Tim Bee has just lost the support of a key ally in his bid to unseat freshman Democratic Rep. Gabrielle Giffords:
Retired Congressman Jim Kolbe has ended his support of Tim Bee’s congressional campaign.
“I will not be actively campaigning for Bee,” the former Republican congressman said during a telephone interview with the Herald/Review on Thursday. Kolbe, whose district included Cochise County and whose seat in Congress is now held by Democrat Gabrielle Giffords, hosted a fundraiser recently for fellow Republican Bee at his Washington, D.C., home.
Tom Dunn, a spokesman for the Bee campaign, also confirmed Kolbe’s decision.
“For personal reasons, Mr. Kolbe is no longer associated with our campaign,” Dunn said.
Kolbe is declining to specify the reasons for pulling his support, but it probably has something to do with this:
Last Friday, the Arizona Senate placed a constitutional marriage amendment on the November ballot.
Bee, the Senate president, cast the deciding vote because of rules in the Senate that dictate that he vote last because of his position.
Arizonans defeated a similar measure in 2006 by a 51-49 margin, and I doubt Kolbe is pleased that Bee was instrumental in resurrecting the issue this year.
Time to add another screw-up to the list.
I sometimes forget why I don’t like Republicans. There’s a very real chance that Bee actually isn’t a bigot; no one in either party gets to choose the issue and constituency formations that are the two parties, and there are plenty of Republicans that are embarrassed to be running on anti-gay platforms. Still, dude just cast the deciding vote. There’s no way to talk your conscience out of that one — presuming his conscience was perturbed in the first place, which is only a 20/80 proposition.
And “let the voters decide” can kiss my white ass on this one. We have constitutions for a reason, right?
Good on Jim Kolbe. Too bad he failed to actually change enough minds in his ostensible party. I hope he takes this further and does more damage to Bee’s campaign. Everyone be on the lookout for some terrific anonymously sourced quotes in local media going forward…
why, if John McCain is elected President, Napolitano would appoint Kolbe.
are snowbirds who live and vote in Gifford’s CD. They are immigration obsessed corporate Republicans.
But in 2006 I did convince mother to vote No on the gay marriage ban (I am gay and had to twist her arm vigorously but she eventually did vote No, father is impossible, he has told me I deserve to die because I am “unnatural”.)
I heard about Kolbe’s reaction to Tim Bee’s critical role in putting the Amendment back on the ballot in 2008 prior to seeing it here and immediately sent a story to Mom pointing out Tim Bee was so radical on gay issues that former GOP Congressman Jim Kolbe withdrew his endorsement.
It will be a tough fight but I am hoping mother loves her child more than she hates Mexican immigrants. We shall see later if I was successful or not, but you cannot succeed if you do not try.