politics

To view a larger version of this cartoon, click here.

John Edwards admission that he lied and dismissed reports of an affair with Rielle Hunter, a filmmaker hired to cover his presidential campaign, may have ended his public life, but did it also signify an end to the era in which the mainstream media controlled the agenda for national political journalism?

Arizona Republican Party Chairman Randy Pullen is optimistic about the chances of Republicans to regain lost ground against Democrats in the Arizona congressional delegation, he said today on Grover Norquist's radio show. However, he said that key to recapturing CD5 will be a Republican primary that keeps the fighting above the belt.

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.

Mark Twain once said “Thank God we don’t get all the government we pay for.”   But it appears not everyone feels that way.   read more »

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

After two weeks of deliberation, former State Senate President Ken Bennett has decided he will not seek the Republican nomination to the CD1 seat being vacated by Rep. Rick Renzi. That leaves Sydney Hay and Preston Korn still the only challengers to the eventual Democratic nominee.

Stuart Rothenberg of the Rothenberg Political Report has the latest House ratings. Of the races that are up for grabs Arizona has three that have made the competitive grade.

Rothenberg lists CD1 as a pure toss-up. AZ’s CD1 is one of only 15 pure toss-up districts in the country which will mean lots of national attention from both sides.

Yesterday, as millions of Americans scrambled to file their 2007 taxes, First Congressional District candidate Sydney Hay and the Arizona Republican Party took the occasion to slam Democrats on the issue. While their estimates of what it will cost differ significantly, both Hay and her party agree that if the Democrats allow the Bush tax cuts to expire in 2010, it will in effect be one of the largest tax increases in U.S. history.