"During the time I was surgeon general, I was asked to convert [from an Independent] to be a Republican. I said, 'No, I don't need to. I'm the doctor of the nation, not the doctor of the Republican Party.'"
Though a newbie D, he cops the party line on most major issues.
Stephen Lemons
Newbie Dem and former U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona, accepting the endorsement of the Professional Fire Fighters of Arizona.
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I asked him about his stance on SB 1070, an issue Dems have waffled on in the past. He said he was against it, but, wisely, from a law enforcement perspective.
"[SB] 1070 really created a burden for us," he said of himself and former colleagues in the Pima County Sheriff's Department.
"It put a barrier between us and our communities who trusted us, and now they saw us as immigration officers. So it didn't add value to policing. In fact, it created problems for community policing."
Good answer, and coming from an ex-deputy sheriff, it carries more weight than from someone without a law enforcement background.
On healthcare, he can speak with authority on ensuring that "every American citizen has access to a basic set of healthcare benefits."
And on the war in Afghanistan, as a decorated Vietnam Vet, he can state that he's not for "a presence in perpetuity," while emphasizing that the United States must withdraw "in a reasonable manner that does not destabilize" the region.
Lefties who desire us out of Afghanistan immediately may not like this answer. But if they want a pugilist who can ruin Flake's toothy grin, they may decide to lump it.
Next to Carmona, as he prepared to speak, sat former U.S. Senator Dennis DeConcini, a Carmona sticker on his lapel.
The symbolism was hard to miss. DeConcini was what's referred to as a "pinto Democrat," the Arizona version of a "blue dog."
Though pintos are reviled in some progressive circles, they tend to be the kind of Democrats who can win here.
DeConcini spoke to the crowd early on, urging his party to find a U.S. Senate candidate who can reach beyond party lines.
Later, I caught up with DeConcini, and he made the case for Carmona over Bivens. He praised Bivens as a man and a lawyer, but he argued that being a former chair of a state party is "not the stepping stone" to becoming a U.S. senator.
He contended that Carmona's law enforcement background makes him a better sell to voters.
"That appeals certainly to Republicans and especially to Independents, and that's what he's got," DeConcini argued.
Plus the fact Carmona's a Hispanic, who could pull more Latinos to the polls? Well, that doesn't hurt either, not even in Arizona.
