Tony Reinhard

As of today, Tony Reinhard is the former communications manager for the Arizona Republican Party, and the new executive director of the Maricopa County Republican Party. The move comes after only five months as being spokesman for the Arizona GOP.

"My sincere thanks go out to the AZGOP and the staff here," said Reinhard in an email. "The past five months have been a great learning experience and I look forward to working in conjunction with them to keep Arizona a solidly 'Red State.'"

Sean McCaffrey, executive director of the Arizona Republican Party, will be acting as interim spokesman until a replacement can be found.

"We're very happy Tony has the opportunity to work with the county party," said Brett Mecum, who is the state party's political director.

Arizona Republican Party Chairman Randy Pullen appeared with the sole remaining challenger to Sen. John McCain's presidential nomination at an event in Phoenix last night. Though this has rankled some Arizona Republicans who perceive disloyalty toward Sen. McCain in the appearance, both Pullen and the Paul campaign say it was simply a show of Republican solidarity, rather than a sly rebuke to the presumptive nominee.

Given the checkered history between Pullen and Sen. McCain, some Republicans questioned the wisdom of the chairman appearing with Paul, whose supporters have often been vocal in their opposition to McCain. However, Andre Campos, Paul's Arizona director, took pains to alleviate fears that Paul supporters will do anything to embarrass McCain or the Republican Party.

Arizona only rates a few mentions in the long analysis U.S. Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.) penned regarding the Republican Party's current woes, a memo designed to address the rampant anxiety prevailing among GOP incumbents and candidates this cycle. Yet both of Arizona's political parties see a direct correlation between what Davis addressed on the national level and what is happening on the ground in Arizona's congressional races.

For Emily Bittner, Communications Director for the Arizona Democratic Party, the memo contains an affirmation that the 2008 Democratic outlook in Arizona is good.

The Arizona Republican Party is fuming over what it sees as Governor Janet Napolitano's latest blow to anti-illegal immigration efforts.

In an executive order signed Monday, Napolitano redirected over $1 million slated to go to Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's office for immigration enforcement. The funds will be used instead for a task force she's appointed to serve tens of thousands of outstanding warrants statewide.

Coupled with her veto of a bill that would have enabled county and municipal law enforcement agencies to have greater cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Arizona Republican Party is making its displeasure known, and accusing the governor of refusing to enforce laws and obstructing Sheriff Arpaio's efforts.

The question, though, is how far are frustrated Republicans willing to go to stop Gov. Napolitano?    

Anyone expecting a repeat of Nevada's Republican Party Convention today was sorely mistaken. Despite an effort to secure the election of supporters of Rep. Ron Paul as delegates to the Republican National Convention in September, the "Unity Slate," crafted by the party to ensure that only delegates who fully support the state's favorite son would be represent Arizona in Minneapolis this September, was elected with almost no changes.

U.S. Sen. John McCainOn the fifth anniversary of Bush's "Mission Accomplished" speech aboard the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln, Democrats are taking the opportunity to once again throw Sen. John McCain's words on Iraq back in his face.

Despite complaints that McCain's remarks to the effect that it would be acceptable for U.S. troops to stay in Iraq for 100 years were taken out of context, Democrats are not letting up on the issue. Moreover, they are trying to paint McCain as a "flip-flopper" for having previously advanced a position at odds with his current view on Iraq.

This has been the week of the GOP going after Democrats over rising fuel costs, trying to marry that party to consumer woes. The Democrats have responded, but now Emily Bittner, spokeswoman for the Arizona Democratic Party, is lending her voice.

Republicans claim the Democratic leadership in Congress is failing to lead on this issue, and furthermore advocating a stance that will lead to higher gas prices. Democrats countered today with a list of specific legislation that they say works to achieve the object - with a note from Bittner saying Republicans care more about Big Oil than the middle class. 

Tony Reinhard, the spokesman for the Arizona Republican Party, usually lets party boss Randy Pullen do the attacking. Today, though, Reinhard is hitting hard at Emily Bittner, his Democratic counterpart. Bittner is roundly regarded as a pit bull in the best sense by Democrats and Republicans alike, and now Reinhard is trying to show that his office can give as good as it gets.