Written by We were honored to receive a copy of a fundraising invitation from Tom Horne’s Attorney General Exploratory Committee. It was adorned with the usual Host Committee, consisting largely of lobbyists and GOP “moderates” like Andy Swann, Gordon James, Stan Barnes, Don Isaacson, Russell Smoldon, Marty Schultz and Susan Bitter Smith. There were a few names that jumped out at us though. At the top of the invite was the evening’s host, State Senate President Bob Burns. On the committee itself were Governor Jan Brewer’s High Ground team, Chuck Coughlin and Doug Cole.
Burns has no elective ambitions in 2010 when he reaches his term-limits, so his involvement could be for any myriad reasons. But the involvement of Brewer’s brain-trust and campaign team is a very strong indication that Horne will be enjoying the support of some very powerful people.
Another blog has already been reporting on Horne’s lack of traction among the GOP grassroots. Will we be witness to another grassroots versus establishment battle? Horne has personal wealth and will be running “traditional” as evidenced by his $840 maximum contribution, so he should be able to adequately fund his campaign. Other mentioned challengers include Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas, former State Representative Eddie Farnsworth, and 2008 GOP Nominee for Governor, Len Munsil.
If Horne’s ideology isn’t sufficient reason to open up your wallet, maybe his pledge to have quarterly lunches with his “840 Club”, should he win his election, is the enticement you have been waiting for?
You can learn more at Horne’s campaign, er, exploratory website.
Stan Barnes is a moderate? Really… I thought he had “drunk” the Russell Pearce Kool-Aid on illegals? Hmmm…
Hmm, not so sure about that Mr. Conservative. The way I read it, it ways the committee has lobbyists and moderates. Not sure if Barnes is a moderate or not, but I’m pretty sure he is a lobbyist.
The fundraiser invitation says if you pay the maximum amount of $840.00 you will get special meetings with Horne when he becomes AG – buying access to the AG. if you do not pony up $840 you are shut out. Sounds like influence peddling to me.
I don’t “shut out” anyone.
In response to the implication that I am not a grass roots conservative I submit the following:
As a state legislator, I supported many bills promoted by the Center for Arizona Policy and similar organizations, including: prohibition of partial birth abortion, prohibition of adult oriented newspapers in vending machines that could be accessible to minors, censorship of computer use in libraries, having students memorize the beginning of the declaration of independence, pro law enforcement, and opposing all forms of gambling on or off the reservation. I voted for tax cuts in every category – personal income, corporate income, vehicle license, and property taxes. I also worked hard for unlimited growth of charter schools, helping to make Arizona first among 50 states in parental choice, according to the Manhatten Institute, a conservative think tank.
As state superintendent, I have championed much greater academic rigor in the classroom and accountability of schools, teachers, and students, fighting for excellence and against the mediocrity of social promotion. I singlehandedly eliminated bilingual programs, by being the first superintendent to enforce a voter passed initiative, requiring that all English language learners be immersed in English. I am the only statewide elected official to ever stand up to Tim Hogan and the Center for Law in the Public Interest, and was the only defendant to appeal a court ruling in the Flores case, where a federal judge sought to take legislative powers. This saved Arizonans $21 million in fines, where the governor and attorney general sided with the plaintiff, and I was the only one appealing the fine (successfully). The US Supreme Court, which denies 99% of petitions, granted mine and will hear argument in April on my request that the federal courts stop interfering in the Arizona education system.
Thanks for chatting with us Mr. Horne. I like some of what you’ve done, but I wonder to what degree is your “I did it, me, me, me” portion of the write-up true when it comes to the ELL case? I recall House Speaker Jim Weiers playing a major role in all of that, including hiring (and paying for) Ken Starr to act as the Legislature’s attorney in the matter. I suspect that Mr. Starr’s involvement was a real boost to “your” chances of having the Supreme Court hear “your” case.
I understand that you’re running for AG and so you’ll want to burnish your credentials, but I’d recommend against taking full credit for work that isn’t yours. As an “educator” you wouldn’t tolerate a student doing it. As a voter, I’m not sure I’d tolerate a politician doing it.
I will take your side against District Leader’s contention that you’re shutting out those who don’t contribute. You’re not. You’re simply extending special access to those who do contribute, so long as they contribute the max of course.
When the attorney general refused to appeal the fines, and I did appeal, the legislature was not yet a party to the case.
Fair enough, I guess.
It was amazing the true wisdom and genius of what Horne’s department accomplished when they developed and implemented a software system to collect the ELL budget requests from school districts. By successfully accomplishing this along with the models for teaching ELL, he saved the taxpayers of the state millions in fines. This system made it possible for districts to submit legitimate and honest budget requests (instead of a cumulative guesstimate/mantra chant of 300 million). This is why it ended up being only $40 million (and now really $9 million now that the smoke has cleared). We need more people like him in government – and I am sure Mr. Horne (Tom) is the most qualified in Arizona for the office of AG, will do incredible things as the top cop!
You have overlooked a challenger to Horne who has actually filed an exploratory committee for AG. That would be Rep. Sam Crump (LD-6, Anthem). Crump is a solid conservative and will be a contender in this race.
Thanks Marc, but the post was written on March 10th (date is at the bottom of the post) and Rep. Crump had not, at the time, given anyone the slightest indication that he was interested in the job. That has certainly changed since then so thank you for pointing that out. I just didn’t want you to think that we had excluded him on purpose.