In the race for the District 18 senate seat, the undercurrents have taken on a decidedly vicious tone.
Here is an overview of the scenario:
Longtime state senator, Karen Johnson’s retirement provided a move-up for popular Rep. Russell Pearce.
But, Pearce, who gave brief consideration to a congressional challenge to U.S. Rep. Jeff Flake, apparently did the unthinkable in even giving momentary thought to such a venture. Flake, living up to his name, was so enflamed that he encouraged his immigration lawyer brother-in-law, Kevin Gibbons* to jump into the fray and take on Pearce.
The underlying issue, of course, is illegal immigration.
Rep. Pearce has successfully crafted laws to curtail the flow of illegal aliens across our border. He was instrumental in the employer sanctions victory, which held employers, desirous of an exploitable low-wage labor force, accountable. The deceptively named Stop Illegal Hiring ballot initiative being run by lawyer Andrew Pacheco, actually supports normalizing illegal laborers. Pacheco was supported in his own failed county attorney race by the same pro-illegal cohorts. He now opposes the current county attorney, Andrew Thomas, who is enforcing the law these folks disdain.
Some members of the business community, arm-in-arm with the Chamber of Commerce, and various nefarious partners, have targeted Rep. Russell Pearce for having the temerity to want to protect American jobs and national sovereignty. Gibbons’ campaign has been bankrolled by supporters of the illegal workforce. Many of the donors are out-of-towners, fast-food franchisers, liquor industry honchos, home builders and prominent Democrats such as former Democrat party boss and U.S. Senate candidate, developer Jim Pederson. Even the princpal officers of Hensley & Co., Cindy McCain’s beer distributorship — one of the nation’s largest, have joined with lawyers filing unsuccessful suits to curtail the current law, all out to crush Rep. Pearce.
Last year, a contingent of business owners, putting personal profits above our national security and rule of law, threatened to oust solid conservatives who didn’t dance to their tune. We are now witnessing the shameful execution of that intimidation. They have found their willing toady in the form of Kevin Gibbons and are now carrying out their coercion.
Gibbons, the challenger, is waging an 11th hour assault. Sending out desperate pleas for cash to hammer Pearce. He wants to represent the people of Mesa, the city in which he missed several important taxing authority elections. Participation in those elections weren’t important to him, but allowing himself to be used as a battering ram against a patriotic and proven representative of the people, is.
In a rare move, the Maricopa County Republican Executive Guidance Committee has overwhelmingly endorsed current State Representative Russell Pearce in this primary contest for the vacant State Senate seat in Legislative District 18.
Their lead is a good one for the District 18 voters to follow.
*UPDATE on Kevin Gibbons: Arizona Bar Regulation/Discipline
http://www.myazbar.org/AZAttorney/PDF_Articles/0212LawyerReg.pdf
February 2012 issue, Pages 61 and 62 of the Arizona Attorney magazine notes Kevin Gibbons “suspension from the practice of law for a period of two years for multiple serious infractions. Aggravating factors included a prior disciplinary history, dishonest or selfish motive, multiple offenses failure to comply with the State Bar’s investigation, vulnerable victim, and substantial experience in the practice of law.” Read the disciplinary summary regarding his suspension here.
Seeing Red AZ 
Thanks so much for telling it like it is! Kevin Gibbons is a multimillionaire pro-illegal immigration lawyer who has no connection to the majority of people in District 18. Russell Pearce is one of us, a hardworking and patriotic man who has done an outstanding job on our behalf. I am so grateful to see this post supporting him. Thank you! Thank you!
This the Flake payback for anyone having the nerve to even consider taking on ‘His Arrogance.’ What a swell guy! I hope the voters remember him when he comes up for reelection.
Pearce is a solid Republican that has represented his district better than anyone ever could. He isn’t just an immigration one trick pony. His stance on taxes, family values, and 2nd amendment rights are stronger than anyone one else down there. I’m glad he’s in my district and will absolutely be getting my vote.
I hope that Russell Pearce illustrates on election night that principles have greater standing than high powered relatives and a bulging billfold. Russell Pearce is a man of honor.
Integrity trumps retribution any day. Russell Pearce has my vote!
Jeff Flake has shown me more of himself than I care to see. He’s seen the last of me, my donations and my vote!
Gibbons? Here’s the lowdown.
http://www.gibboncenter.org/about_gibbons.htm
The site states: SOME GIBBONS SPECIES ARE ON THE VERY BRINK OF EXTINCTION!
Let’s hope that the Kevin species of Gibbon finds that true on election night.
IT appears to me that this same ugly team is attacking conservatives all over the state, from PC candidates to Congressional candidates. From congressional candidate Sydney Hay up north in CD1 to PC candidates all over Maricopa County. Brilliant strategy by McCain. He has AZ locked up, so now get rid of Amnesty foes.
I think the author’s name and the publication should appear in this article reprint. Perhaps it was given in that box at the top of the article, but my computer won’t read it. If that is the case, please excuse my input, If not, could that reference be noted? Thanks
McCain’s tentacles of vindictiveness and paranoia are running wildly and fiercely through Arizona. Stalwart platform Republicans who actually live up to the word “Republican” are targeted for defeat by McCain’s forces.
The Precinct Committeemen that would otherwise be promoting the election of the Republican nominee are forced instead, to waste that valuable time fending off attacks to their status as Precinct Committeemen. Alright, McCain you jerk–we’ll spend our time battling your RINOs instead of promoting you. Thank you for taking another swipe at insuring we end up living in obamastan.
Ir’s not only the people who reside in Rep.Pearce’s district who are fortunate. All of us around the state owe this man a debt of gratutude.
Never let the truth get in the way of a good story. Russell Pearce challenged Flake after calling him a traitor to the United States, started an exploritory committee for Congress and failed to raise any money because he lacked support. He then quietly withdrew his name from consideration for that office. He did so for one reason only–He would have been slaughtered in that election. Jeff Flake is a true Reagan Republican and would have graciously welcomed any challenge Pearce would have brought to the race.
Jeff Flake did not recruit Kevin Gibbons to run against Pearce. You all are making this story up!!! Gibbons wanted to run against Pearce all on his own. Jeff Flake needs no revenge here. This is fantasy. The fact that Gibbons is his brother-in-law is coincidence. Gibbons has been thinking of running for office for a long time.
I love all these conspiracy theories.
Pearce’s number one issue is illegal immigration. He considered running for Congress, which is the legislative body that actually creates immigration policy in our great country, and then he backs out after calling the incumbent a traitor. That is the real story.
I also am amused that some people think that the man running for President of the United States is vigorous and ambitious in local PC races. Not that he doesn’t have anything else to worry about. Interesting to know that his main focus is really to oppose PCs against illegal immigration. Obama really has nothing to worry about now!!! I wonder why Fox News doesn’t give us the real story here!!!
The country will owe a great debt to Russell Pearce. He is one of the few trying to save it. When I think of the corrupt, greedy, lying, SOBs lined up against Pearce it enrages me that our elite politicians have sunk so low.
David:
The truth is, Flake IS a traitor.He is an open borders/amnesty supporter. I am speaking for myself, not Rep. Pearce. Flake has worked on the DREAM and STRIVE Acts with Illinois Rep. Luis Gutierrez. These are gifts to illegals, Check them out yourself. Flake wants to reward those who slither into our home(land) without knocking on the door and requesting the right to enter.
Flake constantly rails against “earmarks” and has nothing to show for his efforts. But if he is so riled against out-of-control spending, why does he promote costly gift programs for illegals? The expense involved with such giveaways is astronomical.
Flake would like us to believe he’s Ronald Reagan incarnate. In truth, his flagrant sell promotion and arrogance likely would have made Reagan heave.
If you expect anyone to believe Gibbons was not encouraged to run by his Flakey brother-in-law, you must take us all for fools. I know better.
As to McCain: Don’t be so amused. It is his minions who are attempting to roust the longtime, conservative precinct committeemen from their posts, They are in McCain’s home district and know him all too well. Obviously, you don’t!
Is David John such a dope that he knows nothing about the 2006 campaign McCain ran to defeat conservatives in Dist 11. My God, his Az Chief of Staff, Paul Hickman, was an original contributor and his current advisor and fund raiser Greg Wendt donated 8K to the effort. And we are suppose to believe McCain has nothing to do with this. Give me a break. We really “get it now”.
Calypso:
Flake is not a traitor and shares more in common with Ronald Reagan than most. He also doesn’t support open borders, but once again, don’t let the truth get in the way of your anger.
I don’t quite understand why some people on the right whose number one issue is illegal immigration hold Reagan in such high esteem? He was the one who supported amnesty. That was “true amnesty”. There wasn’t even anything close to the penalties that last years failed comprehensive plan had. I just don’t think Reagan would “heave” about Jeff Flake. He would probably pat him on the back and say, “Good job.”
About Flake’s failure to single handedly stop earmarks, are you saying he should give up the fight? Isn’t that what true Republicans want, to reign in government spending? When you look back at history, many brave Republicans fought losing battles. Goldwater got clobbered, but it helped start the Reagan Revolution.
Flake and McCain have been fighting wasteful spending their whole careers, unfortunately without much success. But I am rooting for them. I would love to see a fiscal conservative in the White House.
Lastly, about the PC races in McCain’s home district–even if what you say is true, that his “minions are attempting to roust longtime, conservative PCs,”–why is that a huge deal? I still doubt McCain himself is even aware of the situation, but the simple fact is that the primary voters in a precinct elect their PCs. If they vote for an incumbent, great. If they vote for a new face, great. PCs are supposed to be grass roots party workers. They are by definition supposed to support the Party and elect Republican officials. It isn’t geared for personal “power” or “prestige”. Also, you don’t have to be an elected PC to help the party.
If my memory serves me correctly, McCain’s home district PCs aren’t that effective anyway because even though they have a huge Republican registration advantage, didn’t they elect an alleged wife-beating democrat in the House? With those results, maybe all PCs in that district should resign and bring in some new blood.
LD-11 is the first time I ever heard a losing candidate, John Allen, blame the PC’s. But like you say David John, LD-11 has a huge Republican advantage. The PC’s must be doing it right! Part of a PC’s job is to register voters. Losing the election is up to the candidate, not the PC’s. The PC’s and District leadership provided the “huge Republican advantage, not the candidate. The candidate lost not the PC’s. The PC’s succeeded.
There are 83 precincts in LD-11. 46 of those are contested. There are 1059 other precincts in Maricopa County. 30 of those are contested. MOST ABSOLUTELY high level mccain staffers took up the cause for the PARANOID AND VINDICTIVE Mr. mccamnesty. Go LD-11 Conservative PC’s! Defeat these RINO PC candidates. Republicans for Napolitano listed at azconservativegrassroots.com
David:
You obviously don’t live in either District 11 or the real world. If you did you would understand that it is indeed the McCain cabal that is attempting, ONCE AGAIN, to undermine the elected Precinct Committeemen in the district. We are the ones who do the work of the Republican party. Although we are elected on the primary ballot, we are essentially volunteers on behalf of the political party which represents not only the majority of the voters of the district, but also the party view of less government and more personal responsibility. If you were an active PC, and if you knew the history of the district, you would never question whether or not McCain’s supporters were behind another attempted coup to overthrow us. Why they aren’t working to beat the Democrats is anyone’s guess, but they might have contracted his contagion of vile vindictiveness and nastiness that has ruled him for decades.
You are repeating the canard that we PC’s fell down on the job because Democrat DeSimone was elected. There were other issues at play that allowed that to happen. First and foremost were the dueling ballot measures regarding smoking in public places. One of them was run by the liquor industry, of which DeSimone, a bar owner, was an integral part. He had petitions in bars throughout the district and smokers/drinkers were onboard with him. The competing effort was run by Camilla Strongin of the Symington Group. Just coincidentally, former Gov. Fife Symington, who NEVER attended one of our district meetings, was promoted by the McCain contingent to take over as District chairman, along with Mac Magruder, the McDonald’s titan and pro-illegal labor pal, who ran on a slate with him. The PC’s were astute enough to show them the door. The drubbing they took was historic. Now they are back with another well financed coup to overthrow the hardworking conservative grassroots activist PC’s. The only reason for that is that McCain is anything but conservative and he wants his own lackeys in control. This is not merely my opinion. It has received attention in the national press, which is a huge embarrassment to McCain.
And tell me what kind of “power and prestige” is there going door-to-door in 115 degree heat to get nominating petitions filled for Republican candidates, solicit $5 contributions from strangers to comply with the Clean Elections requirements, answer voter’s questions and distribute literature? What kind of power and prestige is there in manning phone banks and getting mailers out for our GOP candidates, or volunteering at GOP headquarters? You say you don’t have to be a PC to help the party. That is a very telling line, David. I take it to mean you might write an occasional check, but won’t soil your hands. No wonder you are such an authority on this subject.
David asks:
About Flake’s failure to single handedly stop earmarks, are you saying he should give up the fight? Isn’t that what true Republicans want, to reign in government spending? When you look back at history, many brave Republicans fought losing battles. Goldwater got clobbered, but it helped start the Reagan Revolution.
I’m happy to respond this way:
What’s the point of making book on “earmarks” (whether successful or not) when the programs he champions behind the scenes are massive and costly giveaways of taxpayer dollars aimed at shoring up illegal aliens? If this is not duplicitous, I’d like to know what is? Flake is spectacular at smiling broadly and saying one thing while actually doing another. He’s fortunate to have a name that’s admired among the East Valley Mormons who vote in his Congressional district. The guy is a snake-oil salesman, but goes virtually unquestioned.
As to the comment about Goldwater’s trouncing ultimately giving us the Reagan Revolution….is the obvious conclusion we’re supposed to come to that an Obama victory will give Republicans a chance to start anew with a conservative presidential candidate in four years? Wow, David, that’s heavy stuff. You seem to be advocating for a leftwing Commie to lead the way to future GOP victories. Although I’m no McCain fan, I can’t see going down that path. An awful lot of damage can be done in that time.
Wow, this thread has generated a lot of interesting opinions. I have learned that District 11 has a huge Republican registration advantage only because the PCs have worked so hard to register all those voters. I would be curious to know what percentage of all registered Republicans were actually registered by a PC. My guess is not a huge percentage.
It would also be very interesting to research how many of those active grassroot PCs that are in LD11 actually went door to door in 115 degree heat to get petitions signed for Leff, Driggs and Altmann. My guess is not very many. I guess we could pull their petitions and see who gathered the signatures, but I would predict that maybe 5 PCs walked a neighborhood for their candidates, and that might be generous!
The power and prestige I referred to comes from certain people pooling PC votes and voting by proxy, which I hear is very popular in LD11. They use their positions to criticize and discredit Republican candidates (ignoring Reagan’s 11 Commandment). Or they have even been known to endorse a certain Republican in a primary, and justify it by saying it was because the other Republican candidate received an (unsolicited) campaign donation from a Democrat. That reeks of “situational ethics” that would hurt almost every Republican candidate out there. (I would predict that a good number of Republican clean election candidates received a $5 contribution from a democrat).
Any good Republican can volunteer at GOP headquarters. You don’t have to be a PC. Most PCs don’t volunteer at state headquarters. And in the meantime, our good party is getting fractured and polarized. Many of you might think it is McCain that has fractured the party, but if you read the posts written above, it sounds like the anti-McCain/Flake/Gibbons people have some pretty sharp tongues! And then Fooled Twice “tactfully” brings religion into the debate by saying that East Valley Mormons support the snake-oil salesman Flake. Classy! Isn’t Pearce is Mormon too?? What does someone’s religion have to do with it? The name calling in Republican politics has to stop. Take your frustration out on Janet or Obama. They are the problem. We need to use our resources a little more wisely, folks, or we’ll all get our clocks cleaned!!!!
John McCain is the most polarizing, divisive politician the Republican party has ever seen, bar none. Mr John gives McCain a pass, as have the Republican elites over the last two decades. Mr McCain can slap us around from Monday to Sunday and we are suppose to shut up an give him our adoration and support and cheer as he destroys the Republican party.
No thank you Mr John, I am not going off that cliff just because you and Mr McCain say follow me. You say a great deal to discredit Dist 11 while covering divergent topics. You miss the much bigger picture.
It is clear that you place candidate and party above the Constitution and Platform. That is what this national battle for the direction of the party is all about. The party is losing elections precisely because the Republican brand has lost its meaning…..conservatism. John McCain has done that for us while being lauded for his Maverick ways by the liberal media. Dist 11 is just a little piece of this national conflict over McCain.
The average voter sees little difference between the parties now. The conservatives see no need to work to elect a candidate they don’t believe in.
And so Mr John, you may get what you want …..a victory for McCain, but it will not be a victory for the Republican party. It will be a victory for a liberal ideology just a shade lighter gray than Obama’s. And the party will have been changed forever to reflect McCain’s ideology. I am sure people will call it Republican and maybe even lie and call McCain a conservative as he calls himself, but most true conservatives will not be fooled. And we will not consider McCain’s election a victory.
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