Reports indicate that the Arizona Republican Party is in wide disarray, and this infighting has also been a problem for McCain's own electoral chances in his home state for this upcoming election:
Moreover, there's some residual disaffection for McCain within the Republican Party here, say political observers. The religious right, in particular, doesn't like that he voted against President Bush's tax cuts, pressed hard for campaign-finance reform that they see as curtailing political free speech, and backed an immigration measure that included a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants and a guest-worker program. Some say he's a "show horse" in the Senate, not a "workhorse," especially since his first presidential run, citing a low vote-casting record. (He's skipped almost 61 percent of floor votes in the current 110th Congress, a time when he's been on the campaign trail. In the previous three sessions, he missed on average 5.3 percent of floor votes, according to a Washington Post online database.) Others point to his temper and a stubborn streak.
At the federal level, two Republican held House seats are in play this election, and one of them (AZ-1) is now favored to be picked up by the Democrats. In addition, the Republican infighting has also turned downright nasty at the state level for the upcoming primaries.
First a little background history about the man involved in this fight. Russell Pearce is a rightwing, anti-immigration Republican currently serving in the Arizona House of Representatives. Because of term limits, he can no longer serve in the House, so he's in a primary fight for an Arizona Senate seat. Pearce spearheaded a law in Arizona that passed, which mandates the closure of businesses that knowingly hire illegal immigrants. As you can imagine, this did not go over so well with the Arizona business community, who were in many ways dependent on the cheap labor, immigrant workforce in Arizona. And now they are retaliating against Pearce in an ugly campaign.
It's been described as a "GOP Civil War:"
Sproul (the one targeting Pearce) said the illegal immigration issue is only one part of a much larger problem with Pearce's leadership and influence on state politics.
"The Republican Party in this state has to decide if we want to be the Republican Party of John McCain and Jon Kyl or if we want to be the Republican Party of Russell Pearce.
"And the difference is that the Russell Pearce Republican Party is, at its core, xenophobic, racist and exclusionary. It is the John Birch wing of the Republican Party. I don't think that is the way for the Republican Party to remain in the majority in this state," he said.
Actually, that's a false choice. As we already know, McCain and Kyl can be as ultraconvervative as Russell Pearce. But I digress--here's how it's turning really nasty:
Attention-grabbing fliers landed in Mesa mailboxes this week, marking the launch of a no-holds-barred attack on one of the state's most controversial political figures and, perhaps, the start of an all-out war for control of the state Republican Party.
The front of the flier features a picture of an anguished woman under the words, "What if your state lawmaker violently attacked his wife?" Tucked in the corner of the image are the words "Meet Representative Russell Pearce" and a small photo of Pearce.
The backside of the flier reads, "According to court records, Rep. Russell Pearce strangled his wife." The flier quotes a 1980 divorce petition in which LuAnne Pearce accused her husband of abuse. The document said, "Russell Pearce is possessed of a violent temper, and has from time to time hit and shoved the wife, the last time being on February 3rd, when he grabbed the wife by the throat and threw her down."
In a prepared statement sent out by Pearce's campaign, LuAnne Pearce, who dropped the divorce petition and remains married to the politician, said the allegations in the 1980 document "are not true."
She said those behind the flier want to destroy her husband's reputation and "to repeal the law which prevents them from hiring individuals who are in this country illegally."
Nothing catches your attention more in family values, Republican-land than strangling your wife. The poor woman sounds like a battered wife.
But then yesterday, the campaign against Pearce turned nastier:
The independent campaign committee targeting Rep. Russell Pearce for defeat turned up the heat Friday with a mailer depicting the Mesa lawmaker as a friend of neo-Nazis. The latest mailer looks at more-recent flare-ups involving the four-term state lawmaker.
"You wouldn't associate with neo-Nazis," it says. "But Russell Pearce does."
It references an e-mail Pearce sent to a wide mailing list in 2006 that contained an article from the National Alliance, a neo-Nazi group.
Pearce said he was forwarding an e-mail he had received from a sympathetic supporter, as the lawmaker was getting negative press for using the term "wetback."
The top of the e-mail was critical of the press, so Pearce said he sent it along. He said he did not read past the opening paragraphs and was shocked when he realized it contained anti-Semitic statements.
The mailer also criticizes him for his association with J.T. Ready, a known White supremacist. It includes a photo of Pearce and Ready standing side by side and grinning.
Pearce said the photo was one of dozens he posed for during a rally against illegal immigration at the state Capitol in June 2007. He said he was unaware of Ready's neo-Nazi ties.
Poor Pearce--he sounds as incompetent with the Internets as John McCain. He's just a victim of email forwarding, that's all.
The group targeting Pearce with these mailers, Mesa Deserves Better, is chaired by political consultant, Nathan Sproul and financied by Jason LeVecke. Both appear to benefit from businesses, including fast food restaurants, who rely on cheap labor from undocumented workers:
LeVecke, who lives in Phoenix, is a primary foe of what may be the toughest law in the nation to punish companies that knowingly hire undocumented workers, a law crafted by Pearce. He also is one of the organizers of Wake Up Arizona, which filed suit to have the law overturned.
And Sproul is a consultant to a ballot campaign to try to persuade voters on Nov. 4 to undermine key provisions of that law.
At a grander level, Pearce could be just a likely scapegoat for what ails the Republican Party in general and its brand name:
Mike Hellon, a former state Republican Party chairman, said a showdown over the direction of the party was inevitable and battle lines have been drawn. Southern Arizonans already have seen it play out in both state and federal elections.
"Russell Pearce is a dangerous, harmful spokesman for the Republican Party," Hellon said. "I think he and his ilk are directly responsible for the deteriorating image of the party and I think they are largely responsible for why we are losing statewide elections and why we used to have six congressman and now have (four). I think it all lands on their shoulders."
How about blaming the failed Republican policies for your losses and soon to be dinosaur status?