Oh what a tangled web we weave! McCain backs Kyl! Here is another traitor that needs the boot!



The Business Journal of Phoenix - October 19, 2005
http://phoenix.bizjournals.com/phoenix/ ... ily34.html



Bush to give Kyl Senate campaign a November boost
The Business Journal of Phoenix - October 19, 2005
by Mike Sunnucks
The Business Journal

President Bush will be in Arizona next month, helping U.S. Sen. Jon Kyl's re-election efforts.

Bush will keynote an fundraiser for Kyl scheduled for Nov. 28, according to knowledgeable sources. Further details of the event are not yet available but it is expected to take place in the Phoenix area. One source said the goal is to raise $2 million for Kyl's re-election efforts.

Kyl faces a tough and very expensive reelection fight next year against Democrat Jim Pederson, a shopping center developer. The conservative Kyl is a top ally of President Bush on Capitol Hill, especially when it comes to tax cuts, social issues, repeal of the estate tax, free trade and expanded oil drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

The battle between the conservative Republican Kyl and Pederson, the former Arizona Democratic Party chairman, is expected to be the most expensive in state history.

The contest will also center around immigration, border security and tax cuts.

Pederson is top Democratic campaign donor nationally and is expected to spend and attract substantial money on the election. He has strong ties to Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, as well as national Democrats.

Kyl enjoys strong support from business interests and has already received fundraising help from former New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and has an Oct. 29 fundraising picnic scheduled with Fred Thompson. Thompson is a former U.S. senator from Tennessee and is a movie and television actor.

Bush carried Arizona by 11 percentage points over Sen. John Kerry last year, but the president's approval rating in the state has dipped to 40 percent, according to a new poll by SurveyUSA.

Rising gasoline and energy prices, the troubling situation in Iraq and GOP ethics scandals have contributed to that slide.

Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain is also backing Kyl. McCain is chairing Kyl's campaign and has already cut one television ad for his Senate cohort.

Democrats and the Pederson campaign are critical of Kyl's financial support from unpopular sectors such as pharmaceuticals and "big oil" and his opposition to stem cell research and prescription drug imports.

"No amount of endorsements, even from President Bush, can change the fact that on issues ranging from his opposition to stem cell research, to his vote to prohibit the government from negotiating for lower drug prices, Jon Kyl has let down Arizonans of all political parties," said Pederson spokeswoman Selena Shilad.

Republicans hit Pederson for his ties to national liberals, including Massachusetts Sens. John Kerry and Edward Kennedy and Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean.

Also on Thursday, Kyl and McCain joined most other Republicans in helping defeat a proposed increase to the federal minimum wage.

Kyl and McCain voted against a plan pushed by Kennedy to hike the federal minimum wage from $5.15 per hour to $6.25 per hour.