Again, this is not my area of expertise, but since the district 11 Chair race has become fashionable, I will add my 2 cents.
The stakes in this are obvious. Fife Symington has been placed in a position to take the District 11 chair from Rob Haney to avoid any further embarrassment to John McCain in this district in particular and in the state in general. All of his rhetoric about holding Haney responsible for the previous legislative defeat is complete misdirection. He is there only to dismiss Haney. He is McCain’s man, pure and simple. And this is not necessarily a bad thing.
At this point I am disinclined to support a McCain run in the Primary, not because he doesn’t pass a series of litmus tests for me, but because I feel that he has one term written all over him. That being said, he is the current favorite to win the Republican nomination for President, and after that, an odds-on favorite to demolish Hillary Clinton in the General Election. This is not something to be taken lightly nor would anybody else in McCain’s position leave anything to chance if presented with the same opportunity.
Rob has taken his shots at McCain and made a veritable political living off of stirring up his base against McCain. It is one thing to take a vote of censure in a sparsely attended committee meeting and another entirely to defeat a direct challenge, albeit by proxy. This is where that old saying about big dogs and porches comes into play. If Rob feels like his words and position are solid, the challenge by Symington should be welcomed as an opportunity to serve a direct blow to McCain. Should Symington be defeated, things would get very ugly for McCain very fast. As I have mentioned before, Mitt Romney for one would swoop down and capitalize on Arizona GOP dissatisfaction almost instantly. Obviously, McCain will do everything in his power to hold the state party, as would anyone else in his position.
So now it is time for Haney to demonstrate leadership and knock back this challenge. If he cannot, then Symington deserves the position. He has certainly put a lot on the line as far as his political future, and called in a number of favors with his list of endorsements. He could have effectively challenged for the state chair, but placed his eggs in this basket which is also admirable. Should Haney prevail, he will become the standard bearer that he has always wished to become, should he lose, he will probably (and hopefully) be relegated back to the porch. Sniping does not build lasting victory.
The real question that I have is what is McCain’s plan for the state chair which should have been a much bigger “must-have” than District 11. If Munsil is indeed his candidate, it seems that he used his rook to neutralize a pawn, as I believe that Symington would have a better shot at the state chair than Munsil. None of the current whispered candidates look to be a clear lock over Randy Pullen who is most decidedly NOT McCain’s man.
8 comments:
You have nailed this one. Fyfe's a good, obedient LOYAL Republican!! He would be perfect for District 11...as well as STATE CHAIRMAN!!
Pull Pullen off his pulpit for AZ Chair...he can't even handle National Committeeman. A "pawn" for a one-focus group...replacing someone cut from the same bolt of cloth!!
e.lois
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“should he lose, he will probably (and hopefully) be relegated to the porch.” If Haney does loose he will not be content to sit on the porch. He will be free to work for and support anyone in the Republican presidential primary and all of the conservative PC’s that he recruited will be very interested to know whom he is supporting.
McCain lost this battle when he did not ignore Haney.
Thanks very much for your coverage of the ins and outs of political life on the Republican side of the aisle. It's always interesting and always literate.
Art
There is something to be said about a strategy of simply ignoring Heaney, and it certainly plays to the perception that McCain has a vindictive streak. My belief is that should Symington defeat Heaney, the matter will die down effectively.
Should Heaney prevail, things will get extremely interesting. I would put Pullen as a lock to win the state chair at that point, as those opposing McCain will be emboldened.
If I were McCain, I would have focused on the state chair before moving on to District 11.
Unless Symington or McCain didn't believe they had the numbers to defeat Pullen, which would be a logical explanation for what has transpired.
Over the past 4-years, I have seen Pullen play either the moderate or the conservative depending on who he is speaking with.
Pullen even spoke out against the resolution in LD11 to censure McCain.
Pullen and McCain may not be all that tight, but Pullen is smart enough to know that as State Party Chair, you don't publically criticize your Senior Senator and front-runner for the Presidential nomination.
Haney, on the other hand, is not smart enough to realize this and is just attempting to embarass McCain in his home district. That is why he needs to be removed as a district chair.
McCain never shows up for state conventions and is consistently booed when his name is announced. Why pick on Haney when the Republican base, moderate or conservative, have problems supporting McCain? Symington, with his background of corruption, running immediately after Republicans are swept partly because of corruption, can't possibly have a shot at any leadership position. Add the fact that the District 11 PCs were recruited by Haney and it would be a shock if Haney didn't win.
Well, Rob Haney kicked Fife's butt. Who's next?
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