Free Republic

A quick thought on Arizona 8th District and illegal immigration 11/03 01:43 PM The Corner has a good collection of links to news stories covering the House race in the Arizona 8th District — Democrat Gabrielle Giffords vs. Republican Randy Graf. It's Kolbe's old seat, one of the races every observer is chalking up as an automatic Democratic pickup. I've indicated that Republican Randy Graf is my Super Mega-Shocker Special What-The-Hell-Are-You-Smoking-Jim Upset Pick for 2006; I just figure the illegal immigration issue is huge, stirs passions, motivates voters, and that a lot of people may support a Minuteman, a hardline...

Tucson Region Demos 'laundering' funds, says GOP By Howard Fischer Capitol Media Services Tucson, Arizona | Published: 11.04.2006 PHOENIX — The state Republican Party is asking the Federal Elections Commission to investigate what it claims is a "money laundering scheme" by the Democrats and Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Jim Pederson. The complaint, filed Friday, stems from the transfer of more than $480,000 from the Arizona Democratic Party to affiliates in other states — money those state parties turned around and sent back, in similar amounts, to Arizona. The Arizona dollars were from money raised for state races. The funds sent...

Bill Clinton in town Thursday to stump for Pederson By Daniel Scarpinato ARIZONA DAILY STAR Tucson, Arizona | Published: 10.31.2006 advertisement Former President Bill Clinton will make his way to Tucson Thursday for an event aimed at boosting support for Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Jim Pederson. The event is one of two high-profile visits planned this week on Pederson's behalf. Clinton's visit will be preceded by a Phoenix fundraiser on Wednesday featuring his former vice president, Al Gore. Unlike the Clinton event, the Gore visit is a private gathering, said Mark Bergman, Pederson's spokesman. This will be Clinton's second trip...

Court rules against deportation of immigrant convicted of domestic violence By Howard Fischer Capitol media services Tucson, Arizona | Published: 10.26.2006 Federal immigration officials can't use the domestic violence conviction of a Tucson man to deport the legal immigrant, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Thursday. In a split ruling, the judges acknowledged that Jose Fernandez-Ruiz was convicted three years ago of the state crime of domestic violence. And federal law spells out that legal immigrants -- residents who are not citizens -- can be deported for crimes of domestic violence. But the majority concluded that federal...

Randy Graf vs. the Soros $$$ machine, a discredited RINO, and the open borders lobby Wes Vernon Wes Vernon October 23, 2006 Voters in Arizona's 8th Congressional District have an opportunity to send someone to Congress who shares their pro-American values. These people — living right up against the border — have been on the front lines in the war against the invasion of this country by Mexico. Yes, invasion by Mexico, whose government (because of its corruption, incompetence, and Marxist-tinged economic policies) has millions of its people living in abject poverty. So Mexican authorities have a solution. Not a...

National Guard keeps eyes on border Guard's hands-off approach tightens border security By Brady McCombs Arizona Daily Star Tucson, Arizona | Published: 10.21.2006Senior Airman Jeremiah Steele stands guard east of Nogales. Apprehensions and deaths in the Tucson Sector have dropped since the National Guard arrived. Perched on a hilltop near the border in the rolling hills east of Nogales, National Guard Tech. Sgt. Nick Livingston and his crew scan the horizon from east to west looking for illegal border crossers. With rifles at their sides, binoculars around their necks and bulletproof vests underneath their camouflage fatigues, Livingston, 33, of Cincinnati,...

District 8 race offers challenge, rare opportunity By Daniel Scarpinato arizona daily star Tucson, Arizona | Published: 10.15.2006 As one of a select number of truly competitive congressional districts, the diversity of Southern Arizona's 8th cannot be overstated. Juxtaposing chi-chi Foothills neighborhoods with high-poverty border towns — swallowing in Bohemian artists enclaves and straight-laced family populated suburbs, the district presents a unique political challenge. And with the retirement of Rep. Jim Kolbe, a rare opportunity for the aspiring. That's precisely why the seat was supposed to be one of the most competitive races in the nation. But since the...

National Guard Activated in Weather-Beaten N.Y. By Sgt. Sara Wood, USA American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, Oct. 13, 2006 – The New York governor has called up members of the New York Army and Air National Guard for state active duty in western New York following record-breaking, lake-effect snowfall in the region. The Guard has been assigned to provide Humvees and drivers to the Erie County Medical Center in Buffalo, N.Y., to provide emergency transportation for medical personnel and to the Buffalo Fire Department to transport emergency medical technicians and evacuate patients as needed, said Army Lt. Col. Paul Fanning,...

Illegal Immigration Shaping Congressional Elections in Key Border States By Greg FlakusTucson, Arizona13 October 2006 Flakus report - Download 512k Listen to Flakus report The issue of illegal immigration has stirred passions around the nation in the past year and it is playing a role in some congressional races around the country. One place where it is a big issue is southern Arizona, where the majority of illegal entries from Mexico occur.  The candidates for Congress from one district on the Mexican border are competing over who has the best approach to the problem. Republican candiate for Congress Randy...

McCain backs Minuteman Graf; Giffords wants Hastert to resign The Business Journal of Phoenix - October 8, 2006 by Mike Sunnucks The Business Journal Arizona Sen. John McCain has endorsed conservative Tucson congressional candidate Randy Graf despite a split between the two on immigration and the Mexican border. Graf is also a member of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, a controversial group that patrols U.S. border and wants tougher immigration controls. The Minutemen have opposed McCain's approach to immigration, including a guest worker program. Graf faces an uphill climb against Democratic rival Gabrielle Giffords in a southeastern Arizona U.S. House...

McCain supports Graf for House seat By Daniel Scarpinato arizona daily star Tucson, Arizona | Published: 10.08.2006 Republican congressional candidate Randy Graf has won the endorsement of political superstar John McCain — a significant step, the campaign says, toward unifying moderates and conservatives. "Randy Graf's record as a state representative has demonstrated his commitment to the values important to the people of Arizona," McCain said in a written statement provided to the Arizona Daily Star. "His voting record on issues such as supporting our military, reducing taxes and reining in election and welfare fraud bodes well for his future...

Tucson Chamber backs Napolitano An influential business group is endorsing Gov. Janet Napolitano's election effort. The Tucson Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce is backing Napolitano, a Democrat, over Republican challenger Len Munsil in this year's governor's race. Napolitano has carved out a moderate, pro-business path since becoming governor in 2003. That includes approving business and Republican-backed tax cuts the past two legislative sessions. Napolitano is favored to win over Munsil, a social conservative and Scottsdale attorney. Munsil was head of the Center for Arizona Policy, a Scottsdale-based Christian conservative group, before entering the governor's race. The Tucson chamber and a number...

Cornyn: 700 miles of border fence won't happen Senator says plan isn't practical, doesn't have the necessary funds. By Eunice Moscoso WASHINGTON BUREAU Wednesday, October 04, 2006 WASHINGTON — Sen. John Cornyn, a Texas Republican and key liaison to the White House on immigration, said Tuesday that 700 miles of fencing approved by Congress for the United States' southern border will probably not be built because of a lack of money and other practical considerations. "It's one thing to authorize. It's another thing to actually appropriate the money and do it," he said.Cornyn predicted that some fencing would be built...

Karl Rove Offers Pep Talk to Arizona GOP by Patrick McNamara Posted Oct 02, 2006 TUCSON, ARIZ.—In hopes of keeping Arizona’s 8th District in Republican hands, White House adviser Karl Rove came to town last Friday with this message: Democrats can’t be trusted to fight the War on Terror. At the fundraising event organized by the Arizona Republican Party, Rove—the man President Bush calls “the architect”—derided the Democratic congressional leadership for a “cut-and-run philosophy on terror.” “We’re kidding ourselves if we think we can walk out on Iraq—without having won—and not embolden the terrorists,” Rove told the crowd of Arizona...

Opinion My opinion Andrés Oppenheimer : Migrants' remittances not all good My opinion Andrés Oppenheimer Tucson, Arizona | Published: 10.01.2006 When mayors of about a dozen Latin American and Caribbean cities met in Miami last week to exchange ideas about their common problems, they touched on an issue that is seldom talked about: the possible link between migration, family remittances and Latin America's rising crime rates. An estimated 12 million Latin American migrants in the United States send more than $40 billion a year to their relatives in their native countries, according to Inter-American Development Bank estimates. About $20 billion...

Tucson Region AdWatch: The Star's ongoing evaluation of the record versus the rhetoric in campaign ads Giffords' TV ad addresses America's safety By Josh Brodesky arizona daily star Tucson, Arizona | Published: 10.01.2006 advertisement Today: We look at an ad for Democrat Gabrielle Giffords. The Race: Congress, District 8. Medium: A 30-second television ad. The Message: The ad begins with an image of cargo containers as a narrator says, "our ports uninspected." The message is re-emphasized by a graphic stating "one in 20 ports inspected." It then cuts to an image of a dirt road slicing across the desert as...

Tucson Region Political Notebook Despite Giffords' gripe, ad still on air By Daniel Scarpinato arizona daily star Tucson, Arizona | Published: 10.01.2006 Democrat Gabrielle Giffords wants a new television ad criticizing her taken off the air, but Cox Media has no plans to pull it. In a letter sent Wednesday from Giffords' attorney to Cox Media, the campaign urges the company to take an ad paid for by the Minuteman Political Action Committee off the air since the Minutemen haven't been able to clearly back up claims they make about Congressional District 8 candidate Giffords in the ad. In the...

Trip Comes Amid New Reports Linking Rove to Indicted Former Republican Lobbyist Jack Abramoff9/29/2006 6:14:00 PM To: State Desk Contact: Luis Miranda of the Democratic National Committee, 202-863-8148 WASHINGTON, Sept. 29 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The following release was issued today by the Democratic National Committee: Desperate times call for desperate measures, and the Arizona Republican Party has gone to desperate measures today by bringing GOP fear and smear king Karl Rove to Tucson and Scottsdale to raise campaign cash. But, Rove is lucky to be getting out of Washington and avoiding questions raised in a new a bipartisan Congressional report,...

Tucson Region Minutemen's Graf ads: Rival is 'way too liberal' TV spots say Giffords favors aid for entrants By Daniel Scarpinato arizona daily star Tucson, Arizona | Published: 09.27.2006 In an effort to boost support for Republican congressional candidate Randy Graf, the Minuteman Political Action Committee launched the first in a series of ads on Tuesday. The television advertising, appearing on cable stations, criticizes 8th District Democratic candidate Gabrielle Giffords as being "way too liberal for Arizona." The Giffords campaign calls statements in the ad lies, and campaign officials are working with lawyers to have the commercial removed from the...

Opinion Guest Opinion: John Kromko Demos losing poor Hispanic voters who want effective border security Tucson, Arizona | Published: 09.25.2006 In 2004, Arizona voters passed Proposition 200, which cut some social services for illegal aliens. While impacts of this proposition have been frequently debated, one profound aspect has been ignored: the poorer a voter was, the more they supported Prop. 200, regardless of ethnicity. In heavily Hispanic precincts, about 40 percent to 45 percent of voters voted for Prop. 200, about the same percentage that voted for Bush. If you're wealthy, an alien probably won't take your job or...