Wednesday, June 28th, 2006...4:46 pm
They Were Republicans, So What?
We had a Democratic candidate for congress way back in 1992 named Jim Toeves who ran a suicide mission race against Rep. Jim Kolbe. Toeves, in his younger years, was a mover in the national Young Republicans and was one of the army of young supporters that helped Barry Goldwater win the presidential nomination in 1964. Toeves had, needless to say, gone through some changes in his life, most notably he had come out of the closet and had given up drinking.
In a debate between the two Jims, Kolbe rebutted Toeves with some statement he had made when he had been in the Young Republicans three decades before. Toeves said, “That was when I was Republican and still drinking.”
It could be asked if the two conditions were related.
Some hay has been made about Gabrielle Giffords’s voter registration. Yes, her coming to the Democratic party was a bit later than some would like. She switched when she realized that what she believed was a heck of a lot more like the Democrats than the Republicans.
I often hear complaints about Giffords’s registration from Patty Weiss’s supporters. Well, I find out today that Weiss has hired a woman named Lauren Harmon, who up until recently was an officer in the Young Republicans at ASU, and had served an internship in the White House.
Before you hit the comment button: I’m actually happy to see this woman on board. Over the last few months, she has been attending Young Democrats events up in Phoenix, and has even given them money. See, she saw what they were about, then she saw what we were about. And hey, she picked us. This is exactly what we want, isn’t it?
I hope this puts the whole who was registered as what in what year thing to rest.
Hey, if the Republicans can’t even keep someone like this, this is election is totally ours.
Heck, I’m far more offended that she is an ASU grad than any of the other stuff.
27 Comments
June 28th, 2006 at 5:10 pm
I check your blog regularly. Nice work on the writing. I think you’ll find this blog worth your time:http://mightygreekwritingmachine1.blogspot.com/
Satire; politics; swipes at all things including terrorism.
June 28th, 2006 at 5:15 pm
Welcome Lauren! We are happy to have you on our side.
I would like to point out that if we are to start winning elections all over AZ we need more people who see the light to be welcomed by us.
June 28th, 2006 at 5:20 pm
Look, Tedski, just because you guys can’t win a Rose Bowl is no reason to be hatin on Lauren.
You know, being second best in football to Arizona State… well thats a good place for you guys to be. Being in the shadow of such a fine University…well that only makes you better!
June 28th, 2006 at 6:08 pm
I was a Republican who worked on a Democrat’s campaign. There were many Republicans involved in it.
It’s definitely an indication that the leading Republican in that district is too far to the right.
June 28th, 2006 at 6:15 pm
tom-az
I wish ASU Basketball the best next season, I’ve been saying for years that they need to start playing against their opponent and not against the spread.
Someone forgot to tell them that these Wins and Loses are for games not for beating the spread.
June 28th, 2006 at 8:08 pm
Who ever this new staff member is: she didn’t switch parties to run in a democratic district did she? She isn’t running for CD8 is she? Ok that’s what I thought.
Back to Giffords being a Republican until it was convenient enough to switch:
Gabby changed her address/re-registered multiple times EVEN AFTER she moved back from New York: each time checking off republican until it was time to run for AZ House. BIG DIFFERENCE!
(Now I wonder if the GOP thinks Weiss has this in the bag and they are sending a mole????)
June 28th, 2006 at 8:38 pm
tom-az
“such a fine University” I though Tempe Normal was just a teachers college. When did you guys get accredited as a University? Sometime after the U of A opened its doors in 1891.
June 28th, 2006 at 9:33 pm
Ted Prezelski and Art Jacobsen=The Gifford’s excuse team.
Nice, but Ted, don’t you think you should be running for office rather than being the official Giffords apologist?
June 28th, 2006 at 9:36 pm
Rimsza dropped out of the Secretary of State race. Jan will avoid a devise primary. Good luck to Israel.
http://thinkrightaz.blogspot.com/
June 28th, 2006 at 11:23 pm
I know logic has completely gone out the window on this blog, but how exactly is Giffords BEING a Republican the same as Weiss hiring a former one?
One is a candidate, the other works for a candidate. BIG difference.
The issue isn’t that Giffords was a Republican, the issue is that she was a Republican right up until she decided to run for office as a Democrat.
I used to vote Republican, Democratic and Independent. However, I never changed my registration just to run for office.
Furthermore, you can hardly compare a young, college age woman coming into her own and exploring her identity and where she fits into the political spectrum with a grown woman in her late 20s deciding to change to win a seat.
Just when I was going to write something good about Giffords’ campaign you give me more reason not to.
June 28th, 2006 at 11:25 pm
According to this, Lauren was 20 years old in Nov. 2005 which means she can’t be more than 21 now.
June 28th, 2006 at 11:30 pm
And Tedski is silenced. He must be conferring with Team Giffords on how to do damage control since he opened his big mouth comparing a low level staffer to a Candidate WHO CHANGED only to run for office as a Democrat. Who is to say this new Weiss Staffer has even changed her registration? IT’S A JOB FOR HER AS A COMMUNICATIONS PERSON. BIG BIG DIFFERENCE FROM BEING A CANDIDATE RUNNING FOR OFFICE SWITCHING TO A FAVORABLE PARTY RIGHT BEFORE ITS TIME TO GET VOTES!
(Not taking into account once she was in office, voting against Democratic ideals the first few years until she started grooming her votes for a run for Congress. - Giffords is a nice person too bad her bloggers Tedski and TheDataPort are giving her a bad image.)
June 28th, 2006 at 11:36 pm
On the other hand, given that as recently as March she was vying for First Vice Chair of the College Republican Party and was their Communication’s Director…it could mean she is a mole. No one has a complete reversal in 3 months or less.
Clearly the campaign had to know her background when hiring her so they are either desperate for help or something is really odd in that campaign. I would be interested in learning more about her background. Maybe she is a double agent working for Nathan Sproul.
Or maybe Patty is really a Republican. Has anyone checked her registration files to see when she became a Democrat?
June 28th, 2006 at 11:50 pm
Patty became a Democrat on her 21st Birthday from what she has said at Public forums. (Before the voting age was lowered to 18)
June 28th, 2006 at 11:53 pm
Became should be registered Democrat. She was born a Democrat - it’s in her blood – she is not an opportunity democrat like some of her opponents.
June 28th, 2006 at 11:55 pm
All y’all-
I didn’t get this from the Giffords campaign. In fact, they knew nothing about it before I posted it.
June 28th, 2006 at 11:58 pm
The plot thickens:
“- Who is lying? Show me proof that Kara Karlson’s team members haven’t been saying awful stuff. I’ve overheard some of it myself and I can tell you that Lauren Harmon and Kara Karlson, and their whole team are doing nothing but playing dirty politics. They are NOT good leaders, they will NOT do a good job, and they are NOT the kind of people who should be allowed by our federation to hold positions any longer on our state board.”
Ms. Harmon it seems, was involved in her own little scandal within the College Republicans and in response, deleted her entire blog. Oh what treasures we might have found there.
She sounds like a total opportunist on this blog. This could only be a dumb move on the Weiss’ campaigns part.
Like I always say, politics makes strange bedfellows.
June 29th, 2006 at 12:05 am
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June 29th, 2006 at 12:12 am
It’s not like this Lauren chic is a high-level/profile operative for Weiss. She is probably just working for some summer cash for her self and nothing more. I don’t think from her title mentioned on the Weiss website she is going to be calling any shots on the Campaign Trail.
Getting back to the main point of all this:
Giffords was a Republican until moments before she ran (not taking part in clean elections) in a Democratic leaning district.
LET’S NOT FORGET THIS!
June 29th, 2006 at 12:36 am
anonymous,
Your point is well taken. I made the same point. Comparing apples to oranges. It doesn’t let Giffords off the hook.
Regardless, having this Lauren person on the staff in any position is risky. Campaigns work closely, information is shared. You need people you can trust. It seems a very odd hire considering the position is for a scheduler which is not a job requiring a lot of political skill. Lauren seems over-qualified and they could have easily filled that position through any political hiring agency. Why hire her? I doubt it is merely a summer job for cash and if it is, does a campaign really want someone in there who has no other loyalty than a paycheck? You can hire people like that anywhere. They probably could have gotten a volunteer to do that job even.
It sounds like either the young woman knows someone in the campaign that led to the job, or the campaign is desperate for people. Not to hire a Democrat knowing this would get out doesn’t make a lot of sense in a primary about Democratic values. It will be pretty easy for an opposing campaign to dig into Lauren’s background and her activities with the College Republicans and find a way to use it. Weiss’ campaign manager had to know that going in, so why hire her?
After my reprimand to Ted, I need compliment him on finding this out so quickly. It never would have occurred to me to Google staff members’ names.
Interesting that Giffords does not publish her entire staff list like Weiss does. Hmm.
June 29th, 2006 at 12:40 am
I wonder how long it will take the Weiss camp to get rid of Lauren? Way to go Tedski - cost someone a job.
June 29th, 2006 at 5:35 am
You anti-Giffords people are a bunch of morons.
As a young person (anyone in their 20s is still formulating her personality) Giffords registered as a Republican.
SO WHAT?
She is a DEMOCRAT. Her voting record is progressive. She supports choice, funding for education, opposes the war in Iraq and yes, SHE SUPPORTS CLEAN ELECTIONS!
The kind of mentality you idiots are showing is the reason why Democrats lose so many elections.
When Giffords wins the CD8 primary, will you be LOYAL DEMOCRATS and support her candidacy?
Giffords has stated from DAY ONE that she will back the winner of the primary. Have any of the other so-called Democratic candidates made the same pledge?
Thanks for getting my blood pressure up at 5:30 a.m. Now I can go to work with a full head of steam.
June 29th, 2006 at 7:07 am
Fed Up-
Calm down, I doubt that this woman is a plant. From what I understand her conversion is rather total.
The rest of y’all…I did nothing but say nice things about her getting hired, and your criticism glands went nuts. What is up with that?
June 29th, 2006 at 9:31 am
Okay, this is Lauren.
I have to admit, it was pretty surprising to wake up today and see this kind of stuff posted about myself on a blog that I read regularly. Definitely wasn’t expecting that one. But I would like the chance to explain a few things about where I’m coming from.
First of all, I think it’s pretty silly to drag me into this. I’m 21 years old, and if the worst mistake I make in my youth is being a College Republican… well, we should all be so lucky.
Yes, I was a College Republican. Yes, I had an internship in the Bush White House. But you know what? My conscience got the better of me. I got really tired of hearing otherwise rational people say terrible things like “we should shoot illegal immigrants as they come over the border” or “poor people are lazy, let them starve to death!”
They told me that thinking you can change the world is stupid, because people are bad and evil and always will be. I don’t buy that– I want to change things, I KNOW we can make things better for all of us!, and I see the Democratic party working in the same direction.
So yes, I quit my White House internship and came back to AZ to work on things that really matter to me, like getting good, progressive Dems elected in this state.
I’m proud of my story, and I think comparing my change of heart to Gabby Giffords’ change of registration is foolish. I’m not running for office, I didn’t even want my name bandied about in all this. I just wanted to work for what I believe in. Gabby, on the other hand… I see her changing registration just because she thought she could get the seat that way. And that’s wrong.
Straightening out a few more things…
1. I didn’t engage in dirty campaigning. But when every College Republican wants to be the next Karl Rove, you can imagine the lengths they’ll go to to stir up dirt about good people. won’t get into the politics of it– because being on this ticket was one of the things that just really turned me off from being a Republican– but I did want to get that out there.
2. I’m not on staff. Would I love a little extra summer cash? Sure, any college student would. But as of right now, I’m a volunteer who’s doing some scheduling for Patty. I’m not sure how much damage an ex-Republican can do to a candidate’s schedule, but I assure you I’ll try to avoid screwing things up too much
3. Yeah, 3 months is a pretty short amount of time to have a “full and total” conversion. But when you have that “come to Jesus” moment… well, you just do. And I had been sick of the way Republicans were acting for months. My whole deal was that I wanted to change things from within– but you know, the Republicans are moving further and further away from open & honest government, and I just can’t get behind that. I don’t want to play ball with those people. And I have to tell you, I have never been so relieved to lose as I was when I didn’t become 1st Vice.
4. GO DEVILS!! This is our year for football…
June 29th, 2006 at 12:09 pm
By the way, if anyone is interested in actually *talking* to me about why I’ve become a Dem… I’ll be at Drinking Liberally tonight, and would love the chance to chat with some of you.
I’m the red-head with a Patty button, shouldn’t be too hard to spot me!
June 29th, 2006 at 12:09 pm
Hey Lauren, thanks a bunch for posting!
Glad to hear you have found the error of your ways and switched to the side of light, truth, justice and all that.
I hope you have a great summer, have a great experience working for Patty … well, until the actual primary, when I hope Giffords wins. Until then though!
August 1st, 2007 at 9:21 am
Lauren was only hired on the campaign because she was dating Andrew Myers. Andrew was only hired due to a poor recommendation and was a waste of money. Andrew Myers didn’t work half of the campaign due to illness but had no trouble cashing the checks he did nothing for. Lauren was supposed to be a volunteer but then cried her way into $1000 a month.
Lauren claims to be a Democrat now but I still have my doubts…sounds like she switched parties for a guy. Pretty lame and pretty lame for the Weiss campaign to hire these people.
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