Congressional candidate Ben Quayle got a little love today from Arizona House Speaker Kirk Adams who announced he'll be endorsing Quayle in the District 3 Congressional race.
The political tip-of-the-cap from a high-ranking Republican is good news for Quayle who is currently engaged in one of the most crowded primary races in the entire country.
"Ben Quayle is part of a new generation of leaders that we need in
Congress. As a small business owner, he understands the importance of
getting government out of the way and letting free enterprise and our
entrepreneurial spirit grow the economy," Adams says in a statement.
"Ben believes, as I do, that we cannot tax our way out of the economic
slump we are in. We must reduce government spending and reduce the tax
burden for everyone so we can start creating jobs again."
There are currently 10 Republicans in the primary for the Congressional
seat being vacated by Congressman John Shadegg.
According to the latest poll, Quayle is leading the crowded pack with
about 18 percent of the vote.
Former state senator Jim Waring and Paradise Valley Mayor Vernon Parker
are in a statistical tie for the number two spot, each with about 13
percent of the vote.
Former state Senator Pam Gorman, also a candidate in the primary, has had
some pretty nasty things to say about Quayle recently, telling
the Arizona Republic "there's 10 people in this race, and there's
nine of us that may not
agree on anything, but we all agree that it is completely offensive that
Dan Quayle is trying to buy his little boy a seat in Congress."
For the record, the "little boy" jab is coming from someone who stormed off the Senate
floor last year after things weren't going her way during budget
negotiations. She then pouted
off on a Midwestern vacation where she was unreachable by Senate
leadership desperate to get a hold of her during a legislative special session.
As if that weren't enough, she then spouted
off on a New Times reader who called her out for playing
hooky.
"Be careful when you ask people to do things you wouldn't do (like work
60 hour weeks at the federal poverty level) and then bash them for
defending their right to be with their families for a few brief days or
for putting in a few hours at their "other" job that pays their
mortgage," Gorman scolds in an email sent to a New Times reader. "You
sound like a fool when you do."
In any event, Gorman's currently in the No. 5 spot in the primary with about 6 percent of the vote -- hopefully someone explains to her that should she actually win the seat she may be expected to put in a 60-hour work week. Just throwin' it out there.
