Wednesday, December 21st, 2005...2:06 pm
And in Other News, ASU Fans Have Some Great Ideas About Lute’s Starting Lineup
Emil Franzi has an article in the Northwest Explorer which crowns Jeff Latas as the probable Democratic nominee in Congressional District 8. He complains about the “shallow commentary” that the local media has given the Democratic field. Yeah, I agree on that one. Trouble is, he then rates Latas’s abilities as a candidate entirely on his laudable record as a Air Force veteran.
Franzi is an ex-US Marine (well, retired marine, no such thing as an ex-marine, really) and he believes that more people with military experience should be in public office, but he should understand better than anyone that experience in other fields, no matter how noble, do not necessarilly translate into political ability or even political support. Franzi has been, and I think still is, a political consultant for many Republican candidates in town and has probably worked for more than one buisinessman or veteran that thinks he knows how to campaign based on that experience. Sometimes, these candidates turn out to be disasters because they don’t understand that politics operates differently.
If he still believes that military records translate into automatic political success, two words for Franzi: Bill Heuisler.
One of the first campaigns I worked on was for a fella named Truman Spangrud, a retired three star general who flew several missions over Vietnam and was comptroller of the Air Force. His experience would have made him an excellent Senator, maybe it might even have earned him mention as a Presidential candidate. We lost the primary after a lethargic campaign. Oops.
Franzi’s article also butchers the name of Alex Rodriguez. He calls him Alex Martinez. Funny, Franzi got Rodriguez’s name right a few years ago when he was lauding his military record during his attempt to get appointed to the Pima County Board of Supervisors. How soon we forget.
Frankly, I hope that neither Latas nor any other candidate on our side takes their cues from Franzi. I’ll have a good chuckle when I hear a Latas supporter try to point this out as somehow an indication that Latas is the man. Franzi’s opinion is a poor indicator of the feelings of Democratic primary voters.
15 Comments
December 21st, 2005 at 4:35 pm
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December 21st, 2005 at 6:46 pm
Given the negligible coverage of politics/government by the local newspapers, I knew nothing about any of the Democratic CD 8 candidates until recently when I went to their websites.
Gabrielle Giffords has a very impressive resume. However, her website at this point doesn’t have any issue stances or voting history, whereas Jeff Latas’ website DOES discuss issues.
Have you gone to Latas’ website yet to check him out?
December 21st, 2005 at 10:37 pm
Hey Teddy Bear, your link on Franzi’s article didn’t work.. try this
FRANZI’s ARTICLE
December 21st, 2005 at 11:28 pm
I do appreciate how Latas continues to run his campaign by blogging on Ted’s website, but the order of finish in the D primary if the crop of candidates stays the same will end up:
1. Weiss
2. Giffords
3. Rodriguez
4. Bacal
5. Latas
6. Schacter
7. Downing (as a write-in)
December 22nd, 2005 at 1:04 am
To reply to the previous post:
I believe that the two top vote getters will be:
1. Giffords - on actual voting records AND grasp of the issues
2. Weiss - on name id only, but I do hope SHE DOES continue to make a commitment to the party and run for another office
but then, what do I know … all a guessing name until we get official names into the race, besides Schacter, Latas and A-Rod …
December 22nd, 2005 at 10:14 am
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December 22nd, 2005 at 11:53 am
Who the hell is Patty Weiss?
/no I haven’t been living under a rock, either
December 22nd, 2005 at 6:41 pm
To ANONYMOUS–
Does your primary finish line-up assume that all of these candidates will actually indicate their proposals/stances on dealing with Iraq, the federal debt and deficit, the continuing HUGE U.S. trade imbalance [along with the reduction of middle-class-income-paying jobs], energy and the environment, social security, Medicare, abortion, etc. etc.???
December 22nd, 2005 at 8:17 pm
Would Weiss and Giffords attract the same type of voter, and split the vote?
December 22nd, 2005 at 9:36 pm
“Anonymous” may not have been living under a rock, but he (or she) obviously has not been living in Tucson.
December 22nd, 2005 at 10:42 pm
On the original post,
We will know for sure that Lute’s wife is reconsidering if he starts her at shooting guard in the first game of the season in order to get her some exposure.
December 23rd, 2005 at 1:48 am
I disagree that Franzi is only giving credit to Latas’ military record. I have heard Latas speak and was very impressed with his grasp of the issues. He actually has solutions that are achievable. One only has to compare web sites to see that Latas is way ahead of the pack in thinking through our national problems.
There is no doubt that his life experience as a “hard working blue color kid done well” speaks volumes of his character. Maybe some of you can’t quite relate to that.
December 23rd, 2005 at 6:21 am
Hey, I’m not besmiching Latas’s background…I’m only commenting on Franzi’s column. He has a tendency to overrate candidates with military records, if you look back at things he’s written for both the Weekly and the Explorer you’ll see that. Also, the fact that he can’t even get the name of one of the candidates right makes me wonder if he has really taken the time to look at the race.
So, what exactly do you mean by the “blue colar” comment? I haven’t worked in coal mines or driven a bus, but I barely lead a priveleged life.
December 23rd, 2005 at 12:23 pm
So, Tedski, am I to assume you’re supporting Gabby since hers is the only AZ CD8 Dem candidate link on your blog?
Jeff Latas and his wife Salette both attended the recent Wellstone training in Tucson and know how to run a progressive campaign focused on both issues and long-term base-building for the movement.
Have you taken a pulse by talking to LD organizations and Democratic Clubs? Our campaign has already attracted quite a few progressive leaders who are quite impressed when they get to know Jeff Latas and how he intends to represent CD8.
December 23rd, 2005 at 2:37 pm
Yeah, I’m supporting Gabby, I’ve known her since I was 11 years old.
Jeff is an impressive candidate, and I think he will do a lot better in the primary than a lot of the wannabees that are running.
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