And so it begins, again

[Arizona Freedom Alliance]

The race is on as to who can be first out of the gate to file for McCain's Senate seat.  Several names are being bandied about.  But, Republicans cannot resist making the same grave mistake every election season.  Everyone with the ability to file and a fire in the belly thinks they can win a race against a man with more money than the Bank of England, more corrupt connections than the MOB and fewer principles than Obama!  If that is what it takes to win this seat along with the ability to run a seriously tight campaign, McCain would not still be in the seat!

AFA hopes good people with a desire to correct the problems of our country will sober up and realize that multiple candidates assures McCain the seat again.  The candidate who can maybe run successfully against him must have true grit, a ground game that is above extraordinary, money money money and a squeaky clean background.  They better not have even dropped a gum wrapper on the ground when they were six!

First up,  a slew of east coast operatives came to town to pick out THEIR candidate.  Of course, they know what McCain is capable of but they don't know the heart of Arizona voters.  They have not announced yet but the rumor mill is working at warp speed to promote the candidate's name that was leaked - Senator Kelli Ward.  Ward makes a first class state Senator, has all the right principles and works very well with her associates in the Legislature.  She is also garnering a lot of grassroots support among the party faithful.  But only the faithful know who she is.  Regular voters don't pay attention to anything but ads on TV and what they get in the mail the day early voting begins.  Educating those voters will be a monumental task in itself.  Look at how poorly JD Hayworth did with all the years he spent in Congress.

Second up, Alex Meluskey.  Alex is not altogether new to politics.  He's a big time fan of Fair Tax and spends his capital on that issue, put his weight behind Michele Reagan for Secretary of State.  Alex has never held elected office, Is unlikely to build the kind of support he needs both financially and in human resources.  If Ward runs, the grassroots already knows her and that is where their energy will go. Alex just became a PC for the first time this election season so he has not been building alliances with a wide range of party politicos statewide.  He will need the best campaign manager on planet earth to make a ripple.  It's not enough to have the right message, the fire, the radio show (as Clair Van Steenwyck knows how that worked out for him and he has been steeped in politics for years).

If McCain is going to be beaten, gargantuan amounts of everything will have to be mustered for ONE viable candidate with wide name ID which is the way the big money comes to camp.

Republicans have a fatal flaw.  They support the person who they believe is the most likable.  Until Republicans and Republican voters mature politically, they will keep showing up in second place.

Next.

[Bruce M Piepho]

I addition to the above,  I would add the candidate to beat McCain in the primary must be appealing to Independent voters.  That is a necessary requirement as the Republican senate primary has not been closed.

[Arizona Freedom Alliance]

If the AZGOP would get off their collective butts and get the primary closed, Independents would not play a part in the primary selection of our nominee for the General election.  AZGOP mouthpiece, Tim Siefert, has said they may take up the matter at their first meeting, which is not yet scheduled.  If history plays a part in the decision, the first meeting might take place after the 2016 primary given the Chairman only had ONE meeting in two years, unless you count a conference call led by Chad Heywood, without Graham anywhere in sight, a meeting.  Put the pressure on Graham to do what the AZGOP precinct committeemen instructed him to do at two state meetings (2014, 2015) and two county meetings!  The will of the people should not be denied.  Article from the Arizona Capital Times on the subject: http://arizonafreedomalliance.ning.com/group/all-things-conservativ...

[LeRoy Cumberledge]

collective butts?? collective butts??  To say the words collective butts and follow that up with a reference to Tim Siefert as the mouthpiece, connected to Chad Heywood and Robert Graham creates a picture that definitely makes one shudder.   What happened to civility??

[Arizona Freedom Alliance]

LeRoy: take an aspirin and get some sleep.  you'll feel better in the morning.  [smily face here]

[LeRoy Cumberledge]

You are on-point with your underlying premise.  Conservatives MUST coalesce around one candidate if there is a chance to knock off McAmnesty in the Primary.  As to the personalities you cite:

Senator Ward has one full term behind her - hardly long enough to have a good feel as to her solid conservative credentials - and is only a Senator because of an open seat.  Her husband Michael is as self-centered as they come and feels that it is his role to be the Kingmaker on the Colorado.  Of course, we all know that job is reserved to Ron Gould.  In addition, while Dr. Ward is generally right on the issues, she is not without blemishes.  Finally, we have never had a viable statewide Arizona candidate from west of the Maricopa/Yavapai county lines.  She will not be the first since the demographics are more concentrated in the center of the state than ever.

Alex Meluskey is such an outlier that no one in Republican circles knows how to spell his name - including AFA.  That is not surprising since he was registered as a PND less than a year ago.  The only way he takes out McAmnesty is if Lori Klein interviews Johnny with her famous laser gun with the safety off and somehow has a misfire.  I mean seriously, from a PND to a Republican PC and a candidate against McCain in less than a year.  Get Serious!  Get away!  Go home and function as a constitutional conservative for longer than the human gestation period.

Does the vision of what happened to Christine Jones and her millions not strike shivers?  Neither of these candidates measure up to her waist for viability. 

So we still have no viable candidates and the best thing that conservatives can do is to bluntly and strongly tell these babes in the woods to get out NOW and stay out until at least 2018 or 2022.

[LeRoy Cumberledge]

I'm sorry, but I did not know this article was about your flawed and failed campaign and the positions of Michele Reagan.  She has only been in office for six weeks.  You might want to start a discussion on those issues if you wish, but, . . . here?  RReeaallllyy?

Get a life Clair or at least try to stick to the subject of finding a constitutional conservative candidate to rally around in the efforts to unseat McCain

[LeRoy Cumberledge]

So the one mention of Cardon's last name and the 41 lines of stuff going back more than a decade on Michele Reagan is all about  how to win a Senate race?

PS:  I am not offended or upset.  I am just giving a little context to the readers to help them understand what type of candidate you were or have forgotten your record and thereby help them understand what type of candidate you were, not meant to offend or remind you of something that seems to have upset you so, just reflection and information.  God Bless you; Leroy.

[Arizona Freedom Alliance]

Now, now.  Civility is the key to being on AFA.  Insults are not necessary, warranted or desired.  Everyone please remember that.  Thanks.  The AFA Team

[LeRoy Cumberledge]

Actually the only thing that was insulting was Clair's misrepresentation of some of the facts.  It is easy enough to take a position that SOS Reagan's record is not conservative without misrepresenting the record.

[Bruce M Piepho]

It usually is all about money BIG and BIGER money, lots of money.  Eric Kantor back East had lots of money - - he lost.

[Bruce M Piepho]

Good point and agree.  Not impossible, if GOD is on our side.

[Jacqueline Leslie]

Yes Kantor lost in Virginia,( he spent $5,000,000) because all the conservatives came together, worked gave what money they could.  Brat spent only $126,000 on his campaign and won hands down but he had a conservative message and never gave in to hate filled rhetoric.  He, like our example, Diane Douglas stayed on message and never gave into the liberal press.  I take my hat off to both of these people because they stayed on point so we conservative could get behind them,  and they won.