We're down to the final days of the primary in Arizona, election being on Tuesday the 24th of August 2010. Early mail-in ballots have been out for a month roughly.
There is four candidates on the primary ballot - Randy Parraz, Rodney Glassman, John Dougherty and Cathy Eden. Arizona doesn't have a run-off system meaning the candidate with the most votes come Tuesday night will win the opportunity to face John McCain. Th race is close, with many still undecided sowe can still make the difference. Why do we need this to be Randy Parraz?
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Randy Parraz weighs in on the Cordoba House nontroversy, sounding much more like Mayor Bloomberg, Sen. Al Franken, Sen. Russ Feingold, President Obama(before the "day-after") and Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias. He even has the Sherrod Brown parry to real issues, calling out the issue for trumped up distraction it is.
Phoenix, AZ–Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, Randy Parraz shared these views about Muslim Center in Manhattan:
"The First Amendment of our Constitution is unambiguous. Religious freedom is the law of our land and our commitment to upholding religious freedom must be unshakable. Singling out any religious institution for different treatment under the law is un-American and an affront to our way of life.
"The debate surrounding the building of Park51, a Muslim community center in lower Manhattan, is a manufactured controversy – a cynical, opportunistic attempt to divide us and distract Americans from today’s real challenges of economic and national security in the 21st century.
"Arizona’s unemployment rate is the highest since 1983, the year after John McCain went to Washington. Over 300,000 Arizonans are out of work. Foreclosure and pre-foreclosures notices are up this summer. We need to focus on issues that create permanent jobs in Arizona and all across the nation.
"The financial crisis that began in 2008 was caused by the reckless behavior of big banks, and has affected all Arizonans. When the banks were going to fail, the government bailed them out. Arizonans, however, didn’t get the same kind of treatment because John McCain believed they were too small to matter. As Senator, I will hold banks accountable, and make sure they pay their fair share.
"As Senator I will also stand behind those who wish to exercise their rights under the First Amendment. The principle that people of all faiths, including those who are non-religious, are welcome in this country, and the guarantee that their government will not treat them differently, is essential to who we are and reflects our values as a nation. In this case, as long as Park51’s plans conform to local laws and ordinances with respect to construction on private property, the building of Park51 is a non-issue.
There was none of the Howard Dean call for compromise, there wasn't any language saying it should be build elsewhere like we heard from Harry Reid or Blanche Lincoln. Randy Parraz believes in justice, in the black or white, the simple yes or no, right or wrong. This is further highlighted when the candidates are asked about their stance/support on same-sex marriage.
As you can see from the vid, Rodney Glassman is already playing politician. He'll never give you a straight answer. John Dougherty pointed out as much in his answer, Cathy Eden gave a straight answer as of course did Randy Parraz.
Rodney Glassman seems to be having trouble keeping campaign staffers - http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/...
Since July, three top staffers have bailed on Glassman: Political Director Junelle Cavero left last month; Field Director Kristin Gwinn resigned a couple of weeks ago; Communications Director Dawn Teo stepped down earlier this week. Sources tell me there are more resignations on the way.
Glassman's press secretary Tina May confirmed the departures.
But several confidential sources inform me that Glassman's staffers left because they were not happy with the behavior of their candidate.
My sources tell me that Glassman was, as one of them put it, "out of control in the worst possible way." They say he was needlessly rude to staffers and volunteers alike, and described him throwing temper tantrums and yelling at stunned campaign workers.
They depicted Glassman as a spoiled rich kid with a frat boy sense of humor. One described an incident during a fundraiser where he asked if the host's assistant was an illegal alien.
Now campaign staff turn-over does happen, but not so close to the election day. For a Communications Director to step down two days ago, less than a week out from the primary day, something is rotten in the Glassman campaign. And it is said you can tell a lot from a candidate by the campaign they run. For top aides to leave the campaign, with the polling so close and it still being anybodies election to win you have to imagine there is something more at work than run-of-the-mill staff turnover. What exactly is going on inside the Glassman Campaign?
Cathy Eden and John Dougherty are solid Democrats and candidates but neither will bring the energy and organizational ability that will be necessary to take on John McCain. Given Arizona's late primary, the general campaign will be a little over two months long. To have even a long shot chance to beat John McCain you need to hit the ground running and hope to catch lighting in a bottle. It's going to be more than being right on the issues - all the primary candidates will be more right (in this case left) on the issues than John McCain, it will be about exciting the base and getting out the vote.
Visit Randy Parraz' diary he wrote here - http://www.dailykos.com/...
My previous diaries on Randy Parraz-
http://www.dailykos.com/...
http://www.dailykos.com/...
http://www.parrazforchange.com/
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http://www.flickr.com/...