Gabrielle Giffords

The price of oil, which is almost certain to be among the top issues in the 2008 election, is the issue of the day in the CD8 congressional race, which is almost cetain to be among the top contests in the country.

State Senate President Tim Bee (R-Tucson) went after U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-8) over climing gasoline and food prices and plummeting consumer confidence, claiming she is part of a Congress that has ignored or bungled the serious issues of the day. Meanwhile the Giffords camp hit back, portraying Bee's charges as "mindless criticism."

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.

Rep. Harry Mitchell (D-5) is playing up the drama of his re-election fight. Though he enjoys a commanding money lead over the field of Republicans vying to face him in November, his razor-thin margin of victory in 2006 and the vulnerability inherent to most freshmen in Congress is seen as a cause for concern.

He and Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-8) are assessed to be early favorites to retain their seats, but there's a lot of time left in an election season that has yet to kick off in earnest.

A new video put out by the Arizona Democratic Party today is attempting to use fundraising allies of State Senate President Tim Bee (R-Tucson) against him. The new addition to "crAZyspace," the MySpace-esque website Dems have set up to lampoon who they dub "the right-wing wackos who put the AZ in crAZy," is a video that plays up Bee's associations with Grover Norquist, Steve Forbes and Karl Rove, set to the Garth Brooks classic "Friends in Low Places."

Don't forget to vote in this week's Cartoon Caption Contest. Voting ends on Friday at noon.

Gabrielle GiffordsGabrielle Giffords has been named the top U.S. House of Representatives for using taxpayer dollars for mailings to constituents. The Pima County Republicans have accused Giffords of abusing the system.

Press Release

It is the latest issue to serve as a battleground for the parties in this extraordinarily consequential election year.

As gasoline prices creep indefatigably toward the $4.00/gal. threshold, Republicans are making a concerted effort to shift public consternation over pain at the pump onto Democratic lawmakers and presidential candidates, including Reps. Gabrielle Giffords and Harry Mitchell, and Sen. Barack Obama.

This week signaled the beginning of an offensive, from Capitol Hill to the Copper Dome, in which Republicans in D.C. and Arizona - and everywhere else in between - will try to make the issue of rising fuel costs a loser for Democrats.

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.