Arizona Republican Assembly Votes Unanimously to Censure Senator McCain

Arizona Conservative ^ | 11 June 2005 | Dennis Durband

[Spiff]

Arizona Republican Assembly Votes Unanimously to Censure Senator McCain

By Dennis Durband, Editor
June 11, 2005

SCOTTSDALE -- No, Donald Trump, U.S. Senator John McCain has not been fired. On Saturday, the Arizona Republican Assembly (ARA) voted unanimously during its annual state convention to censure Arizona’s senior senator.

McCain has seriously alienated his conservative base in the 21st century. However, he has greatly enamored himself with liberals and he easily won re-election in November with his new liberal support base. The conservatives who make up the ARA membership have had enough of what they consider a betrayal by McCain and they took advantage of their annual resolution ritual to take action against the liberal metamorphosis of the presidential hopeful.

The censure measure will be sent to Matt Salmon, chairman of the Arizona GOP -- with hopes of a state party censure as well -- to all Republican county and legislative district chairmen and will be issued as a press release to the media. No one spoke in support of McCain during discussion of the resolution.

ARA member Bruce Barton, of Safford, authored the resolution. The reasons behind the censure focus specifically on McCain’s amnesty bill for illegal aliens, for deserting the ranks of the Republican Party by undermining Senate President Bill Frist’s recent attempt to change a filibuster cloture rule and for ignoring constitutional concerns with his campaign finance reform law.

Public opinion on the ARA censure ran favorably all week long. A non-scientific GOPUSA/Arizona poll drawing 213 responses resulted in 93.4 percent approval of the censure.

Though a motion for censure Saturday drew unanimous approval, the ARA’s senior member, Louis Stradling, of Mesa, offered up an amendment that would have added stronger language to the document. Stradling suggested an amendment to the resolution that would have charged McCain with “malfeasance.” That move failed when Barton said he agrees with the spirit of Stradling’s suggestion, but he felt the word “malfeasance” might have added a legal sticking point that ARA would be better off avoiding. After the proposed amendment failed, ARA delegates enthusiastically and without dissent approved the resolution to censure McCain.

The resolution reads as follows:

WHEREAS, Senator John McCain is presently co-sponsoring, together with his Democrat soul-mate, Senator Teddy Kennedy, a Bill to Reform the Immigration Policy of the United States promoting amnesty for illegal aliens and for their U.S. employers, thus ignoring the opinions of his constituents expressed in numerous polls and personal pleas; and

WHEREAS, Senator McCain deserted the ranks of the Republican Party and the Leadership of the U.S. Senate on the issue of limiting the filibuster of judicial nominations, some of which have been on-hold for several years, thus stalling the President’s agenda for judicial reform; and

WHEREAS, Senator McCain led the Democrat Party in “reforming” campaign finance, providing for a clear usurpation of 1st Amendment free speech rights during the last 60 days of an election campaign, and leading to an orgy of spending in the 2004 elections;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Arizona Republican Assembly (ARA) officially and publicly censures Senator John McCain for dereliction of his duties and responsibilities as a representative of the citizens of Arizona; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the ARA strongly urges State Republican Party Chairman, Matt Salmon, the Arizona State Republican Party and its County and Legislative District affiliates to officially and publicly express their displeasure with Senator McCain by means of a public censure; and

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that copies of this Resolution be sent to the Chairman of the State Republican Party, to all Republican County and Legislative District Chairman and be issued as a Press Release to the media.

The likelihood of persuading Arizona GOP to get on board with the censure is practically nil. The state party typically takes a neutral approach to wayward Republican office holders.

Saturday's censure was just the latest incident of protest against McCain in the past four years. Last year, several people demonstrated peacefully outside McCain's Tempe office over his refusal to support the proposed federal marriage amendment. In 2001, two McCain recall movements arose against the senator. The leaders of those two organizations combined their efforts into one joint recall and then permanently suspended operations upon the events of Sept, 11, 2001. Also that year, opponents of McCain gathered for public opposition rallies in Scottsdale and Tempe.

McCain is expected to seek the GOP presidential nomination again in 2008.

[NY Attitude]

No sweat. Interesting screen name.

[HiJinx]

The number one Article in a measure to censure Arizona Senator John McCain:

WHEREAS, Senator John McCain is presently co-sponsoring, together with his Democrat soul-mate, Senator Teddy Kennedy, a Bill to Reform the Immigration Policy of the United States promoting amnesty for illegal aliens and for their U.S. employers, thus ignoring the opinions of his constituents expressed in numerous polls and personal pleas; and

[blackie]

Good move ~ Bump!

[b4its2late]

Well deserved!

[Marine Inspector]

you know, this just illustrates how the word "traitor" is being thrown around here WAYYYYY to loosely these days.

I agree. McCain is not a traitor, he's a Democrate.

[Marine Inspector]

you know, this just illustrates how the word "traitor" is being thrown around here WAYYYYY to loosely these days.

I agree. McCain is not a traitor, he's a Democrate.

[raybbr]

Not that I agree with him on just about ANYTHING, but I will not call him a traitor, especially after his experiences in Vietnam.

Where does it say anything about McCain as a traitor? A traitor to conservatives, yes.

[MikefromOhio]

sure that shows the diversity of the word, but there are better descriptors than traitor to conservatives for McCain. That is EXACTLY how he wants to be known.....

[Klickitat]

bttt

[hsmomx3]

I can't think of one FReeper who says they vote for the guy.

I can tell you it is the people who do not have internet access and/or who work for the schools who vote for McCain and Butch. I get this from people I talk to who like McCain in which case I ask where they get their source of news from and it is always the major networks. As for the teachers, plenty just love her.

[arnoldpalmerfan]

Sen. McCain is a supporter of illegal aliens. He cares more about helping illegal aliens than he does about helping Americans.

[arnoldpalmerfan]

Thanks for posting this article.

[arnoldpalmerfan]

Kolbe should be censured. He is a supporter of amnesty for illegal aliens just like McCain.

[SandRat]

Agree totally. Those of us in Dist 8 plan a little Censuring of our own by fighting to vote him out of office come '06. Right Spiff?

[ShakeSpear]

Everybody also please anticipate many Democrats changing their party registration to Republican in the next couple of years, in order to vote for McCain in the '08 primaries and get him nominated or cause public confrontation at the Republican National Convention. They desperately want McCain as the nominee because it would ensure that a conservative can't be President and would drive conservative voters away in November.

[wawan2u]

I hope everyone heard what the GREAT WONDERFUL Governor of Texas, Rick Perry, said about the Minutemen project that he welcomes the group to the border of Texas & Mexico. Thank god we have two governors of border states who have brains. Arnold could not be elected President, but just on Perry's statement about the border, ALL OUR FAMILY & FRIENDS WOULD VOTE FOR THIS PERSON, AND LOOK OUT FOR GOV RICHARDSON OF N.M. He is Hispanic desent and will be running along with Hillary as he was with the Clinton White House group, and is very much for open borders, part of the Mecha, LaRaza, Lulac, Maldef crowd, & if you don't know what these groups are pls run them on the computer, it will scare the beewax out of you.

[wawan2u]

I'd like to know about Senator Kyl of Az, isn't he as bad as McCain. Can't AZ find anyone to run for senate, Govenor who is against illegal aliens? Well, you did pass Prop 200 in Az hope it doesn't go down as Prop 187 did in CA. And finally we have Mayor of Fresno,CA.,who says we need to close the border for at least 2 yrs, we also have McClintock who is running for Lt Gov. of CA in place of our Mecha Lt Gov Bustamonte and a wonderful gutsy Chief of Police in a city in Penn?? who is arresting illegal aliens for felony trespassing, and a county leader in Idaho who says their state is being over run by illegals. We really need to back up these good people and get rid of Rep.Bono, Dryer, & Senator Boxer in Ca. We should put up money to RECALL them, & McCain of AZ.

[ShakeSpear]

Also regarding Bill Richardson .... If he doesn't win the Democratic nomination, he could be picked as the V.P. nominee. With his Mexican-American background, he could go a long way toward helping Democrats pick up New Mexico, Colorado and Nevada in the '08 Presidential race. That's 19 electoral votes changing hands and it would force Republicans to have to pick up least one blue state.