The Same People Who Backed Corrupt Conservative Tim Holden Are Also Behind Ann Kirkpatrick In Arizona

Raul & Wenona, 2 champions of working families

Breaking yet another promise to stay neutral in active primaries, the DCCC came lumbering into AZ-1 this week, in favor of conservative loser Ann Kirkpatrick who lost her seat in 2010 because Democrats stayed away from the polls, sickened by her tendency to vote with the GOP on crucial roll calls. This time the district is much more Democratic-leaning... so much so that incumbent Paul Gosar, the teabagger who beat Kirkpatrick fled west to a friendlier, redder district. The reason the district is friendlier territory for Democrats now is because blood red-- and all white-- Yavapai County has been separated from it. The first congressional district is now 40% Democrat, 30%, Republican, and 30% Independent. Demographically, it is 22% Native American, and 19% Latino. AZ-1 has
the highest percentage of Native Americans of district in the country, by a wide margin. Funny how some DCCC hack called a white progressive the other day and whined that he shouldn't run because there are so many Latinos in his district but in this case, when Native Americans have their own candidate in the most Native America district in he country, the DCCC is sabotaging her race.

Wenona Baldenegro has galvanized the Native American and Latino communities of the district, as well as the all-important progressive bastion of Flagstaff, who are rallying around her strong environmental positions and her message of standing up for the middle-class and the 99%. In 2010, as we've been trying to explain for two years, the people of AZ-1 DID NOT come out to vote for Ann Kirkpatrick. From the biggest newspaper in the district:

Don't credit a tea party-driven Republican surge for electing Paul Gosar in the First Congressional District.

Instead, blame Democrats and independents for staying home in record numbers, costing U.S. Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, D-Flagstaff, her seat... Kirkpatrick's tally in 2010 fell off by a whopping 68,000 votes, or 44 percent.

...Informal surveys late in the campaign confirmed an indifference by Democrats to Kirkpatrick, in part because she had broken with the Obama White House on key issues such as carbon cap and trade and Wall Street regulation.

The DCCC doesn't get this... or doesn't want to. They don't want an independent-minded progressive like Wenona Baldenegro, a close ally of Raul Grijalva, in Congress. Alarm bells rings for corporate conservatives like Hoyer and Israel and Wasser,man Schultz, whose power derives from their ability to aggregate bribes, when they hear something like this from Wenona: "I'm honored that both co-chairs of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, Rep. Grijalva and Rep. Ellison, have endorsed my campaign. The CPC has done an incredible job of holding the line for the working families of America, at a time of unprecedented attacks. And they need help. I am ready to get in there and stand with them to fight for working families, protect Medicare and Social Security, and protect our environment to ensure clean air and water for future generations." Hoyer and his clique want a weak, easily corruptible conservative like Kikpatrick who will stay loyal to Hoyer and the conservative faction in control of the DCCC. Wenona has the support on the ground to win. Below we'll compare who is endorsing Wenona and who-- aside from Hoyer and sleazy "ex"-Blue Dog Steve Israel-- is endorsing Kirkpatrick.

Kirkpatrick is very cozy with ALEC, the payday-loan industry, and Corrective Corporation of America (CCA). CCA is the giant of the private prison industry that profits from laws such as SB1070. Here are the lobbyists, that we know of, who have donated to Kirkpatrick, and who they are affiliated with.

Martin Shultz - Former Chief Lobbyist for Arizona Public Service (APS). APS is a member-in-good-standing of ALEC. Shultz is also a lobbyist for Brownstein, Hyatt, Farber, and Schreck, which co-chairs the shady ALEC Energy, Environment and Agriculture Task Force. Shultz, Senior Policy Director in BHFS's Phoenix office and a member of the BHFS Government Relations group, is BHFS' representative on the ALEC Energy, Environment and Agriculture Task Force, as of 2011. (Shultz is also listed as VP of Government Affairs at Pinnacle West Capital Corporation, also an ALEC member). He maxed out to John McCain, when he ran for President.

Victor Flores-- Current lobbyist for APS; former lobbyist for Salt River Project (SRP), also an ALEC member. Has given $3000 to Kirkpatrick, over the course of her Congressional career.

Mario Diaz-- Over the course of her career, Kirkpatrick has accepted $8600 from Mario Diaz, Arizona's number one lobbyist for the payday-loan industry. 

Dennis DeConcini-- This guy is a real piece-of-work. He is a former crooked Democratic U.S. Senator from Arizona who has made quite the career as a lobbyist, after he retired. As a member of the Senate, he was part of the "Keating Five," along with McCain, which was a huge banking and political contribution scandal in the '80s. Forced to retire, DeConcini became a lobbyist for, among others, Corrective Corporation of America (CCA), where he now sits on the Board of Directors. CCA, in conjunction with ALEC, wrote SB1070 with Russell Pearce and others, in order to profit from the incarceration of immigrants. The private prison industry is now a multi-billion dollar industry, and DeConcini makes $175,000 just to sit on their board. He then turns around and donates that money to candidates like Kirkpatrick. To add insult to injury, DeConcini endorsed and made robocalls for Sheriff Joe Arpaio, maybe the most corrupt, racist sheriff in America.

Now compare that crew of sleazebag lobbyists (and that was just the tip of a very toxic iceberg-- along with the corrupt hacks at the DCCC-- to who has endorsed Wenona:

United Steelworkers of America
IAMAW (Machinists Union)
AFSCME #449 (Pima County)

Raul Grijalva - U.S. Congressman (AZ-7)
Linda Sanchez - U.S. Congresswoman (CA-39)
Keith Ellison - U.S. Congressman (MN-5)
Joe Baca - U.S. Congressman (CA-43)

Johnny Naize - Speaker of the Council, Navajo Nation
Dennis Welsh - Councilmember and Treasurer, Colorado River Indian Tribes
Ben Nuvamsa - Former Chairman, Hopi Tribe
Dr. Octaviana Trujillo - Former Chairwoman, Pascua Yaqui Tribe; first woman to serve as Chairperson of Pascua Yaqui Tribe
Herminia Frias - Former Chairwoman, Pascua Yaqui Tribe

San Carlos Apache Tribe
Colorado River Indian Tribes
Pascua Yaqui Tribe
Tohono O'odham Nation
Tulalip Tribes of Washington
San Manuel Band of Serrano Mission Indians
Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians

Sierra Club Arizona
Progressive Democrats of America

Steve Gallardo - AZ State Senator (LD13)
Bruce Wheeler - AZ State Representative (LD28)
Catherine Miranda - AZ State Representative (LD16)
Sally Ann Gonzales - AZ State Representative (LD27); first American Indian woman to serve in the Arizona State Legislature
Dr. Macario Saldate - AZ State Representative (LD27)
Martin Quezada - AZ State Representative (LD13)

Jonathan Nez - Navajo County Board of Supervisors (District 1)

Andy Bessler - Sierra Club
Cecilia Cruz - Co-founder, Pima County/Tucson Women's Commission
Shonto Begay - Navajo artist/civil rights leader
Randy Parraz - Former AFL-CIO Director for Arizona
Dr. Frances Riemer - Professor, NAU Women's and Gender Studies
Alfredo Gutierrez - Former Arizona Senate Democratic Leader
Daniel R. Ortega - Civil rights leader; National Board Chairman of the NCLR
John Loredo - Former Arizona House of Representatives Democratic Leader
Ken Smith - Former Senior Vice-Chair, Arizona Democratic Party
Howard Shanker - Former Arizona CD-1 candidate, environmental attorney
Barbara Smith - Former Chairwoman, White Mountain Democrats
Salomon R. Baldenegro - Former Dean/Professor, University of Arizona; Southwest U.S. civil rights icon

If Kirkpatrick is elected to Congress she will owe half the lobbyists on K Street-- the last thing working people and consumers in Arizona should want. Wenona is a far better choice and if you can spare even a small amount, you can contribute to her campaign on a special Blue America page we set up to send a message to the DC Democrats.