Monday, June 30, 2014

Conservative Andrew Thomas Likely to Become Arizona’s Next Governor

With Arizona’s Governor Jan Brewer term limited, a crowded field of Republicans has emerged hoping to replace her in 2015. The liberal media can’t make up its mind which of the more moderate to liberal candidates it prefers, so those four are all being touted as frontrunners. Various contradictory polls from groups with agendas have been released, with wildly humorous results.

The most conservative candidate in the race, former Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas,  a Harvard Law educated author, has gained the support of the conservative base, tea party and grassroots. While the other four candidates duke it out to split up the more moderate GOP vote (roughly 66 percent) four ways, Thomas is poised to take the base (33 percent) and win the nomination. The Democrats have only put up one candidate, Fred Duval, who is relatively unknown. It is difficult for Democrats to win statewide elections in Arizona; Janet Napolitano was a rare exception. Only through bogus election complaints against her GOP opponent, Matt Salmon, a whisper campaign about how his Mormonism was sexist (one in five GOP women voted for her based on this), and getting Sheriff Arpaio to run TV ads about her, was she able to win by a half a percent.

The conservative base is rallying around Thomas because he has the most consistent, proven and proactive record by far. Two of the most contentious issues in Arizona currently are Common Core and Governor Brewer’s expansion of Obamacare Medicaid. Thomas has been the only candidate to loudly and consistently stand up against both of these. Illegal immigration also continues to be a problem, as Border Patrol agents report that more illegal immigrants than ever are now coming over the border, threatening to make the financial drain on Arizona as bad as it is in California. Last month, the Obama administration started transporting illegal immigrant women and children to Arizona and dropping them off, in retaliation over Arizona’s SB 1070. Federal judges have gutted the most potent provisions of SB 1070 since it was passed, rendering it mostly ineffective.

Thomas has the support of the powerful former chair of the Maricopa County Republican Party, Rob Haney, who personally traveled around the state collecting signatures and $5 matching contributions for Thomas. The Maricopa County Republican Committee’s leadership team, the Executive Guidance Committee, took a poll earlier this month of the governor’s race. Thomas received more than twice as many votes as any other candidate. This is significant, because unlike other polls in the race, it surveyed “likely likely” voters, not the typical “likely voters,” which doesn’t give enough weight to the conservative base that is more likely to show up and vote than other Republicans.  

The political chattering class and elites think Thomas can’t get elected, due to a politically motivated witch hunt by powerful leftists angry about his proactive efforts on crime related to illegal immigration. These leftists were able to get the far left-controlled Arizona State Bar to disbar Thomas, during a time when I was working for him. However, many attorneys have been disbarred and gone on to become quite successful. Bill Clinton is the most prominent example, remaining one of the most popular politicians in the world, and now averaging $195,000 per speech. The actions leading to his disbarment were far more sleazy than what Thomas was accused of - and Thomas wasn’t guilty. As a result of what happened to him and could happen to anyone the left disagrees with, Thomas has vowed to take on government corruption at the highest levels of government, including within the judiciary and State Bar, something none of the rest of the GOP candidates dare risk. A phrase commonly heard around Maricopa County as a result is, “Cook County is no longer the most crooked county in the nation.”

The other candidates include Doug Ducey, who has been plagued by complaints from franchise owners while he was CEO of Coldstone Creamery. Many SBA loans went bad due to the failure of numerous franchises. In a gubernatorial debate last week, Ducey railed against “Deadbeat Dads,” to the shock of many who have a brother or son struggling to keep up with onerous child support laws. He was silent when Governor Brewer expanded Obamacare Medicaid, and during last week’s debate, it was still unclear whether he agreed with it.

Secretary of State Ken Bennett is another one of the so-called front runners, but no one has seen or heard much of him. Mesa Mayor Scott Smith is perhaps the most moderate Republican in the race, admitting he supports Common Core and a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants. Christine Jones, the only woman in the race, is a virtually unknown attorney with ties to McCain, not helpful in an Arizona GOP primary. There is also a sixth candidate, Frank Riggs, who has been unable to get any traction in any poll.

This wouldn’t be the first time Thomas won the GOP nomination in a crowded field of less conservative candidates. He successfully won the GOP nomination for Maricopa County Attorney in 2004 as the other four candidates split up the moderate to liberal Republican vote. Thomas then went on to win the general election.

The polling done in the race so far has been all over the board. A poll taken in February by Public Policy Polling, a very liberal firm, put Bennett at 20 percent, Thomas at 9 percent, and Ducey at 6 percent. Contrast this to a June poll by McLaughlin and Associates, which has ties to Ducey, putting him in the lead at 22.8 percent and Bennett with only 8 percent.

The liberal media is so furious Thomas has a chance, they are pulling out all stops to defeat him. The Phoenix New Times ran a story last week begging people to vote for any of the other GOP candidates over Thomas. The normally fair and balanced Arizona Capitol Times referred to Thomas as “disgraced” in a headline. Thomas is not a “disgrace” to stand for the principles he has and will fight for. He’s a hero! The Arizona Republic tried hard to make it appear that Thomas had not collected enough money for campaign financing and would be dropping out of the race, even though Thomas immediately fixed the problem within a few days.

Fortunately, Arizona Republicans have a long history of not caring who the newspaper and the rest of the media urge them to pick as the nominee. This is even more pronounced due to the declining influence of the local Arizona press, which continues to shrink and go out of business, replaced by conservative blogs and alternative media.

Red states like Arizona are getting redder, and blue states are getting bluer. After Governor Brewer’s betrayal on Obamacare, Common Core and sales tax increases, Republicans are not going to settle for another compromiser. As someone said who was listening to the governor’s debate last week, “Andrew Thomas sounds like Ronald Reagan, the other candidates just put me to sleep.”

Thursday, June 26, 2014

AZ GOP gubernatorial debate last night: "Andrew Thomas sounds like Ronald Reagan, the others just put me to sleep"

That was my mom's reaction after listening to much of last night's KFYI debate between the GOP candidates for governor of Arizona. Thomas got the most applause by far of any of the candidates, because he was able to point out his proven track record on conservative issues, how he continues to stand up for conservative issues out front - he was the first gubernatorial candidate to denounce Governor Brewer's Obamacare Medicaid expansion, and how he plans to fight hard for conservative principles; he's not going to compromise and be wishy-washy after getting elected. 

Scott Smith was booed when he brought up his views on illegal immigration, since he isn't a border hawk like Thomas. Smith also reiterated his support for Common Core, which wasn't popular with the audience either. Andy spoke the most forcefully of any candidate against Common Core, and had the guts to defend private and Christian schools, the only candidate to do so.

Perhaps the most offensive line of the evening came when Doug Ducey yelled, seriously, yelled and repeated himself, regarding "Deadbeat Dads." As one of the original first members of Leading Women For Shared Parenting, I cannot believe he said this. I've personally been involved in more than one situation where men were hounded for insanely high amounts of child support, while women were given a free pass, never had to pay a dime. It is BRUTALLY unfair to refer to "Deadbeat Dads," when in reality, it is now more often women who are getting more of a break! Tell that to our friend Leigh, who was put in JAIL because he was unable to afford any more child support (he already had 4 children of his own to support) for a child that WAS NOT HIS! I've got banner ads up all over my websites for Leigh it's so atrocious. 

Regarding Governor Brewer's Obamacare Medicaid expansion, Andy explained, "It's not the expansion of Medicaid, the problem is actually the expansion of Obamacare. I was the first Republican leader anywhere in Arizona to speak out against it. I rounded up tea parties even though I wasn't in office. I saw there was going to be a major expansion of government and the welfare state. You need a fighter in office who is going to stand up for conservative principles."

In contrast, Doug Ducey's response about Brewer's Obamacare Medicaid expansion (he was silent for months when it was taking place) was so incoherent I could not understand what he was saying. I think he was ducking it.  

Here is Andy's response to border security: "It is one thing to talk about putting the National Guard on the border, and it is another thing to actually do it. It requires taking on the entire political and media establishment, and doing it for years to make sure it's done. I'm the one guy who has made it done at great personal cost. We have to deal with these [activist left-wing] judges. I'm the only candidate who has stood up to the federal government."

Andy responded to one question about how he would govern, "We're the wealthiest country in the world, but we can't pay our bills. The state capital is leasing its buildings in order to pay bills. That's why we need a conservative governor who will keep their promises. We're broke because politicians promise things to get reelected without little concern about tomorrow. It's creating massive structural debt. We need a strong, solid conservative who will not pile up debt, who will not burden our children and grandchildren."

When asked about CPS, Andy said, "There is a fundamental problem with CPS; it needs to be reformed. It's a systemic and longstanding problem. Currently, a social worker bureaucracy is in charge of children. We need to move to a law enforcement model instead. It's been chronically inept. The core reason why the agency is overwhelmed is because of the breakdown of the family. Hollywood and liberal elites are responsible. The solution starts in the home and with preserving the family."

Andy concluded, "If we do not secure our border, then education, pensions, and healthcare are meaningless, because we will go broke. We'll be on the road to a Detroit-style bankruptcy. Do we accept the cultural disintegration of Arizona, or do we stand and fight? Do we go down that path or choose someone who will stand and fight? I lowered crime rates as county attorney and fought racial preferences. This wasn't part of the county attorney's job, but I did it because it was right. We were winning the fight against illegal immigration, cars were backed up all the way into Mexico. Stand up for yourselves and the United States of America. God bless you."

Friday, June 20, 2014

Andrew Thomas poised to get full Clean Elections funding; other conservative in race Al Melvin about to drop out

We like Al Melvin, because he's almost the only other conservative in the race for Arizona governor next to Andrew Thomas, but it appears that he's not going to get his funding to run and will drop out of the race. Constantin Querard, a conservative consultant who is working for Melvin, admitted to a newspaper today, "He's on pace right now to get his money by the middle of August, that's too late to win."

This bodes extremely well for Andrew Thomas, who is poised to take the conservative, grassroots and Tea Party wing of the GOP, as the rest of the moderate Republicans split up the moderate and liberal establishment GOP vote. 

Unlike virtually all of the rest of the GOP candidates, Thomas has spoken up and consistently opposed Common Core, Governor Brewer's Obamacare Medicaid expansion, and has a long history of opposing illegal immigration and writing conservative books. Most of the other candidates have waffled or even remained liberal on those issues. Do you trust them?

The choice isn't even fuzzy, it's clear. If you support conservative principles, and want someone you can trust who won't compromise or be bullied by John McCain - Andrew Thomas is your choice. If you want to go along with the establishment, and continue compromising with the McCain crowd, the people who hate the Tea Party, and elect someone who will turn around and betray you and vote against conservative principles, then Thomas isn't your candidate. I worked for him for five years, as well as on his campaigns as a volunteer, and he's someone you can trust - he never betrayed conservative principles even ONCE when I worked under him, and that all began way back in 2005. He's not going to raise my taxes, he's not going to fund Planned Parenthood, and he's not going to ram radical sex ed in the schools. He will keep Arizona conservative, and no offense to Governor Brewer, but he'll be a lot more principled than she has been. 

Visit voteandrewthomas.com for more information.Thomas only needs a handful left of $5 matching contributions for his full funding, contact tomdodson28-at-gmail.com to contribute.

KFYI and Mike Broomhead host AZ gubernatorial debate featuring Andrew Thomas and other less conservative candidates on June 25th

Location: Scottsdale Plaza Resort
Date and time: June 25th from 7-8pm
How to attend: KFYI will select 150 people to attend the debate. Register here for a chance.

Tweet your questions using #kfyiazgop.

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Clean Elections may investigate Tom Horne, could force him off the ballot

The Arizona Clean Elections Commission will decide Thursday whether to investigate allegations that Attorney General Tom Horne used state resources for his re-election campaign.
If the commission deems an investigation is merited and finds Horne guilty of the allegations, penalties could range from fines to removing Horne from the ballot or even from office.

Friday, June 13, 2014

Tom Horne belatedly calls on Obama to stop dumping illegal immigrants in Arizona

On June 9th, Mark Brnovich and Bill Montgomery immediately demanded that Obama stop abandoning illegal immigrants in Arizona. Where was Attorney General Tom Horne? Too busy campaigning or fending off investigations? I thought Horne had become a staunch opponent of illegal immigration. One thing is clear, he's not a leader. He FINALLY came out against the practice yesterday, three days later, climbing on the bandwagon after real leaders like Brnovich and Montgomery had already made the first objections.







Mark Brnovich Joins County Attorney Bill Montgomery in Calling for End to Practice of Federal Abandonment of Children in Arizona
Today, Republican candidate for attorney general Mark Brnovich joined County Attorney Bill Montgomery in calling on the Obama Administration to immediately stop the abandonment of illegal immigrants, many of them children, in Arizona communities.
“This is another example of the federal government’s failure to adequately address the illegal immigration problem in our country,” said Mark Brnovich. “This situation is a matter not only of national security, but human decency. Who leaves a child or a vulnerable adult, regardless of where they came from, in a situation where they must fend for themselves? It’s dangerous and immoral,” said Brnovich.

Media reports have noted that hundreds of illegal immigrants, mostly women and unaccompanied children, were being transferred to Arizona and abandoned at Phoenix and Tucson area bus stations after being detained in Texas.
“The Arizona attorney general has a constitutional obligation to defend our state and to push back against the overreach of the federal government,” said Mark Brnovich. He added: “The attorney general should be protecting the most vulnerable in our society, and when children are being abandoned on our streets, or bus stations, I will do everything to stop it when I'm attorney general.”

“I commend county attorney Bill Montgomery for his leadership on this issue,” said Brnovich. “As attorney general, I will work with local law enforcement and county attorneys to investigate and prosecute any instance of childhood neglect or abuse - regardless of who the perpetrator is.”

Monday, June 9, 2014

Tea Party Revolution Taking Place in England

ukip2Something remarkable is taking place in our mother country. Late last month, a third party on the right overtook both major political parties in a national election, as significantly more people in England voted for the right over the left. The UK Independence Party (UKIP) is surging as a sort of British equivalent to the Tea Party, proposing a reduction in immigration and leaving the European Union. 

The UKIP received the most votes in May’s European Parliament elections (electing delegates known as MEPs) with 27.49%, followed by Labour with 25.40% and the Conservatives (or Tories) with 23.93%. It was the first time in over 100 years that a party other than Labour or Conservatives have won the most votes in a nationwide election. Most of the remaining vote went to the Green and Liberal Democrat parties - but with over 50% going to UKIP or the Conservatives, it is clear the country is undergoing a conservative shift. The UK has been led since 2010 by Prime Minister David Cameron of the Conservatives.

Although the UKIP won the most votes in the UK’s European Parliament, it still has a lot of catching up to do in the UK’s two traditional legislative bodies. Cameron has only appointed three UKIP candidates to the 780-member House of Lords, and the UKIP has yet to win a single election in the House of Commons (MPs). Last week, the Conservatives won the Newark election for MP, with 44.9% of the vote. The UKIP candidate came in second with 25.8%, well ahead of Labour with only 17.6%. That means a whopping 70% voted for a right-leaning party.

Saturday, June 7, 2014

VIDEO: Jim Sharpe interviews Andrew Thomas for Governor - "I don't flip [flop]"

If you haven't seen Jim Sharpe's interview with Andrew Thomas, please watch, it's good. He has a proven record of not compromising, and still won't. I'm very excited he got 40% of the vote in a Maricopa GOP straw poll. The next two closest candidates didn't even get 20% each. This despite the fact that two of the candidates have already spent $1 million each! Thomas has spent virtually nothing, I am pretty certain his campaign is all run by grassroots volunteers. Visit his website here.

Friday, June 6, 2014

Andrew Thomas creams all the competition in Maricopa GOP poll!

THIS JUST IN!

I just won another straw poll…the most meaningful one to date.

Last night, the Maricopa County Republican Party leadership held a “snap” straw poll in the Governor’s race and other statewide races. Present were elected Republican leaders from throughout the county. 

Here are the results in the Governor's race:

Andrew Thomas: 40 % (16 votes)
Ken Bennett: 17.5 % (7 votes)
Frank Riggs: 17.5 % (7 votes)
Doug Ducey: 12.5 % (5 votes)
Christine Jones: 5 % (2 votes)
Scott Smith: 0 % (0 votes)
Al Melvin: 0 % (0 votes)
(Note: There was one write-in vote for Matt Salmon)

These were real votes, done by secret ballot, by Republican leaders--some of the most engaged and informed voters in the state.

I was not there (I was speaking to the Payson Tea Party – thanks to everyone there last night for the strong response), but I want to thank everyone who voted for me. Our state faces tremendous challenges. We need a conservative warrior as governor to tackle them.

Channel 3 online poll: 57% would vote for Andrew Thomas for governor

Francine Romesburg has a great article about Andrew Thomas running for governor at the Glendale Tea Party. Click here to read it.

Tom Horne GOP poll spells disaster, is AG's race over?

The enduring story of this election year seems likely to be this: why was Tom Horne so hell bent on handing over the attorney general's office to Democrat Felecia Rotellini?
A new poll out today indicates that 95 percent of likely Republican voters know who Horne is.
The bad news: 60 percent of them don't like him. The poll indicates that only 20 percent of likely Republian voters have a favorable view of Horne.
Interestingly, only half of GOP voters had even heard of Horne's GOP opponent, Mark Brnovich, yet if the election were held today, 43 percent would vote for him, to Horne's 26 percent, with the rest undecided.

Thursday, June 5, 2014

AZPIA Calls On Attorney General Tom Horne To Resign, Encourages Legislative Action To Remove Horne

Mesa, Arizona–The Arizona Public Integrity Alliance (AZPIA) has released new commercials in an effort to educate the public about Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne’s misbehavior. The commercials call on Mr. Horne to resign. AZPIA believes if Mr. Horne does not resign immediately, the legislature should take action to remove him from office.
“Tom Horne’s behavior does not live up to the standards of integrity we expect from an Attorney General,” said AZPIA director, Steve Cox. “We hope our efforts bring attention to this problem, and that our legislative leaders respond by taking action to remove Horne from office and by passing measures that will prevent some of the abuses he exhibited.”

“The hardest part about making our 30-second commercial was deciding which of the long list of Horne’s scandals to discuss. It wasn’t easy,” said AZPIA president, Tyler Montague. “We settled on telling people about allegations that Horne hired his mistress for a $108k state salary, and that he was sneaking off with her when the FBI observed him commit a hit and run. I feel those incidents concisely symbolize Horne’s sense of entitlement and the lack of concern for the law displayed in more complex issues, like the accusations he took illegal campaign donations and that he uses state resources to further his political campaign.”

The Closing of the Presidential Mind - Part 3 - Unveiled Ignorance: Obamacare and its Roots

obmcr2 by Andrew Thomas

How did Obama end up in this morass? Health-care reform long has been a central focus of modern American liberalism. The high priest of American socialism who offered the substance for these policies was John Rawls, an American political philosopher. Obama absorbed his views at Harvard Law School (HLS).  

President Barack Obama’s most famous policy initiative has proved to be, arguably, his most divisive and politically damaging. ObamaCare has become at once his calling card for a high rating from liberal historians and a political albatross. As the impracticality of the system has met with the reality of consumers’ everyday needs, the administration has been forced to change the rules governing the nation’s health-care system seemingly every day. 

The legality of these edicts has been questionable at best; they ensure that the health-care sector, one-sixth of the nation’s economy, is governed by the daily caprice of the nation’s chief executive. Yet, ObamaCare is also perhaps the most intellectually revealing of the namesake president’s programs. Obama admitted early in his administration, in an interview with “60 Minutes,” he saw the risks of pushing the legislation, but went ahead anyhow. “I made the decision to go ahead and do it, and it proved as costly politically as we expected, probably actually a little more costly than we expected politically,” he acknowledged. Indeed, so intent was he to push ObamaCare that he was willing to brazenly promise the public, not once but twice, in a 2009 speech to Congress that his plan would not affect Americans’ health-care options—a promise now infamously broken.  

How did Obama end up in this morass? Health-care reform long has been a central focus of modern American liberalism. The high priest of American socialism who offered the substance for these policies was John Rawls, an American political philosopher. Obama absorbed his views at Harvard Law School (HLS).

Read the rest of the article at the Selous Foundation for Public Policy Research

Tuesday, June 3, 2014

Andrew Thomas launches campaign website for governor; turns in $5 matching contributions for campaign funding

And in case you read that Thomas has not collected all of his matching $5 contributions for funding, no worries, once the Clean Elections Commission counts ALL of them he will have the full amount necessary. Of course, he can always supplement them later with extra $5s, so if you have not yet contributed, please do, it can't hurt. Very excited, Thomas is the only conservative in the race who has a decent chance (name recognition and he's polling well over 1% unlike the other two), and once the rest of the moderates in the GOP split the vote, he'll take the conservative base all to himself.