Ben Quayle, the Republican nominee for Congress in Arizona's 3rd District, concluded his primary campaign this afternoon with a touch of humor.
At the office of his PR firm, Quayle thanked supporters and addressed the media for the first time since becoming the GOP's nominee. When he took to the mic, he told reporters he really only had eight words for them: "Barack Obama is the worst President in history."
The obvious reference to his uber-lame/ uber-controversial campaign ad
was met with brief laughter before Quayle went on with the meat of his
speech -- we'll get to that later.
First, we want to tell you about the best part of the entire press conference.
When Quayle took questions from the 20-or-so reporters in the room, one of the dopier
more aggressive news-hounds pressed Quayle on his assertion that Barack
Obama is the worst president in history. She argued that Ulysses Grant
was the worst president ever and after Quayle cited his reasons --
namely Obama-care and the president's apologizing for America across the
globe -- she continued to argue her point as though her opinion, which
apparently differs from Quayle's, could somehow be proven as fact.
It was like watching two people argue over which fart smelled worse --
with one thinking there was actually a way to prove it. In other words, it's an
opinion -- a concept the reporter didn't seem to grasp.
As for Quayle's speech, it was fairly standard as far as day-after-election speeches go.
Quayle thanked his opponents and said he enjoyed getting to know them over the course of the campaign, blah, blah, blah.
He went on to credit Barack Obama with his decision to run for Congress,
saying "the very foundations of America's greatness are under assault
in Washington D.C. -- I have some news: the counter-assault begins right
now."
Quayle again was forced to defend himself over his ties to "The Dirty"
as local and national media outlets continue to treat the issue as
though it's the equivalent of finding a dead hooker in the trunk of his
car.
Quayle's Democratic opponent, Jon Hulburd, is already jumping on board
"The Dirty" train saying in a statement today "this election is now
between Jon Hulburd and Brock Landers. It's between a young man who
fabricated a family, degraded women, and then tried to lie about it, and
a small businessman and father of five who has been dedicated to his
community. These concerns were raised by Republicans during the primary
and at least 77 percent of Republican voters were unhappy with Ben
Quayle's response."
We spoke with Hulburd's campaign spokesman, Josh Abner, this morning,
who says "The Dirty" affiliation isn't an issue coming from the Hulburd
campaign, rather it's unfinished business from Quayle's Republican
opponents in the GOP primary.
"We don't look at it as an attack, we look at it as a chance for Ben Quayle to explain to voters what he did," Abner tells New Times.
The Quayle campaign quickly issued a response to Hulburd's attack saying
"it's always great to see desperation set in around your opponent on
the first day of the campaign. Hulburd apparently thinks there's a
crying demand in Washington for another liberal blowhard who talks out
of both sides of his mouth and sells out the taxpayers to the special
interest tax cartel. But from here in Arizona, it looks like all those
positions are taken."
