The Questions Timby and Gabby Are Afraid to Answer

Once Timby made his intention to challenge Gabby for her office official, the Democratic Party issued 10 pointed, and sometimes snarky (not that I’m in any position to cast stones on the subject of snarkiness…), questions for him to answer.

Less well reported, Gabby was asked 9 pointed questions by Democracy For America’s Tucson chapter, an organization born of the Dean campaign of 2003-4 that has become a central organizing force in the populist progressive wing of the Democratic party. She sent a blanket reply that DFA members judged to be essentially non-responsive to their questions and unacceptable.

So, we have the interesting situation of the candidates of both parties refusing to engage the questions of Democrats. I guess Timby and Gabby at least have in common contempt for the questions of uppity Democrats.

See the 19 questions after the flip…

Here are the 10 questions for Timby:

1. Should we stay in Iraq for 100 years, like John McCain told voters in New  Hampshire? [Editor: I think Timby already answered this in the affirmative.]

2. As a member of Congress, would you support President Bush’s veto of
   the SCHIP health insurance program for 10 million children and why?

3. If you get elected to Congress you would be a freshman member of the
   minority party. How would you be able to get anything done for Southern
   Arizona? Would CD8 really have a voice in Washington?

4. If you have to choose between attending a six-figure fund-raiser for
   your Congressional campaign and time-sensitive budget negotiations in
   the state senate, which will you pick? How will you make your decision?

5. How much time did you spend last year working on problems at the
   Legislature? Any nights? Any weekends? Do you plan to spend more or
   less time there this session?

6. You formed your exploratory committee in August. How much time have
   you spent since then campaigning, and given the challenges the
   legislature faces, do you think campaigning is a good use of your time
   now?

7. Given your record of voting to eliminate the Arizona income tax, in
   Congress, would you support eliminating the federal income tax and what
   would you replace it with? Do you plan to endorse Ron Paul for
   President?

8. President Bush’s former top Advisor Karl Rove is visiting Tucson on
   January 23. Do you plan on joining him and will you campaign with
   George Bush and Dick Cheney?

9. Wouldn’t the people of Arizona be better served by a Senate
   President who can devote all of his time to running the Legislature?

10. Do you stand by your comment that you are "not convinced" global warming  exists and what will it take to convince you?

The 9 questions for Gabby:

1. It is evident from your previous statements that you do not
   approve of multiple aspects of the behavior of this Administration. 23
   members of Congress have signed HR 799 and now Cong. Wexler and 2
   of his colleagues on the Judiciary Committee have, as of three weeks ago,
   called for a formal investigation. In that short time nearly 200,000
   signatures of support have been submitted.  It is evident that the more
   members, inside and outside of the Judiciary Committee, that call one
   way or another for action will result in getting around the unfortunate
   and inappropriate roadblock that Speaker Pelosi threw up, even before any
   action was initiated. Why, therefore, do you not actively
   support requesting a formal investigation?
2. In your mind, what additional grievous acts would Cheney and
   Bush have to do to support impeachment?

3. The Nixon investigation took 3 months from initiating hearings to effect the President’s
   decision to resign. Currently, the
   Judiciary Committee has already had multiple internal investigations
   and there have been multiple books published on the transgressions of
   Bush and Cheney. This being the case, the length of an
   investigation may be dramatically foreshortened, since so much is
   already documented. Does this not make the argument that there is
   insufficient time to effect impeachment moot? Isn’t it important to make the effort and educate the public
   on the issues, regardless of whether it leads to impeachment, rather than do nothing?
4. There are many that say the invasion of Iraq was clearly
   illegal under international law. The UN Charter precludes aggressive or
   anticipatory war and requires Security Council approval for any use of
   military force other than in self-defense against an armed attack or
   imminent invasion. Furthermore, those who support the continuing
   occupation of Iraq by providing funding
   for same could be held liable for war crimes by the International
   Criminal Court. What is the legal opinion on this from your sources?
5. Poll after poll done in the U.S. has shown majority support for
   leaving Iraq and bringing the troops home. You could conduct
   a poll of CD 8 constituents regarding this issue, which could include a
   question about manning permanent residual bases there. You say that
   your position reflects that of your constituents, why don’t you prove
   it? Would you be willing to do such a poll? If
   not, what would be the reasons?
6. The Iraqis in many polls have supported a timetable for
   withdrawal of troops. Polls also indicate than they feel (with the
   exception of certain ethnic enclaves) the presence of the troops makes
   things worse rather than better. Why should we ignore these facts in
   our policy decisions
   towards Iraq?
7. You state you do not support the war but do support the troops,
   therefore justifying your support of additional funding for the war. As
   further troop funding would clearly prolong the war, how can
   you reconcile these points of view?
8. The war is being funding largely by bonds from China, Korea,
   Japan, S. Arabia and others; each supplemental funding bill
   exacerbates this, as well as passing on the debt to our children and
   grandchildren to pay. In that you support continued funding, what alternative
   funding mechanism do you propose to avoid gifting our children with war debts?
9. What alternative plan(s) do you support for a stable Iraq and
   Middle East? What conclusions did you draw from your recent
   conversation with Professor Eaton, General Adams and others?

I hope to be able to report someday soon that these questions have
all been directly answered by Timby and Gabby, but I’m not going to be
holding my breath.

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