Which way is the political wind blowing today?
The AP story title reads: Former Giffords aide to be district director for McSally. As most know the storyline refers to former congresswoman Gabby Giffords (D-AZ) who was tragically shot in the head during the Tucson Massacre that occurred in 2011.
"Law enforcement and medical officials in Arizona said that at least 18 people were shot in the melee and that six of them had died, including John M. Roll, the chief U.S. District judge in Arizona, and Gabe Zimmerman, Giffords's local director of community outreach. Also killed was Christina Taylor Green, 9, who was born on Sept. 11, 2001, and had gone to the event with a neighbor. Two other Giffords staffers, district director Ron Barber and community outreach aide Pam Simon, were wounded. " -- http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/08/AR2011010802422.html
The immediate result and one that most of us expected, was that Barber would by hook or by crook coast into Gifford's former position, especially given that he had endured such a traumatic event, and voter compassion was high and many voters thought he deserved it, if for no other reason than the fact that he survived a deadly attack and was one of Gifford's close confidants. Some might want to credit Barber for having won two elections, a special election, and a general election, however the special election was a walk in the park, especially once Barber's team exposed extremist Jesse Kelly, Barber's GOP opposition for what he was, and probably still is, an extremist Tea Bagger with alleged ties to white supremacists. The normal election in 2012 was also a cake walk based on the fact that Barber still had the momentum going from the previous year's horrible and senseless attack on Congresswoman Giiffords in which six innocent people died including an innocent child that was born on 911.
I realize McSally is a bit overboard, to say the least, but Barber wasn't necessarily voting in the best interest of Liberals, Dems or pro-Immigrant groups. The guy lined up with the Republicans on some key votes he had to, he had to appease the conservative streak that runs through the district he formerly represented.
So now we've got McSally, at least we know who she is. She doesn't claim to be something she isn't it. You can't expect anything favorable for the moderate or liberal constituents in McSally's district, but they can expect a whole hell of a lot of hooting and hollering about the border and fiscal responsibility. May I predict that McSally will hold that seat over in 2016 and perhaps from that point forward for decades to come. She's got an advantage, she has the support and funding of the GOP and it's heavy hitters, and she's got the Democratic playbook for that district, courtesy of C.J. Karamargin, Giffford's former Communications Director and now McSally's District Director.
Question, did C.J. Karamargin's conversion have anything to do with Barber's loss? After all, Barber lost by a mere 167 votes. Did Karamargin somehow push McSally over the edge?
