WHAT THE? Sen. Flake Fundraiser Invite Features Star Trek Actor George Takei (Sulu) With Vulcan Salute; Reelection Campaign Will "Live Long and Prosper" (FOLLOWING MONEY IN ARIZONA'S POLITICS)

Arizona Senator Jeff Flake (R-AZ) continues to raise funds for his re-election campaign... in 2018. But, this invitation for a November 5 lunch fundraiser was eye-catching enough to merit a mention at Politico today. (photo below)

Along with separate invites for two Representatives (Joe Pitts and Lee Terry) - all three using the same fundraising consultant - the e-mail features a photo of iconic Star Trek actor George Takei delivering the even-more-iconic Vulcan salute.

There is no further explanation, and it does not appear that the actor and human rights activist is connected in any way with the series of fundraisers.

Previous Flake fundraisers to earn mentions in Arizona's Politics are the post-shutdown weekend at the Royal Palms resort and the evening at the Washington Nationals/Arizona Diamondbacks "Take Flake Out To the Ballgame" game.

As of September 30 (2013), Flake's committee has only $26,000 cash on hand.

(Perhaps this invitation signifies that the reelection campaign will "live long and prosper".)

(h/t to Byron Tau's Political Influence column at Politico)


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WATCH: Rep. Schweikert Takes Floor To Ask SEC Not To "Crush Our Opportunities" Re: Crowdfunding Investments

Arizona Rep. David Schweikert (R-CD6) took to the House floor this morning to urge citizens to oppose proposed "crushing" rules proposed by the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") regulating crowdfunding for investments.

Schweikert, who helped author and co-sponsor the legislation which passed and was signed into law last year, used the Congressional Budget Offices' recently-released Long-Term Budget Outlook as an introduction to his crowdfunding remarks.  Schweikert would like the crowdfunding opportunities to "help grow the economy, and then the bureaucracy hands us crushing rules that make it almost impossible to use."

Schweikert exhorted citizens to "please, go online, make comments, help them understand this is supposed to be helping the next generation of small entrepeneurs in this country, and don't make it 550 pages of bureaucratic legalese.  It can be simpler."

The proposed rules are actually less than 100 pages long, although the preceding introduction, background and discussion is about 460 pages.

SEC Chair Mary Jo White stated she is "pleased" with the proposed rules, noting that they want to make sure this new market thrives in a "safe manner."

  

(The transcript of his remarks is from the closed captioning and may (does) have "glitches" and misspellings.)

00:00:04	MR. SCHWEIKERT: MR.
00:00:05	SPEAKER, I REQUEST TO REVISE AND EXTEND.
00:00:08	THE SPEAKER PRO TEMPORE: WITHOUT OBJECTION.
00:00:10	MR.
00:00:14	SCHWEIKERT: MR.
00:00:16	SPEAKER, FIRST, I APPRECIATE THE HOUSE GIVING ME THESE FIVE MINUTES, THOUGH IT'S ALWAYS DANGEROUS WHEN A MEMBER STARTS WALKING TOWARDS THE MICROPHONE AND THEY'RE DOING IT BECAUSE SOMETHING HIT THEIR DESK AND IT ANNOYED THEM.
00:00:28	AND SO WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON SOMETHING IN OUR OFFICE TO TRY TO EXPLAIN AN INTENSE FRUSTRATION I HAVE AND THAT IS I BELIEVE WASHINGTON AND ITS EMBRACING OF DELUSIONAL MATH.
00:00:46	LOOK, I'VE ONLY BEEN HERE THREE YEARS, AND I'VE COME TO THE CONCLUSION THAT THE SINGLE BIGGEST PROBLEM I SEE IS NOT THE RIGHT-LEFT CONTINUUM BUT THOSE WHO OWN CALCULATORS AND THOSE WHO DON'T, THOSE THAT LIVE IN A WORLD WHERE MATH ACTUALLY HAS A VALUE.
00:01:04	I'M RIGHT NOW HOLDING THE C.
00:01:07	B.O. REPORT, THE 2013 LONG-TERM BUDGET FORECAST.
00:01:12	AND IN HERE -- AND YET I'VE NOT HEARD SOMEONE ELSE COME TO THIS MICROPHONE -- IS JUST THE BEGINNING OF A PARAGRAPH THAT SHOULD TERRIFY YOU.
00:01:21	FEDERAL DEBT, AS A PERCENTAGE OF G.
00:01:25	D.P. IN 2038, UNDER THE EXTENDED BASELINE IS PROJECTED TO BE ABOUT TWICE -- TO BE ABOUT TWICE AS LARGE AS THE AMOUNT ESTIMATED LAST YEAR.
00:01:39	YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT THIS REPORT IS SAYING.
00:01:43	THAT BECAUSE OF THE POLICIES FROM THIS ADMINISTRATION, THE POLICIES COMING OUT OF OUR BUREAUCRACIES AND THE THINGS WE NEED TO ACTUALLY DEAL WITH IN THIS HOUSE, THE NUMBERS ARE ALMOST TWICE AS BAD AS IT WAS LAST YEAR.
00:02:00	YOU KNOW, FOR THE SPEED THAT WE'RE GOING TO HIT 100% OF DEBT TO G.
00:02:08	D.P. AND THE THING YOU NEED TO UNDERSTAND IS IT'S WORSE THAN IN THE LONG-TERM BUDGET OUTLOOK FORECAST BECAUSE THERE'S DELUSIONS BUILT INTO THAT BECAUSE WE HERE AS A BODY INSTRUCT THE CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE SAYING, FOLLOW CURRENT LAW.
00:02:26	THAT'S WHAT YOU NEED TO BUDGET OFF OF.
00:02:27	HOW MANY OF US HERE COME JANUARY WHEN THE S.
00:02:31	G.R. IS UP?
00:02:32	MANY OF YOU KNOW IT AS DOC FIX, ARE GOING TO HOLD THE NUMBERS, HOLD THE CURRENT LAW WITH THE UNDERSTANDING THAT THE END OF ABOUT A DOZEN YEARS DOCTORS WHO SEE MEDICARE PATIENTS WILL SEE 73% LESS SO WE'LL WALK ONTO THE FLOOR HERE PROBABLY DECEMBER, JANUARY, AND FIX THE S.
00:02:53	G.R. SO DOCTORS ARE COMPENSATED, SO THEY CONTINUE TO SEE THEIR MEDICARE PATIENTS AND WE BLOW UP THE NUMBERS IN THE LONG-TERM BUDGET FORECAST.
00:03:01	AND WE DO THAT ON LOTS OF THINGS.
00:03:02	SO WHEN YOU ACTUALLY DO THE ADJUSTMENT FOR MATH REALITY, POLICY REALITY, LONG-TERM BUDGET NUMBERS ARE MUCH, MUCH WORSE THAN WE TALK ABOUT AROUND HERE.
00:03:15	AND NOW TO MY POINT.
00:03:17	A YEAR AND A HALF AGO, WE ACTUALLY DID SOMETHING BIPARTISAN.
00:03:21	WE DID SOMETHING CALLED THE JOBS ACT.
00:03:23	YOU KNOW, IT WAS -- IN THE SCALE OF THINGS IT WAS SMALL, BUT THERE WERE SOME NEAT THINGS IN THERE.
00:03:29	ONE OF THE THINGS I FIXATED ON WAS SOMETHING CALLED CROWDFUNDING, AN OPPORTUNITY TO HELP THE TRULY LITTLE ENTREPRENEUR.
00:03:36	THIS IS ONLY UP TO $1 MILLION, AND IT WAS USING THIS THING CALLED THE INTERNET TO BE ABLE TO RAISE MONEY.
00:03:42	SO IF YOU'RE THE CUPCAKE SHOP OR MECHANIC SHOP OR YOU HAVE AN IDEA OF GETTING SOME ANGEL INVESTMENT TO GET GOING, WELL, THE S.
00:03:51	E.C. TOOK A YEAR AND A HALF TO DO WHAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A SIMPLE RULE SET SO THEY'RE A YEAR LATE AND HERE'S WHAT THEY BROUGHT US.
00:04:02	THIS IS THE LAW -- THESE HANDFUL OF PAGES, SIX, SEVEN PAGES IS THE CROWDFUNDING OF THE JOBS ACT.
00:04:12	HERE'S THE PROPOSED RULE SET.
00:04:17	SO IF WE'RE IN A WORLD WHERE WE HAVE CRUSHING DEBT SCREAMING TOWARDS US AND SOME OF THAT'S BECOMING NOW BECAUSE WE'RE BEING TOLD THAT THE NEW NORMAL IS A 2% G.
00:04:33	D.P. GROWTH, WE NEED TO BE DOING THINGS THAT ACCELERATE THAT ECONOMIC GROWTH OR WE'RE IN INCREDIBLE TROUBLE.
00:04:40	SO AS HOUSE BIPARTISAN, WE PASSED THE JOBS ACT, WHICH WAS ONE OF THE LITTLE INCREMENTS THAT IS SUPPOSED TO REACH OUT AND HELP GROW THE ECONOMY AND THEN THE BUREAUCRACY HANDS US CRUSHING RULES THAT MAKE IT ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO USE.
00:04:56	SO FOR WHOEVER'S LISTENING, WATCHING, CARING ABOUT THINGS LIKE THE CROWDFUNDING RULES THAT ARE BEFORE THE S.
00:05:04	E.C., YOU GOT 90 DAYS NOW.
00:05:07	PLEASE, GO ONLINE, MAKE COMMENTS, HELP THEM UNDERSTAND THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE HELPING THE NEXT GENERATION OF SMALL ENTREPRENEURS IN THIS COUNTRY, AND DON'T MAKE IT 550 PAGES OF BUREAUCRATIC LEGALLIES.
00:05:26	IT CAN BE SIMPLER.
00:05:28	WE CAN DO GREAT THINGS IN THIS COUNTRY, BUT WE CAN'T DO IT IF THE BUREAUCRACY CONTINUES TO CRUSH OUR OPPORTUNITIES.
00:05:35	MR. SPEAKER, I YIELD BACK.

B

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Endangered Mexican Wolf Plan To Get Arizona Hearing On December 3; Comment Period Extended To Dec. 17

After much howling from Arizonans and our Congressional delegation, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ("FWS") announced today that an Arizona hearing on their plan to list the Mexican Gray Wolf as an endangered subspecies (delisting Gray Wolves elsewhere) will take place December 3 in Pinetop.

The FWS had initially announced hearings to take place (in October) in Albuquerque, Washington, D.C. and Sacramento(!?!).  The Albuquerque and Sacramento hearings were rescheduled (to November 20 and 22, respectively) because of the shutdown, and an additional hearing has been scheduled for Denver (November 19).

As Arizona's Politics reported a month ago, Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick (D-CD1), who represents most of the rural Arizona area where the Mexican Wolf will be protected, took to the House floor to echo calls from Arizonans and Arizona's Game and Fish Department that a federal hearing needed to take place in Arizona.  The previous week, Arizona Senators Jeff Flake and John McCain (both Republicans) and Rep. Paul Gosar (R-CD4) sent a letter to the Secretary of the Interior (FWS' parent agency) also asking for a hearing (and to extend public comment period until 30 days after such hearing).

FWS Director Dan Ashe wrote back on October 16, saying that the 16-day government shutdown had delayed the process of setting an Arizona hearing.  Today's announcement indicates that the comment period will be extended from October 28 to December 17, two weeks after the Pinetop hearing.

The changes are being proposed as FWS reached legal settlements with the Center for Biological Diversity in August. They would remove most gray wolves from the endangered species list, with theMexican Wolf being the only subspecies to remain on the list. It would also make changes to the re-introduction program in New Mexico and Arizona. The full proposed rule changes can be read here.

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LISTEN: NRCC Radio Ad Attacking Arizona Rep. Kirkpatrick For Vote On Obamacare Support For Congress/Staff

The National Republican Congressional Committee ("NRCC") released a radio ad today that it says it intends to run against Arizona Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick (D-CD1).  It targets women in the far-flung district and attacks Kirkpatrick for an eve-of-shutdown vote against a GOP measure that would re-strip health insurance premium support for members of Congress and their staffs.

The NRCC has not yet responded to Arizona's Politics' request for information on where and when the ad will run, and how much is being spent on it.

The audio ad is below (complete with photo of Kirkpatrick with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi), along with a transcript.  Arizona's Politics' Fact Check of the ad will follow shortly.

VOICEOVER 1:  This is so frustrating.  I’m trying to sign up for the new government healthcare program and it just won’t work.

VOICEOVER 2:  A lot of folks are having trouble with that.

VOICEOVER 1:  They spent 500 million of our tax dollars to build it, and it won’t work.

VOICEOVER 2:  And if you’re facing all these issues just signing up, imagine how difficult it could be to get medical care. Finding a doctor’s appointment will be a nightmare. And have you looked into how much your insurance premiums will rise?

VOICEOVER 1: I haven’t. Maybe I’ll call my Congressman, Ann Kirkpatrick and ask for help.

VOICEOVER 2: She’s part of the problem! Kirkpatrick voted to keep special subsidies for Members of Congress.

VOICEOVER 1: Ann Kirkpatrick did?

VOICEOVER 2: Yep, Ann Kirkpatrick is using our tax dollars to fund her healthcare benefits.

VOICEOVER 1:  That’s not right.

VOICEOVER 2: Typical Washington.  Kirkpatrick protects her healthcare while our costs go up.

VOICEOVER 1:  Maybe you should call her too.

VOICEOVER 2: Oh, I will. We all should. Call Ann Kirkpatrick at 928-213-9977. Tell her we’re sick of paying for her taxpayer-funded healthcare.

VOICEOVER 3: The National Republican Congressional Committee paid for and is responsible for the content of this advertising. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee. www-dot-NRCC-dot-org

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READ: Details On Settlement Between California and Arizona-based "Dark Money" Groups

The news release from California's Fair Political Practices Commission, announcing settlement.

  fppc news release 2013-10-24.pdf

http://bit.ly/HhJaIc

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WATCH HERE, LIVE: News Conference Announcing Major Settlement Between Arizona-Based Conservative Money Groups and California (FOLLOWING MONEY IN ARIZONA'S POLITICS)

California's Fair Political Practices Commission is announcing a major settlement regarding its grand jury inquiry into the $11 million in campaign contributions from Arizona-based conservative money groups "Americans for Responsible Leadership" and the "Center to Protect Patients' Rights".

ARL also pumped $1.5 million into defeating two initiatives on the 2012 Arizona ballot.

Ready to go at the news conference is a poster titled "The Dark Money Trail."

Below is the livestream of the news conference.



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Humorous Sidebar Story: WATCH California's Fair Political Practices Commission's October 17 Special Meeting Considering ARL Settlement

Now, THAT'S openness!  California's Fair Political Practices Commission ("FPPC") streams its meetings live on YouTube; nothing outrageously open about that.  But, last Thursday, they held a "Special Meeting" to go into Closed Session about the status of negotiations on the Americans for Responsible Leadership, et al inquiry.  They live-streamed that!

Out of the hour, 35 minutes (posted below), the screen was blank for all but about four minutes.

The FPPC is holding a news conference at 12pm to announce the settlement.


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California Reaches Settlement With Arizona-Based Conservative Groups That Allegedly Violated Campaign Money Laundering Laws; Why Arizona Could Have Been - But, Won't - Next In Line ("Koch Classic") (FOLLOWING MONEY IN ARIZONA'S POLITICS)

California's Fair Political Practices Commission ("FPPC") has apparently reached a settlement with Arizona-based Americans for Responsible Leadership ("ARL") - and, possibly other members of the conservative money network that participated in the secretive $11 million contribution last year to oppose a California initiative.  The same groups used similar channels to spend $1.5 million defeating two Arizona initiatives at the same time.

The Huffington Post is reporting that a source has confirmed that the settlement - the FPPC had prompted a grand jury investigation that reportedly had some allies of the influential Koch brothers "very puckered up" - will be announced tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Ann Ravel - the chairwoman of the FPPC who is now serving on the Federal Election Commission - simply tweeted late Tuesday afternoon that the FPPC would "be announcing a major case settlement tomorrow at 12pm."

After litigation that went to the California Supreme Court, ARL released the sought-after information about the source of the $11 million the day before the election: another secretive (does not release donor information) Arizona-based group, the Center to Protect Patient Rights.  Ravel and the FPPC called that an admission that California's campaign money laundering laws had been broken.

As noted, ARL also spent $1.5 million last year successfully opposing two Arizona ballot measures- $975,000 opposing renewing the one-cent sales tax, and $575,000 defeating the top-two primary measure.

However, Arizona's campaign finance laws were not as specific as California's, making an investigation by Arizona's Secretary of State or Attorney General (both Republicans) unlikely.  (An Arizona statute does prohibit making "a contribution in the name of another person", but the CPPR ---> ARL transfer would likely survive a challenge under that statute.

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WATCH: Rep. Grijalva's Opening Statement At House Hearing On Technical Education

(This transcript is from C-Span's closed captioning, often humorously off-base.)

00:00:15	>> THANK YOU.
00:00:17	THIS IS IMPORTANT TO INITIATE A DISCUSSION ABOUT THIS IMPORTANT COMPONENT OF EDUCATION AND THE COUNTRY.
00:00:23	TODAY'S HEARING WILL SHOW INNOVATIONS OF DELIVERY, CAREER AND TECHNICAL THE EDUCATION PROGRAMS MANY OF WHICH ARE FUNDED UNDER THE TECHNICAL EDUCATION IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 2006.
00:00:36	THE TECHNICAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS PREPARE FOR COLLEGE AND CAREER AND GET ACCESS TO THE SKILLS THEY NEED AND EMPLOYERS DEMANDING.
00:00:47	THIS ACT SUPPORTS THE DEVELOPMENT OF ACADEMIC AND CAREER AND TECHNICAL SKILLS AMONG SECONDARY AND POST SECONDARY EDUCATION OF ALL BACKGROUNDS.
00:00:56	HELPING TO PREPARE THEM FOR IN DEMAND HIGH-PAYING JOBS IS THE GOAL.
00:01:04	HIGH-QUALITY, RELEVANT AND RIGOROUS IS INTENDED IT FOR THE NATION'S TO STAY COMPETITIVE AND TO BUILD A STRONG ECONOMY.
00:01:11	BY ENSURING THAT STUDENTS NOT ONLY TO RETREAT FROM HIGH SCHOOL AND COLLEGE AND WORK REAR READY BUT ALSO THE GLOBAL ECONOMY WE ARE SECURING OUR NATION'S FUTURE.
00:01:23	OF THE 30 FASTEST-GROWING OCCUPATIONS ABOUT TWO-THIRDS OF THE POST SECONDARY EDUCATION OR TRAINING AND PROTECTED TO GROW OVER THE NEXT YEARS.
00:01:33	IN THE STATE OF ARIZONA THERE ARE CURRENTLY 70 PROGRAMS WITH OVER 229,000 STUDENTS ENROLLED OF WHICH 30% ARE LATINO AND OVER 40% OF THOSE STUDENTS ARE OF COLOR.
00:01:46	IN ARIZONA THE INVESTMENTS HAVE BEEN DIMINISHED AND AFTER THE HARMFUL SEQUESTRATION CUTS THE PUBLIC FUNDING AS AT A HISTORIC LOW DESPITE THE STATE CONSISTENTLY PERFORMING WELL ON EDUCATORS OF STUDENT SUCCESS.
00:02:00	WE SHOULDN'T CUT FUNDING FOR PROGRAMS AND THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GETTING AHEAD AND FALLING BEHIND FOR THE WORKERS ALL OVER THE NATION.
00:02:07	WE SHOULD SUPPORT QUALITY PROGRAMS THAT ALLOW STUDENTS TO EXPLORE DIFFERENT CAREER INTERESTS AND WORKPLACE LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES THAT HELP PREPARE THEM FOR THE POSTAL WORK FORCE AND FURTHER POST SECONDARY EDUCATION.
00:02:21	WE KNOW THERE IS A SKILLS GAP AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION IS IN TROUBLE TO OPPOSING THE GAP.
00:02:27	EVALUATIONS OF CAREER ACADEMICS ACROSS THE COUNTRY HAVE DEMONSTRATED THAT OFFERING STUDENTS ACADEMICALLY EMBEDDED IN A CAREER PROGRAMS CAN REDUCE HIGH SCHOOL DROPOUT RATES AND PAPER STUDENTS FOR HIGHER LEARNING CAREERS.
00:02:44	HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS THAT GRADUATE FROM THE CAREER ACADEMY'S MCGINN AVERAGE OF 11% MORE PER YEAR THAN THE NON-CAREER ACADEMY.
00:02:54	ONE OF FOUR EVENTUALLY EARN A FOUR YEAR COLLEGE DEGREE.
00:03:00	HAULIER URNING OUR OVERALL ECONOMY INCREASING THE CONSUMER SPENDING AND STRENGTHENING AND GROWING THE MIDDLE CLASS.
00:03:06	I WELCOME OUR PANEL OF WITNESSES AS THEY HAVE SOME OF THE MOST EXPENSIVE INSIGHT INTO THE PROGRAMS.
00:03:13	WE ARE GRATEFUL THEY ARE SHARING THEIR KNOWLEDGE AND I LOOK FORWARD TO THE COLLABORATION

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WATCH: Rep. Kirkpatrick On House Floor Lists Jobs Priorities In Rural Arizona - Grand Canyon Pipeline, 4-FRI

Arizona Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick (D-CD1) took a minute on the House of Representatives' floor this morning to urge her colleagues to focus on jobs, listing a couple of projects in rural Arizona that would help.  Kirkpatrick cited the "desperate need (for) repair(ing)" the water pipeline in the Grand Canyon, and the need to "shift the Four Forest Restoration Initiative (4-FRI) into high gear."

The Transcanyon Pipeline continues to break, causing drinking water issues inside the canyon.  The U.S. Forest Service last month transferred the 4-FRI  contract to Earth Power AZ.

(The transcript below was provided by Rep. Kirkpatrick's office.)

TRANSCRIPT of floor speech: Mr. Speaker, folks in my Arizona district have seen enough of the partisan nonsense in Washington. The distractions here don’t help anyone. But jobs do. That’s why we need to stay focused on economic development. In my district, those opportunities include strengthening our infrastructure. At the Grand Canyon, the transcanyon pipeline is in desperate need of repair. The Canyon’s maintenance backlog continues to grow. We can also work to revive the timber industry in the White Mountains. Let’s build on the momentum of the Eagar Sawmill and the Fort Apache Timber Company. And with a new contractor on board, it’s time to shift the Four Forest Restoration Initiative into high gear -- and help Arizona’s forests. Projects like these create jobs and improve the quality of life for folks in rural Arizona. I urge my colleagues to work together on common sense efforts to create jobs. Thank you.

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READ: Wyoming Senate Candidate Cheney Calls Out Arizona Senator McCain As "Liberal Republican"

In addition to fielding impassioned talk radio calls from KFYI listeners (see, "LISTEN: Arizona Senator McCain Considering Re-election Run In 2016") this morning, Arizona Senator John McCain found himself being called out today by Senate candidate Liz Cheney as a "liberal Republican".

Arizona's Politics received a fundraising e-mail from Cheney - daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney - warning that "outside groups have begun invading Wyoming" ahead of her primary challenge to GOP Senator Mike Enzi.  The e-mail is posted below the jump.

On the radio this morning, McCain cited former President Ronald Reagan for the maxims that Republicans should not attack each other and that he considered people who agreed with him 80% of the time as being on his side.

LISTEN: Arizona Senator McCain Considering Re-election Run In 2016

Arizona Senator John McCain spent an hour this morning on news-talk radio station KFYI (550AM), and made news when he said publicly for the first time that he is considering running for re-election in 2016.

McCain is 77 years old now, but remains at the center of the intra-GOP discussions about the direction of the Republican party.  When discussing members of his party who are upset with him with talk show host Barry Young,  the one-time GOP presidential nominee used plenty of qualifiers, but certainly wanted to get the message across that he is not backing down.

The audio from the interview and the rest of his one-hour appearance in the studio is below.  In the first hour, he comes on at the 11-minute mark.  That discussion is about Obamacare and the government shutdown.



McCain picks up the Obamacare discussion in the 2nd hour, before (the nearly-famous Barry) Young asks about his future plans, and questions from listeners.  McCain went back to his military background to note that shutting down the government to try to bring down Obamacare was "an unachievable mission".

He refuted the first two callers upset with his anti-shutdown position by urging them to talk to the mayor of Tusayan and the people working privately near the Grand Canyon.

Young was carefully supportive of McCain's positions, and gave him the opportunity to address the Republicans who oppose him.  McCain took the opportunity, first citing President Ronald Reagan's quotes about not speaking ill of fellow Republicans and noting that people who he agrees with 80% of the time are his friends.  He paused, and then delivered his message to the conservatives upset with him:

"I'll match my voting record with anyone's, Kyle (the last caller).  And, I may, I'm seriously thinking about maybe giving another opportunity for you to vote for or against me in a few years from now.  I'm seriously giving that a lot of thought."  He goes on to note that the business community is urging him to do so. (Answer begins at about the 9-minute mark below.)

McCain is presently in his 5th six-year term representing Arizona in the U.S. Senate.



McCain took three calls in the hour.  All three calls (on this strongly-conservative-leaning radio station) were from people upset with McCain.

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WATCH: Sen. McCain On "Nucleus of 14"'s Framework

Arizona Senator John McCain (R-AZ) took his turn on the Senate floor minutes ago to praise the other 13 members of what someone described as a "nucleus" (which sounds far better than another "gang").

Arizona's other Senator, Jeff Flake (R-AZ) is also part of the nucleus.  Many of them are making clear that their plan was just the nut of what Senate leaders Harry Reid (D-NV) and Mitch McConnell (R-KY) used in the agreement to end the partial government shutdown and raising the debt ceiling.

http://cs.pn/19N8Ty7

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WATCH/READ: Tusayan Mayor Testifies In Congress About Grand Canyon Shutdown, Rep. Grijalva Decries "Scapegoating" Hearing

Tusayan Mayor Greg Bryan was the lead witness this morning as House Republicans conducted a hearing on why the National Park Service shutdown parks like the Grand Canyon.  Arizona Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-CD3) used his opening statement to criticize the "scapegoating" hearing.

Here is Mayor Bryan's opening statement describing the past couple of weeks (with his written testimony below).

Rep. Grijalva's opening statement:

  BryanTestimony10-16-13

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WATCH/READ: Arizona Sen. McCain On Senate Floor: Go To Conference With House GOP To End Supershitstorm Congress

Arizona Senator John McCain (R-AZ) took to the Senate floor this morning to scold the President and House Democrats for bad-mouthing the emerging House GOP proposal to end the partial government shutdown and avoid breaching the debt limit.  McCain wants the House and Senate to each pass their proposals and to then slug it out in a conference committee.



This transcript is from the unedited closed captioning on C-Span.  There are a LOT of problems with it:

00:00:00	THE LAST 24 HOURS A LOT HAS BEEN TAKING PLACE.
00:00:06	A TENTATIVE AGREEMENT HAS BEEN REACHED BETWEEN BOTH REPUBLICAN AND DEMOCRAT LEADER.

00:00:15	THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE HAS COME FORWARD WITH WHAT WE BELIEVE IS A PLAN WHICH WOULD REOPEN THE GOVERNMENT, EXTEND THE DEBT LIMIT AND HAS SEVERAL OTHER PROVISIONS IN IT.
00:00:34	AND THE REACTION TO THAT HAS BEEN CONDEMNATION, IMMEDIATE, AUTOMATIC CONDEMNATION BY THE MAJORITY LEADER, BY THE WHITE HOUSE, BY THE DEMOCRATS IN THE HOUSE, ABSOLUTELY REJECTING THIS PROPOSAL.
00:00:52	I DON'T UNDERSTAND THAT.
00:00:55	I DON'T UNDERSTAND THAT VISCERAL REACTION IN A MOST NEGATIVE FASHION.
00:01:01	WHY DON'T WE SAY -- WHY DON'T WE TRY SOMETHING LIKE WE USED TO DO AROUND THIS PLACE?
00:01:06	WHY DON'T WE SAY LOOK, YOU'VE GOT A PROPOSAL TO OPEN THE GOVERNMENT, WE'VE GOT A PROPOSAL TO OPEN THE GOVERNMENT, LET'S BOTH PASS, LET'S GO TO CONFERENCE, WHICH WE COULD DO IN 24 HOURS AND RESOLVE OUR DIFFERENCES.
00:01:20	I UNDERSTAND WHAT THE POLLING DATA SAYS.
00:01:23	THAT 74% OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE DISPROVE -- DISAPPROVE OF THE REPUBLICAN HANDLING OF THIS ISSUE.
00:01:29	AND I AGREE WITH THAT.
00:01:32	SOME OF US AT THE BEGINNING THAT SAID WE'RE GOING ON A FOOL'S ERRAND TO BELIEVE THAT WE WILL BE ABLE TO DEFUND OBAMACARE.
00:01:40	AND WE GOT OURSELVES IN A DITCH.
00:01:44	AND WE GOT TO STOP DIGGING.
00:01:47	THAT IS WELL UNDERSTOOD HERE BY CERTAINLY THE OVERWHELMING MAJORITY OF MY REPUBLICAN COLLEAGUES.
00:01:52	BUT FOR THE MAJORITY LEADER AND THE DEMOCRATS IN THE HOUSE AND THE WHITE HOUSE TO SAY ABSOLUTELY CATEGORICALLY NOT, WE WILL NOT CONSIDER WHAT THE REPUBLICANS IN THE THOUSANDS -- THE THE HOUSE ARE DOING, IN MY VIEW IS PILING ON.
00:02:09	IT'S PILING ON AND IT'S NOT RIGHT.
00:02:12	SO I URGE MY DEMOCRAT COLLEAGUES, LET'S SIT DOWN AND WORK THIS OUT.
00:02:17	WIEWF GOT A PROPOSAL FROM THE HOUSE, WE HAVE A PROPOSAL -- WE HAVE A PROPOSAL BETWEEN THE TWO LEADERS AND LET'S GET THIS RESOLVED.
00:02:28	TO CATEGORICALLY REJECT WHAT THE HOUSE AND THE SPEAKER IS DOING AND I THINK HE'S PRETTY COURAGEOUS IN WHAT HE'S DOING, IN MY VIEW IS NOT SERVING THE AMERICAN PEOPLE.
00:02:38	SO SEW LET'S TOPSTON THIS.
00:02:40	LET'S STOP IT, SIT DOWN, CONSIDER THE SPEAKER'S PROPOSAL, GET OUR PROPOSAL DONE, AND THEN GET THIS RESOLVED, WHICH WE COULD DO IN THE NEXT 24 HOURS.
00:02:50	I CAME TO THE FLOOR TO EXPRESS MY DISAPPOINTMENT IN THE CATEGORIC REJECT IN A FOOD-FAITH EFFORT BY THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE, WHICH DOESN'T CONTAIN ALL THE PROVISIONS THAT I WANT.
00:03:05	I'M SURE THE AGREEMENT MADE BY THE MAJORITY AND REPUBLICAN LEADERS WILL NOT BE EVERYTHING I WANT.
00:03:13	SO LET'S STOP THE CONDEMNATION.
00:03:16	LET'S CONSIDER THE HOUSE, THE REPUBLICAN HOUSE PROPOSAL AS A SERIOUSLY PROPOSAL, AS A WAY TO END THIS GRIDLOCK, AND THEN LET'S SIT DOWN TOGETHER AND GET THIS THING DONE.
00:03:29	I AGAIN URGE MY DEMOCRATIC COLLEAGUES, WE KNOW YOU HAVE THE UPPER HAND.
00:03:34	ISN'T IT TIME THAT WE HELP FIND A WAY OUT OF THIS, WHICH IS WHAT THE AMERICAN PEOPLE WANT, RATHER THAN WHO WON AND WHO LOST?
00:03:42	THE ONLY PEOPLE THAT ARE LOSING RIGHT NOW ARE THE PEOPLE OF THIS COUNTRY.
00:03:46	AS I'VE MENTIONED A COUPLE OF TIMES BEFORE, AL QAEDA IS NOT IN SHUTDOWN.
00:03:52	I URGE MY COLLEAGUES TO RECONSIDER, ON THE DEMOCRAT SIDE AND THE WHITE HOUSE, TO RECONSIDER THEIR CATEGORIC REJECTION OF ANY PROPOSAL FROM THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.
00:04:05	I YIELD THE POLICE OFFICER.
00:04:07	THE PRESIDING OFFICER: MR.
00:04:08	PRESIDENT? THE PRESIDING OFFICER: THE SENATOR FROM CONNECTICUT.
00:04:10	MR.
00:04:11	BLUMENTHAL: BEFORE I YIELD TO MY COLLEAGUE FROM FLORIDA JUST BRIEFLY, I HAVE TWO UNANIMOUS CONSENT REQUESTS FOR COMMITTEES TO MEET DURING TODAY'S SESSION OF THE SENATE.
00:04:20	THEY IS HAVE -- THEY HAVE THE APRIEWL OF THE MAJORITY AND MINORITY LEADERS.
00:04:23	I SCURKT THAT THESE REQUESTS BEING AGREED TO AND THAT THESE REQUESTS BE PRINTED IN THE RECORD.

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