John McCain Continues To Piss Down The Backs Of Arizona Voters And Telling Them That It's Raining

Via Hot Air.

It appears this will be part II in an ongoing series.



I have to agree with Allahpundit that this ad isn't as bad as 'Build The Dang Fence' where McCain looks angry enough to chew prickly pear cactus but it is a close second.

To accuse J.D. Hayworth of being an insider when McCain has been in Washington DC for almost 30 years is laughable. McCain prided himself on being the 'Man To Get Things Done' in the Senate. He worked across the isle more times than I can count. He couldn't attain such a status if he wasn't an 'insider'. Is he looking to reclaim the 'Maverick' title again?

Cross posted here At The Point Of A Gun.

You wonder why the NRSC ever suported a scumbag like Crist

So, Charlie thanked the GOP by bailing out on them, and doing his best to screw them out of the Senate seat the NRSC endorsed him for. Now he is showing his true colors by erasing his "pro-life principles"?

Charlie Crist, the new synonym for weasel, has cleansed his website of its pro-life content. He makes my skin crawl. Mark Hemingway asks, "So what’s the next core political political belief will Charlie Crist unceremoniously dump in his shameless bid for office? Any ideas?"

What a class act huh?

Rubio: We need to stand beside Israel!

He nails it! Video via Babalu

Crist Claims Ignorance

And so it begins.  The fallout of the Jim Greer arrest is about to rain down all over Charlie Crist.

Via The St. Petersburg Times:

Gov. Charlie Crist personally signed off on his former Republican Party chairman's confidential fundraising role with the state party, according to Jim Greer's attorney, whose allegation contradicts the governor's statement that he "didn't know anything" about the deal now part of a criminal investigation.

State investigators say Greer and the party's former executive director, Delmar W. Johnson III, secretly set up a shell company called Victory Strategies to divert party money and enrich themselves. Greer was charged Wednesday with fraud and money laundering.

Crist says the entire Greer incident is "surprising" and "unfortunate"  He says he didn't even know about the shell corporation Greer was using to funnel cash into his own pocket "until after Greer resigned in January."  Crist's explanation for not knowing the specifics?  He's too busy running the state.  He can't be bothered with the little stuff.

When did ignorance become an excuse?

Actually, ever the opportunist, Crist attempts to take credit for Greer's current legal troubles by explaining "I'm the one actually who empanelled the state-wide grand jury that came down with this decision."

Greer's attorney contradicts Crist's ignorance excuse, explaining that Crist signed off on the diversion of GOP funds:

Chase said Greer and Crist discussed the fundraising deal at least three times last year: at the golf tournament in February, over the summer; and in the fall at the Fisher Island home of the governor's wife.

"The governor knew about Victory Strategies from the very beginning," Chase said. "They all worked on it together. … They saw it as a way to save money."

Jennifer Rubin points out that Crist is certain to find out that he's the wrong candidate at the wrong time:

In an election year in which inside deals are under scrutiny (with the Sestak and Romanoff scandals swirling) and establishment candidates face a hostile electorate, Crist may find there is little patience for this sort of thing. And it’s a good reminder that the GOP inside the beltway political gurus (who backed Crist) often get it very, very wrong.

Some of us suggested a long time ago that Crist was the wrong guy.  It was the NRSC who thought he was the right guy.  They were wrong.

And so it begins.

(H/T:  Memeorandum)


(Cross posted at And So it Goes in Shreveport)

Crist Uses Oil Spill for Campaign Cash

Reaching lower levels of decency than one could fathom, Charlie Crist is now using the BP oil spill to raise campaign cash.

Via Ben Smith at Politico comes this fundraising plea from Crist:

As you know we are facing tremendous challenges in view of the BP oil spill which is now threatening our shores unlike anything we have ever experienced before.  This spill is now being reported as the largest environmental disaster in our nation’s history.  As we begin our summer it's important that we all come together to face this challenge. 

He goes on to tell you how to donate to his campaign, which I won't link here. 

It's bad enough that Crist refused to return Republican donations after he turned "Independent," now he wants to capitalize off this.

Ah well.  It looks like he's received the kiss of campaign-death anyway.  He's likely going to get Obama's endorsement.

Horrors.

Rubio Pounds Crist With New Ad

Powerful stuff!

Former Florida GOP Chair Jim Greer is Arrested; Crist is "Disappointed."

Charlie Crist buddy and "top-tier" fundraiser Jim Greer has been arrested at his home in Florida this morning.  Greer was arrested around 9:15 a.m.; his buddy Charlie Crist was informed of the impending arrest around 9:00 a.m.

Greer was hand picked by Crist to head the Florida GOP and Crist steadfastly stood by his man when pressure mounted on Greer to resign earlier this year.  Today, Crist says he's disappointed.

Greer is charged with six felony counts stemming from his corporation Victory Strategies.  Prosecutor William Shepherd explained that Greer set up this shell corporation on which he could write checks to himself from the donations using the money "for his own personal lifestyle."

One one such occasion Greer is suspected of writing himself a check for $39,000 from Victory Strategies for his own personal use.  There are multiple instances of such behavior and Greer is now charged with fraud, money laundering and four counts of grand theft.

During the press conference today, Shepherd was asked about potential prison time:

When asked about potential prison time, it was explained that each of the six charges is a felony count.  Three are third degree felonies which carry a potential five years each in prison.  The two first degree felony counts carry a maximum of thirty years each.

Greer is charged in Orange County, Florida and will be tried there.  His bond is $105,000.  There are no further arrests expected at this time.


My report of the press conference is here.


Memeorandum thread is here.


Stacy McCain's post is here.  His Am. Spec. post is here.

Straight Talk From Alabama

I like Rick Barber's message!

DJOU TAKES OBAMA'S HOMETOWN CONGRESSIONAL SEAT -- NRCC NOT INVOLVED.

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"This is a momentous day. We have sent a message to the United States Congress. We have sent a message to the ex-governors. We have sent a message to the national Democrats. We have sent a message to the machine. We have told them, that we will not stand idly by as our great nation is burdened by too much taxes and too much wasteful spending" said Representative-elect Djou in front of hundreds of supporters at Republican headquarters in Honolulu."

John McCain Losing Campaign Staffers Faster Than He Flip Flops On Positions

And if you've seen his "Build the dang fence" commercial, that's pretty damn fast.

Sen. John McCain's re-election bid lost its campaign manager and another veteran Republican official, part of a shake-up for the Arizona lawmaker locked in a tight primary race with radio host and former Rep. J.D. Hayworth.

The pair of GOP hands—who started before Hayworth entered the race—will instead work on the Republican National Committee's effort in Arizona. Campaign spokesman Brian Rogers said neither Shiree Verdone nor Mike Hellon, a former Arizona GOP chairman, were fired.

"Senator McCain is very grateful for all that Shiree and Mike have done to launch the re-election campaign and establish it on a firm footing and looks forward to working closely with them for victory in November," Rogers said in a statement.

McCain, his party's 2008 presidential nominee, drew a Republican primary challenge that has forced him to the right. The one-time champion of a moderate, bipartisan approach to immigration now is running ads demanding Washington finish "the danged fence" he once mocked.

Four Reasons Why Crist Will Lose

It's always dangerous to get close to a backstabber. The news that Charlie Crist won't refund contributions he received from Republican donors inspired me to explain why Crist's independent campaign is doomed:

• Crist will get no more Republican money. Fundraising is crucial to politics, and there are no direct-mail lists of "raging moderates" who will donate to an independent Crist campaign. It was estimated in late April that Crist quit the GOP race with $6 million cash-on-hand. Based on his previous "burn rate," he's unlikely to have half that amount remaining by Labor Day. Florida is a large state where running TV ads statewide (from Miami to Orlando to Jacksonville to Pensacola) is very expensive. Crist will get buried under an avalanche of TV ads in September and October.
• Crist has no campaign "ground game" infrastructure. Who will be county chairmen and precinct captains for Crist? Where will he find volunteers to staff local offices, working the phones and handing out yard signs? Crist must build a campaign apparatus from scratch, while Rubio will have the well-established election machinery of the Republican Party working for him. As Rubio's senior advisors said in a memo last month, "Florida’s county GOP offices are some of the most organized and sophisticated in the country . . . Crist will be starting from scratch to recruit, organize and mobilize volunteers for his campaign, whereas both Marco and [Democratic candidate Kendrick] Meek will have built-in volunteer networks to draw from."
• Nobody trusts a traitor. And nobody respects a quitter, as Arlen Specter is belatedly learning. Like Specter's switch to the Democrats, Crist's decision to go independent was pure selfishness. Crist had expected his handpicked state GOP chairman Jim Greer to deliver the Senate nomination on a silver platter, and when that didn't happen, Crist decided to take his ball and go home. Think of how that lends itself to a devastating 30-second TV ad.
• Rubio will win the debates. For nearly a year, Crist avoided debating Rubio. Once they finally met in a debate -- March 28 on "Fox News Sunday" -- it was obvious why, and Crist quit the GOP primary less than a month later. At some point this fall, Crist will have to share a debate stage with Rubio and the Democrat, Meek. Charlie will lose that debate, too, for the simple reason that there is no persuasive political rationale for Crist's candidacy. If Florida voters want an Obama-hugging, stimulus-endorsing, liberal stooge for Harry Reid, they'll support Kendrick Meek.

And any Republican operative who hires on with the Crist campaign is committing career suicide. Working for a RINO is bad enough, but working for an ex-RINO loser . . . well, that's what pilots call an "unrecoverable error."

MARCO RUBIO FOR U.S. SENATE

Tea Party Bags Bob Bennett!

Utah's sitting senator, Bob Bennett, lost his  bid for re-election after being eliminated in the second round of balloting at the GOP state convention, the AP is reporting.

"It's time to get rid of the incumbents," said Kyle Hosman, a 39-year-old North Ogden delegate supporting (GOP candidate Mike) Lee. "Quite frankly I'm disgusted by what I've seen in Congress the past 10 years."

The defining trend of this election as a referendum on incumbency itself continues.

Hat tip: Moe Lane