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[AZ GOP Party Chair] Salmon Breaks the Silence [over CD8 Race] - Party Self-destructs
Arizona 8th ^ | 11 September 2006 | The Committee

Posted on 09/11/2006 12:31:31 PM PDT by Spiff

Salmon Breaks the Silence-Party Self-destructs

First the news from http://sonoranalliance.com/:

" I just received an automated call from Arizona Republican Party chairman Matt Salmon urging me to ignore the negative attack ads against Steve Huffman being run be the Democrats. Matt weakly claimed that he was not endorsing any candidate.

Sorry Matt your pathetic attempt to help Huffman and say you are not favoring him is too transparent. For the record Matt Salmon did not call when Huffman was lying about and attacking the reputation of Randy Graf. Salmon was also absent when the NRCC intervened in a primary and backed one Republican candidate over the other.

If you are sick of the backroom deals being made by Republican higher-up during a primary please call the Arizona Republican Party at (602) 957-7770 and tell them what you think. You might also try to reach Matt at his office (602) 445-8274."

The breakdown:

Insiders say that when the NRCC broke its promise and began advertising for Huffman, Matt Salmon made an alleged verbal protest, but a compliant nod, and stood by while the NRCC moved in. If there was any sign of leadership, it was behind closed doors. A call from Click has broken the silence, however. Now Matt Salmon is running a phone ad on behalf of Huffman claiming it's not an endorsement, just a clarification. 'Kind of like the NRCC "non-endorsement." If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, etc., it's still a dog, cow or something else according to the Arizona Republican Party.

The calls coming in to the party headquarters are not flattering. Some report constituents threatening to stop all contributions to the party, or worse, leaving the party altogether. In any case, don't expect to see Matt Salmon as the state party chairman after this term if he is able to make it to the end. It's doubtful that his friends in Maricopa and Jim Click will be able to save him from the anti-Huffman constituents of CD8 candidates and conservatives throughout the state.

The latest attack ads against Mike Hellon, the last minute Huffman lawsuit against the Minutemen to stop their ads, and pressure on neighboring state parties as well as our own Arizona Republican Party suggests Huffman is not polling well. His efforts to steal votes from Mike Hellon will fail. Mike's support base is solid. Will more ads and more endorsements make a difference? Probably not. Party activists are the only ones who care about a de-facto party endorsement, and they have chosen Hellon or Graf overwhelmingly. So the party endorsement will have little effect. More attack ads are reinforcing the belief that Huffman has nothing to offer and is simply a nasty person. So we don't expect tremendous gains here either.

Huffman has peaked and he knows it.

This latest act by the state party may actually put the final nail in the coffin for Huffman as it brings out the outraged party activists. It may also spell doom to the Republican Party in Southern Arizona with ripple effects throughout the state. If enough activists rebel—and some reportedly have—what chances do fellow conservatives like Kyl have in Southern Arizona? And how will the party ever rebuild regardless of who wins the primary and general elections in this race?

Like sharks in the water, the Democrats are circling....and they smell blood.


TOPICS: Extended News; News/Current Events; US: Arizona
KEYWORDS: arizona; elections; graf; hellon; huffman; kolbe; liars; rino
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My head is about to explode. The party leadership - both national and state - are corrupt as hell and are influencing this open primary in order to damage the one conservative Republican candidate who is the frontrunner. This situation is beyond outrageous.
1 posted on 09/11/2006 12:31:36 PM PDT by Spiff
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To: SandRat; HiJinx; sasafras; DLfromthedesert; MrEdd; EternalVigilance; AZHSer; \/\/ayne; ...

ping


2 posted on 09/11/2006 12:32:52 PM PDT by Spiff (Death before Dhimmitude)
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To: Spiff

When Randy Graf wins tomorrow, maybe the national GOP will stop trying to defeat this good conservative.


3 posted on 09/11/2006 12:38:57 PM PDT by NapkinUser
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To: Spiff

I agree it is a disgrace. Salmon is a loser and Huffman a lying dem in rino clothing.


4 posted on 09/11/2006 12:40:23 PM PDT by Kokojmudd (Outsource GM to a Red State! Put Walmart in charge of all Federal agencies!)
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To: Spiff

My head is about to explode. The party leadership - both national and state - are corrupt as hell and are influencing this open primary in order to damage the one conservative Republican candidate who is the frontrunner. This situation is beyond outrageous.
---

I think this sort of thing happens all the time. I recommend supporting the CFG, your money will be well spent, with a great bang for your buck, on candidates you approve of:

www.clubforgrowth.org


5 posted on 09/11/2006 12:41:24 PM PDT by traviskicks (http://www.neoperspectives.com/Amnesty_From_Government.htm)
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To: Spiff

Yes, they are, but the good news appears to be its backfiring.

Whether this helps or hurts Graf in the General I don't know. But provided his lead holds through the primary and with the RNC's outrageous behavior in a year in which voters are just waiting to be given a reason to stick it to the establishment on either aisle, this could help Graf. He's clearly not the favored of the Dem establishment, nor the GOP's.

Constituents he'll need to win are also getting worked up on his behalf, and that is necessary to pull a win.


6 posted on 09/11/2006 12:46:32 PM PDT by Soul Seeker (Kobach: Amnesty is going from an illegal to a legal position, without imposing the original penalty.)
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To: NapkinUser
When Randy Graf wins tomorrow, maybe the national GOP will stop trying to defeat this good conservative.

Will Graf win in November?
7 posted on 09/11/2006 12:50:39 PM PDT by goldfinch
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To: Spiff

Here it is Sept. and state GOP still can't figure out who to get behind on anything. Dems don't need to campaign in this sorry azz state...they get elected through GOP inactivity.


8 posted on 09/11/2006 12:51:59 PM PDT by AZRepublican ("The degree in which a measure is necessary can never be a test of the legal right to adopt it.")
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To: Spiff
I suspect the party (voters, not current officers) is swinging to the right. The people in party offices don't want to be replaced by a wave of people supporting the non big spender wing of the party. (who want to close the borders).


9 posted on 09/11/2006 1:06:26 PM PDT by MrEdd (The easiest way to LIE with statistics is to use the average instead of the Median.)
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To: goldfinch

It's a conservative district, so the odds would be in Mr. Graf's favor.


10 posted on 09/11/2006 1:08:48 PM PDT by NapkinUser
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To: goldfinch

"Will Graf win in November?"



Not if Republicans keep attacking him. But if they give him a fair shot, I absolutely think he will win. The AZ-08 hasn't just voted for RINOs like Jim Kolbe, it has voted for conservatives like Jon Kyl (who will carry the district by a comfortable margin this November) and George W. Bush (the latter with 53% in 2004), and if anything Graf's tough stance on illegal immigration will gain him more votes.


11 posted on 09/11/2006 1:09:58 PM PDT by AuH2ORepublican (http://auh2orepublican.blogspot.com/)
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To: Spiff; AntiGuv

The Dems are financing attack ads against Huffman over immigration. They want Graf to be the nominee. They will very probably succeed. He will be, thus moving this seat into the top three most likely Dem takeovers in the nation.


12 posted on 09/11/2006 1:12:12 PM PDT by Torie
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To: Torie
The Dems are financing attack ads against Huffman over immigration. They want Graf to be the nominee. They will very probably succeed. He will be, thus moving this seat into the top three most likely Dem takeovers in the nation.

BS!

Graf is the only real Republican in the front of the race. If we can't elect a Republican to fill a Republican slot, then what's the point? Hellon and Huffman are liberal RINO fools. Huffman is a liar of the worst sort.

13 posted on 09/11/2006 1:18:33 PM PDT by Spiff (Death before Dhimmitude)
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To: Torie

Finally, a Bush-bot admits it. All the "vote the RINOs out in the primaires" is a load of crap. It's just a ploy to make people think they care about getting good conservatives elected, when in reality they know challengers in primaries almost never win.

You don't want Graf to win because you're an establishment type. You don't want the borders secured and always support whoever the RNC tells you too. Stop me if I'm wrong.

Supporting a RINO over a conservative? Maybe Daily Kos is a better website for you.


14 posted on 09/11/2006 1:23:04 PM PDT by NapkinUser
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To: AuH2ORepublican
Graf could win in November, unless the party goes fratricidal, and it looks like it is.
15 posted on 09/11/2006 1:25:17 PM PDT by NeoCaveman (Hey Usama, kiss my royal Irish arse)
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To: Spiff
By far the worst attack ads I have seen and heard this year (including a large stack of almost-daily mailings) are by Huffman against Graf. He's a lot more concerned about Graf's stand on the issues than his own. I guess the RINO machine figures that Kolbe's smear ads worked last time, so they'll work again. No thanks.

I'd like to know who falls for any of the political ads, anyway. It's nothing but self-serving propaganda. How 'bout actually checking the individual's past record?

16 posted on 09/11/2006 1:27:14 PM PDT by FlyVet
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To: NapkinUser; Spiff
You chaps are perfectly free to support whomever you like. I am just telling you that Graf almost certainly will not be the Congressman from AZ-8.

By the way, I don't do what the RNC tells me. In fact, sometimes I find them annoying. In fact, once in awhile I vote for the Dem. On immigration, I oppose the Bush plan, and favor the two step approach; staunch the flow, and then do a guest worker program if and when it is clear the the flow is staunched. I hope that helps.

You fellows have a good day.

17 posted on 09/11/2006 1:30:48 PM PDT by Torie
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To: NapkinUser; Torie

I wouldn't define Torie as a Bushbot or establishment type.

More liberal on some issues then I am, but not all. No hidden motives though.

Torie is generally a good one to follow on election night in assessing which way incoming ballots will fall. Not a perfect record in predictive analysis, though no one is, but shouldn't be shot down offhand.

BTW, I agree there are some that have the motives you claim. I've said so myself. Just not in this case.


18 posted on 09/11/2006 1:38:43 PM PDT by Soul Seeker (Kobach: Amnesty is going from an illegal to a legal position, without imposing the original penalty.)
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To: Torie
Randy Graf on the issues:

"At the opposite end of the spectrum is Graf, who says creationist theory makes at least as much sense to him as evolution. 'I think they can all be taught side by side and let students bring this information home and talk it over with their parents and determine how they're going to approach that,' Graf says."

"How old is the Earth? Graf is blunt: 'I don't know, and I don't care. ... I've got my Christian faith, and I'm very comfortable with that.'"

19 posted on 09/11/2006 1:39:44 PM PDT by Torie
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To: NapkinUser
Supporting a RINO over a conservative? Maybe Daily Kos is a better website for you.

Yee-OUCH! That's gonna leave a mark.   |oD

20 posted on 09/11/2006 1:42:10 PM PDT by Prime Choice (True Conservatives don't vote for Liberals just because they have an 'R' by their name.)
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