Thursday, March 23rd, 2006...7:09 pm
Giffords Calls Cheney Out
Gabrielle Giffords sent out a press release that basically says, “Mr. Vice President, I know it is vital to the national security of our country that you entertain our region’s Thurston Howells with your famous quick wit, but could you take some time to come down to the border and, I dunno, take a good look? Thanks.”
Of course, Cheney will never do it. He’d rather fly in, make a speech to the check writers and fly out. This is his version of keeping in touch with our community.
Heaven forbid. He may actually, I don’t know, meet a real Tucsonense who might have a problem with administration policy. He might find out where administration policies have failed our community.
I remember when I had a post a while back about the union endorsements that Patty Weiss and Giffords had recieved, and one of my frequent Republican posters wanted to note how much money Cheney had made in a previous visit for Jon Kyl. So, I wrote about how organizations representing thousands of working people were supporting various candidates, and the response is “look how many rich people like my guy.”
I’m sure some Republican will spin this Cheney visit as Kyl taking Tucson “seriously.” Well, I guess after twelve years in office, it’s a good time to start. His taking our community “seriously” seems to consist of high dollar fundraisers on the foothills and quick stops to locales near I-10. The first event that was supposed to show that he was taking us yokels seriously featured locals such as Christine Toretti-Olson, the wanna be carpetbagger candidate who is still an active member of the Pennsylvania Republican party. Sorry, man, you gotta do better than that.
18 Comments
March 23rd, 2006 at 8:42 pm
AZ enviro. and human rights groups have also asked for a direct mtg. with Kyl and tour of border, which is likely to be denied.
Kyl and Cheney are like peas in a pod.
Giffords is wise and bold to call out the VP during his overnight money trip to Tucson.
March 23rd, 2006 at 8:49 pm
Gabby calling out the vice prez?!?
Be still my heart. Couldn’t be politics, could it??
March 23rd, 2006 at 9:21 pm
There is nothing to spin. The VP came into town and raised a lot of money for Kyl. I did not make it to the dinner but good for everyone who did.
If Robert Reich comes into town is he going to call me up and get my opinion on paying into a Social Security system that is schedule to be bankrupt right before I turn 65? Does Tom Daschle want to hear what I think of his obstructionist, anti-gun record in the U.S. Senate?
It cuts both ways.
If Cheney had visited the border he would have been criticized for making a serious issue into a photo-op. Why should Cheney bother, he will get bad press and protesters where ever he goes. Why not fly into a Democratic city, go eat his steak in the ritzy part of town and then leave. Makes sense to me.
I do not think administration policies have failed our community. Pima County is humming right along. The federal government is mostly responsible for national defense and foreign policy not solving every challenge facing Tucson. I thought Rio Nuevo was going to do that.
Who said Kyl is taking Tucson seriously. The event was held at La Paloma. Not even in city limits but in the Foothills and only minutes from wealthy Republicans in the Northeast and Northwest. It’s not like Pederson is going to come into town and hold a fundraiser at the local Waffle House. This is what serious politicians do; they raise money, a lot of money.
My original point was not to brag but to point out that Pederson was going to have a very tough time of it. I also wanted to point out the Cheney, while down in the polls, was still quite useful.
What I have written here are just plain facts. Not much partisan spin especial when push comes to shove and Giffords is running against Graf she will do the same thing Kyl just did.
March 23rd, 2006 at 9:45 pm
Reich spent two days in Southern Arizona. Yes, he raised money, but he also participated in public events in three different towns (events which included audience questions). I’d say that is a bit different than parachuting into a town, speaking to the landed gentry, then beating a path to the airport while escorted by the Secret Service.
And George, yes, its politics. So what?
March 23rd, 2006 at 10:02 pm
Well good for Reich. He stayed overnight and took some questions. I doubt that I am alone in saying that his visit, like that of Cheney’s had absolutely not effect on my life nor did I expect it to.
Maybe Cheney did not stay long because he is on to his next big fundraiser for some other right-wing Republican. How dare he use his time like that. Scandalous!
While everyone is visiting the border they should measure the amount of drugs that are coming across and that would keep coming even if we have a guest worker program.
March 23rd, 2006 at 11:37 pm
Phx Kid -
Perhaps the US should do something to limit the demand of these said drugs.
Would the traffickers bringing them across if they knew no one was going to buy them?
March 24th, 2006 at 7:16 am
Good point anonymous but until the demand side is fixed it sure is hard to enjoy the great public lands that we have along the border because of both the safety concerns and the trash that now litters some of the beautiful ecosystems.
But when Gabby is in office I am sure Reich will come back for a few days and fix all that by listening to our concerns. I can’t wait. Only if Cheney had just visited the border with Kyl they could have made such a difference.
March 24th, 2006 at 8:26 am
Ted–a little of a thin skin for your preferred candidate?
March 24th, 2006 at 8:30 am
phx kid -
It’s not really the same thing, comparing Cheney w/ Reich and Daschle.
Cheney is the vice president of the United States and has over 200 million constituents, including each and every one of the people in the border towns of Arizona. He has a duty to serve them.
Reich and Daschle are no longer in office and have no constituency, ergo no duty. So, even if they didn’t take the time to visit the border there’s nothing to be said about it. They are private citizens and it’s their choice.
Cheney has a duty as a leader of this country, and especially the federal government that has so thouroughly failed us on the issue of border security, to take the time to find out what’s really going on down there and listen to his constituents’ request for assistance.
March 24th, 2006 at 9:46 am
You have a good point but all elected officials, from Kolbe to Grijalva, have failed us on the border issue. I cannot believe that Cheney is not aware of the border problem. A visit to the frontera by the VP would have been symbolic at best.
The great majority of elected officials have been unable to agree that a border should be something other than an imaginary line for people to freely cross.
March 24th, 2006 at 5:26 pm
From an old newspaper:
DASH FOR CASH: A Whole Lot of People for Grijalva Congressional Committee must raise a whole lot more money if they are to lift Raúl Grijalva to Washington from Arizona’s new 7th Congressional District.
Although the Democratic primary includes seven candidates, it’ll likely come down to a fight between Grijalva and state Sen. Elaine Richardson.
Grijalva’s $33,782 was just one-fourth of the $131,017 Richardson raised. She was also in superior shape, despite multiple personnel shifts, with $70,000 on hand, compared with Grijalva’s $28,000, according to reports filed with the Federal Elections Commission.
Grijalva has never trailed in money or votes in his four runs for the Pima County Board of Supervisors. He also never failed in his three races for the Tucson Unified School District Board.
“I don’t think cash on hand translates to votes at the ballot box,” Grijalva said. “We anticipate that we are going to be outspent. Two to one does not concern us, 3-1 does.”
Richardson jump-started her campaign with money from EMILY’s List, the national women’s political action committee.
Mark Fleisher, the carpetbagging former chairman of the state Democratic Party, pulled in $47,818. That included $1,000 from his own pocket and just one incursion into Tucson, a $500 from Ray Villa. Bill Bradley, the former great Knick forward, New Jersey senator and unsuccessful candidate for the 2000 Democratic nomination for president, gave Fleisher $500. Fleisher spent $33,430, leaving $14,387 at the end of March.
Jesus Romo, the ultra-left and first-time candidate, reported $38,942. Romo, a labor leader lawyer-turned who specializes in Mexican immigration and Border Patrol enforcement, was once a close Grijalva ally.
Jaime Gutierrez, former state senator and community relations vice president at the University of Arizona, reported $45,255, expenses of just $11,244 and a balance of $34,011. Gutierrez, who represented until 1992 the West Side district that Richardson now commands, backed off a challenge to Grijalva for the Board of Supervisors post.
Another former state lawmaker, Luis Gonzales, on leave as a California tribal executive, reported $17,344, including $13,000 he put in.
Ross Hieb, a retired Marine and Yuma City Council member, collected $16,000 to go with the $5,482 he put in himself for his Republican run.
And Yuma flight attendant Lisa Ann Otondo reported $9,468, including $2,568 from her own pocket.
The campaign seems a bargain in the inaugural run for District 7, which includes south, central and west Tucson as well as western Pima County, Nogales, Yuma, Quartzite and Maricopa County farming communities. For example, Rep. J.D. Hayworth, an East Valley Republican, reported $812,000 in contributions and $606,000 on hand at the end of March.
Grijalva left his $54,600-a-year county job representing District 5 in February and has been seeking money at a frenetic pace. Though he and his advisers are spinning the lag on a late start, Grijalva admittedly pressed hard through March calling those he had chronically opposed to try to boost what he told potential donors was an important report to chill opposition.
He’ll likely have a sizeable bump from the labor-oriented campaign party held April 7.
Tom Chandler, the aging Tucson lawyer and political and judicial power broker, is Grijalva’s treasurer. He gave Grijalva $1,000. Art Chapa, a Tucson lawyer, former member of the Arizona Board of Regents and a popular, personable political fundraiser, gave Grijalva $1,000. He is on Grijalva’s team, along with ally Democratic Supervisor Dan Eckstrom.
Grijalva has also tapped some big-name builders, which is surprising given the political fatwah against him issued by the development community. He raked in $1,000 each from Fairfield and Canoa Ranch developers Lowell Williamson and son David Williamson. He also took in $1,000 from Canoa’s lead planner, Frank Thomson. Grijalva’s nine-year-battle over Canoa, a 6,000-acre spread south of Green Valley, ended with greatly reduced housing, commercial and golf features and the county’s $6.6 million purchase of more than 80 percent of the ranch. Fairfield paid less than half of that to acquire Canoa
“That fight’s over,” Grijalva said of his acceptance of the Fairfield money.
Richardson has tapped developers who are eager to see Grijalva go down. She got $500 from Peter Aronoff of AF Sterling; $500 from John Bremond, CEO of KB Homes; $1,000 from John Wesley Miller; and $250 from Steve Craddock, head of US Home in Tucson. Car dealer and Republican stalwart Jim Click Jr. and his wife Vicki Click gave Richardson $1,000 apiece.
Staff costs ate up $39,500 in the early months. Laura Penny, a longtime Richardson ally who was the chief spokesperson for former state Superintendent of Public Instruction Lisa Graham Keegan, was paid $17,500 in seven installments, according to the disclosure. Penny has left the campaign and Richardson has brought in Eugenia Bas-Isaac, whose good-news media enterprise failed in the mid-1990s, and paid her $6,250. Victor Gomez, now working on the state Senate campaign of nomadic Gabrielle Giffords, was paid $10,200. And Judy Nagle, Richardson’s treasurer, received $5,100.
http://tinyurl.com/nfvvx
March 25th, 2006 at 12:35 pm
I guess, then, that the big difference in this campaign, than Richardson’s is that Grijalva has endorsed Gabby Giffords.
March 27th, 2006 at 9:01 am
The biggest difference is that Elaine Richardson raised four times as much money as Raul in the first filing period.
Check out the incestuous relationships between big Rs, the Giffords team, and Elaine’s people.
Its deju vu all over again.
March 27th, 2006 at 9:43 pm
They are completely different contexts, times, and backers, Self Appointed.
You must admit that any striking similarities go out the window because the very person that had the machine and progressive backing that you are talking about was Raul Grijalva…and again…he has endorsed Gabby Giffords.
Either you are truly and vastly underestimating the progressive support that Gabby has…OR you are trying to turn that support to other candidates.
March 27th, 2006 at 11:29 pm
She is as popular as her internal polls suggest.
March 29th, 2006 at 8:59 am
Yep…anon…and she is going to be even more so when the financial reports come and she is seen as one of the only viable candidates in the race. One of the few who has lined up support across the party here in Arizona and nationally where she will be working as well. One of the few in the race who has the financial strength to run a district-wide campaign against a Republican machine who will want this district.
Both Weiss and Latas are going to have to compete hard to be the alternative. They are likely to run an anti-establishment campaign, attack Gabby as the front-runner, and ultimately, if successful, will gladly and openly accept the same suppor that they attacked Gabby for having now.
March 29th, 2006 at 8:02 pm
KRALMAJALES–From what I’ve seen, both Latas and Weiss are running issue-based campaigns. There are many of us that ARE against that part of the “establishment” which is anti-democratic, elitist, beholden to financial interests, promoters of the status quo [which is pretty damn bad right now]. John Kerry in his 2004 election talked about not rewarding “Benedict Arnold” corporations who purposely move their corporate headquarters to the Cayman Islands in order to avoid paying taxes. Others have spoken against the numerous tax loopholes/earmarks that various corporate interests have gotten over the years. What will it take to fix this situation? My assumption is that a lot of these interests pour money into these campaigns.
April 1st, 2006 at 4:23 pm
When will we see Gabby’s voting record?
Where is it? How does one find it?
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