Gutless in Tucson

For some time now, Democrats have been talking up their chances of carrying Arizona this Fall in the presidential election. Republicans are at risk, supposedly, because Hispanics dislike their “extreme” position on illegal immigration.

It’s not clear whether the Democrats ever really believed that President Obama has a decent shot at carrying Arizona, and it’s unlikely that they believe it now. For one thing, last month a PPP poll had Obama trailing Romney in the State by 50-43. Obama’s approval rating was just 41 percent.

For another thing, Ron Barber, who is running to succeed Gabrielle Giffords in Congress, will not even mention Obama’s name, according to Politico. During a debate, Barber, who is Giffords’ district director, wouldn’t even say he would vote for Obama, though he later admitted he would.

Barber shuns Obama even though the president and the first lady visited him in the hospital after Barber was injured during the shooting rampage in Tucson. The fact that a Democratic candidate in a swing district with a Democratic congressional incumbent seeks this conspicuously to airbrush the president out of the political landscape speaks volumes about Obama’s weakness in Arizona.

Barber is also attempting to airbrush Obamacare out of the campaign. He gutlessly refuses to say whether he would have voted for its passage. If the voters let him get away with this evasion, they will deserve to be represented by the weasel.

Giffords was a reliably liberal vote in Congress. Her ACU rating was 14 percent. If Barber is elected, expect more of the same.

Barber’s opponent is Jesse Kelly, a businessman and former Marine who served in Iraq. Kelly lost to Giffords by 4,000 votes in 2010.

The special election will take place a week from today, on June 12. If Kelly wins, he will have to run again in November. You can contribute to his campaign here.

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