Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
In Blog for Arizona's new series, "Questions for Martha McSally," we pose questions to
the Martha McSally campaign about her positions on current hot topics — I am
not going to give her a free pass until after the primary election is
over like our local media did in 2012. The McSally campaign has not posted any responses to the questions we have posed to her campaign.
But at least we ask the questions and expect a response. On Sunday, The Arizona Republic published a "puff piece" about Martha McSally with all the indicia that it was requested by National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Daniel Scarpinato, who gets a brief mention in the report. Martha McSally eyes running again in 2014. The only passage from this "puff piece" of any relevance:
Democrats argue that if McSally runs in 2014, she will be defeated again. Democrats have won the
seat the past five elections. They say she appears indecisive, after
talking in recent months about running for other offices and not
officially announcing her candidacy. They say McSally’s often-told
can-do story masks a reluctance to take a stand on tough policy
positions. Recently, she hasn’t addressed, for instance, the Syria crisis or a potential government shutdown.
McSally counters that she is doing her due diligence on running, her
positions have been detailed and, with more time to talk to voters, she
can win. National Republican leaders appear eager to back her, seeing a
key part of the GOP’s future in appealing to female voters.
The reporter does not challenge McSally's assertion that her "postions have been detailed," which we have clearly demonstrated they are not. McSally is an enigma, whom the media allows to get by on her biographical narrative, and never asks nor demands answers from her to hard questions about her policy positions. There is not a single policy position detailed in this long "puff piece."
Yes, the reporter did the FAUX News "fair and balanced" treatment, giving Congressman Ron Barber's spokesman Rodd McLeod an opportunity to lay out his candidate's case for some bogus "analysis" of the CD 2 congressional race — it's not much of an analysis when you mention that "Already, two Republicans have begun talking about running against [McSally] in the primary," without ever naming her primary opponents. Looks like we have ourselves a GOP primary in CD 2:
The political gossip rag Yellow Sheet Reports (subscription required) reported that Ed Martin,
an occasional fill-in radio host for radio talk show host Jon Justice
and a former press secretary to U.S. Sen. Alfonse D'Amato (R-NY) is
considering running, as well as Shelley Kais, President of Kais E Systems, Inc., who worked for the McSally campaign during the
special election to fill Congresswoman Giffords’ seat, who has already formed an exploratory committee.
Is this so hard?
And there is the ego trip McSally continues on with Martha McSally seems to think that 'everyone wants me'. "McSally says she has considered running for governor and Sen. John McCain’s seat if he retires in 2016." Don't quit your day job is my advice.
I guess I have no right to expect any better from The Arizona Republic, which has always been the media arm of the Arizona Republican Party.
Let me share some additional points with you that you did not cover. Those on the inside know that Ms. McSally is the clear undisputed protégé of Senator John McCain. He has been heard touting her heavily in her presence and was even heard a few months ago pressing her to run. She has not espoused her positions, because they are his positions and right now his positions and Senator McCain himself are not very popular with southern Arizona Republicans and she will have to win a Republican primary. Thus as protégé, it explains the affection for McSally from McCain, Scarpinato, and the NRCC. McCain has influence to try to steal an election. While the rumor mill has it that she will declare Oct. 1, she has already declared on July 1st to the FEC. She still disingenuously states that she is only exploring.
Shelly Kais was a member of her team and is now exploring – hum??? It appears that Ms. Kais, if she declares, may very well be a “straw man” for Ms. McSally – there is no proof of this and no allegation and I hope this is not true because this practice is illegal – but take a sniff for yourself. Of course, less than ethical behavior emanated from the McSally campaign during her primary against Jesse Kelly. It was blamed on a wayward, terminated campaign manager.
Mr. Martin is not a part time radio host for a vocation – it is his paid hobby! The man has a heavy Reagan based political history and possesses substantial high level economic development experience. He is not a novice to the conservative or political arenas. This not being a conservative blog, you may be ready to bring out the knives, but realize that he will have no problem articulating every position of his, over time, and you (the non-conservatives among you) may even like some of them.