I got a letter yesterday from former State Senator Russell Pearce asking me to donate to the Matt Salmon campaign. Matt Salmon is a candidate for the Republican nomination for Congress from Arizona’s sixth district, a seat currently held by Jeff Flake. I will strongly consider that. Senator Pearce is a politician with atypical courage, and I have great respect for his opinions.
Kirk Adams, who is running for the same seat, came to our Mountain View Tea Party meeting a couple of months ago, and I was only mildly impressed. He talked a strong conservative line, but gave me the impression he was saying what he felt people wanted to hear. His failure to stand by Senator Pearce in his recall battle is serious, in my mind. Political courage is an especially important trait in the people we send to Washington, where the pull is strong to be a part of the ruling class.
And I asked Kirk Adams a question in that meeting and got what I felt was a poor answer. I asked about the possibility of pushing for a constitutional amendment to reduce the power of the administrative state. I see now that Senator Mike Lee from Utah has proposed a law that was similar to what I was suggesting – requiring Congress to ratify all new regulations coming out of the federal bureaucracy. Anyway, Adams responded that he didn’t like this idea, that he would rather abolish these agencies, like the EPA, that are issuing these regulations. I was unimpressed by his solution. Yes, he can say it and sound tough, but anyone who has much experience in politics has to know that this isn’t going to happen. So it becomes one of these talking points that helps you sound conservative without actually getting anything done.
So yes, I just may line up behind Matt Salmon.
When Matt Salmon left the AZ GOP Chairmanship, his John McCain/Establishment choice to replace him, Lisa James, lost to Randy Pullen. So, Matt and his crowd took great pride in “throwing the keys on the table” and walking out of state headquarters without reasonable assistance in the transition. Salmon and crew could not stand the fact that the grassroots choice Randy Pullen beat their John McCain endorsed Lisa James.
That history was in 2006 which predates most Tea Partier involvement. Salmon is no less an open borders establishment elitist than Kirk Adams is:
http://seeingredaz.wordpress.com/2008/07/14/tony-bouie-and-his-friends/Chuck Gray is the dependable conservative in that CD race but seems to lack a PR machine and money.
Comment by David Hall (some time later)
After hearing Matt Salmon speak and meeting him, I disagree. He is a solid and principled conservative. And I understand that Chuck Gray has endorsed him.
I have been around for a while and seen a lot, and I have learned that the first task in sifting the truth out of politics is learning who to believe. And the man or the woman who is willing to sacrifice reputation to do what they think is right has a strong claim of credibility in my book. The ones who are willing to ruffle feathers are the strong ones. There are other keys – consistency, love of country, solid reasoning, but courage is one of the great hallmarks of a politician you can believe. Russell Pearce is one of those. And Matt Salmon is another. And I have learned that those principled politicians tend to support one another, just as those who waver and bend with the political winds tend to support one another and feel threatened by the principled kind.
LD7 has got that right. And Chuck Gray is the only one of those three to endorse JD Hayworth over McAmnesty.
Comment by David Hall:
I feel a little stupid for not catching this when you first posted this, but you’re trying to scam me! You say you are LD10 PC, and then you give me this phony e-mail address, chair@table.com. And guess what, when you were posing as LD7 PC, you gave the same phone e-mail address, chair@table.com. I won’t be so gullible next time.
This is an update after I had a chance to hear Matt Salmon in person and meet him. He’s a straight-shooting upstanding guy and a true conservative. That’s where my support is going. This isn’t even a close call in my book, choosing between Matt Salmon and Kirk Adams. Not even close.
And with phonies like you trying to stir up dirt on him, that makes me admire him all the more.