Tuesday, July 24th, 2007...5:00 pm
Breaking: Kirkpatrick Resigns
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The Arizona Capitol Times is reporting that Ann Kirkpatrick has resigned her legislative seat and has announced that she is running against embattled Rep. Rick Renzi.
Kirkpatrick’s replacement, as per state law, will be chosen by the Coconino County Board of Supervisors and must be a Democrat.
Her starting the race this early is an indication that despite Renzi’s troubles, she is not taking the race lightly.
12 Comments
July 24th, 2007 at 5:11 pm
Does she have a website up yet? I had been working for Allen Affeldt but since he withdrew I’ve been of the opinion that Kirkpatrick is the best candidate.
July 24th, 2007 at 5:23 pm
Other than the legislative site that I linked above (and may not be active soon), she hasn’t set anything up yet.
July 25th, 2007 at 8:41 am
actually she does have a site up! www.kirkpatrickforarizona.com and I agree that she is the best candidate.
July 25th, 2007 at 10:50 am
No kidding you do. You are her press contact, right?
July 25th, 2007 at 9:39 pm
I think she’s the best candidate, and I’ve never met her or anyone working on her campaign. However, my opinion will change if she continues releasing vague, mealy-mouthed press statements like she did yesterday. Mary Kim Titla’s announcement was MUCH better.
July 25th, 2007 at 10:25 pm
Hey, Nonpartisan, Mary Kim describes herself as a “conservative Democrat.” That’s an oxymoron, at least in Coconino County. Certainly don’t need another one of those in Congress.
July 26th, 2007 at 1:25 am
Travis, I’m inclined to agree, though she could conceivably play better in areas of Eastern Arizona than Kirkpatrick. Ann’s my candidate and probably will be for quite a while, though Mary Kim’s way better than the odious Jim Ledbetter or the drunkard John Verkamp (shocked to see his name pop up again in the Daily Sun this morning!). I like and admire Howard Shanker, but he’s outclassed in this field and should do something more useful like run for Kirkpatrick’s vacated State House seat.
July 27th, 2007 at 12:36 pm
I know of several attorneys who have told me (off the record, of course) that Kirkpatrick wasn’t the most competent lawyer around. But that’s just opinion. But one was from a friend whom I respect very much and had worked on a case where Kirkpatrick was involved. But let’s judge her on how she runs here campaign. But her announcement would be rated an “F” for “Failing” to induce consciousness (talk about boring).
This was what I wrote on azcongresswatch.com:
“‘netrootsdemocrat Says:’
‘Glad we have a candidate but god, what a sleep-inducing BORING announcement. Looks like Ann already has a case of mealy-mouthitis.
Ann, if you read this (or perhaps the consultant who wrote it for you), try being a little more direct. That statement was not very inspiring, to say the least.
There was not a *compelling* reason mentioned as to why *exactly* Ms. Kirkpatrick should be the one representing CD-01 in the Congress. Why isn’t our side better at messaging? It’s not that hard.’
‘Posted on July 25th, 2007 at 8:22 pm’”
Having said that, I don’t like this conservative Democrat BS coming from the only other announced challenger. So I may end up in fact work for and support financially Kirkpatrick.
Does anyone here know why Ellen Simon didn’t run? I have heard from someone in Sedona (another lawyer) that it was from DCCC “presssure.” Too bad. I like my Dems progressive.
July 27th, 2007 at 7:36 pm
Her announcement notwithstanding, I’ve been waiting for Kirkpatrick to run for a long time. The fact is that she has been a very reliable vote for the good guys in the legislature, and beyond that she has shown for a long time through her community service work that she does care about ordinary people. She is also from the Pinetop area (in the southern part of my county) and has represented both Flagstaff and the Navajo reservation, so she has a very good understanding of what rural Arizona is about.
And don’t bother thinking that the ‘conservative’ label would help Titla in eastern Arizona– it won’t. The communities we are thinking of will vote 80% Republican no matter what Democrat is on the ballot. Even the Governor lost heavily in many of them (like the small town I live in). A Democrat can win, but to win you have to have core Democratic values. Which means you care about ordinary people and want to make their lives better. Which Kirkpatrick does (and I’ve never met her either, but I know enough about what she believes in from multiple sources that my mind was made up once Allen Affeldt withdrew that I was going to be on board the day she announced.)
netsrootdemocrat:
Ellen Simon didn’t run because after a few days she figured out that she didn’t have the support.
Sadly, I went to a meeting of a club where she swore that ‘I won’t be swiftboated,’ and then lo and behold, she was. I remember working on the Dukakis campaign, and I can tell you that when someone makes outrageous charges against you but then you don’t respond, they stick. I remember talking to an old ranchhand in Montana who had told me a few weeks earlier that he would support Dukakis, but had switched to Bush (Sr.) This was after the Willie Horton ad. He told me (and I still remember this, it was a great bit of ‘Cowboy wisdom,’) “If a man keeps kicking you in the teeth when you’re down, he looks bad. But if you just lay there and take it, you look worse.”
Unfortunately Simon got falsely painted as a ‘friend of Nambla’ by the smear-meister Renzi, and it still was the only picture a lot of people had of her.
Not fair. Not cool. But it’s the way Rick Renzi fights. And we can assume it’s the way Republicans will fight (because it’s usually the way they do fight). And with all due respect to Titla, another good argument for Kirkpatrick is that she has been around enough that she is tough enough to hit back, hard if something like that goes on. Because that’s how Republicans fight ever since the start of the Atwater-Gingrich-DeLay-Rove-Coulter era, and hitting back just as hard is what it takes to win (just ask Harry Mitchell).
July 27th, 2007 at 7:54 pm
You know what, Mr. Blake, that quote about the kicking of the teeth when down, is sooo compelling. I rarely gush over such things, but OMG, that quote is classic! I thank and appreciate you for sharing. I have run campaigns, and, I hope you do (or will). We need people like you! Brilliant.
Where have you been all my life? I think they are starting to realize it now, but Democrats only win when they shoiw BALLS. That’s why, despite everything said about her (and I like Edwards), Hillary Clinton is perhaps the only one of our potentials that I am confident will counterpunch effectively.
Thanks for the Simon info. Oh, and, based on Kirkpatrick’s announcement, I have ZERO confidence that she will counterpunch effectively. I think she’ll get rolled by the repugs. Not. Tough. Enough.
July 29th, 2007 at 7:37 pm
netroots:
I hope you are wrong about Kirkpatrick, though I don’t see how Titla would be any tougher about stuff like that.
And no, I’ve worked on a number of campaigns, haven’t ever run a campaign.
I believe though that:
1. Side to side, most voters will pick a Democrat with standard Democratic positions over a Republican, if the only basis for the decision is issues.
2. Republicans know this, and they are smart, so they hate discussing issues and instead have become masters of the smear and digging into the sewer to destroy their opponents politically.
3. Negative campaigning works.
4. Democrats can still win, when (as in the case of Harry Mitchell or Bill Clinton) they can get right down and dirty and return every low angle that comes at them.
As to Hillary, you are right that she is pretty tough (I also support one of her rivals, specifically Bill Richardson because I think we will need a superb diplomat to dig us out of the hole that Bush has buried us in). I have trouble supporting her because of how far she has woven to the right while in the Senate, but the real irony is that the Republicans, if she is nominated, could turn out to have cut the throat of their own ox. They have always tried to run as the ’strong father’ model (if you’ve read Lakoff) and said the Democrats were soft on communism, soft on crime, soft on terrorism, soft on (insert bogeyman here); but after fifteen years of painting Hillary as cold, calculating and ruthless they may have a hard time trying to wheel all the way around and convince people she wouldn’t be up to the task of fighting terrorists.
July 30th, 2007 at 11:05 am
Eli, at the risk of looking like I am swooning, you are brilliant. See, this is the problem with campaigns - and it’s endemic on both sides of the aisle - your talent is being wasted….sooooo wasted, licking envelopes and answering the phone, etc. I have yet to work in a campaign (other than the ones I ran), where the campaign mgr/consulant/whatever, was confident enough in his or her own abilities that they felt comfortable giving talented guys like you WAY more of a role. Usually they see a guy like you, feel threatened, then blow you off.
You ought to be running campaigns, or at least advising them on a high level. Perhaps you and I should open up a consulting firm. I know, we could call it “High Ground”! Oh, wait……….
Seriously, though: STAY INVOLVED. Our side needs guys like you!
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