Dr. Zuhdi Jasser: A much needed voice for Muslims

 

Phoenix physician, Dr. M. Zuhdi Jasser, has made the pages of Townhall.com.  Jasser, a former lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy, has founded a Phoenix-based group of professionals who are Muslim, the American Islamic Forum for Democracy.

Jasser is the immediate past president of the Arizona Medical Association.

This article  by Kathryn Jean Lopez, provides valuable information, while giving another, much desired and rational voice to the too-often-silent American Muslim community.

Kudos to Dr. Jasser for stepping forward.

Former U.N. Ambassador Bolton denies being Huckabee advisor

Yet another gaffe in a escalating string of stumbles, bumbles, missteps, faux pas and outright miscommunications.

Politico reports on the candidate who can’t shoot straight.

Former state legislator, Cal Holman, dies in auto crash

,Many GOP activists know or remember Cal Holman. A dedicated guy with a passion for his party, he was killed in a three-car collision while turning onto the street leading to his home.

Cal served his north Phoenix district as a legislator from 1975 -1985.

The Republic reports that the drivers of two speeding vehicles have been arrested.

Our condolences go to his wife Elizabeth and his family.

Startling revelations regarding money, principles and life issues

Inconsistencies abound for the Huckster

Mike Huckabee last year accepted $52,000 in speaking fees from a biotech giant that wants to research human embryonic stem cells, a nonprofit working to expand access to the morning after pill and a group pushing to study whether tightening gun control laws will reduce violence

Politico reports the fascinating story behind Mike Huckabee’s staid, faith-based public persona and the conniving Huckabee the Huckster.

This well-documented article is a must read.

McCain Announces Catholic Leadership Team Featuring Pro-Life Stalwarts

 

Say what?

Have they forgotten McCain’s numerous votes to compel taxpayer funding of embryonic stem cell and fetal research?

If this constitutes a solid pro-life record, pigs fly.

Arizona Capitol Times interviews AZ GOP chairman Randy Pullen

 

Straightforward answers include responses to Kyl interview

Note: The Capitol Times requires subscriptions in order to access their pages. Consequently, we present a couple of questions and answers from a lengthy interview, to provide a flavor of the responses given by chairman Pullen.

Capitol Times:   Sen. Jon Kyl was critical of the party’s stance on such a divisive issue (illegal immigration) under your leadership in a recent Capitol Times interview. He said, ‘When the party itself got involved in the illegal immigration issue, it seemed to me that it exceeded its role because, clearly, Republicans were divided. It’s just not a proper role for the political party to get into.’ He contends the party exists to get Republicans elected, not declare stances on issues. What is your response to that?  (Seeing Red AZ covered the Kyl interview here.)

Pullen:  My response is the party was divided: 85 percent agreed with me and 15 percent agreed with him. I’d rather be with the 85 than the 15, quite frankly.

And, quite frankly, that’s the position of the national party, too, so I guess if he has a bone to pick with me, he’s picking that with national Chairman Mike Duncan, as well as the executive committee of the RNC.

 Part of a lengthy response to a Capitol Times question about local GOP fundraising elicited this reply:

Pullen:  The one area that has been a problem has been doing events. Our events are a little bit behind what they were in prior years. Part of that has been that it’s been difficult for us to get major national speakers to come in and speak (for) us at the state-party level.

Capitol Times:  Why?

Pullen:   Well, I’m not really sure. We’ve had a number of them lined up who have later cancelled out. There’s a lot of scuttlebutt out there and rumors about what’s going on, but I can’t confirm any of it. All I can tell you is we lined up several major national, prominent speakers to come in and they cancelled. Although we did have Fred Thompson here a couple weeks ago and we had a nice luncheon for him.

Going into next year, one of my major focuses will be that we get the kind of fundraising from major events that we should as a party.

Score a solid ten for Chairman Pullen.

Chuck Muth’s thoughtful analysis on the Bhutto assassination

His column quotes the informed and enlightened reaction to yesterday’s events of  Lt. Col. Allen West (retired), who recently returned from a two-year stint as a military adviser in Afghanistan, and a veteran of the Iraq war.

Hugh Hewitt: Telling it like it is

John McCain Needs A Neuralyzer: Why McCain Is Performing An Encore, Not An Opening Act

Hewitt writes an excellent column beginning with this teaser:  John McCain needs to get ahold of the producers of Men In Black I and II quick. The only way Arizona’s longtime thorn-in-the-side of the GOP can claim the Republican nomination is with a neuralyzer, the device the MIB agents use to selectively erase the memory of civilians who have seen the aliens among us at too close a range.

The strong points he makes regarding the revulsion McCain stirs in Republicans makes for a worthy read.

Numbers USA assesses presidential candidates on immigration issues

Check out informational grids by clicking on the political party and assess these specific categories:

Overall Candidate Promises

Past Immigration Actions in Political Office

Specific Legal Immigration Stances

Specific ILLEGAL Immigration Stances

Overall the scores are disappointing.  Now that Rep. Tom Tancredo has dropped out of the race, only two candidates, Fred Thompson and Duncan Hunter, are left who have vigorous and thorough enough opposition to amnesty to warrant an EXCELLENT rating. 
 

Mitt Romney’s in good company

Liberal newspaper’s potshots at Republicans are predictable

The Concord Monitor has an abysmal record in past presidential endorsements. The paper attacked Ronald Reagan and George Bush (41), heaping praise on John Anderson.

About Reagan the paper editorialized, “Though personable, he is on the sidelines of contemporary American thought, and could not win a national election if he won the GOP nomination.”