Arizona's Own Espresso Pundit

Snow in Tucson

Here's a great picture that my mom took of her back yard in Tucson.  Click it to enlarge. 

At Least He's not Drooling

John McCain has an amazing knack for deflecting critisism with a great line.  During his intitial Congressional run, McCain was new to Arizona and was accused of being a carpet bagger.  His response was that the placed he's lived the longest is Hanoi.   End of debate. 

When recently asked if his age was an issue, McCain said that he was "older than dirt and had more scars than Frankenstein."  But one picture is worth a thousand sound bites, and falling asleep during the State of the Union Speech is, shall we say, rather un-presidential.

Update:  Several people have commented I'm not being fair to McCain and that he may be reading.  OK, but is it 72 point type?  I've haven't met any one over 60 who could read a document without glasses. 

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A Conversation with Lisa James

Lisa James has extensive experience in politics.  Click here for a copy of her bio.  Here's a link to her website.

Why are you running?

I am running because I have a passion, some might call it an addiction, to Republican politics.  I started working for Republicans as a teenager in Illinois.  Some positions have been paid, most have been as a volunteer.  I truly feel the serving as Chairman is the next step in that service.  I feel that '08 brings a great opportunity to unite our Party, to involve more Republicans in the process and to make a great impact on all races--from the court house to the White House.  I also chose to run because the people I have worked with over the years have asked me to do so--people from all levels of our Party--including grassroots volunteers, precinct committeeman, legislative district chairs, county chairs, legislators and members of the congressional delegation.

What are you going to do to change the party?

I want the Party to be a place where we practice Reagan's 11th Commandment and welcome Republicans to enthusiastically support their candidates.  We are the Party of freedom, the party of smaller government, the party of responsibility, the party of individual rights, the party of life, the Party of lower taxes, the Party everyone should want to come home to.  I would propose a two way street for communications--asking for input from all levels of our Republican family.  I would also propose that we increase our volunteer trainings, increase outreach to the rural counties, step up candidate recruitment and trainings, enhance our research and focus on raising the much needed dollars for '08 in '07 to limit our competition with our own candidates.

How are you going to treat the moderates?

We need to realize that we are never going to agree on 100% of the issues, 100% of the time with 100% of the people.  What need to focus on bringing more people into the Party to achieve success in November.  Everyone deserves a seat at the table.  I am about as conservative as one can get--however, I understand that tearing people down does not want to make the join our family--listening and communicating in a positive way will lead us down a road together and will assure Victory in '08 and beyond.

Why is there such a disconnect between the establishment conservatives and the non establishment conservatives?

I think many of the "non-establishment" conservatives have great relationships with members of the "establishment" conservatives.  While I welcome and am truly humbled to have the support of the Delegation, I am equally humbled and appreciative of the support I have received from hundreds of grassroots conservatives.  I look forward to building and using a bridge between all levels of elected officials and those who work at the volunteer level. 

Will the delegation back you?

Yes, the delegation will support me and I will call on them.  They are vital to our fundraising success.  They do inspire volunteers--anyone who was at the State Party at midnight the Friday before the election saw John Shadegg welcoming volunteers and rallying them for final 72 hours.   Many of them stopped by the various Victory offices and led walks and phone banks last fall.  I am excited about what we can do together.

Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions.  Good luck on Saturday. 

Thanks Greg.

A Conversation with Randy Pullen

Randy Pullen has had extensive experience in business and politics.  Click here for a copy of his resume.  Here's a link to his website. 

Over the last couple weeks or so, Pullen and I have had a chance to discuss the Chairman's race via email.  (My conversation with Lisa James runs tomorrow.)

Why are you running?

I am running because I think I can make a difference in the party. There are a number of issues that need to be addressed; however, the most important one is to reestablish trust between the party leadership and the grassroots.  There has not been a real sense of trust since Dodie Londen was chair. The knowledge and experience I have obtained during my 30+ year business career along with my volunteer experience at all levels of the Republican Party in Arizona and nationally over the past 8 years give me a great perspective on how to build the party and make it more effective and in the end, win elections. 

What are you going to do to change the party?

Overall, I will make the county and legislative district republican party leadership responsible for a lot of the party building activity this year and next.  We need to establish a budget committee, finance committee, registration committee and a training committee. None of these really exist right now. Committees will have responsibilities to develop a plan of action and implement. My role and that of the executive committee and paid staff will be to set goals and standards and measure progress. If goals are not being met, we will make adjustments.   I will also ask the executive committee to approve the appointment of a woman to serve as Co-Chairman and work with me to build the party.  This is a similar position that exists in many other states and at the RNC. The Co-Chair is of the opposite gender of the Chair. This is just a start in creating an effective, sustainable party organization. Overtime, as trust reemerges and the lines of communications improve between the state party leadership and the county leadership, we will distribute out more responsibility and authority to the county and district level. This will result in developing more party leaders around the state. This approach is similar to what is followed in several other state parties that are very successful.

How are you going to treat the moderates?

I will continue to treat them as I do right now, with respect. This is a two way street.  Moderates need to be respectful of conservatives. We agree on a lot of issues. I think the CD8 primary election is an example of what not to do.  Regardless of who won the republican nomination in the primary election, there was little time for either the conservative, Randy Graf, or the moderate, Steve Huffman, to recover and win the general election.  I will work with party leadership around the state and nationally to attempt to head off such ugly primary confrontations in Arizona.

Why is there such a disconnect between the establishment conservatives and the non establishment conservatives?

By establishment conservatives, I assume you are referring to our congressional delegation, because there is a very strong connection between party grassroots (i.e., non-establishment conservatives) and state elected officials.  I, as well as county party leadership around the state, have had and continue to have very good rapport with republican leadership in the legislature, the Secretary of State’s office, Corporation Commissioners and county offices.  The congressional delegation has been the defacto leadership of the state party since Governor Symington resigned from office. They have essentially selected the Chairman of the state party since Dodie Londen. If you were to look around the country you will find very few state parties that are controlled by their congressional delegations.  The role of a state party is much broader than national elections as it is responsible for winning state and local elections. The RNC, NRCC and SRCC exist to support national races.  Their roles overlap those of the state parties in a number of areas including voter registration, get out the vote efforts and fundraising.  We need to make sure we are not stepping on each other toes and are as helpful to each other as possible and is permitted by law.

Will the delegation back you?

I believe they will support me. While we have some differences of opinions on a few policies, particularly illegal immigration and campaign reform, we hold the same republican principles and values.  If elected Chairman, I will reach out to each of them in order to understanding fully what their expectations are as well as creating lines of communications to discuss issues and opportunities that will undoubtedly arise in the near future.

I'm received emails and folks have commented on espresso pundit, that  you have given a lot of money to Democratic Candidates.

My business included working on projects in the City of Tempe as a consultant. I have written checks to a number of Ds over the years involved in City government.  Harry was running for the Senate, but was still very much involved in local  politics.

I also wrote checks to Paul Johnson when he was running for council in Phoenix in 1990 and  Mayor in 1994. He then rolled the 1994 mayoral money into his Governor's race in 1994. I also wrote him a check for $500 in 1998. Paul is a good friend and still is. We have a cup of coffee every once in a while. He endorsed me for my race for mayor in 1999.  Besides writing a check, I never did a fundraiser or endorsed him or Harry, it was strictly personal or business related.

These contributions pale in comparison to how much I have raised or given to Republican candidates. As Co-chair of the Finance committee for AZGOP in 2000, I helped raise over $2,000,000. I raised about $60,000 for Matt in 2002. I raised almost $25,000 for Randy Graf last year in the General election.  I spent another $10,000 going to RNC meetings.

Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions.  Good luck on Saturday. 

Thanks Greg.

Shameless Sucking Up

I'm quick to mock my Conservative lobbyist friends when they take advantage of an opportunity to suck up to the Governor.  So for the sake to full disclosure, I must admit that I said nice things about Congresswoman Giffords in this weekend's Tucson Citizen. 

Warrants? We don't need no Stinkin' Warrants

Here's a great example of overt bias.  The mainstream media and the self proclaimed "civil libertarians" are aghast at the Bush administration's use of "warrant less wiretaps."  However, our local version has been largely ignored by the media.  Attorney General Terry Goddard has been seizing out of state wire transfers based on profiles of the participants.  Goddard was thoroughly slapped down by judge fields.

The Attorney General...has a theory that because Arizona has problems with illegal drugs and undocumented persons within the State, it can search and seize money transfers from other States to the Republic of Mexico, question the recipients of the transfer and, if the telephonic explanation to an Arizona law enforcement agent is not sufficient, then forfeit the money.  Unfortunately there are several legal problems with the actions of the State agents. 

Ouch.  That's going to leave a mark.  Judge Fields goes on to list some of these unfortunate legal problems with the AG's theory.

There are no facts to support statutory or constitutional jurisdiction to conduct the extra territorial searches and seizures by Arizona. Additionally, the seizure warrant here is a general warrant allowing government agents to search for and seize property in order to determine if there has been a crime committed and if the property is evidence of the crime.  General warrants are prohibited by the fourth amendment to the U.S. Constitution.  A search/seizure warrant can only be based on particularized probable cause. 

What?  Do you mean to tell me that the Arizona Attorney General can't seize money that's being sent from El Paso to Sonora just because the guy who is sending it fits his profile of a smuggler?  That's an outrage. 

You don't need to be a lawyer to see the problems with Mr. Goddard's "theory," all you have to do is watch a couple episodes of "Law and Order" to know that you need probable cause to get a search warrant. 

Where are all the civil libertarians who won't let Wal Mart repossess a stereo without a full blown hearing?  What are they going to do to protect the guy who works in Sante Fe and sends his paycheck to his wife in Sonora and finds out that the Arizona Attorney General seized the funds without a warrant?  Who is going to stick up for him?  Sure, if he can convince the AG that the money is really his, he might be able to get it back.  Is that due process?  What if he's not in the country legally?  Is he going to call the AG hot line or just let the money go?

What about the media reaction?   The Republic buried the story on B2. 

Incredibly, the Republic's Richard Ruelas seems to actually defend the program. 

Goddard led a program that targeted wire transfers coming into Arizona. His office developed a profile of what a transfer to a smuggler looked like and got court orders that seized that cash. People would have to prove the money was a legitimate transfer to get the cash. The rest were assumed to be proceeds of smuggling. It worked so well that smugglers started getting money transferred into Mexico rather than Arizona. Goddard tried chasing the transactions across the border, but Western Union cried foul and a judge halted his efforts.

To its credit, the Tribune editorialized against the program.

That’s the type of blatant unreasonable seizures that the Fourth Amendment strictly forbids. This practice would be little different than allowing the police to break into every home in higher-crime neighborhoods to search for drug dealers and gang members, including the abodes of innocent residents who don’t want the long arm of the law rummaging through their closets.

Where are the self-proclaimed civil libertarians?  Where's the outrage from the immigrants rights advocates?  Where's State Representative Krysten Sinema, mmigration advocate Salvador Reza and ACLU Director Eleanor Eisenstat?  Sitting on their hands that's where.  Because the reactions from the left aren't based on what's being done, they are based on who is doing it.  It's not what's being said, it's who is saying it.  Goddard gets a free pass from this group.

What if a conservative, say Maricopa County Attorney Andy Thomas, seized money from alleged smugglers in other states using a general warrant?  The candlelight vigils would be A1 above the fold in every newspaper in the state.  However, I don't think that's likely to happen.  I'm sure Mr. Thomas has seen Law and Order. 

Post Traumatic Shock

I'm used to Jon Talton's stream of consciousness approach to his columns.  The non sequiters in his standard "Phoenix Sucks, Move to Denver" diatribes no longer bother me.  Talton's ramblings are generally harmless because he doesn't usually direct them at people.  But what's up with this column about APS CEO Bill Post?

Even with an options-timing scandal hanging over him, Apple CEO Steve Jobs can take the stage as a rock star, bringing out the next revolutionary gadget, the iPhone, to near-universal acclaim.

It's different for Bill Post, chief executive of Pinnacle West Capital Corp., the parent of Arizona Public Service Co. His customers think of him, if at all, only in the rare event that they turn on the light switch and nothing happens.

What the heck does that mean?  Is Talton trying to say the Palo Verde troubles rise to the level of a scandal?  Is he insinuating that Post is in trouble?  Talton never answers the question, the rest of the column is overwrought prose about how electricity is "carried on silent, slender lifelines to big cities and isolated settlements"  and power is life-or-death for millions who get to live in air-conditioned bliss in the hostility of the Arizona summer.

Talton concludes that the problems with Palo Verde may jeopardize nuclear energy's place in Arizona's power future.  Well duh. 

What about Bill Post, Steve Jobs and scandal?  Talton raises the issue but never addresses it.  I've worked with Post for many years and I certainly don't think that Palo Verde's problems are part of a scandal.  It seems to me that APS is making the changes needed to address the problem. 

If the Republic is going to continue giving Talton free reign to write incoherent rants, the publisher should probably make sure Talton leaves the names of local CEOs out of it. 

(A note on the photo:  I used one of my favorite Palo Verde pictures for this post.  There's nothing more beautiful than the sight of a containment dome reflected in an evaporation pond. It brings a tear to my eye.)

One Man's Terorist is Another Man's Block Watch Captain.

Rep. Sinema is sponsoring a bill that appears designed to target the minutemen.  The law defines Domestic Terrorism and imposes penalties on that can include jail time.   

The statute makes it illegal for a group of people to work together in order to patrol to detect illegal activity unles they are affiliated with law enforcement.  Are Block Watch groups affiliated with local law enforcment?  Maybe.  How about if a couple neighbors decide they are going to walk around and keep an eye on things.  Are they terrorists? 

Is it so important to stop the Minutemen that we are going to make it a crime for people to work together to stop crime? That's an Allice in Wonderland approach.  If there is crime in your area, the Legislature will simply make it illegal for you to work with your neighbors to patrol to detect it. 

Here's the definition from the statute.

A.  An individual or group of individuals commits domestic terrorism if the individual or group of individuals are not affiliated with a local, state or federal law enforcement entity and associate with another individual or group of individuals as an organization, group, corporation or company for the purpose of patrolling to detect alleged illegal activity or to individually patrol for the purpose of detecting alleged illegal activity and if the individual or group of individuals is armed with a firearm or other weapon.

Time's Running Out

This just in from Time magazine.

Time Inc., the country's largest magazine publisher, spent the morning telling hundreds of staffers their jobs were being eliminated -- in its latest and largest yet round of staff cuts -- for the company's good.

Meanwhile, the sale of the LA Times is going badly.  An analysts on Public Radio's "Market Place" was asked to describe the auction last night and simply said "Ouch!"

We learned in high school that industries become obsolete and disapear--bugy whip makers, milk men and movie theater ushers are gone.  The Oldmobile went the way of the Nash, but no one seemed to realize the speed with which the internet would wipe out businesses and indeed entire professions.  Tower Record's business model became obsolete and it folded.  My kids have never seen a "Record Store."  Travel agents are nearly gone.  Call a broker to buy stock?  Give me a break.

Just as I marvel that a man in a green truck used to bring milk to my door each morning, my children will marvel that a someone used to bring a 5 pound stack of paper to our door step at 5:00 every morning. 

I don't know what will surprise them more, that I paid to buy it, or that someone got paid to write it.