Ed Pastor

Half of the congressional delegation from Arizona changed their vote today from Monday's vote.

John Shadegg, Ed Pastor, Harry Mitchell and Gabrielle Giffords voted yes, while Rick Renzi, Trent Franks, Jeff Flake and Raul Grijalva maintained a no.

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The eight members of the Arizona delegation to the U.S. House - split evenly between Democrats and Republicans - spoke with one voice Monday in opposing the bailout bill before Congress, which was defeated on a vote of 205-228.

Unity is a rare occurence when it comes to the votes of House members from Arizona, but on Monday, the fiscally conservative streak that runs throughout the whole of Arizona politics was evident, as all eight members voted down the bill.

Many of the congressional campaigns have set up their own youtube channels so you can view their commercials and other videos. Below is a list of all the Arizona candidates I could find.

Ann Kirkpatrick (AZ-1)
Sydney Hay (AZ-1)
Bob Lord (AZ-3)
John Shadegg (AZ-3)
Ed Pastor (AZ-4)
Gabrielle Giffords (AZ-8)
Tim Bee (AZ-8)

The continuing allegations of ethics violations against U.S. Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.) may have consequences for Democratic politicians across the country, including in Arizona. Today, in their third such attack, the National Republican Congressional Committee is calling on 1st Congressional District candidate Ann Kirkpatrick to return campaign contributions she received from Rangel. The NRCC had previously called for U.S. Reps. Harry Mitchell (D-Tempe) and Gabrielle Giffords (D-Tucson) to do the same.

“Ann Kirkpatrick is not a voice for change, she is status-quo politician willing to get elected to Congress any way she can,” said NRCC Spokesman Ken Spain in a press release. “If Kirkpatrick wants to separate herself from a corrupt politician and an unpopular Democrat Majority in Congress, she will return the campaign checks she took from Rep. Charlie Rangel.”

By a vote of 293-129 the U.S. Congress today passed the hotly debated FISA bill.  Two of Arizona’s congressional delegation voted against the bill while the other six voted in favor of the measure.  Ed Pastor (AZ-4) and Raul Grijalva (AZ-7) were the two voting against the measure.

Susan Bitter Smith, U.S. House candidate in AZ-5, has worked to set up meetings between telecommunications executives and three Democratic Arizona members of the U.S. House, while campaigning to replace one of them.

Bitter Smith, who is executive director of the lobbying organization Arizona-New Mexico Cable Communications Association, lobbied her would-be opponent and two other members of the Arizona delegation. She requested meetings between executives at Cox Cable and U.S. Reps. Harry Mitchell (D-Tempe), Ed Pastor (D-Phoenix) and Raul Grijalva (D-Tucson). Bitter Smith is running for the Republican nomination in the 5th District, and will face Mitchell in the general election if she gets the nod.

Mitchell's office confirmed the meeting, but said it was only between Mitchell staff and the Cox executives. Mitchell spokesman Robbie Sherwood described the meeting as "positive," but said no specific legislation was discussed. Sherwood wouldn't comment on whether Mitchell's campaign thought it was appropriate for Bitter Smith to be currying favor on behalf of her clients with the member of Congress she hopes to defeat.

Sen. John McCain's involvement in a land deal between the federal government and a company whose principals have helped raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for him is the subject of a USA Today report out this morning. Yet McCain wasn't the only Arizona politician who supported the deal, according to a McCain spokesman, nor was he the only one who received financial backing from the company in question.

According to the story, McCain was instrumental in securing the acquisition of several hundred acres surrounding Luke Air Force Base from SunCor in 2003. SunCor's parent company, Pinnacle West, and its executives are major contributors to McCain, and the story indicates that McCain relaxed his "no pork" stance by appropriating the funds for the land purchase.

What the USA Today article failed to mention, according to a McCain spokesman, is that the deal was supported by the entirety of Arizona's congressional delegation - many of whom also count Pinnacle West and its officers among their top contributors.

Mark Twain once said “Thank God we don’t get all the government we pay for.”   But it appears not everyone feels that way.   read more »

Mitchell-Giffords

The Arizona Republican Party is going after the two freshman Democrats in the delegation, Reps. Gabby Giffords (D-8) and Harry Mitchell (D-5) over the poor marks they received in the annual National Taxpayers Union's report card.

“Being a former school teacher, it shouldn’t be difficult for Congressman Mitchell to understand a 'D' is simply unacceptable,” said Arizona Republican Party Chairman Randy Pullen. “Representative Giffords’s score of 9 percent is shameful. We have seen these two follow, in lockstep, the lead of Nancy Pelosi by voting to increase government spending, increase taxes on Arizona’s working families and failing to bring meaningful reform to the earmark process."