Southern Arizona Republicans can't seem to escape the proverbial knife-twisting in their backs. In the election for the CD8 congressional seat, some Republican leaders were so passionate about their candidate they were willing to do anything to prevent Southern Arizonans from choosing their congressman with Mike Hellon and Randy Graf experiencing the brunt of the undignified attacks. Remember the peeping toms, character assassinations and outside interference?
Now when everyone seems to agree it's time to unify the party and end such destructive behavior, the same people are lining up and dishing out the same nasty attacks against Randy Pullen. The most recent darts came from none other than Nathan Sproul and Jim Click. The way this is headed, we should expect a letter from Steve Huffman, tomorrow!
Randy Graf opened up his mail box today and discovered Jim Click's letter inside. It must have been deja vu. Someone could at least have had the decency to exclude Graf from the mailing, or all Southern Arizona delegates for that matter, considering many of them are still writhing from the last well-placed knife in the back.
Unity in the Arizona GOP? Apparently, some in the party feel it can wait.
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9 comments:
We all are growing more and more bored with this entire charade of "poor Graf".
Most of us ARE moving on trying to heal the wounds, so stop echoing every bit of trash that is circulated.
Click doesn't manage to find reality that his $$$ nor point of view are necessarily what we're all about.
Please let it be. Losers are born not made.
The text of the letter has been posted on Sonoran Alliance for those interested in reading what Click has to say.
Graff is a big baby and couldn't win dog-catcher if opposed
Continuing to ignore a problem by calling people names does not solve it. Everywhere I go, people in the party are calling for unity and respectable campaigning. The only people that consistently ignore this are the one's who find themselves on the same political side as the perpetrators. Those who attended the James and Pullen events would have had to be asleep to not hear the concern and frustration in the voices of activists in Southern Arizona. And it has nothing to do with Graf or Hellon, but everything to do with those who perpetuate the problem that is dividing the party.
phx kid,
Please email me at azace@comcast.net
OK, I read the letter from Click. I read the association made by the writer (editorialist) to John Kerry, posted by some guy using an anonymous pen name to slam Click for not naming names of those he says don't have confidence in Pullen. Click's probably right! He's probably just as fed up with the crap from the same old people who think it's real smart when they do something but if someone else does it, they cry foul!
The way the Pullen posters have responded to much of this stuff reminds me of the NBA. Some guy gets pushed around a little so he can't block the shot or guard his man in the key, then he FLOPS on the floor to try and draw a foul preventing the shot from scoring.
Pullen's contributions to Dems... FLOP
His wife's WISH list money...FLOP
Pullens' history of unsuccesful campaigns....FLOP
Pullens' lack of fundraising success...FLOP
Now some guy with money and a history of giving more than a little of it out, says Pullen could be trouble and I know what I'm talking about...FLOP.
Game over.
Hey, I don't know who any of you are, but if a blog writer can use a phony name to slam some other guy for not naming names I'll just play along with that game, too.
Jim Click has every reason to get involved, there is however, a couple of things that need to be placed in context about why this could be a problem for Lisa.
1. Many people assume that all previous Graf supporters are automatically moving over support Pullen. This is not the case. A preponderance of Graf supporters are falling that way, but there will still votes for Lisa to gather here.
2. Each one of these voters received the message from Click which is more likely to push them away from James.
3. This is not a general election, all the voters are known, and in many cases general voting tendencies could be established and used effectively. Take some of the available Graf-voting PC's, substitute the Click letter with a Mike Hellon Letter, and you stand a better chance of moving people your way.
4. The fact that Graf receives a Click letter shows that there is NO nuance or micro targeting being used. The last time I checked, this was a major plank on both candidate's platforms, and quite frankly was something that was done very poorly last election, at least in Pima County.
5. From this one could infer one or more of the following:
a. The James camp has an accurate count of the delegates, finds themselves behind, and is trying to dislodge Pullen supporters by attacking Pullen.
b. Click and Sproul are operating on their own as "concerned citizens" and are not coordinating with, or taking direction from, James.
c. The James camp does not know the current count and which delegates are leaning their way, Pullen's way, or are up for grabs.
d. The James camp does not have enough local feedback and personal knowledge of the local players to effectively micro target.
e. They do know the players, have an accurate count, and simply don't care.
None of those are particularly flattering. I expect a close race, and it is quite possible that something like this could make a difference the wrong way for Lisa. There are times to use a hammer, and times when a screwdriver is more appropriate. I would like to see more screwdriver from Lisa James.
As long as the person elected holds to the Republican platform, I can support them. I have my favorite, but as long as the election is fair, I will support the winner. The only way there is a problem is when the person promises to hold to Republican values, but then turns around and pushes candidates that may as well be Democrats. In fact, I saw Democrats this last election that were more conservative than quite a few "Republicans".
It may have helped them win. Support the Party, or change registration.
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