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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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To: Prime Choice
Hey Prime Choice, good to see you!

Is there any chance that you can do something similar to your RNC Pesos (excellent! I use them all the time!) but make them for the NRCC and the NSRC? There's certainly a demand out there, especially since the NRCC put their influence into the AZ 8th district race.

21 posted on 09/11/2006 1:52:21 PM PDT by Spiff (Death before Dhimmitude)
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To: NapkinUser; Torie

A "Bush-bot"? Torie is a longtime Free Agent (Generally Statistically Unassigned) Compost Reader -- well, you do the acronym -- which is not even remotely the same as a "Bush-bot".


22 posted on 09/11/2006 1:52:32 PM PDT by StAnDeliver
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To: Soul Seeker; Torie
"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."

In this instance, B should follow from A, but even you admit that it doesn't; and Torie's 'skills' as an election prognosticator are prima facie nonexistent. Even he would admit that much.

23 posted on 09/11/2006 1:58:59 PM PDT by StAnDeliver
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To: Spiff
*ding* You've got Freepmail.   :o)
24 posted on 09/11/2006 3:22:18 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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To: Torie

I have had people who are Dems asking me who is the best one on the border issue, and that would be Randy Graf.

The Dems think he is the one who is the most beatable, but he will get a lot of Dem votes; people who want our border defended.

If Huffman got the seat, we might as well have a Dem anyway.


25 posted on 09/11/2006 3:37:55 PM PDT by DLfromthedesert (Texas Cowboy...graduated to Glory)
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To: Spiff

Spiff, you're a hypocrite. You've been attacking good conservatives for years all because they don't tow your narrow line on immigration.


26 posted on 09/11/2006 3:39:25 PM PDT by COEXERJ145 (Free Republic is Currently Suffering a Pandemic of “Bush Derangement Syndrome.”)
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To: COEXERJ145
Spiff, you're a hypocrite. You've been attacking good conservatives for years all because they don't tow your narrow line on immigration.

You're a liar. I always support the most conservative candidate. Always. Here and everywhere else. Period. And that's exactly what I'm doing here.

27 posted on 09/11/2006 3:50:24 PM PDT by Spiff (Death before Dhimmitude)
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To: Torie

We need to be more concerned with flat-earth types who think you can tax your way to prosperity, that amnesty will stop the flow of new illegal immigrants, and the pre-born are not living human beings.

With such shoddy disconnects from the realities of human biology, human behavior and economics, I find age of earth questions a bit further down the list.


28 posted on 09/11/2006 3:52:38 PM PDT by WOSG (Broken-glass time, Republicans! Save the Congress!)
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To: AuH2ORepublican

"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."

You have to be right.

A 53% district and a man associated with an issue that is very popular with the district ...

Graf should run the 1994 playbook of Pete Wilson and he will win.

Who is the Democrat and are they pro-amnesty on immigration?


29 posted on 09/11/2006 3:57:15 PM PDT by WOSG (Broken-glass time, Republicans! Save the Congress!)
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To: Spiff

What the hell happened to Matt Salmon ?


30 posted on 09/11/2006 10:22:45 PM PDT by fieldmarshaldj (Cheney X -- Destroying the Liberal Democrat Traitors By Any Means Necessary -- Ya Dig ? Sho 'Nuff.)
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