First GOP Gubernatorial Forum a major disappointment

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

It's only 2013, but the first GOP Gubernatorial forum was held last Thursday, sans Governor Jan Brewer who may decide to challenge Arizona's constitutional term limits provision. From this report by the Arizona Capitol Times (subscription required), the field of candidates is a major disappointment. GOP gubernatorial candidates take the stage at first forum:

Secretary of State Ken ["Birther"] Bennett, Sen. [Capn'] Al Melvin, Dr. John Molina, former GoDaddy executive Christine Jones, and former Maricopa County Attorney [Saint] Andrew Thomas took the stage Oct. 3 at a forum hosted by the Maricopa County Republican Party.

Artist's rendition from the forum.

The candidates were largely on the same page on most issues. All five opposed the education standards known as Common Core, vowed to fight to protect Arizona’s sovereignty from the federal government and pledged to completely follow the Republican Party’s platform. Opposition to Gov. Jan Brewer’s Medicaid expansion plan was nearly universal, and several candidates spoke of the need to bolster Arizona’s economy by lowering taxes.

The only differentiation on issues such as
Medicaid expansion and Common Core were the vehemence with which the
candidates opposed them.

In other words, they are all from the anti-government, Neo-Confederate insurrectionist party of radicals. So where is the mythical moderate Republican that the Arizona Republic's Laurie Roberts keeps promising us with her "De-Kook the Capitol" project? Sounds like her project is a complete bust.

Just how nutty are these Teabaggers? Check it out:

Bennett poked fun at Brewer and
Superintendent of Public Instruction John Huppenthal’s decision to
change the name of the program, and said he was concerned that testing
under the standards is left to “national interests.” Other candidates
called the standards an attempt by the federal government to undermine
state and local control of education. Melvin, R-SaddleBrooke, said he
would sponsor a bill during the 2014 legislative session to “pull Common
Core out by its roots.”

Molina, a Guadalupe doctor, said he agreed with Medicaid expansion in
principle but opposed the program as a whole and called for greater
accountability in the plan.  But Melvin called Medicaid expansion the
greatest threat to Arizona’s economy.  And Jones, a former accountant,
said Arizonans should be “terrified” because the numbers don’t work.
Bennett and Thomas also opposed the expansion, a provision of the
Affordable Care Act that provides increased federal funds in exchange
for expanding Medicaid eligibility.

And here is what we have come to expect from Tea-Publican candidates. They simply spew empty platitudes, bumper sticker slogans, and ad hominem attacks on President Obama. "Feeedom!" These intellectual dim-bulbs can't, or won't, explain a single policy position.

The candidates often spoke in generalities,
espousing conservative values but few details about the exact agendas
they would pursue as governor.

When they did have an idea to express, it was more radical bad ideas:

Both Bennett and Melvin talked about
eliminating Arizona’s income tax. Melvin said he believes it could be
done gradually over the course of eight years – just enough time for a
two-term governor – while Bennett said he would do it in just one or two
years, replacing the revenue with a low, broad-based sales tax.

Melvin made several other specific proposals, some of which he has
stumped for frequently during his five years in the Legislature. He
vowed to work with other Western states to take control of federal land,
advocated for tort reform and proposed the creation of a deep-water
port in Sonora, Mexico, that he said would be a boon to commerce on both
sides of the border. He also proposed a universal school voucher
program where parents would receive $8,000 per year to send their
children to the school of their choice.

(Note: the deep-water port in Guaymas, Sonora is already in operation. Guaymas moves into operation as a seaport for container cargo. Capn' Al needs to get out more.)

The GoDaddy Girl, Christine Jones, spoke in broad generalities: "She said she wants to lay out a vision for
Arizona’s future that includes 'technological and inventive excellence'
while growing the state’s economy and improving its education system." "Jones said she would make it her mission to promote Arizona as a place to do business. 'That means evangelizing Arizona to other states and other countries,' she said."

But then she had this to say:

When asked what being a Republican means
to her, she said it means not being dependent on other people. She said
the GOP is the party that believes people can achieve, while Democrats
treat people as less valuable and less able to achieve if they’re not
white.

“We’re not racist like them,” Jones said.

Jones, like Melvin and Thomas, also referenced the GOP’s history as
the party of Abraham Lincoln. “It wasn’t their idea to free the slaves.
It was our idea,” she said.

Y'all can keep deluding yourselves about what the modern GOP has become, but the "Party of Lincoln" you are not. Just read the posts I have been writing for the past week. This is not your father's GOP.

This was best captured by the disgraced and disbarred Andrew Thomas, Crazy Uncle Joe Arpaio's partner in crime, who "lamented that many of the gains he made
against illegal immigration have been wiped away, most recently with a
federal judge’s ruling that barred the county attorney and sheriff’s
offices from charging illegal immigrants as co-conspirators of their
smugglers. He also criticized the judges whom Thomas said punished him
for standing up to them, and vowed to continue the fight."

Always with the persecution complex and playing the victimhood card. "Saint Andrew" is being crucified for his purity of conservative beliefs, yaddy-yadda. And then there is his revenge motive:

Unelected judges are the biggest threat to
our liberty today. We need somebody who will stand up to them, who has a
track record of doing so. I have an unparalleled track record of doing
that, and I’ve made great sacrifices personally in doing that,” he said.

The voters of the state of Maricopa had enough of your political witch hunts against your and Crazy Uncle Joe's perceived political opponents. There is no place in this country for that kind of unethical and illegal behavior. That's why you were disbarred, you loser.

The supposed GOP front-runner, State Treasurer Doug Ducey, did not participate in this candidate forum. He is no improvement, however, given that he has Cathi Herrod from the Center for Arizona Policy (CAP) on his team. ("Saint Andrew" must feel betrayed by his Judas).