Get out your barf bags people:
http://www.azcentral.com/...
Not long ago Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio gleefully was telling me about the many Republican candidates for governor who had stopped by his office to kiss his ... ring.
That is to say, to try desperately to get his endorsement.
The sheriff has plenty of legal troubles. All well deserved. But he has NO trouble appealing to the most ardent right wing voters. And they do vote. And Republican candidates in a crowded primary know that every vote counts. So they come looking for the sheriff's blessing.
It's happens with politicians on all levels, from presidential candidates on down.
Arpaio loves it. Who wouldn't?
Last weekend the sheriff turned 82. (And, yes, he plans to run for reelection in 2016.)
In honor of the sheriff's birthday -- and with that whole desperation/endorsement thing in mind -- Republican gubernatorial candidate Christine Jones actually produced a birthday video for the sheriff in which her campaign compares Arpaio to Atticus Finch, the lawyer and father of Scout in Harper Lee's novel "To Kill A Mockingbird." See the video below.
Happy Birthday Sheriff Joe from Christine Jones on Vimeo.
- AZ Central, 6/19/14
Jones is the second top candidate in the primary and I wouldn't be surprised if she emerged as the winner. Jones has been aiming to be the most pro-border control and anti-immigration candidate in the race:
http://www.azcentral.com/...
"There is no single question we get more than about enforcing our immigration law," Jones said. "It demands immediate attention. It also needs an intelligent response. Arizona is going to have to lead the way on this."
She proposed a three-prong response to secure the border: Technology, people in uniform and improved fencing.
"Do any of us really think the federal government is doing anything about this? Do we really think Congress is going to fix this?" she asked.
Jones said the immigrant children from Central America being held in Nogales need to be immediately sent back to their own country. She said reuniting them in their home country with their families "is the single most humanitarian solution."
Jones said she doesn't believe legalizing marijuana will solve the problem of illegal drugs coming over the border from Mexico.
"We can't produce enough marijuana in this state, even if we let people farm it to meet the demand," she said. "We can and must secure our border." - AZ Central, 6/19/14
We all know legalizing marijuana would greatly decrease the amount of illegal drugs coming over the border. But again, when Arpaio is your hero, your intelligence is highly questionable. By the way, this is the frontrunner in the GOP primary:
http://www.azcentral.com/...
The Citizens Clean Elections Commission has denied Secretary of State Ken Bennett's request regarding a voter-education ad that Bennett wants to appear in.
On a 3-0 vote, the commission denied the request for a finding of "no action." Bennett had sought the clearance to deflect any criticism that his role in an ad urging voters to use their early ballots would amount to a contribution to his campaign for governor.
Bennett is one of seven Republicans seeking the GOP nomination for governor in the Aug. 26 primary. He is running with public financing overseen by the Clean Elections Commission.
His ad would have shown Bennett, in his role as the state's chief elections officer, urging voters to return their early ballots early -- instead of going to the polls and requesting a second ballot, which would have to be voted provisionally. Provisional ballots take longer to process and contributed to delays in the 2012 election. - AZ Central, 6/19/14
And this is the strongest candidate in the race but is behind Bennett and Jones:
http://www.bizjournals.com/...
Mesa Mayor Scott Smith has faced plenty of jabs from his primary rivals over his presidency of the U.S. Conference of Mayors and whether he is conservative enough to make it out of the seven-candidate GOP primary.
While Jones is campaigning as the no-amnesty, pro-Joe Arpaio candidate and Ducey is promising to battle President Barack Obama, Smith has not shied away from being the relative moderate in the mix. He is touting his time as Mesa mayor, including recruiting an Apple Inc. manufacturing plant to the new First Solar factory and convincing voters to finance construction of a $99 million Cactus League ballpark for the Chicago Cubs.
Brewer spokesman Andrew Wilder said the term-limited governor has not decided on whether or who to endorse in the Republican race.
But there is an expectation among political insiders and those involved in the governor’s race that Brewer will at some point endorse Smith.
Smith backs Brewer’s successful push to expand Medicaid, a move opposed by other Republican candidates. The Mesa mayor also, like Brewer, supports business-backed Common Core national education standards.
Smith and Brewer also have political connections. Smith’s son, Ryan, works for HighGround Public Affairs. HighGround principal Chuck Coughlin is a top political advisor to Brewer. Ryan Smith is also a key part of his father’s gubernatorial campaigns. - Phoenix Business Journal, 6/18/14
Smith is trying win amongst the clowns in a three ring circus of a primary:
http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/...
Secretary of State Ken Bennett, State Treasurer Doug Ducey, former GoDaddy executive Christine Jones and former Congressman Frank Riggs were all trying to show the other candidates and the crowd of Babeu loyalists who’s more macho. And why not; talking tough is the mainstay of the Arizona Republican politics even if it delivers nothing more than a good laugh for “The Daily Show.” It got Babeu re-elected even after getting caught with his illegal alien boyfriend, parading around in his undies on the Internet and the whopper of a fairy tale of one of his deputies shooting it out with drug smugglers south of Casa Grande that made national news and got him in tight with Sen. John McCain.
The border still makes an easy target for a politician to get a sound bite.
Christine Jones said, “There is no single question we get more than about enforcing our immigration law. It demands immediate attention. It also needs an intelligent response. Arizona is going to have to lead the way on this.” Jones “proposed a three-prong response to secure the border: Technology, people in uniform and improved fencing.” Then she pulled the usual dead rabbit out of her hat and blamed the U. S. Government for not doing anything. I guess she forgot the U.S. Border Patrol’s nearly 22,000 thousand agents?
State Treasurer Doug Ducey echoed Jones’ get tough on the border dribble. “Whatever it takes, whether that’s more fencing, satellites or new technology. I will re-prioritize law enforcement, DPS, Arizona Department of Public safety, and the National Guard so we protect our border.” Ducey “would prioritize public-safety spending to focus on the drug cartels and human traffickers. He said he would prioritize federal funds allocated to Arizona to focus on border security.”
It’s too bad Ducey hasn't taken a peak down from his ivory tower to see DPS is in such a state failure thanks to mediocre leadership, underfunding, understaffing and political meddling it couldn’t scare a bunch high school kids smoking weed in a park much less the organized crime groups that control Mexico and are linked to the homegrown gangsters who reportedly control upwards to 90 percent of Arizona’s serious crime.
Secretary of State Ken Bennett touted his record in the legislature “to secure the border while in the state Legislature, is proof of his dedication to the issue. All of us are going to tell you what we’re going to do to solve this problem. But the best way to know what we’re going to do tomorrow is what we did yesterday.” Yesterday is pretty pathetic if you ask me. Bennett’s leadership in the legislature is a big part of the problem. The State legislature has failed miserably to lead and fund an organized statewide effort to attack crime. Thanks to that failure, and leaders like Bennett, the five “C’s” of Arizona we were taught in Arizona history class has changed from Copper, Cattle, Cotton, Citrus and Climate, to Crime, Cannabis, Cocaine, Contraband and Corruption. - East Valley Tribune, 6/19/14
Luckily for us we have a strong candidate in Fred DuVal who is pro-immigration reform, pro-DREAMer and is taking this campaign seriously:
http://www.trivalleycentral.com/...
As the lone Democrat running for governor against a wide field of Republicans, DuVal called for boosting transportation, mining, tourism and other business.
He spoke in Casa Grande at a forum sponsored by Access Arizona, western Pinal’s economic development organization. The group plans future forums for the GOP candidates.
“I think Arizona is going in the wrong direction,” he said, citing a “sequence of wrong decisions” and an unemployment rate that is higher than average.
He said the state cannot do anything about the global economy but needs to invest more in education to attract employers offering good jobs.
“Read my lips — no new cuts to education,” he said.
Many graduates are leaving the state and employers find it difficult to attract talent because of the state’s image of low spending on education and hostility toward immigrants, he said.
“The only track available to us is value,” he said, through an economy tied to invention and innovation.
A current step-down in the corporate tax rate is ensuring the state is competitive nationally for attracting jobs in that way, DuVal said, but the state needs to raise its image to business, putting out a “welcome mat, not a stop sign.” - Casa Grande Dispatch, 6/18/14
DuVal's economic plan is known as the Sun Corridor Jobs Plan and here's what it calls for:
-- Invest in transportation infrastructure and improved state highways,
-- Create a strong private-public alliance to break ground on a Tucson-Phoenix
passenger rail line,
-- Expand Arizona’s globally renowned mining industry,
-- Champion the success of small business, startups and entrepreneurs,
-- Embrace tourism with “A New Day in Arizona.”
We have a real shot here in Arizona and we should all get involved in this race. Click here to donate and get involved with DuVal's campaign:
http://www.fred2014.com/