daily Star's former talentless hack political reporter, Daniel Scarpinato, who somehow fell upwards to land a job with the RNCC after blowing a tailor-made election for Jonathan "Payday" Paton in 2010 by losing to the political neophyte Jesse Kelly in the GOP primary (I mean really, how else does one explain this other than utter incompetence?)

Unfortunately for them, I have a long memory and there is something called the "Google."

So let's take a ride in Mr. Peabody's WAYBAC machine all the way to 2010 and meet  the Jesse Kelly they want you to forget ever existed.

Here is how Doug MacEachern, the arch conservative editor of the Arizona Republic, described Jesse Kelly after an editorial board sit-down for the GOP primary in CD 8 back in 2010. Democrats have Republican Ben Quayle right where they want him (excerpt):

At least Candidate Quayle has a substantial Republican majority in his district. That is not the case in southern Arizona's District 8, where independents rule, and where The Angriest Successful Primary Candidate I Ever Met is the GOP nominee.

Just as Democratic Congresswoman Gabby Giffords hoped, Jesse Kelly beat former state Sen. Jonathan Paton, the heavy favorite in the GOP primary.

I met Kelly in an Editorial Board meeting. Honorable fellow: war veteran, like all the district's GOP candidates. Indeed, he was a Marine combat platoon leader, the most dangerous job on earth. He is an honest conservative. And a really, really angry guy.

When asked about priorities, he gave an answer that, while perfectly suitable for a former Marine officer, it seemed a bit over the top for a prospective member of Congress: "We've got to kill all members of radical Islam."

And, when asked if he could work with Democrats in Congress: "I hope there's no Democrats left in Congress when I get there."

Look, I like shock theater, too. And I've been known to be a bit edgy at times. But Kelly is that rare conservative who takes politics so personally that he has morphed into his worst enemy. Like far-left liberals, he doesn't believe his political opponents are merely wrong; they're evil: "I think liberals are destroying the nation. We had better go fight them in Washington before they destroy our children's future."

No wonder Giffords is smiling these days. Kelly dissed candidates endorsed by Sarah Palin as people "who will sell our principles down the river."

Suddenly, young Quayle doesn't look so bad after all.

Hmmm, I wonder whom the Arizona Republic endorsed in the GOP primary. Arizona Republic endorsements for 2010 primary:

Congress 8

Republicans – Jonathan Paton is a strong candidate who can mount a credible campaign against Democratic Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.

What did the Republic have to say about Kelly after his "shock theater" sit-down with the editorial board?

Paton's closest rival in the Republican primary is Jesse Kelly, a Marine Corps combat veteran who offers a hard-right edge and blames the ills of the nations on "liberalism" and President Barack Obama. He offers simplistic sound bites that suggest little depth of thought.

How did Kelly respond to being dissed by the Arizona Republic's editorial board? Pueblo Politics: Of ads, endorsements and complaints in CD8:

Jonathan Paton picked up endorsements from Sen. Jon Kyl and the Arizona Republic — but challenger Jesse Kelly isn’t impressed.

Kelly sent out a note to supporters noting the Arizona Republic led the attack against 1070 and asked their help “to make sure the favorite candidate of the liberal press does not win.”

He did go to the endorsement interview though? Yes, he did, although he said it was an attempt to “get conservative ideas printed in the Arizona Republic” and not an attempt to get its endorsement.

Well, clearly. And just to be clear, no one has ever confused the Arizona Republic for a "lbrul" newspaper, except Jesse Kelly. That just demonstrates his far-right extremism.

After Kelly upset Jonathan "Payday" Paton in the GOP primary, he was scheduled to show at his interview with The Arizona Republic but canceled at the last minute. He also decided not to interview with the Arizona Daily Star. Guess whom both newspapers endorsed in November? Ah, no fair, you peeked!

Jesse Kelly is still hiding from reporters. What is he afraid of? That the gauzy "extreme makeover" edition 2.0 in his ads will be revealed to be a lie and he is still the "really, really angry guy" who is a risk that we cannot afford? That's a safe bet.

Unless reporters start doing their damn job, Kelly may be allowed to get away with this fraud.