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Sep 17, 2010

Gosar, Quayle, Schweikert, Kelly claim 'outsider' status but get cozy with Boehner in AZ

NEWS RELEASE

Sept. 17, 2010

House GOP leader is legendary for ties to Wall Street banks, tobacco lobbyists

"Tell me what company you keep and I'll tell you what you are." -- Cervantes

PHOENIX -- Today, Arizona’s GOP congressional candidates will be in the company of Ohio Congressman John Boehner. The House Republican leader and champion of Social Security privatization is parachuting into Arizona to hit up donors on behalf of Paul Gosar, Ben Quayle, David Schweikert and Jesse Kelly.

These four Republican candidates are claiming to be the anti-Washington, anti-special interest, anti-establishment, anti-big-bank choices for Arizonans. Yet today, Kelly will be schmoozing with Boehner at the Ritz-Carlton in Tucson. And tonight, Gosar, Quayle and Schweikert will be toasting Boehner at Vice President Dan Quayle’s Paradise Valley mansion. (No word yet on whether Boehner will spend Saturday golfing or tanning, though.)

Here’s why Boehner’s big-bucks visit to Arizona blows a Grand Canyon-sized hole in these candidates’ claims about their own priorities:

Anti-Washington? Arizona GOP Rep. Jeff Flake once told reporters that Boehner was so close to Washington's K Street lobbying corridor that colleagues worried whether he was fit for House leadership.

Anti-special interest? In 1995, Boehner was caught handing out tobacco industry checks to Republicans on the U.S. House floor. He did this at the very time Congress was considering eliminating a tobacco subsidy. After Boehner was caught, he said, "It's not an excuse, but the (House) floor is the only place you get to see your colleagues. It was a matter of convenience.”

Anti-establishment? Boehner has been in Congress for 20 years. He has served 10 terms and is running for his 11th. There are few members of Congress more powerful or entrenched in the warped Washington mentality of fighting for big corporations and the rich at the expense of the middle class.

Anti-big-banks? Boehner is one of Congress' closest allies for greedy Wall Street lobbyists. In fact, just last week The New York Times reported that Boehner’s lobbyist ties are stronger than ever. [“A GOP leader tightly bound to lobbyists,” NYT, Sept. 11, 2010].

For the flip side of today’s Day of Excess for Arizona’s GOP candidates, just look at today’s Arizona Daily Star:

Jobless rate for Arizona is highest in 27 years Rises to 9.7%; Trackers surprised by loss of 800 private positions

Arizona is now No. 2 in poverty 21.2 percent rate trails only Mississippi’s, Census Bureau reports

“People who are losing their jobs and homes don’t register a blip on the radar of politicians like John Boehner,” said Luis Heredia, Arizona Democratic Party executive director. “By cozying up to Boehner, these candidates are showing that they will fight for lobbyists and Wall Street, not for hard-working Arizonans.”

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