…In the primary?

And, “nothing” is not an acceptable answer.

The message that needs to be sent in 2010 is not just defeating ‘Blue Dog’ and moderate Democrats from swing districts – it’s beating ossified ‘Go along to get along’ Republicans like Crist and McCain in primaries.

into jumping into Teddy’s casket when the old reprobate gets buried.

After all, getting reamed by Kennedy was his usual position in the Senate.

I don’t “dislike” Palin at all.

I do think she’s waaaaaaaaaay overrated at this point in time, I find no reason to excuse her from resigning as Gov, and I think she’s way light on the “accomplishment” thingy.

OTOH, she’s a great stump speaker, does a great job at rallying the base and should be able to raise money.

She’ll be a player in ’12 if she wants to be.

My “problem” isn’t with Palin. It’s with Gary and Josh Painter and the collected ‘bots who don’t share a damned brain cell among the lot.

I thought she did a good job on the “death panels”.

Threadjack over.

I must say, it takes one to know one!

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Activists Taking Action: Unified Patriots

You’re not senile.

Bottom line, virtually no name rec and that he has isn’t particularly good. He won’t get two dozen votes in Tucson. Biggest problem, he won’t be anywhere near competitive in the money race and he’ll probably raise more than any other potential candidate.

Send your money to Marco or Pat Toomey. I’ll give to Simcox, but I live here.

The other is Jim Deakin: http://jimdeakin.com

Why will McCain very probably win in the primary?

First, if both Chris Simcox and Jim Deakin challenge McCain, it’s likely they’ll split the conservative vote and McCain will win. So, it would be great if one would drop their campaign at some point and work tirelessly for the other. Is that likely? Probably not.

But, really, the main reason McCain very probably will win is because not enough conservatives here in Arizona are actually involved in the nuts-and-bolts of the political process. One might assume that the state with a fiercely independent populace that created an oasis in a desert, and produced a conservative presidential candidate like Barry Goldwater and a fairly conservative senator like Joh Kyl, must have a really strong conservative contingent in the Party. You would be wrong.

Actually, the Party is even weaker in its percentage of filled precinct committeman slots than . The national average is fifty per cent. Arizona’s most populous county, Maricopa County, where Phoenix sits, is at one-third strength. And split right about down the middle, fifty per cent conservative and fifty per cent moderate. There are 694,000 registered Republicans in Maricopa County. And just over 6,000 PC slots. Only about 2,000 are filled (although I and others are trying to change that). And at the last county convention this spring, only 800 showed up. A conservative and a hand-picked McCain moderate ran for the county chairmanship. Thankfully, the conservative won — by FOUR votes. That day, just over 800 Republican voters determined the leadership of the county organization for the other approximately 694,000.

If four thousand conservatives in Maricopa County (I’m pretty sure among those 694,000 there are at least 4,000 conservatives) got off their duffs and away from their keyboards and volunteered a couple of hours a month to become precinct committeemen, and then helped energize the conservatives in the county and state to get behind Simcox or Deakin, we could at least have a shot at defeating McCain. Even if McCain would win, he’d at least have to deal with a Party re-energized with conservatives.

The Party needs to capture all of the conservative grass roots people going to the Tea Parties and town hall meetings. That’s what I’ve been trying to do here in Maricopa County with others and I know I’m having some success in these “target rich environments” because now as I hand out my flyer some people tell me they already got it at a prior event and they’ve already filled out the paperwork to become a PC.

At this point I don’t know which of the two, Deakin or Simcox, is the better challenger. I’ve met them both. Either would be preferable to McCain. Read their bios. Send them dollars. And no matter where you live, I believe the BEST way to help them, and yourself, and your children, is, if you are a conservative, is to become a precinct committeeman so you can help change the Party back into a conservative powerhouse rather than what it is today — running at half strength and in many states with a moderate majority in the ranks that really matter — the precinct committeeman ranks.

Thank you.

ColdWarrior

www.theprecinctproject.wordpress.com

Please forgive.

it’s safe to say he actually thinks there will be reciprocity.

(…Though who in Washington isn’t?) He deserves respect from us for his service in Vietnam. After that, though, there’s not much that he’s done that I can commend him for. An interesting note: he was originally going to run for his AZ Senate seat as a Democrat, and only ended up running as a Republican at the urging of friends who told him that it would be impossible to get elected as a Dem.

comes along, you know. Stuff happens.

I agree with you Rogue! We need less regulation and more freedom in healthcare. Along with tort reform.
These are the things Republicans would push for if Obama decided to have genuinely bipartisan discussion. Given the number of Democrats is it probable anything negotiated would be more bad than good? Probably.
But THERE IS NO DANGER OF ANY SUCH TALK. Obama has no interest in passing anything that doesn’t socialize medicine. McCain almost certainly knows that. He’s just being politic.

John Boehner is saying the same thing.

I don’t want Obama to pass any form of health reform – or any reform for that matter- I’m hoping he’ll get nothing else done till the GOP takes back Congress. I expect elected Republicans feel the same way- but they aren’t in a position to say it.

always make a difference- to say so would be foolish. It is what one does with them is the true measure of a man. John M. became a carrier pilot, a dangerous job in peacetime, and flew combat missions over the most contested ground of the era. He lost his Skyhawk, not uncommon considering the role and dangerous missions they carried out, over 350 Skyhawks were lost in Vietnam… I guess all due to being piloted by “dull tools”.

The man is only like John K in his ambition, but nothing like him in the way that he went about it. John K used his influence to leave the combat arena just as soon as it served it purpose for his career- a matter of months while John M endured years of torture despite the offer of early release because of his connections. John K made a mockery of his service to promote his career, John M honored his country and his colleagues by saying it was all worthwhile.

All this is old hat, more to be argued with a lefty than a fellow RS, but you were the one that brought this history up.You said in an earlier post he has no principles – I say his actions prove different. I cannot believe that I am here having to defend McCain- he was at the extreme bottom of my potential candidates in 2008 for many reasons and still someone I would like to see replaced by a staunch conservative- but you sir go too far.

Becker, (whoever you are)

The view I expressed ( McCain having solid foreign policy credentials and being instrumental in the implementation of the Surge) is the common opinion, It isn’t some out there – wildly stupid idiotic view – so your insult is not only rude but completely unwarranted.

The New York Times found that 98% of Republicans thought that McCain would be an effective Commander in Chief. The Times, admittedly doesn’t have the most accurate of polls, but I can’t think why they would exagerrate Republican support for McCain after he already had the nomination.

I think it’s ridiculous that you’re calling me an idiot for articulating the prevailing view within your party – but as your only goal was probably to make me feel unwelcome, you have succeeded in that,

he needed some now that Reagan is gone. McCain rode Ronaldus Magnus’ coat tails into office to begin with.

Read – or written – any RonPaul blogs lately?

There are numerous reasons for primarying ‘old guard’ Senate Republicans – the first of which is that by virtue of having to run against any conservative candidate that gets even a little bit of traction will force the incumbent to move Right during the Primary.

It also has the effect of letting them know we’re watching them.

And, best case scenario: The incumbent unmasks themselves, proving that they’re not up to snuff, and they get bounced after all.

AFAIK, there’s no downside to primarying entrenched politicians…

Wholeheartedly.

I could understand if it was Specter, but every dollar going to oppose McCain is a dollar not going to Pat Tomey – every dollar spent to defend McCain’s seat is a dollar also not going to Tomey.

I’ve said that all along. People in AZ should support the alternative to McCain, it’s our state. Everybody else should send money where it will do the most good and either PA or FL are good places to start.

cannibalism of conservatives. Snow and Colllins prefer a low(er) profile perhaps because they have a sense of shame about what they are doing. McCain goes out of his way to denigrate conservatives.
As Bob Kerry once said of Clinton he would rather climb at tree to tell a lie than stay on the ground and speak the truth.
McCain would rather climb a tree….

John McCain says anything to get elected but then again he is sort of a product of a purple state(almost went blue). I know I hear why do you in Texas keep voting in KBH and the answer to that is the Dems through up the most liberal candidate(maybe that’s the case in AZ). I can barely tolerate him.

his constituency. I managed to watch some of his town hall today, and he is extremely apt at playing both sides. It’s obvious to me, he’s enamored with power, and even better at hiding the fact, which is why he has a tough time making a stand against BO and IMO and yet still believes (I guess) in things I personally do. The end result is all the matters, and that result is lukewarm nothingness.

The American public often times give him the benefit of the doubt because he’s a war hero. In context, it ought not to apply here. If I met him on the street, he’d have my utmost respect. If I had a vote in AZ, it’d be absolute ‘NO’.

Oops.

1,000 worse.

First of all, the guy is older than McCain. Second, while some of his policies are interesting, he’s arguably one of the worst Sheriffs in the country. He keeps managing to dodge the political bullet related to the cost of legal settlements against his detention officers. Yeah, he holds down the cost of food in the Maricopa County Jail (3rd largest in the nation I believe), but we’ve suffered several hundred million dollars worth of settled law suits from inmate deaths and outright abuse.

Joe is way over his head as County Sheriff, he’s one of the worst administrators around. He never ran for Governor because he was smart enough to figure out that while he is a popular folk-hero sheriff, he’d get his head handed to him in a statewide election. I seriously doubt he’d get 10% of the vote outside of Maricopa County and he’d probably split Phoenix pretty close to even.

FWIW, I dislike Arpaio more than I dislike McCain.

I disagree with it – but it’s amusing.

You’re right that I really don’t understand why some conservatives so passionately hate McCain. Did you go to, watch, or read the transcript of his town hall today? If so did you find him tolerable or were you infuriated again? I’ don’t even understand the components of McCain hating well enough to guess.