On Thursday, I heard Bill Clinton speak at a fundraiser for Jim Pederson in the Arizona Senate Race. It was by all accounts a successful, upbeat event, which undoubtedly raised north of half a million for the Pederson campaign. But there was one thing noticeably missing from the speeches I heard.
Clinton was vintage Clinton. Anyone with a brain had to be in awe of his speaking skills and his incredible intellect. And the theme he and Jim Pederson both hammered on was a good one -- Kyl represents special interests, while Pederson will respresent the people of Arizona.
But neither Pederson nor Clinton said word one about the slaughter of our men and women in Iraq, the fact that we were misled into that war, and the fact that Jon Kyl has been and still is a staunch supporter of the war. That really troubles me. If a candidate is so afraid to speak about the war, what will he be afraid to speak about when he gets to Washington?
In Arizona, we don't have much of a choice. Jon Kyl is one of the most odious of the right wingers in Congress. He's far too smart to get into the trouble that DeLay, Ney, Burns and others find themselves in, but he's no less of a sleaze. And Pederson is the only chance we have to beat him. The other two Dems in the race would be doomed in a race against Kyl. One doesn't have the speaking skills to compete, the other is a former moderate Republican who would get hammered for an extreme DUI conviction ten years of so ago, and neither could raise enough money to have a legitimate chance.
So we need to support Pederson. But it would be nice if he got the message there are a lot of us out here who don't appreciate his refusal to address the most important issue head on in the way a real Democrat would. I don't know how to make that happen. If any of you out there have the ability to send a message to the right people, or if collectively we can make enought noise for Jim to listen, it would be a good thing.