RAUL GRIJALVA BUCKS WASHINGTON INSIDERS AND ENDORSES HOWARD SHANKER

AZ-01 is bigger than whole states and it has been represented in Congress by an extraordinarily corrupt Bush rubber stamp, Rick Renzi. Renzi, a close ally of John McCain-- and, until after he was indicted on 35 charges, co-chair of McCain's presidential campaign-- agreed to stop running for public office. He was also forced to give up his committee positions. It's one of the Democrats' best opportunities to change a red district blue and there is a grassroots progressive, Howard Shanker, running for the seat. Inside Dems and the DCCC have been trying ton push their whole inevitability shtick about a clueless shill they would like to get into the seat, Ann Kirkpatrick.

Kirkpatrick is the least knowledgeable candidate I've ever seen and doesn't open her mouth until the DCCC tells her exactly what to say. Who wants to trade in a pathetic Republican hack for a pathetic Democratic one? Not Rep. Raul Grijalva, far and away the best congressman in Arizona. Grijalva's voting record is breathtaking, a model for true progressives concerned with the well-being on working and middle class Americans, not lobbyists and special interests.

Raul just broke with the DCCC and the Washington Insiders and endorsed Howard. As a member of two crucial committees for Arizonans, the Natural Resources Committee and the Committee on Education and Labor, Grijalva knows what a difference it makes when his colleagues work for the people rather than for the special interests. He's been talking with Democrats in AZ-01 and telling them why Howard is the best choice in the Democratic primary. “Howard Shanker is a champion for the people” and that Shanker has “a proven track record.” Raul reiterated the fact that Howard Shanker “has been a stalwart fighter for protection of Arizona’s environmental and cultural legacies.”

Both men have been working hard-- one in DC and one in Arizona-- to protect the state's unique environment and quality of life. As we mentioned when Blue America endorsed Howard, he has successfully fought to save the Grand Canyon from a land exchange that would have promoted large scale commercial development that would have negatively impacted the canyon, as well as the economies of Flagstaff, Tusayon, and Williams and created precedent for the protection of desert washes. Howard is also one of the attorneys on the case that recently kept the Desert Nesting Bald Eagle from being taken off of the endangered species list and is loved by AZ-01 residents because of his work advocating for the protection of the Verde River, the San Pedro River, and Oak Creek.