Once you become an atheist you know God is make believe and you can never go back to the concept of believing that there is this magical supernatural dude in the sky that micromanages your life.
Once you become a Libertarian you know that YOU should be your own master, not some government nannies. And of course you can never go back to the ideal of letting some government nanny run your life.
For that reason I don't think Tom Rawles every was a Libertarian.
Yea, he registered to vote as a Libertarian and ran for governor as a Libertarian, but I don't think Tom Rawles ever really became a Libertarian in his heart.
If Tom Rawles really was a Libertarian he would have never switched back to being a Republican.
When Tom Rawles became a Libertarian and ran for governor as a Libertarian I predicted that he would drop the Libertarian party and run for governor as a Republican in the future.
I was wrong on that. He never did run for governor as Republican.
I was right about him dropping the Libertarian party and going back to his friends in the Republican party.
I never have liked Tom Rawles. When he was a member of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors he was in my district which was Tempe.
Tom Rawles said he was against the dumb baseball stadium in Phoenix.
But he also said he was for building a dumb baseball stadium in the East Valley, ie: Tempe or Mesa. I hated him for that reason.
A challenger to President Steve Pierce
Senate President Steve Pierce has a race on his hands.
Tom Rawles, a former Mesa councilman and former Maricopa County supervisor, is running as an independent for the Legislative District 1 Senate seat. Pierce, a Prescott rancher, is seeking his third term in the Senate in the new district, which is dominated by Yavapai County.
Rawles had filed a candidate committee listing his party affiliation as Republican, but decided to run as an independent, according to records filed with the Arizona Secretary of State. By running as an independent, he won't have to worry about a primary and can focus his energy on the Nov. 6 general election.
Now a resident of Carefree, Rawles made headlines in 2007 for refusing to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance at Mesa City Council meetings until U.S. troops left Iraq. We have a sneaking feeling we might be hearing more about that as we get into the fall.
Political Insider: Snarky political retorts sounding delicious
Jun. 2, 2012 08:50 PM
The Republic | azcentral.com
Of cow pies and jelly beans ... It's the mental image, as well as the snarky political tone, that caught Insider's attention. But during a week featuring some of the weirdest, grossest national news in recent memory (face eating; 'nuff said), the reference to Ronald Reagan and cow pies was downright homey.
House Speaker Andy Tobin started Friday morning with a rather random tweet-slap at Arizona Democrats.
"Every AZ House-Senate Democrat voted against funding for Univ of Az Medical School in Phx. Everyone. So much for job creation, new doctors."
That's true about the vote, but it's also true that the med-school funding was part of the fiscal 2013 budget, which, on balance, the Democrats opposed. You have to vote for the whole pie, so to speak, not just a slice.
We don't know for sure who was manning the tweet controls for @AZSenateDems Friday, but let's just say it was Senate Dems' spokesman Aaron Latham with the retort:
"@Andy_Tobin That's like saying Reagan didn't like jelly beans b/c once he didn't eat one that was sitting in a cow pie. #duplicitous."
Here's hoping for an even snarkier, and tastier, reply from Tobin.
Al's world ... Sen. Al Melvin can be single-minded and resolute in his beliefs, not bending to the convenience of the moment. Or even to reality.
In a recent tweet, the Tucson Republican told his Twitterverse that this is a center-right country and state "made up of Catholics, Evangelicals & Mormons who are pro life & traditional family & marriage."
Melvin may need to expand his worldview, at least enough to take in the full Legislative District 11 team, the troika of southern Arizona Republicans running for the Legislature. According to the joint website, running mate Adam Kwasman is a member of Congregation Anshei Israel. That would make him Jewish.
No independents' day ... In this era of disenchantment with politics, of disdain for political parties, you'd think there might be a strong showing from independent candidates in Arizona. After all, folks who call themselves independents make up a third of the voter rolls.
But of the 245 candidates who filed nominating papers last week, only three called themselves independents. They are Tom Rawles, Senate candidate in Legislative District 1;Doug Quelland, Senate candidate in Legislative District 20; and Brent Fine, House candidate in Legislative District 18.
If a few of the names sound familiar, that's because they made their names while members of ... political parties.
Rawles was a Republican when he served on the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors and later a Libertarian when he served on the Mesa City Council. He listed himself as a Republican when he opened his Senate campaign, but apparently has had enough of that organized political-party stuff (or didn't want a GOP primary against Senate President Steve Pierce) and now is an independent.
Quelland was a Republican through 21/2 terms in the Legislature, which ended with his expulsion for campaign-finance violations. He's back this time as an independent and still owes $31,000 in fines.
Fine has not held political office, so he didn't come to his independent status through a fallout with politics as usual.
These three are spared the ardors of a party primary (because there is no actual independent party) and will jump into their races for the Nov. 6 general election.
Tweet of the week:
"Donate to Gallego. One of the few AZ politicians who does not want to see the President's Birth Certificate." -- Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Phoenix, via @RubenGallego
Compiled by Republic reporters Mary Jo Pitzl and Mary K Reinhart and Yvonne Wingett Sanchez. Get the latest at politics.azcentral.com.