Group of Arizona Republicans to censure John McCain for siding with ‘liberal Democrat
Group of Arizona Republicans to censure John McCain for siding with ‘liberal Democrats’
6:28 PM 01/07/2014
Alex Pappas
The Daily Caller
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A contingent of Arizona Republicans is set to vote this weekend on whether to censure GOP Sen. John McCain over his “long and terrible record of drafting, co-sponsoring and voting for legislation best associated with liberal Democrats.”
The group doesn’t represent the Arizona GOP as a whole. But the Maricopa County GOP’s proposed censure resolution criticizes the state’s senior Republican senator and 2008 GOP presidential nominee and accuses him of siding with Democrats on immigration, defunding Obamacare, the debt ceiling, gun rights and judicial nominees.
The Maricopa County GOP could not be reached for comment on Tuesday.
Here’s the full text of the proposed censure, posted on icarizona.com.
Senator John McCain Censured by Arizona’s Republican Leadership
As leaders in the Republican Party, we are obligated to fully support our Party, platform, and its candidates. Only in times of great crisis or betrayal is it necessary to publicly censure our leaders. Today we are faced with both. For too long we have waited, hoping Senator McCain would return to our Party’s values on his own. That has not happened. So with sadness and humility we rise and declare:
Whereas Senator McCain has amassed a long and terrible record of drafting, co-sponsoring and voting for legislation best associated with liberal Democrats, such as Amnesty, funding for ObamaCare, the debt ceiling, assaults on the Constitution and 2nd amendment, and has continued to support liberal nominees;
Whereas this record has been disastrous and harmful to Arizona and the United States; and,
Whereas Senator McCain has campaigned as a conservative and made promises during his re-election campaigns, such as the needed and welcomed promise to secure our borders and finish the border fence, only to quickly flip-flop on those promises; and
Whereas McCain has abandoned our core values and has been eerily silent against Liberals, yet publicly reprimands Conservatives in his own Party, therefore
BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED that the Maricopa County Republican leadership censures Senator McCain for his continued disservice to our State and Nation, and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that until he consistently champions our Party’s Platform and values, we, the Republican leadership in Arizona will no longer support, campaign for or endorse John McCain as our U.S. Senator.
http://dailycaller.com/2014/01/07/gr...ral-democrats/
Arizona GOP members want censuring of Sen. McCain
By Associated Press
Originally published: Jan 24, 2014 - 4:04 pm
http://media.bonnint.net/az/32/3210/...r=mynw/300wide
PHOENIX -- A group of Arizona Republicans said Friday they are seeking to pass a resolution censuring U.S. Sen. John McCain for a voting record they say is more aligned with liberal Democrats.
The group plans to introduce the resolution at the Arizona Republican Party's state meeting Saturday in Tempe.
According to the resolution, the 2008 Republican presidential candidate has campaigned as a conservative but lent his support to issues such as immigration reform that includes a path to citizenship and funding Obama Care.
Arizona Republican Party spokesman Tim Sifert says before it can be voted on, the resolution needs signatures from at least 20 percent of state committee members to head to the floor. Several county-level party leaders have passed their own censures in recent months.
Timothy Schwartz, the Legislative District 30 Republican chairman who helped write the resolution, says he is confident there will be enough signatures.
The resolution is about making sure those who are unhappy with him, ``they're not without a voice,'' Schwartz said.
Brian Rogers, a spokesman for McCain, declined to comment.
Retired Arizona State University political science professor Bruce Merrill, who continues to do a statewide monthly survey of Arizona voters, said he doubts there will be any significant voter fallout for McCain if the censure passes.
``The research I've done on the Republicans in Arizona shows it's a minority of the Republican party that takes this position,'' Merrill said. ``To censure someone like McCain who is so well-respected in Arizona is just nonsense.''
McCain has been dogged by conservatives objecting to his views on immigration and campaign finance, among other issues, since his days running for Congress in 1982. Republican activists were also turned off by his moderate stances in the 2000 presidential race.
His war-hero status as a former POW in Vietnam and his political reputation as a maverick have endeared him to voters. According to Merrill, between 60 and 65 percent of people in the state support McCain's position on an earned path to citizenship for people living in the U.S. illegally.
Still, the group hopes to present a challenge when McCain runs for re-election.
The senator announced in October he was considering running for a sixth term in 2016. McCain, who will turn 80 in 2016, was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1982 and won his Senate seat in 1986.
http://ktar.com/22/1694794/Arizona-G...-of-Sen-McCain
Arizona GOP censures McCain for 'liberal' record
By Associated Press
Originally published: Jan 25, 2014 - 2:49 pm
PHOENIX -- The Arizona Republican Party formally censured Sen. John McCain on Saturday, citing a voting record they say is insufficiently conservative.
The resolution to censure McCain was approved by a voice-vote during a meeting of state committee members in Tempe, state party spokesman Tim Sifert said. It needed signatures from at least 20 percent of state committee members to reach the floor for debate.
Sifert said no further action was expected.
McCain spokesman Brian Rogers declined to comment on the censure.
McCain isn't up for re-election until 2016, when will turn 80. He announced in October that he was considering running for a sixth term.
According to the resolution, the 2008 Republican presidential nominee has campaigned as a conservative but has lent his support to issues "associated with liberal Democrats," such as immigration reform and to funding the law sometimes known as Obamacare.
Several Republican county committees recently censured McCain.
Timothy Schwartz, the Legislative District 30 Republican chairman who helped write the resolution, said the censure showed that McCain was losing support from his own party.
"We would gladly embrace Sen. McCain if he stood behind us and represented us," Schwartz said.
Fred DuVal, a Democrat who plans to run for Arizona governor, called the censure an "outrageous response to the good work Sen. McCain did crafting a reasonable solution to fix our broken immigration system."
McCain has been dogged by conservatives objecting to his views on immigration and campaign finance, among other issues, since he first ran for Congress in 1982. Republican activists were also turned off by his moderate stances in the 2000 presidential race.
McCain was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1982 and won his Senate seat in 1986.
http://ktar.com/22/1694959/Arizona-G...liberal-record
John McCain: Arizona GOP censure may spur sixth run
By Associated Press | JANUARY 28, 2014 AT 2:53 PM
PHOENIX (AP) — U.S. Sen. John McCain hasn't decided whether he'll run for a sixth term, but the former GOP presidential nominee said Tuesday that the Arizona Republican Party's censure of him over the weekend may just have provided the motivation to seek office again.
The censure vote came during a meeting of state committee members who cited McCain's voting record as being insufficiently conservative.
The members said McCain has lent his support to issues "associated with liberal Democrats," such as immigration reform and funding President Barack Obama's federal health care law.
In response Tuesday, McCain said he has a strong conservative voting record and led the fight in the Senate against Obama's health care plan. He blames the censure on uninformed "extremist" party elements, and said, if anything, it only bolsters his consideration to run for a sixth term in 2016, the year he turns 80.
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"If there's such a thing as motivation to more seriously consider it, it's what just happened," McCain told The Associated Press.
Timothy Schwartz, the Arizona Legislative District 30 Republican chairman who helped write the censure resolution, said the vote showed that McCain was losing support from his own party.
McCain called the censure "ludicrous."
"It shows that, again, a very extremist element of the party has taken over the party apparatus," he said, adding that polling shows he maintains strong support in Arizona from Republicans, Democrats and independents.
"I've won every race I've run and I'm proud of my record, and if I run again, I am totally confident of re-election," McCain said.
In a Facebook post this week, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and McCain's 2008 running mate, defended the senator as "an American hero and a friend."
Palin said McCain has helped lead the fight in Congress against the "far left agenda."
McCain was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1982 and won his Senate seat in 1986.
He unsuccessfully sought the presidency in 2008 then easily won another Senate term in 2010. He has challenged Obama on foreign policy but has worked with Democrats on immigration legislation, noting "70 percent of the people in Arizona want to see comprehensive immigration reform."
http://washingtonexaminer.com/john-m...rticle/2543019