tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28821987.post116570423384568884..comments2023-12-30T21:07:49.487-07:00Comments on Arizona 8th: Learning the Wrong LessonsUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28821987.post-1166328996049209842006-12-16T21:16:00.000-07:002006-12-16T21:16:00.000-07:00This whole argument that the Kyl campaign in South...This whole argument that the Kyl campaign in Southern AZ snagged all the volunteers from the state and local party and other campaigns is completely, 100% ridiculous. I was able to see this every single day during the campaign working in the party HQ. The simple fact of the matter is that the Kyl campaign was the only group organized and hard working enough to get volunteers mobilized.<BR/><BR/>The Graf campaign? Well a week before the election they decided that everyone should take a day off and closed the office. Not only that, but the frequently came over to the Republican/Kyl headquarters to "borrow" volunteers because they didn't have any. The Kyl campaign never "stole" a single volunteer from the Graf campaign. A more likely reason that the Graf campaign didn't have many volunteers working for them (outside of GV that is) is because they were a disorganized mess.<BR/><BR/>The state/local party? Not so much as the Kyl campaign was the only group to have extensive volunteer and endorsement lists. Sure the state/local party had some people mobilized, but they weren't doing Kyl work. They were doing things like walking for all the candidates or putting up signs for all candidates. In response to the comment asking where the Kyl signs were on election day - they were everywhere, right next to the Dean Martin, Len Munsil, and Bill Montgomery signs. A group of volunteers went around putting all of those signs up, and they could be seen all over Tucson in clusters. <BR/><BR/>The worst part about this argument is the fact that the Kyl campaign did attempt to help the other candidates. In all the call sheets that the volunteers were making from the primary to the general, they included multiple candidates names, NEVER just Kyl's. Randy Graf, Ron Drake, and Len Munsil were just a few of the candidates whose names were read with Kyl's on all of those calls. I believe the point mentioned above about the bandwagoners is a huge reason for this ridiculous perception that the Kyl campaign took all the power and resources from other networks. No one wants to admit that they were helping on the failed campaigns, so it looks like no one was. <BR/><BR/>Kyl won big, and the theory that the party had was that if we could get voters out to vote for Kyl, they'd vote down the ticket. It's not the Kyl campaign's fault that the other candidates were disorganized, ineffective, off-message, or simply unlikeable. And for those who are putting such significant blame on the Kyl campaign for the others losing - it's a pathetic, weak, appauling use of scapegoating one of the leaders of your own party.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28821987.post-1166023838888183262006-12-13T08:30:00.000-07:002006-12-13T08:30:00.000-07:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.AZAcehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04702924818232398832noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28821987.post-1165858165022308642006-12-11T10:29:00.000-07:002006-12-11T10:29:00.000-07:00T,Good to meet you at the meeting...You wanted me ...T,<BR/>Good to meet you at the meeting...<BR/>You wanted me to post more, so I'm commenting on my blog about my agreements and disagreements with your D 26 meeting synopsis. <BR/>Even though I don't agree with everything, I am a Reagan Republican (big-tenter) and wish to unify, not divide. The basic reason that we lost was that we didn't unify our side and divide their side. We divided our side in the CD8 primary and left those not in the far-right (Kenski said 14% in CD 8 are far-right) to find a candidate that they can associate themselves with. (Kenski also said that AZ is mostly a moderate state with Libertarian leanings - sounds right)<BR/>TomTouchdownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00286051682531394307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28821987.post-1165797578592955992006-12-10T17:39:00.000-07:002006-12-10T17:39:00.000-07:00Framer,Regarding candidate who were as strong as K...Framer,<BR/><BR/>Regarding candidate who were as strong as Kyl and lost I will split the difference with you. Jim Talent is a solid conservative and still lost. McCaskill turned out to be the perfect candidate for the circumstances this year and only narrowly won. To my knowledge Talent did not make one huge mistake in public.<BR/><BR/>I disagree with you on George Allen. Allen did not come across as very bright and I don’t see Kyl calling someone Macaca and then trying to say that it is a made up word. Should that one moment have sunk Allen? No it should not have but it did. Kyl is a smart enough person to never let himself get in a situation like; Allen’s defeat was self-inflicted.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28821987.post-1165786578321040312006-12-10T14:36:00.000-07:002006-12-10T14:36:00.000-07:00You nailed it again, Rex! This is the sort of Com...You nailed it again, Rex! This is the sort of Common Sense we need! Weight on the Right...Weight on the Left...BUT the Great Tonnage is left for US to steer a heavy load straight to light at the end of the tunnel!!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28821987.post-1165783556226595332006-12-10T13:45:00.000-07:002006-12-10T13:45:00.000-07:006. The throwing around of the “RINO” label.Amen, F...6. The throwing around of the “RINO” label.<BR/><BR/>Amen, Framer! I'd like to see that nonsense stopped by arrogant extremists in BOTH parties. Giffords had to put up with that labeling on our side, as did Joe Lieberman. The people who anoint themselves with the "right" to decide what it means to be a member of one of the two major parties are almost always folks who advocate exclusive, narrow agendas that only end up annoying and driving away mainstream voters.Rex Scotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05065436982613437408noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28821987.post-1165782064898238812006-12-10T13:21:00.000-07:002006-12-10T13:21:00.000-07:00CD- 8Talent and Allen certainly deserved better th...CD- 8<BR/><BR/>Talent and Allen certainly deserved better than what they got, although they did not have the seniority of Kyl.<BR/><BR/>I guess to restate a few pages of rambling, I would boil it down to this: That seat was ours and we held it against inferior competition. I will allow that there was a slight degree of difficulty due to Pedersen's unlimited finances and the overall political climate, however, much of this was mitigated by Pedersen's poorly run campaign and unlikable personality.<BR/><BR/>I do not want to see dancing in the endzone until we take something that wasn't ours. Especially as now every activist seems to be claiming that they were affiliated with the Kyl,Brewer, and Martin campaigns and none of the others that came up short. Either this is true, and it is pitiful, or we are a party of bandwagon fans, which is almost as bad.<BR/><BR/>Again, this is our party, good and bad, and unless we address our difficulties honestly, we are headed for trouble. There is a lot of work to do some of it in the limelight, some of it against hopeless odds, but we must fight each battle with the same intensity.Framerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09867927854445059711noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28821987.post-1165734478478068672006-12-10T00:07:00.000-07:002006-12-10T00:07:00.000-07:00Kyl's major campaign effort in Southern Arizona co...Kyl's major campaign effort in Southern Arizona consisted primarily of Pima County party resources and GOTV people. Outside of that, where were the walkers and phone callers? How many Kyl signs were put up at polling places on election day? The Kenski's say the campaign is a lean machine. That's putting it mildly, but made possible because state and party resources carried the campaign.<BR/><BR/>When Lisa James says state party workers helped candidates in Southern Arizona, she left out the part about—other than Huffman in the primary—the statement only applied to Kyl in the general since the other Republican candidates never saw them.AZAcehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04702924818232398832noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28821987.post-1165733184243971142006-12-09T23:46:00.000-07:002006-12-09T23:46:00.000-07:00Re: UpdatePlease, please tell me who lost this yea...Re: Update<BR/><BR/>Please, please tell me who lost this year and was as talented and strong as Kyl (and as calculated.)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28821987.post-1165726167802164762006-12-09T21:49:00.000-07:002006-12-09T21:49:00.000-07:00anon,I might have bought into your line that some ...anon,<BR/><BR/>I might have bought into your line that some Graf supporters we talking bad about Steve until you used the term “cocktail party attacks.” Nice try but Randy’s supporters were not on the cocktail circuit. Wrong faction of the party!<BR/><BR/>As to your comment “whisper campaigns … by religious right.” There was no whisper campaign; the religious (or social) conservative could not stand Huffman and why would they. Steve thought unrestricted abortion was a great thing. Sorry, that does not fly with a lot of social conservatives. If you want a voting block then you need to appeal to them.<BR/><BR/>You have lots of rumor and innuendo but the facts are the ads that the campaigns ran and the mailers sent. The truth there is that Huffman ran a smear campaign.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28821987.post-1165719095898663942006-12-09T19:51:00.000-07:002006-12-09T19:51:00.000-07:00anony-Not even close, at least as far as the last ...anony-<BR/><BR/>Not even close, at least as far as the last primary is concerned, and I refuse to let the "everyone is equally to blame" crap fly.<BR/><BR/>1. Isn't Graf's wife from South America? I can hardly see him spearheading an attack on Huffman's wife for the same.<BR/><BR/>2. There were no serious accusations form the ubiquitus "religous right" about Huffman's sexual orientation in any systematic manner. Michael Bryan posted a parody about the flashlight ad in this vein on his blog, but he is hardly a Graf operative.<BR/><BR/>3. If there was bad blood between Graf and Huffman, and it was earned, why then does Huffman attack Hellon by distorting the information he placed on Vote Smart (something Huffman refused to do himself). I darn well know that Hellon wasn't taking shots at Huffman.<BR/><BR/>4. Peep gate. Enough said there.<BR/><BR/>When someone is being as truly reckless and shoddy as Huffman was, someone in power needs to draw a line. Instead he was rewarded with a cool quarter million by the national party. Do you wonder why there is some cynicism, earned or not?<BR/><BR/>all that said, I agree with zona that the conservatives have done their woofing too, and that needs to end. There is certainly room for challenges in the Primaries, as well as a time for the camparing of issues and records. These issues should be debated with fairness and openness. The party should be strong enough however to reel the debate back inbounds when it turns sour. If our leaders cannot or will not commit to this, then they need to let others who can move in.Framerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09867927854445059711noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28821987.post-1165711595477018262006-12-09T17:46:00.000-07:002006-12-09T17:46:00.000-07:00Framer....you do put out a neat analysis. However,...Framer....you do put out a neat analysis. However, the trash-talk began over four years ago with the Green Valley contingent...continuing now with several defeated contenders. Unfortunately it seems to be a constant rather than moving toward a healing process. We need desperately to put it behind us and press on for unity.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28821987.post-1165709472081356402006-12-09T17:11:00.000-07:002006-12-09T17:11:00.000-07:00It's amazing how the Graf supporters can constantl...It's amazing how the Graf supporters can constantly attack Huffman for his tactics, while denying their own ugly tactics in the primary and before that, over the past four years - first against Kolbe and then against Huffman.<BR/><BR/>Whisper campaigns against Huffman by religious right voters, terms like "Kolbe's butt-boy", loose interpretations of "amnesty" rather than realistic discussion of the problem and cocktail party attacks on Huffman because his wife is of hispanic heritage were all part and parcel of the Graf strategy.<BR/><BR/>Whether or not they choose to admit to it, the Graf campaign did as much (if not more) nasty politicking than all the other campaigns together.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com