Famed Tucson Tea Party Whistle-blower uncovers connection

by Eric Dondero

Robert Mayer is the "boy wonder" of the Arizona Tea Party movement. He is the co-organizer of the Tucson Tea Party group. They are currently leading a recall movement for the Mayor and City Council, called "Take Back Tucson."

Mayer, originally from Boston, refers to himself as a "Scott Brown" diehard.

He's also a bit of an international freedom fighter. From Tucson Tea Party:

I spent 2005-2007 studying, writing about, and connecting with the people involved in the democratic revolutions sweeping the former Soviet bloc states of Georgia and Ukraine, among other countries. After the Orange Revolution in Ukraine, I traveled to the capital Kiev and did some work with democracy activists there and in Belarus — the last dictatorship in Europe.

Some commentators are drawing comparisons, calling this win the “Brown Revolution“. My friend Andy Ignatov, whose work in the Orange Revolution helped connect and organize activists using the internet, used Facebook to type up his agreement, “Yep :)”.
So let me get to the point: If it can happen in Massachusetts, it can happen anywhere.

Mayer may now be taking on bigger fish than just the Tucson Mayor, the Council, and even Dictators in Belarus.

Mayer watched Obama's State of the Union speech Wednesday night, and something clicked in his freedom-obsessed mind. Ecotality, an Arizona-based firm, was featured prominently in Obama's speech. Turns out it wasn't by accident.

From Mayer this morning via Gateway Pundit:

Ecotality, based out of Scottsdale, and it was the lead receiver of a $100 million grant from the Department of Energy through the stimulus bill. (Ecotality, which used to be called Alchemy Enterpreises, has MANY subsidiaries, so much of this money is actually going to those subsidiaries rather than directly to Ecotality. One such example is Electric Transportation Engineering Corp., a division of Ecotality, which will be putting in electric vehicle infrastructure as far away as Oregon).

President Honors ECOtality/eTec in State of the Union Address

Total jobs added? According to them, 15 in 2009 and 27 in 2010. For $100 million. Am I supposed to cheer for that?

And it appears on the surface that there are political connections — of course, there always are! — to how Ecotality got this grant.

Its CEO, Jonathan Read, is a successful entrepreneur with wide-ranging political connections in Phoenix. He maxed out his political donations in 2006 to Harry Mitchel (D), who beat incumbent JD Hayworth (R) that year. Ecotality falls within Mitchell’s district.

Slade Mead is on the board of directors. He is a lawyer and former Republican state legislator turned Democrat who has given more than $17,000 to Democrats since 2005. He maxed out to Harry Mitchell’s 2006 campaign.

Further, Colin Read is the Vice President of Corporate Development. He was the Assistant Finance Director for Harry Mitchell’s successful 2006 bid for Congress.

They also met with VP Biden not all that long ago.

Mayer goes on to conclude:

The real take away from this? Obama points to this company as an example of the stimulus bill’s success; but it is really just another example of money being doled out to political allies to little effect. How much of that stimulus money do you think will end up going back as political contributions?

Mitchell now faces a tough re-election bid. His most likely Republican opponent is Tea Party Patriot and former Maricopa Budget Auditor David Schweikert (photo). The District leans Republican. It's notable that during the effort to defeat Hayworth, allegations surfaced of Democrat voter fraud and even possible ACORN involvement.

If the GOP re-takes this seat, no doubt certain individuals involved in these sheananigans may receive a real audit by Arizona taxpayers and tea party patriots.

Schweikert for Congress

From Denise Clark:

In a poll conducted by The Philadelphia Daily News, Pat Toomey, a former U.S. Representative from the Allentown area, has opened up a 14-point lead over Specter in the fight for the Senate seat coming up for grabs. Could Pennsylvania be the next Massachusetts? I pray so.

Among likely voters, Toomey leads Snarlin' Arlen 45-31 percent with 20 percent undecided. I will tell you folks that in Pennsylvania, that's saying something.

From Philly.com, "Poll: Toomey over Specter by 14 points
Democrats found to lack enthusiasm" Jan. 27:

Former U.S. Rep. Pat Toomey has opened up a 14-point lead among likely voters in his bid to deny U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter a sixth term, according to the latest Daily News/Franklin & Marshall Poll.

Poll director G. Terry Madonna said that the results reflect a growing national Republican resurgence mixed with a lack of Democratic enthusiasm as the two parties battle over issues like health care and the economy.

"I can't deny it's all very encouraging," Toomey said. "But I'm also very aware of the fact that the election is nine months away. A lot can happen. So I'm going to run like I'm 20 points behind."

Pat Toomey lost to Specter in 2004, but it was a narrow victory for Specter, who defected to the Dems last year.

I never thought I'd live to see the day where Arlen Specter would be unseated. Here in Pennsylvania, he's become almost as entrenched in his seat as Ted Kennedy was. How this all plays out is going to be interesting to watch.

Denise's blog is The Right Stuff. She lives in Western PA.

From Eric Dondero:

Strident AntiWar Leftist Democrat Senator Russ Feingold of Wisconsin now looks to be in serious trouble. A new poll by Rasmussen finds him behind former Bush Administration official and former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson. As of yet, Thompson has not declared for the seat.

From Rasmussen:

A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of likely voters in Wisconsin finds Republican Tommy Thompson edging incumbent Russ Feingold 47% to 43% in a hypothetical U.S. Senate match-up. Five percent (5%) like some other candidate, and four percent (4%) are undecided.

Any incumbent who attracts less than 50% support at this point in a campaign is considered potentially vulnerable.

Thompson was a staunch advocate of the War on Terror and supported both the Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Feingold opposed both.

The communist-leaning Nation magazine has called Feingold a "progressive icon." They described his foreign policy stance:

the senator who cast a lonely vote against the Patriot Act in 2001, proposed the first timeline for bringing the troops home from Iraq and sought to censure President Bush over the warrantless wiretapping program...

Of note, Tommy Thompson is the brother of Libertarian-Republican (member of both the Libertarian Party and Republican Party) Ed Thompson, Mayor of Tomah, and current GOP candidate for WI State Senate. Ironically, if the elder Thompson declares, the brother duo of like mind, will appear on the same ballot for two different offices in some Wisconsin locations.

Clarification: Of course The Nation in their piece quoted above, left out "Warrantless wiretapping program" of suspected Islamic Terrorists.

"We don't make any excuses about that... it's the Koran"

According to Youths for Western Civilization, the Islamic Republic of Iran has executed over 4,000 homosexuals since 1980. Now a Muslim professor at a distinguished American university says he agrees with that policy.

At the YWC website, conservative youth leader David Saucier writes:

I have often been puzzled about the unholy alliance between Muslims and leftists – how could the latter, who fervently support multiculturalism, gay marriage, and gender equality, ally with the former, who support religious and cultural supremacy, traditional marriage, and the oppression of women?

Saucier recounts a recent speech he attended by Vanderbilt Univ. professor Awadh A. Binhazim. Ironically, the forum was sponsored by the Muslim Students Association (MSA). The event was titled "Common Ground: Being Muslim in the Military"

During Q&A Saucier challenged him on the Islamic view on homosexuality:

SAUCIER: Under Islamic law is it punishable by death if you are a homosexual?

PROF. BINHAZIN: Yes. It is punishable by death.

Binhazin then went on to make the following statement:

"God is very straightforward about this — not we Muslims, not subjective, the Sharia is very clear about it, the punishment for homosexuality, bestiality or anything like that is death. We don’t make any excuses about that, it’s not our law — it’s the Koran."

(H/t Youth for Western Civilization)