Posted by
Steve on Friday, September 29, 2006 6:39:12 PM
Bring from Arizona makes me a little insulated from the regular rough and tumble world of politics. Most of that I have to get on the internet. It is interesting to me to read about the corruption that people put up with in other parts of the country. We may have some here, but it is not as blatant as in New Jersey or the northeast portion of the country. A politician like Menendez would not last long here in Arizona. He would be strung up from the highest Saguaro cactus. The person that appointed him to the position would also be suspect and not long for politicianhood.
I am not saying we do not have corruption in Arizona. I am sure that it exists. But, to listen to what happens in New Jersey and most states in the northeast, my mind just explodes. The corruption here would be penny-ante stuff in that neck of the woods. We probably have some doing favors for one another, but only small potatoes in dollar amounts.
My congressman is one of the most honest congressmen in the House of Representatives. His name is Jeff Flake. He is so honest that the Democrat party doesn't even run a candidate against him. Of course a Democrat would not stand a chance in the election. A Libertarian would give Jeff a better run for his money than a Democrat. The district has to be one of the very most Republican districts in the country. I know it is the most Republican in the state of Arizona.
Our Senator Kyl is running for re-election this year. He has a Democrat running against him named Jim Pederson. Jim Pederson is worth about 25 times more than Jon Kyl. He is expecting to buy the election like they do in the Northeast portion of the country. He is finding it difficult. He is trying to paint Jon Kyl as dishonest. It would be easier to paint the Pope as dishonest. Jim Pederson is getting no traction. After running attack ads for a few weeks, he is further behind than he was before he started. Life is difficult for a liberal in a conservative state.
In a conservative state like Arizona, you have to paint yourself as a conservative. Janet Napolitano is good at that. She is a liberal, but can talk like a conservative without everyone falling down laughing. As a result, she is able to fool the marginally interested voters and put that with the Democrat voters to pull out election wins. It is difficult to get people to view her in her true light. She has successfully worked at getting herself identified at least as a moderate. She showed her true colors when she would not meet with President Bush on a visit to the state a few years ago. She was on vacation and could not be bothered to meet with the President. People have forgotten that incident. She can be beaten if she is forced to show her true colors. As long as she is allowed to put down a smoke screen, she will be almost impossible to defeat.
It looks like my congressional district will again return a Republican congressman. My state will return a Republican Senator. Unfortunately, my state will probably also return a Democrat Governor.