There must be an intersting backstory to this press release that Jeff Flake released today under the headline “Speaker Pelosi on earmarks.” I’ll try to ask him about it Friday. In the meantime, here’s the entire, unedited, text of the press release. Oh, Nancy Pelosi’s quote was in red in the e-mail version of the press release…

“I myself am personally not a supporter of earmarks.” – Speaker Nancy Pelosi, January 28, 2008 in a conference call with reporters 

“Whew, good thing!  I can’t imagine what this list would look like if Speaker Pelosi actually supported earmarks.” – Congressman Jeff Flake 

Partial List of Speaker Pelosi’s Earmarks for Fiscal Year 2008: 

• $588,000 for the San Francisco Mayor’s Office of Housing for construction of permanent supportive housing for homeless individuals as part of the Mason Street Project in
  San Francisco, California

• $980,000 for Muni-Bus Rehabilitation in
  San Francisco, California

• $1,176,000 for the San Francisco Housing Authority for demolition, planning, design, and construction of mixed-income housing at the Hunters View Housing Project in San Francisco, California

• $490,000 for
  

  Sfgo Market Street

  Improvements in
  San Francisco, California

• $1,470,000 for South Access to
  Golden Gate
  Bridge,
  

  Doyle Drive

  in
  San Francisco, California

• $11,760,000 for the
  

  Third Street

  Light Rail Transit Project-Central in
  San Francisco, California

• $689,000 for the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission for the Lower Mission District in San Francisco, California

• $1,267,000 to the San Francisco Department of Public Health in
  San Francisco, California for enhancements to the HIV/AIDS service delivery system

• $1,462,000 to the San Francisco Department of Public Health in
  San Francisco, California for mental health and substance abuse services for homeless persons in supportive housing

• $243,000 for Envision Schools in San Francisco, California for the Metropolitan Arts and Technology High School, which may include equipment

• $292,000 for the Exploratorium in
  San Francisco, California for its Bay Area Science Teacher Recruitment, Retention, and Improvement Initiative

• $243,000 for the Glide Foundation in
  San Francisco, California for substance abuse services

• $243,000 for Jumpstart for Young Children in
  San Francisco, California for an early childhood enhancement project to provide student mentors to preschool children

• $97,000 to the KIPP Foundation in San Francisco, California for curriculum development and the recruitment and professional development of school leaders, teachers, and administrators

• $243,000 to the Mission Language and Vocational School in
  San Francisco, California for a training program in health related occupations

• $438,000 for San Francisco Medical Center Outpatient Improvement Programs, Inc. in
  San Francisco, California for facilities and equipment

• $1,000,000 for the Department of Emergency Management for the City and

  County of
  San Francisco

• $282,000 to the
  San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association, SPUR Urban Center

• $2,000,000 to Ardica Technologies for Advanced Wearable Microcell Power System Process Development

• $2,000,000 to BioQuiddity Inc. for Disposable Unit Dose Drug Pumps for Anesthesia & Antibiotics

• $9,300,000 for Hunters Point Naval Shipyard in
  San Francisco, California

• $2,000,000 to the Prevention Medicine Research Institute for Impact of Intensive Lifestyle Modification on Chronic Medical Conditions

• $4,000,000 to the Neuroscience Center of Excellence at the Northern California Institute for Research and Education for Neuroimaging & Neuropsychiatric Trauma in
  U.S. War-fighters

• $3,200,000 to Prosetta Corporation for Novel Viral Biowarfare Agent Identification and Treatment (NOVBAIT)

• $2,000,000 to Inter-4 for Operator Situational Awareness System – MEDEVAC

• $2,400,000 for

  Port of
  San Francisco Site Investigation and Remedial Action

• $2,000,000 to Presidio Trust for Presidio Main Post

• $2,000,000 to SA Photonics for Satellite Coherent Optical Receiver (SCORE)

• $282,000 for Back on Track, Goodwill Industries of San Francisco, San Mateo & Marin Counties, California

• $1,551,000 for the San Francisco Forensics Services Crime Lab -
  San Francisco, California

• $1,034,000 for the

  San Francisco Community Justice
  Center

• $1,504,000 for Ex-Offender Reentry Services in
  San Francisco, California

• $423,000 for the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office Community Response Networks

• $314,900 for the Zero to
  

  Three Court

  Team for Maltreated Infants and Toddlers Project in
  San Francisco, California

John McCain

With John McCain’s hard-fought victory in Florida secure, his campaign operation in Arizona will undergo immediate changes, as the campaign shifts from a focused effort in a single state, to a broader focus in more than 20 primary contests in states from coast to coast on Tuesday.

“It’s a good night for Sen. McCain and now we move onto Super Tuesday,” Republican political strategist Doug Cole said Wednesday night. Cole is a longtime McCain supporter and Arizona campaign volunteer.

As many as 400 volunteers a night stationed at phone banks in Arizona had been dialing voters in Florida during the past several days. Starting tonight, those volunteers instead will reach out to Arizona voters, urging them to vote for McCain to give him an impressive win in his home state on Tuesday, when more than 20 states from coast-to-coast will stage primary contests.

The Arizona senator will blaze across the country on Tuesday, starting somewhere on the East Coast, perhaps in New York, then moving west with the time zones, stopping to campaign in several states before arriving in Arizona during the early afternoon. McCain and his wife Cindy are expected to vote in Phoenix, then head to the Arizona Biltmore resort for what is expected to be a massive victory party.

The campaign has booked 100 guest rooms at the resort to accommodate members of the national media who are expected to follow McCain on what could be the last major day of campaigning during the primary season. Recent polls show that McCain leads the Republican field in three large and important Super Duper Tuesday state – New York, New Jersey and California.

A series of wins in those states,Arizona, and elsewhere could all but assure McCain of the Republican nomination. “The nice thing about him being in Arizona on Tuesday is that we’ll be able to celebrate his victory with him,” said Cole, vice president of High Ground, a Phoenix-based political consulting firm.

McCain’s triumph in Florida, more than his previous wins in New Hampshire and South Carolina, demonstrates that he can carry the Republican Party, Cole said. 
Florida had a closed primary election, meaning only registered Republicans could vote, which prevented independents and even Democrats from voting for the candidate who sometimes is at odds with conservatives in his own party. His victory demonstrated strength among core Republicans, Cole said.

Furthermore, unlike New Hampshire and South Carolina which offer their unique Northeastern and Southern demographics, respectively, Florida is a melting-pot state, he said. “Florida is a major state that demographically represents the country as a whole – and now he has that victory under his belt,” he said.

Another benefit from the Florida primary campaign is that McCain was able to build a solid campaign infrastructure and line up several key endorsements, which will help during a general election campaign against the Democratic nominee.

Jeff Flake

Arizona Republican Reps. Jeff Flake and John Shadegg voted against the House tax rebate measure Tuesday, despite overwhelming support in the House and President Bush’s push for the policy in his State of the Union Address on Monday.

The remaining six members of Arizona’s delegation in the House supported the economic stimulus package that was approved with a 385-35 vote.

The legislation is designed to provide tax rebates of up to $600 for individual taxpayers with adjusted gross income of $75,000 or less a year, or $1,200 for couples who jointly file and have a combined adjusted gross income of $150,000 or less a year.

The measure also provides tax benefits to businesses, as well as mortgage relief.

“If this package had been a simple rebate to those who have paid taxes, I could support that,” said Flake, who represents Arizona’s 6^th Congressional District, which takes in parts of Mesa and
Chandler, plus Gilbert, Queen Creek and Apache Junction.

“I don’t believe that rebates provide much of a long-term economic stimulus, but taxpayers can certainly spend their money better than Congress can. However, a large number of those receiving rebates do not pay income tax and the Senate is likely to add unrelated spending items to the bill,” Flake said.

 Democrat Rep. Harry Mitchell voted in favor of the measure because, he said,  the economy is a concern.

“Unemployment rates are up in Arizona and we have a record numbers of foreclosures in the Valley,” said Mitchell, who represents the 5^th District, which takes in Scottsdale, Tempe, Fountain Hills, Ahwatukee Foothills and west
Mesa.

“I am disappointed that the package did not include my bill to stop members of Congress from taking yet another pay raise,” he said. “At a time when so many families are worried about making ends meet, I think it is just plain wrong. The American people haven’t gotten a pay raise, why should we?”

Incidently, Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, the presidential candidate who is Mitchell’s co-sponsor on the bill to block an automatic Congressional pay raise, parted with Mitchell and voted against the tax rebates.

Shadegg said the federal government doesn’t have the money to pay for the rebates.

“It makes absolutely no sense to me to go give away money we don’t have. These rebates will push us even further into debt to China and Saudi Arabia and impose the burden of this debt on our children and grandchildren,” said Shadegg, who represents the 3^rd District, which includes central and northern Phoenix, plus

Paradise
Valley, Cave Creek and Carefree.

“Temporary rebates will not stimulate economic growth.  The most they’ll do is make politicians feel good,” Shadegg said.

President Bush

Republican Sen. Jon Kyl and Democrat Rep. Harry Mitchell both found aspects of President Bush’s final State of the Union speech to their liking. Here’s statements each of them issued after Bush’s speech Monday night.

From Kyl:

The president, in his final State of the Union Address, outlined an agenda that addresses some of our nation’s most pressing challenges. Most immediate is the need for legislation to amend the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

Al Qaeda still desires to carry out the same kinds of attacks against the United States and other countries that it executed on Sept. 11, 2001. We know the incredible amount of damage that can be inflicted if we do not monitor and respond to this threat. We also know that the best way to deal with al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations is to collect intelligence so that we can prevent attacks from occurring in the first place, rather than having to respond after they have occurred. That is why it is critical for Congress to ensure that under the law, the United States can engage in the kind of intelligence collection against al Qaeda that technology today allows.

Congress amended FISA in 2007 under the Protect America Act, which conformed the legal procedures to the evolving technology of intelligence collection. The PAA, however, is set to expire on Friday. The Senate has now been in session for almost two weeks since the beginning of this session, and majority leader has done very little to advance the issue. Instead, the Senate has devoted much of its time to considering unrelated legislation despite the looming deadline. I join with the president in urging the swift passage of a bill to properly and adequately update FISA.

While there were many fine initiatives laid out by the president, I want to specifically commend him for taking the lead to reform earmarks in Congressional spending bills. I don’t believe Congress has done enough to end this wasteful practice, and the president’s proposal to direct executive agencies to not fund projects that are not voted on by Congress is a good start.

From Mitchell:

I was pleased to see Sen. (Bob) Dole and (Department of Health and Human Services) Secretary (Donna) Shalala here tonight. Congress has passed a number of their recommendations to help our nation’s veterans, but there is so much more to be done.

The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are creating tens of thousands of new veterans, with new and demanding conditions. We have to be ready to treat them, and as we gather here tonight, we are not yet fully prepared. I recently returned from both Iraq and Afghanistan, where we looked at the transfer of medical records from the point of injury through the point of return to the United States, and I can tell you the process needs work.

I think it is wrong, at this time of war and economic uncertainty for members of Congress to raise their own pay yet again. Our sons and daughters are in harms way, we have a debt of more than $9 trillion, and families are worried about making ends meet. Americans didn’t get a pay raise last year, and I think it is wrong for members of Congress to give themselves one. I’ve introduced legislation to block this pay raise, and I’ve asked leadership to include it in the stimulus package.

I think the economy is a real concern. Unemployment rates are up in Arizona and we have record numbers of foreclosures in the Valley. We need to work in a bipartisan way to reverse this trend before it becomes a bigger problem.

I was pleased to hear the President speak about the need to secure our border. This is the federal government’s responsibility, it is not getting the job done, and Arizona is paying a hefty price as a result. More than half of all illegal U.S.-Mexico border crossings happen in Arizona. Congress increased funding for Customs and Border Protection, as well as for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and appropriated $1.2 billion for border fencing, but there is much more to do.

Mitchell represents Arizona’s 5th Congressional District, which takes in Scottsdale, Tempe, Fountain Hills, Ahwatukee Foothills and west Mesa.

Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton

Barack Obama and Bill Clinton announced plans to campaign in the Valley this week, moves that underscore the importance both Obama’s and Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaigns are placing on Arizona.

Arizona will conduct its presidential preference election Feb. 5, one of two dozen states that will stage primary elections and caucuses on Super Duper Tuesday.Obama is set to headline a rally Wednesday, Jan. 30, at Veterans Memorial Coliseum, at 1826 W. McDowell Road, in Phoenix. The former home of the Phoenix Suns accommodates 14,870 spectators.

The doors are scheduled to open at 3:30 p.m., though the exact time of Obama’s appearance has yet to be set. The senator for Illionois is slated to speak at a rally in Colorado, another Super Duper Tuesday state, earlier in the day.Obama last appeared in Arizona at Arizona State University in Tempe on Oct. 19. Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton campaign officials confirmed that former President Bill Clinton will campaign for his wife in the Valley on Thursday, the specific time and location have yet to be confirmed.

Bill Clinton will follow the public appearance with a private fund-raiser at the home of former state Democratic Party chairman Jim Pederson later in the evening.

Hilliary Clinton appeared for an overflow crowd at a high school in Laveen last week and spoke to Arizona reporters in a conference call today, Jan. 28. Hillary Clinton had a 6 percentage point lead against Obama in the lastest statewide poll in Arizona, but Obama is gaining… 

Hillary Clinton

There’s only one place where time moves slower than at the state Motor Vehicle Division. That’s at political campaign events.

Consider presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s conference call with Arizona reporters. It was scheduled to begin at 11:10 a.m. today, Jan. 28. When 11:10 rolled around, Clinton was not on the other end of the phone. Instead, chirpy ice-skating rink music played. And played. And played.At 11:30 a.m., a human voice that didn’t belong to the presidential candidate got on the line to announce that the call had been rescheduled for noon. That would have conflicted with a previously scheduled event at Democratic candidate Barack Obama’s Phoenix headquarters, but the start time for the Obama press conference already had been pushed back from noon to 3 p.m. Tuesday night’s rally for Clinton at Cesar Chavez High School in Laveen was another example of time moving in slow motion.

The New York senator initially was set to speak at 6 p.m., but the start time was rolled back to 7:30 p.m. throughout the day. No one at the rally had any serious expectations that 7:30 p.m. was any more firm than 6 p.m. had been. People packed in the school gym starting about 4 p.m., waved signs and grooved to chirpy pop and oldies rock music while they killed time waiting.At 8:08 p.m., the flag presentation began.

John McCain

Sen. Jon Kyl predicts a fairly speedy conclusion to the Republican presidential primary. He figures Sen. John McCain will have it just about wrapped in a little more than a week.

“He’s poised to win in Florida, and once that happens, he’s got all of the momentum going into Feb. 5,” Kyl said.

Florida’s primary is set for Tuesday, Jan. 29, and since that state awards the Republican winner all 57 of its delegates, it’s a coveted race. Exactly a week later, 24 states, including Arizona, conduct their nominating elections and caucuses on Super Duper Tuesday.

“Of course, he’ll win big in Arizona,” Kyl said about his fellow Arizona senator. “With the win in Florida and the strength he should have coming out of Feb. 5, that should be – pretty much – the race. I’m not going to call it, but it looks very, very good for him,” Kyl said.

 Even a close second-place finish to Mitt Romney would set up McCain to do well on Feb. 5, Kyl said.

Political newcomer Jeffrey Brown e-mailed me the other day. He was frustrated that the Tribune hasn’t included him in stories discussing the emerging field of U.S. House candidates in Arizona’s 1^st Congressional District race.

Brown and I spoke briefly by telephone before he hung up on me.

He is one of four Democrats seeking the office. It has been a low-profile campaign so far. The Federal Election Commission has no record of Brown raising or spending any money on the race for the office that Republican incumbent Rep. Rick Renzi is vacating.

According to his campaign Web site, which is still under construction, Brown worked for 13 years at United Airlines before leaving the company in 2004 to work on the John Kerry/John Edwards presidential campaign.

The Web site summarizes Brown’s time since then this way:

In 2005 Jeffrey, suffered a life changing event which found him hospitalized and in a nursing home, temporarily confined to a wheelchair. “This experience provided me with an insight to the potential future of many Americans, and the struggles of quality of life for the elderly and the disabled. This experience has strengthened my resolve to improve the quality of health care in this country, and I hope to give a voice to all of those who are often forgotten and neglected in our society.” 

Jeffrey is currently employed part time for Discount Cab Company, and is currently active in the Dennis Kucinich for President Campaign as the Southwest GLBT coordinator, and is a fervent supporter of equality for all.

The other Democrats in the race are former state Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, environmental attorney Howard Shanker and former TV reporter Mary Kim Titla.

On the Republican side, the lone announced candidate is radio talk show host Sydney Hay. State Rep. Bill Konopnicki widely was expected to enter the race, but he bowed out, which could clear the way for other Republicans enter the race.

The thin GOP field has created a fair amount of intrigue about other potential candidates. And as news reporters and former news reporters know, non-denials are nearly the same thing as admissions. Stay tuned…

Jon Kyl and George W. Bush

Before headlining a campaign rally for presidential candidate John McCain in
Phoenix, Jon Kyl offered his assessment of the proposed economic stimulus package.

The proposed $150 billion tax rebate program would distribute $600 each to 117 million eligible taxpayers who earn $75,000 or less a year. That comes to $1,200 a couple earning a combined $150,000 or less a year. Plus, $300 for each child.

Kyl, the Senate’s No. 2 Republican, told me he doesn’t support the plan at all.

“What don’t you like about it?” I asked.

“Um, how much time do we have?” he replied.

Keeping in mind that the McCain rally was scheduled to begin in a few minutes, he offered the condensed version of his concerns.

“First of all, it’s a great re-investment,” Kyl said sarcastically. “They take 1 percent of the GDP and they’re expecting a return of seven-10ths of a percent. Now, you wouldn’t stay in business long with that kind of a return – and that’s an optimistic forecast. It adds dramatically to the deficit. I don’t think it will stimulate the economy very much. And there are better ways to do it.”

Most importantly, Kyl said, the tax rebate package that’s currently being produced in House won’t be the final version. Democrats in the Senate already are taking about expanding it. The final version could end up $30 billion or $40 billion fatter – or even fatter still.

Despite Kyl’s personal reservations, he expects the measure will pass. “Politicians want to do something,” he said.

If the measure stays on track and President Bush signs it, $1,200 wide-screen televisions should start disappearing from store shelves in May.

Jon Kyl

Republican Jon Kyl is scheduled to make a campaign appearance for his friend, fellow senator from Arizona, and presidential hopeful John McCain on Friday, Jan. 25.

Kyl is set to appear at the American Legion Post No. 1, at 364 N. Seventh Ave., in Phoenix at 2:15 p.m. Kyl also has been doing some out-of-state campaigning for McCain.

It’s something of a payback. McCain campaigned for Kyl during Kyl’s 2006 Senate reelection campaign. More information about the event is available at (602) 228-0105.