As an independent voter of Arizona, I want former independent voter and U.S. candidate Richard Carmona to beat Jeff Flake.
Like Senator John McCain, U.S. Senate Candidate via Richard Carmona served our Armed Forces when he enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1967. While enlisted, he joined the United States Army Special Forces, became a combat-decorated Vietnam veteran, and began his career in medicine as a Special Forces medic.
Jeff Flake has proven to us that he is willing to toe the extremist Tea Party line; Whereas Richard Carmona has proven he can work in a bipartisanship fashion.
What can Richard Carmona consider in these last 10 days before the November 6th election day that will cinch in the win from key Arizona independent voters?
Most Arizonans believe Arizona has a maverick history (some ugly and some good) that stems back from the Martin Luther King Holiday issue. Arizona was one of the few states in the United States that did not support MLK Holiday. Recall to your memory when Senator John McCain did not support Martin Luther King Holiday way back when it was being discussed? Indeed there was a big hoopla over it.
According to TIME:
At the time, only 27 states and Washington, D.C., honored the holiday. Most famously, all three Arizona House Republicans including current Senator and former presidential candidate John McCain, voted against the bill in ’83. The state did not vote in favor of recognizing the holiday until 1992, not only rejecting pleas from Reagan and then Arizona governor Evan Mecham but also losing the NFL’s support when the league moved Super Bowl XXVII from Sun Devil Stadium, in Tempe, to California in protest. Arizona was not the only state openly contemptuous of federal law. In 2000, 17 years after the law’s official passage and the same year it pulled the Confederate flag down from its statehouse dome, South Carolina became the last state to sign a bill recognizing Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a paid holiday.
In a sense, Carmona proved his “maverick” status because after he was appointed by President Bush to become the 17th Surgeon General of the United States, he became highly critical of the Bush administration for suppressing scientific findings which conflicted with the Administration’s ideological agenda.
These days, polling is very hard to rely upon, and if Carmona feels like things are too close for comfort — I encourage him to prove his independence by supporting Prop 121 in these last days of the election cycle — after all, independent voters are the 2nd largest voting bloc in Arizona and independents are pushing the Arizona Open Primary measure. In fact, Prop 121 is expected to pass by 5% if you believe the polls provided bythe Independent Voter Network.
Why should Carmona consider Prop 121?
Because it will empower independent voters in Arizona and it will make them happy. Independent Voter Network (IVN ) has more information below:
IndependentVoting.org, a national strategy, communications, and organizing center working to connect and empower the 40% of Americans who identify themselves as independents, has begun conducting a survey to educate and activate Arizona voters about Proposition 121, the Top-Two Open Primary Initiative.
Early results show that when independents learn about Prop 121 and how top-two open primaries work, by allowing independents to vote in the first and often decisive round of voting, they strongly support it. 84% said they plan to vote yes on Proposition 121 after hearing the specifics of the measure.
For the first time in Arizona history — independent voters have become the 2nd largest voting bloc because many of us believe the 2 major party system has failed Americans due to extremism and the fringe groups. It would be wonderful to see two veterans serving the U.S. Senate side-by-side that will bring a much needed Ronald Reagan/Tip O’Neill atmosphere to Washington D.C.
It’s time to snap our state out of extremism — and it’s time for balance to be restored. Tea Party supporters have done enough damage already with their obstructionism, and we cannot do it with Flake who has proven to toe the tea party line that hurts Veterans. Veterans who have served our Armed Forces and put their lives on the line for this great Nation.