FYI, VIEW: Most Recent Voter Registration Numbers In Arizona's 7th Congressional District

With longtime Arizona Rep. Ed Pastor (D-CD7) announcing his retirement, several have already announced, are announcing, or are thinking about announcing their plans to replace him. As a courtesy to them, and everyone else (who has not yet thought about it), here are the most recent voter registration numbers for the district.

The percentages calculate to 44% Democratic makeup, 39% for Others, and 16% Republican.

Source: Arizona Secretary of State, January 2014

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FYI: Map of Retiring Rep. Pastor's CD7

With longtime Arizona Rep. Ed Pastor (D-CD7) announcing his retirement, several have already announced, are announcing, or are thinking about announcing their plans to replace him.  As a courtesy to them, and everyone else (who has not yet thought about it), here is a blown-up map of CD7.

Source: GovTrack.UShttp://bit.ly/1hDYw5R

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FROM BEYOND, LEFT FIELD: Cesar Chavez First To File For Retiring Arizona Rep. Ed Pastor's Seat

Arizona Rep. Ed Pastor (D-CD7) already had one filed challenger in the Democratic primary before announcing that he will not run for re-election, and it was a candidate with built-in name recognition.  Cesar Chavez filed his candidacy papers more than two weeks ago.

Arizona's Politics had made some unsuccessful efforts to reach and learn more about this Mr. Chavez -bothering another gentleman with the same name, but making no attempts to reach the better-known, late Cesar Chavez.  Chavez has an un-illustrative website, and he may be perfectly following in Pastor's footsteps.

Pastor has been in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1991, and is the least visible member of Arizona's current delegation (earning him the "Phantom of the House" designation from Arizona's Politics).  (Ironically, Pastor was awarded "the 2000 Cesar Chavez Community Leadership Award", by ASU.)

Pastor has more campaign cash in the bank than any other Arizona House member or opposing candidate.  He ended 2013 with $1,355,738 at the ready for a re-election effort.  (He had previously filed his 2014 statement of candidacy, but that was a necessity to accept any campaign donations; it did not necessarily mean that he then intended to run.)

The Arizona Republic notes that state lawmaker Ruben Gallego (D-LD16) immediately announced his intention to replace Pastor today.

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READ: Arizona Governor Jan Brewer's Veto Letter of SB1062

Here is the veto letter issued by Arizona Governor Jan Brewer late on Wednesday, turning aside SB1062, the bill that would have permitted Arizona businesses who did not wish to do business with people (or businesses) who offend their sincerely held religious beliefs to more easily defend their decision.

  Arizona Governor Brewer's Veto Letter of SB1062, 2/26/14

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Arizona's Three Swing Democratic Reps Among 14 Voting With GOP On "Stop Targeting of Political Beliefs by the IRS Act"

The three Arizona Democratic Representatives representing swing districts cast votes with all of the Republicans to pass the "Stop Targeting of Political Beliefs by the IRS Act of 2014" this afternoon. The bill would place a one-year moratorium on the IRS' proposed rule changes regarding the amount of political activity certain non-profits may engage in.

The bill - which passed 243-176 - is likely to die in the Democratic-controlled Senate. However, it has been a politically-charged issue since it became public knowledge that the IRS had not granted tax-exempt status to many politically-active organizations who had filed for the status.

Arizona Reps. Kyrsten Sinema (D-CD9), Ann Kirkpatrick (D-CD1), and Ron Barber (D-CD2) were among the 14 Democrats to vote for the measure. No Republicans opposed it.

Rep. Trent Franks (R-CD8) was the only Arizona co-sponsor of the message. Three of the four Arizona GOP Representatives voted aye - Paul Gosar (R-CD4), along with Democrat Ed Pastor (D-CD7) did not vote.

Rep. Matt Salmon (R-CD5) tweeted afterwards: "I voted for H.R. 3865 to stop the IRS from targeting individuals and groups based on their political beliefs. #Azright #StopGovtAbuse"


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WORTHY OF REGULAR FEATURE?: Quote Mashup, Arizona Enemies and Friends

During lunch today, I was contemplating political alliances that I have seen and/or been involved in.  (Isn't that what everyone does during lunch?)  And, the following quotes came to mind.  

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend. But, with friends like these, who needs enemies?" #QuoteMashup

Is this worthy of becoming a regular feature, and if so, do you have any good - or, groaningly bad - examples?  Drop a quick comment below!  As always, thanks!

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WATCH: In Turnabout, President Obama Points Finger At Arizona Governor Brewer, Lauds Her For Medicaid Expansion

In a turnabout, President Barack Obama pointed a finger at Arizona Governor Jan Brewer (and, the other Republican Governors who expanded Obama lauded those who took the politically-risky option:

Medicaid as part of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) law.  At a meeting of the National Governors' Association yesterday, he did not call them out by name, but:

"And while Congress talks about repealing the Affordable Care Act or doing this or doing that to it, places like California and Kentucky are going gangbusters and enrolling more Americans in quality, affordable health care plans. You’ve got Republican governors here -- I won’t name them in front of the press, because I don’t want to get you all in trouble -- who have chosen to cover more people through new options under Medicaid. And as a result, millions of people are going to get help.

States that don’t expand Medicaid are going to be leaving up to 5.4 million Americans uninsured. And that doesn’t have to happen. Work with us to get this done. We can provide a lot of flexibility. Folks like Mike Beebe in Arkansas have done some terrific work designing programs that are right for their states but also provide access to care for people who need it. And I think Kathleen Sebelius, a former governor herself, has shown herself willing to work with all of you to try to find ways to get that done."

(Emphasis added, the clip begins at about the 10:10 mark in the video below.)



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SB1062: Governor Brewer's Veto Of 2013 Exercise of Religion Bill Had Nothing To Do With Merits; Damage Done Already

As Arizona Governor Jan Brewer is gathering information on the latest grenade that the Legislature has tossed onto her desk and deciding whether to sign or veto (noone really thinks she will just pocket sign it, allowing SB 1062 to become law without her signature), a few quickie points:

1)  Arizona's Politics has noticed several opponents and articles noting that Brewer is likely to veto the bill that would permit Arizona businesses who do not wish to do business with people/businesses that offend their sincerely held religious beliefs.  As support for their belief, they - accurately - note that Brewer vetoed the same bill last year.  Brewer senior adviser (former campaign manager and current political consultant) Chuck Coughlin was the highest profile person to use that example.

However, as Arizona's Politics pointed out last year, that veto letter studiously AVOIDED expressing any opinion on the content of the bill.  (The veto letter is reproduced below.)  The SOLE reason for vetoing the "exercise of religion" bill - along with the other bills that she likely would have signed - was that she had declared a moratorium on all bills until the Legislature sent her a budget and a Medicaid expansion plan.  She had vowed to veto all other bills until then - and, she did.

(Brewer could sign SB1062 into law,
or she could sign a(nother) veto letter)

The 2013 veto of the identical bill (SB 1178) gives no clue to the decision the Governor is currently considering.

2)  While we are discussing last year's identical bill, we should look at how the votes went then.  There were not many changes between 2013 and 2014 votes.  In 2013, the House approved it 32-24, and the Senate passed it 16-12.

The three GOP Senators who voted yes last week, and have now renounced their votes - Bob Worsley, Adam Driggs and Steve Pierce - also voted for it last year.  When they say that part of their flip-flop is because they were surprised by the national reaction the past several days, the lack of a similar response to their votes and Legislature's approval last year does support their surprise.  Of course, the lack of a reaction last year is partly explained because everyone expected Brewer to stick to her (unrelated-to-content) veto threat.

Additionally, Sens. Pierce and Worsley are quoted as saying that part of the problem is that the bill moved along too quickly this session.  However, the fact that they and their colleagues considered and voted on the same bill last year makes that a less-than-convincing argument.

3)  Most of the news coverage that Arizona's Politics has read/heard/watched - and, the people that we have spoken with - talk about the economic and reputational damage to Arizona if the Governor signs it.

What is NOT being discussed (much) is that a significant amount of reputational and economic damage has been done to the state within the past several days - a Brewer veto will not magically undo the publicity (negative or positive) of this week.  (Arizona's Politics is reaching out to an economist that estimates the dollar amount of such publicity, and will update as needed.)

  PR_052313_SB1178VetoLtr

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FINALLY, IT ALL MAKES SENSE: Arizona Senator Jeff Flake, Iconic Star Trek Actor Both Calling On Governor Brewer To Veto SB1062

The reaction - both nationally and in Arizona - to the Arizona legislature sending SB1062 to the Governor's desk continues to build.  The bill would permit Arizona businesses who do not wish to do business with people/businesses that offend their sincerely held religious beliefs.

That reaction has prompted such unusual occurrences as three of the Republican state Senators who voted for it last week calling on Governor Brewer to veto it.  Both of Arizona's GOP U.S. Senators - Jeff Flake, then John McCain - joined the "veto" chorus.  Star Trek actor George Takei is now warning of a boycott of the state if it should be signed into law.

And, with that, we might finally have an answer to a "What the..." question from the end of October.  Arizona's Politics reported that a Washington fundraiser for Flake's 2018 reelection campaign featured a photo of Takei giving the iconic Vulcan salute.  (Given that the fundraiser was 5 years ahead of the election, it gave new meaning to "live long and prosper."

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Arizona Has Most Perfectly Conservative Congressional Delegation In Nation In 2013! House Increasingly Partisan

The conservative powerhouse group Club For Growth released its 2013 scorecard today, and not surprisingly, ranked three Arizona GOP Representatives at the top of the House with perfect voting records.

Only Rep. Tom McClintock (R-CA) joined AZ Reps. Trent Franks (R-CD8), Matt Salmon (R-CD5) and David Schweikert (R-CD6) at the head of the CFG class.  Arizona's other Republican Representative is Paul Gosar (R-CD4), and he was only the 51st most optimal Congressperson in the Club's eyes, with an 83% score.

Also not surprisingly, the scorecard amplifies the increasingly partisan makeup of Congress and the shrinking number of moderates on either side of the aisle.  Only two Democrats had (slightly) higher CFG scores than the four lowest-scoring Republicans; less "mixing" than in any recent year reviewed by Arizona's Politics. 2012 and 2013 were also the only two years that more than 200 members of the House had CFG scores of 50% or higher - 241 in '12 and 205 in '13.

The Club For Growth considers a number of what they consider to be key votes, assigns them varying degrees of importance, and then calculates a percentage.

Only Kentucky and Texas were close to Arizona in the number of perfectly-conservative members of Congress.

Arizona's five Democratic Representatives were bunched closely together between 11-16%.

On the Senate side, the Club For Growth had spent a ton of money defending then-Rep. Jeff Flake in his primary battle against Wil Cardon and in the general election against Rich Carmona.  However, Flake - who had had nearly a perfect CFG score during his tenure in the House - only ranked 20th in the Senate with an 84% score.  John McCain was in the bottom half of the Senate Republican's class, with a 71% score.

Two weeks ago, Arizona's Politics reported on the similarly-conservative Heritage Foundation's report card.  They also saw Franks and Schweikert as perfect, with Salmon missing only one vote.

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Celebrity Roasts Always Better With Some Underlying Tension: Arizona Rep. Salmon Roasting Sheriff Arpaio Tonight, No Barney Fife Jokes

I'd have to go back to the Time-Life library of Dean Martin's Celebrity Roasts, but my memory (and common sense) tells me that roasts are always a bit more fun when one of the roasters has some real bite in those jabs at the celebrity being roasted.  (You are left to guess how much of a kernel of truth is in the jokes.)

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio is being roasted tonight at the Phoenix Convention Center as the marquee event of the Western Conservative Conference.  Among those Republicans on the dais ready to joke about Arpaio's pink underwear and how liberals hate the tough sheriff are former state Sen. Russell Pearce, actor (and possible future rival for Governor) Steven Seagal, and current Attorney General Tom Horne.

But, the most underlying tension may come when Arizona Congressman Matt Salmon (R-CD5) takes his turn at the microphone.  Although the hatchet appears to be buried, Salmon previously told reporters that he did not like Arpaio, did not respect him, and compared him to comical TV character Barney Fife.

Those hard-hitting remarks came in between Salmon's stints in Congress.  When Salmon began running to return to Congress in 2011, he hired the same firm that runs Arpaio's campaigns (Summit Consulting) and received a very favorable endorsement from the Sheriff.  Salmon declined to comment on how his feelings about Arpaio had changed.

In more serious matters, today's conference also features most of the rest of Arizona's GOP Congressmen - except for Paul Gosar, and a forum with several of the Republican candidates to replace Governor Jan Brewer.  The conference is put together by former state Senator Lori Klein.



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IF IT'S SUNDAY... Arizona Senator John McCain On "Face The Nation" Re: Ukraine, Syria, & Probably Pending Arizona Religion vs. Discrimination Bill

The next stop on Arizona Senator John McCain's circuit of the Sunday news shows is CBS' "Face the Nation," tomorrow.  McCain will allow Bob Schieffer to question him about the current situations in Ukraine and Syria.  (Schieffer notes in his blog that he - Schieffer - does not think there is much that the United States can do with the fast-moving Ukrainian situation.)

And, considering the amount of coverage that the Arizona state bill regarding the intersection of freedom of religion and discrimination against homosexuals is getting nationally - and the McCain family's public positions on gay marriage - it is likely that Schieffer will ask McCain for a comment on SB1062/HB2153 that is heading for Governor Brewer's desk.

"Face the Nation" airs at 8:30am in Phoenix, and 9:30am in Tucson.


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Election Law Referendum Group Urges AZ Republican Leaders To Not Be "The Cheatingest of the Cheatingest"

Leaders of the coalition that collected more than 144,000 signatures to place a referendum of an election reform law onto this November's ballot rallied today at the Capitol to urge state Republican leaders to pledge to not remove it from the ballot without promising to prevent piece-by-piece reenactments.

Seeing as how it was another beautiful, dry, warm Arizona day and that I happened to be in the neighborhood, I stopped by to watch Julie Erfle, the chair of the Protect Your Right To Vote Committee, Libertarian Barry Hess and activist Randy Parraz urge Governor Jan Brewer and Legislative leaders Andy Tobin and Andy Biggs to pledge to fight any bills that would re-enact pieced of H.B. 2305 (2013) piecemeal.  (click on picture below to expand)

Hess, who is running for Governor on the Libertarian ticket (for the 4th consecutive time, receiving an increasing portion of the vote each time), had the most quotable line.  He warned Republicans to not remove the referendum and then re-enact, "To win by exclusion is the lowest of the low, the cheatingest of the cheatingest." 

Parraz, who led the unsuccessful effort to recall Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, burned a copy of the referendum petition as a visual warning

of what the GOP lawmakers were on the verge of doing (if they repeal/re-enact).  Parraz then led supporters up to the 2nd floors of the House and the Senate to ask House Speaker Andy Tobin (now also running for Congress) and Senate President Andy Biggs to sign the pledge.  Neither came out (it was lunch hour on a holiday), and the cheerful protesters were told to leave or risk arrest.

For another article, Arizona's Politics has also been asking the Governor's office for her feelings about the original bill (she did not make any public comments when signing) and about the possible repeal/re-enactment.  We have not received a response.

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UPDATE: NRCC Admits Nothing, But Changes "Donate" Pages Of "Attack Microsites" Targeting Arizona Reps. Kirkpatrick, Barber and Sinema (FOLLOWING MONEY IN ARIZONA'S POLITICS)

The National Republican Congressional Committee ("NRCC") is not admitting that they were deceptive, but they have changed the donation pages on the misleading websites attacking Arizona Democratic Reps. Kyrsten Sinema (CD9), Ron Barber (CD2) and Ann Kirkpatrick (CD1).  Arizona's Politics was the first to report that all three incumbents in swing districts were being targeted with what the NRCC calls "attack microsites."

Two days later, CNN reported on the sites that they called "fake", and today they broke the news that the NRCC had made a change, making it "less misleading."

The NRCC has left the official-campaign-sounding URL's ("SinemaForCongress", "AnnKirkpatrick", and "RonBarber2014") in place, and the "home pages" still lead with banners saying "______ for Congress".  However, now, when you hit equally-large "Donate" button, you are taken to an NRCC page clearly identifying that you are making a contribution to defeat the incumbent you first thought that you were "for".

For example, the "Sinema For Congress" donate page went from

(with an unsecured URL of "http://contribute.sinemaforcongress.com/") to 

(with an appropriate, secured URL of "https://www.nrcc.org/defeat-house-democrats/").

The Kirkpatrick and Barber microsites go to the same "donate" page.

Arizona's Politics reviewed NRCC's 4th Quarter 2013 FEC filing, and could find no instances of Arizonans who mistakenly gave money to the NRCC.  However, NBC and CNN had spoken with one Democrat who had inadvertently given to the NRCC when he had been trying to support his Florida Congresswoman.  

NRCC spokesman (and, Arizonan) Daniel Scarpinato told CNN that the minor change was not because of the negative publicity they received.  "We recently updated our contribution pages, as we frequently do, to highlight our efforts to defeat House Democrats in 2014 and prevent Nancy Pelosi from ever being Speaker of the House again.”

As Arizona's Politics previously noted, the microsites are not primarily designed to gain contributions from people who happen upon them; the main intent appears to be to get the attention of undecided voters who may be searching for information about the Democratic incumbent.  (The URL, the search results, the smiling face of the Democrat - taken from the incumbent's own website - the "___ For Congress" banner.)

Images of all of the pages targeting Sinema, Kirkpatrick and Barber are at Arizona's Politics' previous article on the subject.

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IF IT'S SUNDAY...: Arizona Sen. John McCain On CNN's State of the Union, Tomorrow

In a rare interview , Arizona Senator John McCain will be the guest tomorrow on CNN's State of the Union program with Candy Crowley.

Crowley promises to ask the Ed Pastor-like Senator about "Syria, Iran and a wee bit of politics."

State of the Union airs in Arizona at 7 and 10 a.m., tomorrow.



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BREAKING: Sean Noble Double-Uses Federal EIN To Help Hide FAIR Trust; How Koch Brothers' Money Made Its Mysterious Way Into Arizona Redistricting Fight

Pro Publica published a feature on Arizona political-consultant-turned-Koch Brothers-"wizard" Sean Noble today, shedding light on a mystery group involved in the ongoing Arizona redistricting battle. Arizona's Politics has also learned that the Noble/Koch money vehicle that is funding the redistricting fight listed an EIN identical to an older Noble Nucleus entity.

The non-profit investigative journalism powerhouse Pro Publica piece details Noble’s rise and fall with the billionaire Koch Brothers’ political powerhouse network (described as “Koch World” by Politico). In so doing, they used as an example how the Koch Brothers'-funded Center To Protect Patient Rights funneled $150,000 to a mysterious group that has been fighting the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission on behalf of Republican interests.

The Center’s involvement in a contentious Arizona redistricting fight was also not known – until now. It provided $150,000 to a group called FAIR Trust—described as the “Fair AZ Independent Redistrict” on the Center’s tax return—which hired lawyers to sue Arizona’s redistricting commission in April 2012 to challenge new legislative and congressional districts. The Trust, which also sent lawyers to commission meetings, has repeatedly refused to identify its backers.

“Without knowing who they were representing, you couldn’t really fairly evaluate what they were saying,” said Linda C. McNulty, a Democratic member of the commission. “They clearly were doing somebody’s bidding, but they wouldn’t say whose it was.”

David Cantelme, one of the lawyers who represents the Trust, said he couldn’t talk about who hired him and had no information about the grant from the Center.

Arizona's Politics wished to learn more about FAIR Trust, and ended up learning far more than Noble probably ever intended. The address for FAIR Trust listed on the CPPR 990 belongs to the Chandler home of well-established Republican campaign accountant and compliance consultant Hieu Tran. Tran generally uses her office address.


More interestingly, the EIN listed for FAIR Trust happens to belong to a different Arizona-based 501(c)(4) organization of which Noble is listed as the President. The 2011 990 for Free Enterprise America (signed by Noble and republished below) - which received individual contributions of more than $5 Million that year and then delivered the money to other conserative organizations - happens to sport the same EIN that Noble's CPPR listed for FAIR Trust.


There could be some innocent explanations for this duplicate use of a unique EIN. However, given that - as the Pro Publica article reiterates - Noble also has utilized three different entities all named "American Commitment" and uses the accountant's home address as the FAIR Trust address, it seems far more likely that it is a deliberate attempt to obfuscate.

  FreeEnterpriseAmerica990-2011

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WATCH: Supt. of Public Instruction John Huppenthal Robocall Fundraises For Private Schools, Urges Public School Students To Flee; Does It Violate His Fiduciary Responsibility As Elected Official?; Also, Delinquent In Filing Finance Report

(1:45pm: This story was updated to reflect that Huppenthal did file his campaign finance report on February 10, 10 days late.)

John Huppenthal is Arizona's elected Superintendent of Public Instruction, and is running for re-election this year.  So, it was a bit surprising to learn yesterday that he is making robocall pitches to homes in "poor performing school districts", telling them about a state program that could allow students to attend "private school for free."  The question is whether such private school promotion- including religious school - violates Huppenthal's responsibilities and fiduciary duties to public schools.

Kudos to Brahm Resnik and KPNX (Channel 12, Phoenix, NBC affiliate) for getting a recording of the robocall and putting together a great investigative report in a very short time.  As reported, the Alliance for School Choice ("ASC") is the sponsor of the robocalls.

ASC is a national organization co-founded by John Walton, one of the (late) heirs of the Walmart fortune, and has received $15 Million from the Waltons.  ASC has also been part of the Education Task Force for the American Legislative Exchange Council ("ALEC").  That task force developed the model for Arizona's Empowerment Scholarship Account program, which is the program that Supt. Huppenthal was pitching.  Current co-chair of the ALEC Education Task Force is a representative from the Arizona-based Goldwater Institute - which Resnik notes was co-responsible for the robocalls.

ALEC's September-October 2013 newsletter does a very good job of describing and praising the Empowerment Scholarship Accounts, noting that Arizona is the only state delivering money that would go to the student's public school district to private schools.  90 percent of the money that would go to the public school instead is given to the student's parents to spend on other education alternatives - including religiously-based private education.

The Arizona Legislature is currently considering measures that would expand that program and make it available to more than just special needs students or those in poorly-performing public school areas.

Huppenthal's initial response to Resnik was that he is the Superintendent of all of the public - that the word public is not intended to describe "public schools" vs. "private schools."  He has some basis for that, but the Arizona Constitution and enacted laws also place him in the position of having fiduciary responsibility to the public school system.  Here is a bullet point analysis:

1) Article 11, Section 4 of the Arizona Constitution does indeed refer to "public instruction" but also makes him member of - and secretary of - the State Board of Education. (I'm pretty sure private schools still do NOT want to be included in the definition of "public instruction", even as they benefit from state-enacted scholarship funds.) http://1.usa.gov/1jvmsg9
2) Art.11, Sxn.3 says Legislature sets the powers and duties of the Bd of Educ. http://1.usa.gov/1ePijS0
3) A.R.S. Sxn 15-203 sets the primary purpose (1st listed) as "Exercise general supervision over and regulate the conduct of the public school system and adopt any rules and policies it deems necessary to accomplish this purpose." http://1.usa.gov/1bUPUr8
4) A.R.S. Sxn 15-161 specifically forbids Bd of Educ from exercising supervision or control over private schools: "Nothing in this title shall be construed to provide the state board of education or the governing boards of school districts control or supervision over private schools."
5) "Public educational institutions" is defined in a couple of statutes as including charter schools, but NOT private schools.
6) A.R.S. Sxn 15-251 does give the Supt the power/duty to superintend all of the schools - which presumably includes private schools. However, that duty is arguably NOT to students at those schools. Huppenthal's robocall was to benefit private school students. http://1.usa.gov/1dGIrbK

Yeah, Huppenthal SHOULD be concerned about all kids who are members of "the public". BUT, the specific Constitutional responsibility (not even "primary", but the only) he was given by the electors of this state is to "the public school system". His fiduciary responsibility is to that public school system.

Huppenthal is running for a 2nd term in his position of Superintendent of Public Instruction.  He has one opponent in the GOP primary, Diane Douglas, who is running on a promise to halt the use of Common Core standards and to return control to local school districts.  Two Democrats are running for the office, David Garcia and Sharon Thomas.

Huppenthal is delinquent in filing his campaign finance report for activity in 2013.  The report was due on January 31, he filed it on February 10.

(Because of AZCentral's "autoplay" feature, we have un-embedded the video. Please visit this link to view the Channel 12 report.

(Contributed by co-founder and Arizona attorney Paul Weich.)

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Arizona Senators McCain, Flake Back Republican Leadership To Set Up Debt Limit Raise Vote, Then Vote Against Increase

A very good play-by-play article in Politico today on how the Senate came to a simple majority vote to increase the federal government's debt limit includes Arizona Senator John McCain's thinking on switching his vote.

McCain had told reporters that he was not going to vote for cloture, as he entered the Senate chambers for the vote.  Failure to invoke cloture would have likely resulted in needing 60 votes to raise the debt ceiling.   However, after Senate Republican leaders Mitch McConnell (KY) and John Cornyn (TX) dramatically and simultaneously broke the deadlock, both McCain and Arizona colleague Jeff Flake joined the group GOP plunge to allow a final, simple majority vote.  In total, 12 Republicans voted "aye".  (Final vote, 67-31.)

Of course, this then permitted the Senate to follow the House in approving the "clean" debt ceiling increase without GOP votes.  McCain, Flake, McConnell, Cornyn and all of the Senate Republicans voted against the increase.

Politico quotes McCain as saying he voted for cloture "because it was the “right thing to do....  There are many of us who certainly would like to see a different outcome,” McCain said. “But it’s obvious the House of Representatives wasn’t going to vote any different.”

All of Arizona's GOP House members had voted against the clean debt ceiling increase earlier in the week.  28 House Republicans had voted with the Democrats.

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WATCH: Arpaio's Cold Case Posse: Hitting 100mph Or On the Road To Nowhere... Or, Both Or Neither (Department of Irony, Mysteries or Conspiracies)

File this in the Department of Irony, Mysteries and/or Conspiracies.  At almost the same moment yesterday, Arizona's Politics was publishing its articles on the claim that Sheriff Joe Arpaio had two detectives working on a criminal investigation ancillary to the Obama Birth Certificate investigation and KPHO (Phoenix, Channel 5, CBS affiliate) was teasing its investigative report on an elected official who had gotten his Maricopa County car over 100 mph on several occasions.

CBS 5 - KPHO

Turns out, the well done investigative report on KPHO (by reporters Heather Moore and Gilbert Zermeno) centered on Doug Clark.  Clark is the Constable for the Downtown Justice Precinct.

His name immediately rang a bell here, because it had just come up in research on the MCSO's Cold Case ("MCSOCCP").  Clark was one of the founding directors of the MCSOCCP in 2006, and had submitted the exemption application to the IRS.  And, while he did not factor into Arizona's Politics' articles yesterday, the coincidence was too much to ignore.*

***

Incidentally, although yesterday's KPHO report did not mention it, Clark has a long history of appearing in the news media.  Nearly two years ago, KPHO also featured him in an investigative report.

The subject?  That a number of MCSO posse members have criminal records.  Here is the portion about Clark: 

"One posse member with an extensive disciplinary file is Douglas Clark, who also happens to be a constable. Clark has been counseled for rolling a county vehicle, driving 91 mph in a 45-mph zone, using his siren when not on a call, and using red-and-blue lights installed on his personal vehicle to look for something his wife had lost in the road.

CBS 5 Investigates tracked Clark down and asked him if he feels he is above the law.

"I can't answer anything on posse stuff," Clark told us. "I'm forbidden to answer anything with the sheriff's office."

And then there's the accusation from 2007 that a driver backed into Clark's car and then left the scene. Clark allegedly followed the car, rammed the vehicle and held the driver and passenger at gunpoint, all while he was off-duty.

Yet, Clark still remains in the posse.

"Law enforcement can be a long career," said Maricopa County Sheriff's Sgt. Dave Trombi. "People do things wrong throughout their career. We discipline them appropriately."

Ironically, it was the sheriff's office that recommended criminal charges against Clark for holding someone at gunpoint. Charges were never filed by the county attorney.

"We didn't turn a blind eye," said Trombi."

With hindsight, Clark's initial campaign for Constable in 2010 also provides some irony.  Clark re-registered as a Democrat to run against the incumbent Constable in the Democratic-leaning precinct.  He then filed an ethics complaint against his opponent, with allegations including poor record-keeping (last night's report notes that Clark is unable to support his claim that he sped on the way to assist other constables).

* Clark may no longer be a Sheriff's Posse member, due to his elected status as Constable, but he could still be involved in the "The Maricopa Sheriff's Cold Case Posse, Inc."

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BREAKING UPDATE: Maricopa County Sheriff's Office DENIES Detectives Are Working On Criminal Ancillary Investigation Related To Obama Birth Certificate Probe

Earlier this afternoon, Arizona's Politics received confirmation from the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office that it had two detectives working on a criminal investigation related to the 2 1/2-year long probe into President Barack Obama's birth certificate.  A spokesperson for Sheriff Joe Arpaio now tells Arizona's Politics that his information was INCORRECT, and that birth certificate lead investigator Mike Zullo "was incorrect".

MCSO Lt. Brandon Jones states that he "was misinformed" when he had confirmed the information earlier.  He now states that "The detectives are not working on anything regarding the birth certificate. Not even surrounding. Mr Zullo was incorrect, they are working on other sensitive cases not even related."

During a radio interview this past Friday, Zullo had talked about the 2nd investigation, and had indicated that he was assisting the two MCSO "full time detectives."

The importance of Zullo's remarks centers on the expenditure of taxpayers' money related to the ongoing birth certificate investigation.  In 2012, it was discovered that an MCSO deputy had accompanied Mr. Zullo to Hawaii for several days as part of the Cold Case Posse investigation.  The uproar prompted Sheriff Arpaio to announce that the non-profit Posse would reimburse the county for the expenses and that no taxpayer money would be used on the investigation.

(P.S. For those sometime-skeptics, here is a picture of the "I was misinformed" email.  Lt. Jones then thanked me for running this new article.)

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BREAKING: MCSO Confirms Sheriff Arpaio Now Has 2 FT Detectives Working On Investigation Related To President Obama Birth Certificate Investigation

(CORRECTION, 12:00pm, 2/11/14: Article has been corrected to refer to Mike Zullo as "Lead Investigator" rather than "Lt."  Although he has been referred to by that rank, he does not personally use it and Arizona's Politics found no corroboration of it.)

(UPDATE, 7:00pm:  The MCSO has now retracted the previous statement to Arizona's Politics, saying that he had been "misinformed", and that the detectives are investigating "cases not even related."  The full statement, and article, can be found here.)

(UPDATE, 3:40pm:  The MCSO has given a new statement to Arizona's Politics:  "We have two Sheriff’s detectives assigned to look into other issues surrounding the birth certificate, however they are not investigating the birth certificate issue itself.")

(UPDATE, 3:30pm:  An MCSO spokesperson responded to Arizona's Politics requests: "We request that you contact Mike Zullo for comment on this case."  The article has been edited to include the response.)

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio - who has had his Cold Case Posse investigating the legitimacy of U.S. President Barack Obama's birth certificate since 2011 - now has two full-time detectives investigating something related to the birth certificate investigation.

Lead Investigator Mike Zullo, who has been heading up the birth certificate inquiry, made the claim this past Friday in an interview on a radio show by Pastor Carl Gallups, emphasizing that it does not violate Arpaio's promise not to spend taxpayer money on the birth certificate investigation.  He hints that the new criminal investigation is "fluid, evolving, and it is very intense."

Arpaio spokesperson Lt. Brandon Jones confirmed to Arizona's Politics that the detectives are working on the related investigation. After first referring the matter to Zullo for comment, Jones stated: "We have two Sheriff’s detectives assigned to look into other issues surrounding the birth certificate, however they are not investigating the birth certificate issue itself."

Zullo also stated that he and Arpaio are very close to having an "event" to announce new information related to the Obama birth certificate investigation.  The oft-delayed announcement has most recently been scheduled for next month, but in the interview, Zullo indicates it might be pushed back further.

The information regarding the two full-time detectives is at about the 3:10 mark in the video below.



Arpaio received much heat from the media and public in 2012 when it was learned that an MCSO deputy had spent several days in Hawaii assisting Zullo.  Arpaio said that donations to the Cold Case Posse would allow that separate entity (that is affiliated with the MCSO) to reimburse the taxpayers.


Here is the rest of the Gallups/Zullo interview:


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WATCH: Rep. Salmon On Electronic Communications Privacy Act, Today At Conservative Policy Summit; Salmon, Arizona Delegation Part of "Team Heritage"

Arizona Rep. Matt Salmon (R-CD5) spoke today at the Heritage Foundation's Conservative Policy Summit about electronic communications privacy, and his bill to amend the relationship between the U.S. government and those it wishes to monitor.

Salmon - who is described on Politico.com today as being "decidedly on 'Team Heritage'" - delivered a detailed speech on the subject and was then part of a panel discussion on the subject.  (both speech and panel discussion are below)

Last May, Salmon introduced The Electronic Communications Privacy Act Amendments Act of 2013.  Fellow Arizona Reps. Trent Franks (R-CD8), Paul Gosar (R-CD4), and Kyrsten Sinema (D-CD9) are among the co-sponsors of the bill that would change the provisions of when the government can require the disclosure of communications over the internet.  The bill has not yet had a hearing.

Politico published an article today coinciding with the Heritage Foundation's summit, noting how the long-running conservative thinktank has responded to House Speaker John Boehner's assertion late last year that "conservative groups like Heritage Action for America had 'lost all credibility.'”

Salmon is featured in the article as one of the 2 or 3 dozen House members who are part of "Team Heritage."

Rep. Matt Salmon (R-Ariz.) is decidedly on “Team Heritage,” calling the group’s staffers “some of the most brilliant conservative minds in the world.”
“I rely on them very heavily,” Salmon said. “I respect their opinion immensely.”

Indeed, Salmon currently has the third best score in the entire House of Representative on Heritage Action's House scorecard, with a 97%.  But, surprisingly, that is also only the 3rd best score among Arizona's delegation!

Arizona colleagues Franks and David Schweikert (R-CD6)  have the only perfect scores.

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FIRST MCCAIN, NOW.... ARPAIO?: Sheriff Joe Arpaio Taking Questions On Al-Jazeera America

Consistent with his remarks that he welcomes all interviews, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio is the featured guest tonight on The Stream, and evening show on the Al Jazeera America network.

The show's interactive format means that they are asking people to either send in video questions for the live program, or to Tweet questions with the hashtag "#AskArpaio".

The program begins at 5:30 p.m., Arizona Time.

Some Arizona conservatives have given Senator John McCain grief in the past when he has been interviewed by Al Jazeera.  McCain has praised the Qatar-based network in the past for its coverage of the Arab Spring uprisings.




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Sheriff Arpaio In Atlanta Tonight To Help Send Bob Barr Back To Congress

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio is using his fundraising prowess in Georgia tonight, helping "close friend" Bob Barr in his attempt to win a Congressional seat being vacated by Rep. Phil Gingrey (who is running for the Senate).

Barr, who was the Libertarian presidential nominee in 2008, has returned to the GOP's tent.  In the fundraiser invitation (below, courtesy of the Sunlight Foundation), Barr promises to "be just as tough on Obama as Sheriff Joe has been on crime in Arizona."

Barr is in a wide-open scramble for the Republican nomination.  He has raised more money than any of his opponents, but has less cash on hand than two of them.

Arpaio has contributed $5,000 to Barr's campaign from his federal Super PAC.

  A Private Reception with America's Toughest Sheriff  for Bob Barr

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Arizona Governor Jan Brewer Now Has Nearly $1M In Chips To Play With In 2014 - Most Comes From Three Contributors; Enough To Help GOP Lawmakers Who Expanded AHCCCS?

As Jan Brewer finishes her last term as Arizona Governor, she has built two super committees into powerhouses, ready to help her allies in state or federal races this year, and/or in years to come.  Combined, the Arizona's Legacy independent expenditure political committee and her federal Jan PAC, have $915,657 in the bank(s).  More than half of that comes from just three major contributors.

In last year's early summer heat from the AHCCCS expansion battle, Governor Brewer's political consultant  Chuck Coughlin promised that the cavalry was coming to support Republican lawmakers who stuck out their necks to back it in the special session. An independent expenditures group called Arizona's Legacy was formed.

Now, that cavalry is well-armed and ready to go to battle. Arizona's Legacy now has nearly $600,000 in the bank. It is able to accept unlimited contributions, and has received large gifts from some of the Governor's top supporters.  Many of these supporters are also large contributors to Jan PAC.

More than half of the war chest comes from just three major contributors:

(1) Willis Johnson and his company, Copart, run auto auctions around the world, including in Arizona. He - both individually and through Copart - have made six separate contribution over the past 1 1/2 years, totaling $160,000.  This is more than he gave to the National Republican Congressional Committee and all other federal Republican committees during that time period, combined.
(2) Mega GOP donor couple Sheldon and Miriam Adelson, who own casinos around the world, gave the Governor's Jan PAC $250,000 just before the 2012 election.  The Governor banked the money, as she had already raised the money to pay for her campaigning efforts on behalf of Arizona's GOP Congressional candidates.
(3) IASIS Healthcare - which owns four hospitals in the Phoenix area - donated $5,000 to Jan PAC in February (when several other Arizona healthcare organizations also contributed).  then, once Arizona's Legacy was formed in May, they were among the first and largest to jump in, writing out checks totaling $50,000.

Among the many other large, noteworthy contributors to Arizona's Legacy was Infrastructure Corporation of America.  ICA donated and hosted a major fundraiser for Jan PAC one year ago, at about the same time that they submitted an unsolicited - and, ultimately successful - proposal to privatize Arizona's highway rest areas.  After Arizona's Politics reported on the $18.3 Million contract being awarded in late September, ICA donated another $5,000 in November to Arizona's Legacy.

Arizona's Politics was curious about the Governor's plans for spending the Arizona's Legacy money, especially in light of Senate Majority Leader John McComish's (R-LD18) announcement last week that he would not run for re-election.  Although Chuck Coughlin's political consulting firm HighGround contributed $5,000 to Arizona's Legacy in May, Coughlin tells Arizona's Politcs that "HighGround is not involved on any professional or advisory capacity."

McComish indicated to Arizona's Politics tonight that he made his decision for other reasons, though he was "never told directly that the Governor's fund would benefit me in my race (though I assumed it would be there if I needed it.)."  He expects the Governor to raise a lot more money for the fund after the current legislative session ends, and figures she will wait to see where the most competitive races will be before jumping in.

The Republicans who stuck their necks out by voting with the Democrats and supporting Brewer are expecting primary fights as a result.  The group that fell short in collecting enough signatures to force a referndum vote on the expansion is actively courting like-minded Republicans to contest what they call "the traitors".

And, this looming battle is what prompted many of the contributions to Arizona's Legacy.  Arizona's Politics communicated today with one contributor who explained his donation:  "When they were beating the crap out of moderate Rs last year over Medicaid expansion, I emailed my R friends and asked how I could help any effort to help them defeat the inevitable primary candidate."  Steve Meissner was then directed to the committee.  He added his share to Arizona's Legacy.

  Arizonas Legacy 2013 Rept by arizonaspolitics

  jan pac 2013 yr end by arizonaspolitics

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District Court Judge Deals Blow To Arizona/Kansas Case To Require Proof Of Citizenship With Federal Voter Registration Forms

Arizona and Kansas lost their bid to hold a trial on whether the federal voter registration form should allow states to require additional, documentary proof of citizenship, when a federal judge today granted a motion from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission.

Judge Eric Melgren's one sentence decision follows yesterday's status hearing and changes next week's (Feb. 11) evidentiary hearing to simply oral arguments on the issue of whether the EAC had the authority to make the decision to not change the motor voter registration postcard form to mesh with Arizona's and Kansas's state laws requiring proof of citizenship.  The two states wanted the judge to hear their evidence and decide whether the federal form's requirement that the registering voter swears that he or she is a U.S. citizen does enough to prevent non-citizens from registering to vote.

Following its scathing decision last month that the small number of non-citizens registering to vote with either the federal form or with state forms did not justify the requested changes, the EAC filed a motion (posted below) to limit the District Court's review to the administrative record and to call off the evidentiary hearing.

Though Arizona and Kansas objected last week (motion posted below), the Court agreed today that it could only review the EAC's record.

Arizona and Kansas are proceeding towards having separate federal-election only ballots for voters who registered with the federal form and without providing proof of citizenship.

  Eac m2limit

  Az-ks Opposition 013114

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WARNING: Calling Them "Frauds", National Republicans "Attack" Three Arizona Democratic Reps... With Fake Websites, Accepting Donations

Calling them "frauds", National Republicans have targeted the three Arizona Democratic Representatives in swing districts, by registering pro-Democratic URL's, putting up websites that - at first glance - appear to be supporting the Democrat, slamming them, and then soliciting donations to defeat the "liberals".

The NRCC ("National Republican Congressional Committee") proudly announced the "attack microsites" against Reps. Ann Kirkpatrick and Ron Barber in November, but they are receiving national attention after an article in the Tampa Bay Times tells the story of a man who claims he was duped into donating to the NRCC from a similar site targeting Florida Democrat Alex Sink.

The "Sinema For Congress"/NRCC site was not specifically announced in the press release or blog post trumpeting the other microsites, but the link was casually thrown into a release calling on Sinema to apologized for her support of Obamacare.  NBC News used the Kyrsten Sinema lookalike as its prime example in an article yesterday.

(Actual image that comes up at no zoom.) 

The National Journal did run an article in December questioning the legality of these websites, citing FEC regulations (11 C.F.R. 102.14(b)(3)) and quoting a former general counsel of the FEC who now heads a bipartisan group calling for campaign reform.  The NRCC and a former counsel for the Republican National Committee reply that they are "100 percent" legal and are "pretty clear" that they are in opposition.

The text IS pretty clearly opposed to Sinema, Kirkpatrick, Barber, etc.  However, to get people to the site and the text, the NRCC had to (1) register the URLs, (2) get them listed in Google (etc) search results for pro-Democratic searches, (3) use smiling faces of the Democrats - generally taken from the target's own website, (4) place large banners at the top of the page that say things like "Kyrsten Sinema for Congress" with equally large "Donate" button at the bottom of the page, and (5) take them to a (non-secure!) page with this in the URL box: "http://contribute.sinemaforcongress.com/"**

Announcing the microsites, NRCC Communications Director Andrea Bozek claimed - with no apparent irony - that "These Democrats are frauds and don’t fit their districts....With this new NRCC campaign, voters will finally learn the truth about these two-faced politicians."

The URL's for the NRCC fake sites are "AnnKirkpatrick.com", "SinemaForCongress.com", and "RonBarber2014.com".  The NRCC site comes up on the 1st page of Google results if you search "Ron Barber 2014", while the official campaign site showed up on page 5!  (BTW, the SEO on the other two sites does not appear to be nearly as effective.)

Below the jump are all of the Arizona-related pages.

(BONUS IRONY:  Last month, the Arizona GOP filed an FEC complaint against the Democratic "House Majority PAC" (and complained about Rep. Kirkpatrick) for violating FEC rules by using video from Kirkpatrick's campaign.  The NRCC's Kirkpatrick site also used a Kirkpatrick campaign photo (from the same shoot, I think).  Likewise, for their Barber microsite.  It is different when an opponent uses campaign material, but ironic nonetheless.)

Sinema campaign spokesperson Rodd McLeod tells Arizona's Politics that he has not heard of any duped Sinema supporters, "As far as I know, our donors are not going to the fake Sinema site."

*  Some of th other Democratic incumbents thus "targeted" are "John Barrow (GA-12), Collin Peterson (MN-07), Mike McIntyre (NC-07), Jim Matheson (UT-04), and Nick Rahall (WV-03)."  Also, the NRCC separately announced similar websites against New Hampshire Democrats Rep. Annie Kuster and Rep. Carol Shea-Porter.  The Tampa Bay Times article details such a site targeting Rep. Alex Sink, from Florida.  The National Journal article also listed Democratic targets of John Lewis (MT), as well as Domenic Recchia and Sean Eldridge from New York.

**Interestingly, the URLs for the "contribute" pages for Barber and Kirkpatrick to indicate that they are NRCC (secure) pages, but the Sinema one does not.

Sparring Partners/Friends/Senators John McCain and Harry Reid Team Up To Support Boxers'/MMA Fighters' Brain Health Study

Arizona Senator John McCain (R-AZ) and Senate President Harry Reid (D-NV) are friends who spar pretty continuously in (and out of) the Senate Chamber.  Tomorrow, they are teaming up in the Capitol to support a study of the effects of boxing and MMA (mixed martial arts) fighting on the fighters' brain health.

The Professional Fighter Brain Health Study has been underway since 2011, by the Cleveland Clinic's Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health.  It examines the cumulative effects of repetitive concussive and subconcussive injuries to the brain in a group of professional combatants, boxing and mixed martial arts.

McCain and Reid have long been outspoken - together - about the need for regulation in the sport

of boxing, and both men were amateur boxers in their younger years.

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AG Tom Horne Calls Primary Opponent Brnovich "JV at best"; SUPER BOWL TAUNTING, ARIZONA POLITICAL STYLE, UPDATED

People can get pretty loose on Twitter.  Especially during the Super Bowl (or, other partying events).  Even if you are Arizona's Attorney General, and trying to join in the fun.

As Arizona's Politics reported last night, AG Tom Horne posted an innocuous Tweet about the Super Bowl, which ended up resulting in one of his aides calling GOP primary opponent Mark Brnovich "a third string quarterback."

What Arizona's Politics has since discovered* is that Horne himself - during the Super Bowl - responded to (Democratic opponent Felecia Rotellini's spokesperson) Rodd McLeod with a Brnovich diss that echoed Brett Mecum's.

Horne even (thoughtfully) hash-tagged his quip - which was no doubt intended to be humorous - with the #AZAG and #AZGOP tags, so that other Arizona Republicans would see it (and screenshot it).

The incumbent Attorney General apparently thought that he had exhibited poor impulse control**, and deleted it.  However, much like the supposedly-temporary Snap Chat, there was no way to prevent numerous people from screen-shotting the Tweet.

Here is the rest of last night's Twitter conversation.  (Although the Tweet times are not on it, by going to @AZs_Politics on Twitter and clicking on "view conversation", you can establish that Horne's 2nd tweet came several hours after Mecum's "3rd string" reference and Brnovich's "Kurt Warner" reply.)

* The non-profit Sunlight Foundation runs a wonderful little project - called "PolitWoops" - that maintains a database of tweets that public officials/candidates have made-then-deleted.  Some are for innocent reasons, some are because the Tweeter has realized that he or she should not have hit that "Tweet" button.

** There's an FBI line in there, somewhere.

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NOT YOUR ORDINARY POLITICAL SUPER BOWL BANTER: Arizona GOP AG Candidates (and staff) Mix It Up, QB Kurt Warner Slammed In Process

(Updated, 2/3/14 10:00am:  Turns out AG Horne also tweeted a Brnovich diss.)

Political banter surrounding the Super Bowl (or other big sporting events) is usually pretty bland - a friendly bet between the mayors/governors/etc from the competing teams' hometowns.  Not so in the just-heating up GOP primary battle for Arizona Attorney General.

Of course, it took place on Twitter.  Incumbent GOP AG Tom Horne Tweeted a bland "who's your pick" message this morning.  Rodd McLeod - who just happens to be a spokesperson for the de facto Democratic nominee, Felecia Rotellini - apparently could not resist a jab: "I think it could be Brnovich if he runs a tight offensive line."

The former Executive Director of the Arizona Republican party, and current Legislative Affairs Liaison for the Attorney General, Brett Mecum decided to retort by insulting the primary challenger to Horne, Mark Brnovich.  Mecum compared the former Arizona Gaming Director to a 3rd string QB.

That got Brnovich into the action, noting that beloved former Arizona Cardinals QB Kurt Warner was, too.  Mecum got in a double slam, tweeking Warner and Brnovich in the same Tweet.*

* Warner got the Cardinals TO the Super Bowl (1st time ever), completed 31 of 43 passes for 377 yards, and the Cardinals lost a close game, 27-23, to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

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EXPERT HELP WANTED: Political/Financial Analyst To Interpret Campaign Finance Reports, To Be Quoted

As readers of this news blog know, Arizona's Politics reviews and reports on a LOT of publicly-filed campaign finance and financial disclosure documents.  Inevitably, questions arise.  Arizona's Politics will often reach out to the candidate/officeholder/treasurer/etc for answers to these questions.  However, that is not always the appropriate or best way to handle the situation; in fact, sometimes the candidate/etc does not even respond!

Arizona's Politics would like to develop a discrete list of discreet individuals that would be willing to provide a fresh set of eyes (and, of brain cells) to some of these (possible) issues.  These individuals should be qualified - with political and/or financial experience.  Attribution would be the norm, but anonymity could be appropriate in some, limited circumstances.

Of course, I will need to know any potential conflicts/biases, as disclosure may be necessary.  (Not that potential conflicts/biases/motivations would EVER be an issue in this arena! ;-) )

Arizona's Politics would also like to have individuals with other relevant expertises on board.  Attorneys, political consultants, advertising professionals, etc.

If you are interested - or, know someone who would be - PLEASE let me know as soon as possible.  There are a couple of existing issues where expertise would be greatly appreciated.


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