Trent Franks

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.

U.S. Rep. Trent Franks (R-Glendale) gave Gov. Sarah Palin (R-Alaska) high praise Friday after Arizona Sen. John McCain (R-Phoenix) put her on the Republican presidential ticket.

“I am elated with Senator McCain’s selection of Governor Sarah Palin for Vice President.” Franks said. “Governor Palin brings a vibrant spirit, uncompromising principles, a deeply rooted value of family and children, and a record of fearless determination in reforming the broken systems of government that will help to bring exactly the kind of change to Washington that the American people need and have every right to expect."

Congressmen Jeff Flake, Trent Franks and John Shadegg sent a letter to the Maricopa County Republican Committee asking they remove J.T. Ready from his position as Precinct Committeeman.  Today the county has responded saying as of September 3rd Ready will cease to be a PC, but reading the letter you get the impression there is great tension between the County and the Congressmen.  The County also took issue with Shadegg earlier this month when he endorsed Democrat turned Republican Tony Bouie.  Below is the MCRC response to the Congressmen.

The Arizona AFL-CIO has unveiled its endorsements in this year's U.S. House primaries, though only one of the candidates is actually engaged in a primary, and one primary was bypassed altogether.

All candidates who received endorsements were Democrats, and included the four Democratic members of the Arizona House delegation, though none faces a primary. Other recipients were Bob Lord, who is taking on U.S. Rep. John Shadegg (R-Phoenix) in the 3rd Congressional District; John Thrasher, a Democrat who is running for the second time against U.S. Rep. Trent Franks (R-Glendale) in the 2nd Congressional District; and Ann Kirkpatrick, the front-runner in the 1st Congressional District Democratic pack.

"These candidates share our vision of what is important to Arizona’s working families," said Rebekah Friend, the Arizona AFL-CIO's executive director. "It is crucial for the future of Arizona that we elect those who are going to step up to the plate and fight for the issues that will move Arizona forward. We’re convinced that these candidates will do just that."

Republican Party leaders will be on hand to raise funds for the congressional campaign of state Sen. Tim Bee (R-Tucson) Thursday in Washington, D.C. The reception, which will cost contributors $500/person (or $1,000 for a PAC contribution), is set to feature the top two Republicans in the house, Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Minority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), as well as nine other Republican House members.

The three Republican representatives in the Arizona delegation who are seeking re-election will be appearing: Reps. Jeff Flake, Trent Franks and John Shadegg, as well as Jim Kolbe, who held the 8th Congressional District seat Bee is trying to take away from Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, Kolbe's successor.

In order to appear at the fundraiser at 5:30 EDT, Bee will not be able to preside over the Arizona Senate or participate in ongoing budget negotiations. Bee has been criticized by Democrats for campaigning while a constitutional deadline to settle the budget looms.

Capping a day when CD1 candidate Sydney Hay picked up the support of ten state legislators in the district she hopes to represent, Hay also gained a backer in higher office: U.S. Rep. John Shadegg (R-3).

Shadegg is the second member of Congress to lend his support to Hay, who looks increasingly likely to become the Republican nominee to face off against the eventual Democratic nominee for the open seat. U.S. Rep. Jeff Flake endorsed Hay on May 20, and U.S. Rep. Trent Franks (R-2), for whom Hay was a spokeswoman during his 2006 re-election campaign, endorsed her as soon as she entered the race last August.

"We need you in the halls of Congress," the release from the Hay campaign quoted Shadegg as saying.

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.

While Arizona's congressional delegation may often split along ideological divides, yesterday marked a rare occasion in which Democrats and Republicans united behind a common cause.

In a letter sent to President George W. Bush, four Republican and two Democratic members of Congress from Arizona urged the federal government to renew Operation Jump Start, the 2006 initiative to place National Guard troops along the U.S.-Mexico border. The mandate is set to expire in just over two months, which, the legislators argue, would severely compromise anti-illegal immigration efforts.