The Arizona Republic endorses Jerry Lewis in Pearce Recall

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

This comes as no surprise as the Arizona Republic has been disenchanted with "King" Russell Pearce for some time. But when John McCain's media arm endorses Jerry Lewis, it tells me that the GOP establishment in Arizona has finally had enough of ol' Russell (despite the fact that all but a handful of the GOP legislative caucus signed a letter of support for Pearce — before the Olivia Cortes election fraud fiasco). Lewis best pick in Pearce recall:

Strip away the distractions and pathetic attempts to deceive voters, and the choice in the District 18 recall election is clear.

If you want a state senator who votes solely based on his own set of rigid beliefs, re-elect Russell Pearce.

If you want a senator who has promised to actively seek input from his constituents, elect Jerry Lewis.

Voters should choose the latter.

Discontent with Pearce's leadership style has been brewing in the district for more than a year. His west Mesa colleagues nearly ousted the Senate president from a Republican state committeeman post in December, months before 10,365 registered District 18 voters signed petitions to recall him.

It is the first time in state history a sitting legislator has been recalled.

And yet, though more than 10,000 of Pearce's constituents have said he does not represent them on key issues, such as education and the economy, the senator seems to firmly believe only he knows what is best for the district.

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[Pearce's] supporters gathered signatures and bankrolled Olivia Cortes' now-defunct campaign in hopes of drawing enough votes from the opposition to keep Pearce in office, as if voters were that gullible.

They mistakenly seem to believe that the ends justify the means.

Thankfully, Lewis has refused to engage in similar political shenanigans. He promised repeatedly during last week's debate that if elected, he would regularly meet with residents, business owners and civic leaders to gather and represent their opinions.

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Recall advocates wanted to force the vote on Pearce's performance now. And anyway, the driving issue in the Nov. 8 election seems to be style, not substance.

On that point, Lewis is the un-Pearce. He doesn't pretend to have all the answers, and he doesn't try to take credit for things in which he had little or no involvement, such as Pearce's disputed claim that he helped bring Able Engineering to Mesa.

Lewis would be the open mind and listening ear that District 18 deserves, and that's good enough reason to vote for him in this recall.