SACRAMENTO — A proposed California initiative campaign that could have helped Republicans hold on to the White House in 2008 was a shambles Thursday night, as two of its key consultants quit.

Unable to raise sufficient money and angered over a lack of disclosure by its one large donor, veteran political law attorney Thomas Hiltachk, who drafted the measure, said he was resigning from the committee.

Hiltachk’s departure is a major blow to the operation because he organized other consultants who had set about trying to raise money and gather signatures for the initiative. Campaign spokesman Kevin Eckery said he was ending his role as well.

There remained a chance that the measure could be revived, but only if a major donor were to come forward to fund the petition drive. However, time is short to gather the hundreds of thousands of signatures needed by the end of November. And backers said Thursday that they believed the measure was all but dead, at least for the 2008 election. Click Here to read more from the LA Times.

The Pinal Democrats will hold a Hall of Fame dinner at “The Property” in Casa Grande on the evening of Saturday, September 29th. It will be a great affair, Janet Napolitano, Terry Goddard and the entire Congressional Delegation of Pinal County will hopefully be able to attend. We will be trying to get a Presidential candidate, but whether or not we can be successful remains to be seen. So Please Save The Date for the Pinal County Democrats.
With Rick Renzi expected to be retired in disgrace (hopefully to face a courtroom), we expect to have one or more of the candidates who will be challenging to replace him. Depending upon the timing, we might be right at the point of holding the special election.

A Sign That The John Edwards Campaign is Faltering in the Race to Raise Funds

The Trial, A Daily Campaign Diary, Sept 28th

First the Fundraising Reports, Then the Campaign Fallout

The end of a fund raising quarter is a tense time for every presidential campaign.

A relative quiet tends to settle over the campaign trail in the days before candidates close the books on a fundraising period, but the release of the totals of how much a campaign has actually raised often serves as a prelude to unrest. That was certainly true at the end of the second quarter in June, when Sen. John McCain was forced to jettison much of his operation upon discovering the campaign had burned through almost all of the money he had raised.

And it there are plenty of signs there will be quakes when third quarter numbers begin to emerge on Sunday. Most notable, at this point, was word yesterday that Sen. John Edwards had abruptly decided to accept public matching funds.

Edward’s senior political team argued that the decision was purely based on principle. That they were going to enter the public financing system because it showed they were totally free of the fund raising impurities that would have come with trying to bundle their way to $100 million. Senior adviser Joe Trippi said the campaign would end the quarter with between $8 million and $9 million in the bank, an amount that would have permitted them to remain outside the public system if they had wanted to do so.

But campaign finance experts said the move had a whiff of desperation, because the financing system imposes some strict limits on how much Edwards will be able to spend in the critical early states. When McCain first announced he was considering taking public funds (he’s still pondering), Democratic strategist Steve Elmendorf described the move this way: “The spending limits are just too low. It’s fatal. It’s not doable. On either side.”

The Edwards move may not be the only drama to come out of the third quarter finance reports. Republican Mitt Romney appears poised to dump significantly more of his own fortune into his campaign effort — a possible sign that he had trouble raising the money from donors this quarter. At a speech in California Wednesday, the Associated Press reported that Romney — who once said donating to his presidential campaign would be a nightmare — declared that he had “contributed significantly to the campaign” and added “I presume I will again.”

Through June, the former Massachusetts governor and venture capitalist had contributed $9 million to his campaign, nearly a quarter of his overall contributions.

“I don’t like the fact that money has such an impact on politics, but this to me is a reason I’m investing at least as much as everybody else — probably a little more,” Romney said, according to the AP report.

There is also uncertainty about the results Republican Rudy Giuliani will post. Those around his campaign have been predicted a solid quarter for the former New York mayor. But Wednesday came word he had decided to fire his campaign’s finance director. Whether that signals a money downturn is unclear, but won’t be for long.
Then there is the matter of the many candidates from both parties who have plowed ahead to this point without much money to burn. If history is any help, these end-of-quarter hours are tough times for candidates on the bubble.

Click here to read more from the Washington Post Political Blog Site.

Very Good Portent for November 2008

By ALAN FRAM, Associated Press Writer, Sep 23rd

WASHINGTON - Michael Brooks is exactly the kind of voter the Republican Party can ill afford to lose. But in a foreboding omen for 2008, it may have already done just that.

The auto parts store worker from St. Charles, Mo., says he used to be a Republican but felt abandoned and is now an independent.

“For some reason or other, they didn’t seem to be for the masses anymore,” said Brooks, 59, citing a lack of help for middle-income earners. He said he voted for George W. Bush in 2000, thinking the Republican was “more middle of the road, for the people. Obviously I was incorrect.”

Brooks is not alone. From coast to coast, independent voters tilt tellingly toward Democrats in their opposition to the Iraq war, their displeasure with Bush and their feeling that the country is moving in the wrong direction, according to data from recent Associated Press-Ipsos polls.

That could be decisive in next year’s contests for the White House and Congress, starting with the crucial early presidential primaries in New Hampshire.

The portion of that state’s registered voters not enrolled in a political party has grown to 44 percent. While people can vote in either major party’s primary, more are expected to choose the Democratic contest. That potentially would boost anti-establishment candidate Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., while leaving the GOP race more in the hands of the party’s traditional conservative voters.

National exit polls show that after leaning toward Republicans by 48 percent to 45 percent as recently as the 2002 elections, independents began shifting toward Democrats.

“This is a serious problem” for Republicans, says GOP pollster Neil Newhouse. “We didn’t get where we are among independents overnight. The data does suggest that it’s going to take us some time to earn those votes back.”

The Pinal County Democrats hold their meetings at 7pm on the third Wednesday of each month in Florence. We generally gather for a dutch treat supper at about 5:30 pm at the A&M Pizza on Highway 287 west of Florence. This is great opportunity to meet and greet fellow Democrats in an informal setting. The meeting is held at the offices of the Pinal County Attorney at 31 N Pinal St. Carpooling is generally available from SaddleBrooke.

The respected Republican Federal Reserve chief Alan Greenspan has thrown a fatal blow at the lame duck White House by stating that the prime motive for the war in Iraq was oil, not terrorism or retaliation for 9/11.

In his memoir, Greenspan, an old school Republican who had an 18-year run as head of the US Federal Reserve, will share his criticism of President George W Bush’s economic policies.

The Times Online reports that it is his opinion for the 2003 Iraq invasion that is going to get the lion’s share of press.

“I am saddened that it is politically inconvenient to acknowledge what everyone knows: the Iraq war is largely about oil,” he says in his memoir.

Greenspan, 81, states in his book it was the belief that Saddam Hussein posed a threat to the security of oil supplies in the Middle East. Click here to read the rest of the Greenspan story.

The White House immediately reacted sending Secretary of Defense Gates to visit Sunday political interview shows. As he spoke, one could watch his credibility crumbling. Alan Greenspan, a Regan Republican, enjoys enormous credibility for his role in guiding the American economy over the past 18 years. Now retired, he has no political ax to grind and can say it like it is. Gates on the other hand must scramble to “spin, weave and distort” propaganda to support the White House’s theories of global politics. Click here to read about Gates and the Sunday interview programs.

Get Your Ticket Today

for SBDC’s ‘Donkey Madness’ Party!

By Karen Schickedanz

Ticket sales are brisk for the SaddleBrooke Democratic Club’s October 29 “Donkey Madness” party.

The party, featuring dinner, games, a silent auction and an optional costume contest, will begin at 5 p.m. in the SaddleBrooke Clubhouse with appetizers and a no-host bar. An hour of fun games and socializing will precede the barbecue dinner.

Party-goers who wish to come in costume as a political figure—from any time period in the U.S. or elsewhere—can participate in a costume parade and contest. Among the prizes to be awarded will be those for the most original, best historical, funniest, most extreme and ugliest costumes.

Another highlight of the evening will be a silent auction with a variety of prizes ranging from a week of cat sitting, airport transportation, a “high tea” party, and hosted foreign dinners to one-week condo stays at Pismo Beach in California and Rosarita Beach in Mexico.

Because seating is limited, those interested in attending should contact Mark Griffith for tickets as soon as possible. He can be reached via e-mail at mark@skomer.net or at 825-3219. If tickets are still available, they also will be sold at SBDC’s regular monthly meeting at 3 p.m. Saturday, October 13 at the SaddleBrooke Activities Center, 64518 Galveston Lane.

Tickets are $35 per person, with a $10 discount if you are a Democratic precinct committee person. There is a special package if you want to be a sponsor/Democratic “Party Boss.” For a minimum of four purchased tickets for $200, you will receive preferred seating, a sponsor program listing, and a bottle of wine.

Volunteers still are needed to help plan the party. Please call Alan and Harriet Schultz, co-chairs of the event, at 825-7658 to volunteer.

For further information about the SaddleBrooke Democratic Club in general, call club president Elizabeth Hess at 825-2557.

Our regular September meeting will be held Saturday, September 8th 2007. Speakers to be arranged. The meeting starts at 3:30 pm following a half hour of social interaction. As normal, the meeting will be held at the Activities Center (HOA #1) at 64518 E Galveston Lane. Following the meeting we will have a pot luck buffet at the home of one of our members. See you there!

Even in Ariz., McCain in trouble

After a series of campaign blows for the one-time political insurgent, John McCain’s ability to even capture his home state has become the latest question mark.

A poll released in the last week shows McCain statistically even with other top Republican contenders for president, as his support in the state has dropped 20 points since February.

If that wasn’t enough, voters polled in Republican-leaning Arizona say they would choose Democratic Gov. Janet Napolitano over McCain, a four-term incumbent, for his Senate seat if that election were held today.

Click here to read more in the Sunday, Arizona Star.