Democrats On The Prowl

It’s hot. It’s new. It’s the latest from The Far Side. It’s straight from the political candidate Gary Kiehne.

Gary Kiehne, a northern Arizona rancher and oilman, is the second Republican to announce his intention to unseat Democratic U.S. Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick.

Kiehne launched his campaign for the 1st Congressional District on Tuesday. GOP state lawmaker Adam Kwasman, who lives near Tucson, said this summer he is exploring a run.

Kiehne said he understands the needs of the rural district where he grew up and plans to focus on job creation, minimizing regulations, cutting taxes and protecting land rights.

Mr. Kiehne, welcome to the fracas. As a welcoming present I’m adding your name to my spell checker.

Of course, everybody would like to unseat Congresswoman Kirkpatrick:

Ann Kirkpatrick (born March 24, 1950) is an American politician who has been the United States Representative for Arizona’s 1st congressional district since 2013; previously she represented the same district from 2009 to 2011. She is a member of the Democratic Party. She earlier served in the Arizona House of Representatives. She was defeated by Republican Paul Gosar in the 2010 election. In 2012, she was again the Democratic nominee, and went on to win the general election to regain her old seat in a close race.

[Some links removed]

I mean, what’s a liberal Democrat like Kirkpatrick doing representing a red conservative state like Arizona? Fortunately, a number of stalwart conservative Republicans have stepped forward. They all want the job. So, what does Gary Kiehne bring to the party the other candidates do not? How about some reality?

Arizona GOP Candidate Says Democrats Are Behind Most Mass Shootings

FLORENCE, Ariz. (AP) — A Republican businessman running for Arizona’s 1st Congressional District says most mass shootings in the U.S. are committed by Democrats.

The Arizona Daily Star reports (http://bit.ly/1lNY8Fd) that Gary Kiehne made the remarks at a Republican primary debate Saturday in Florence.

Kiehne, a Springerville rancher, told the 60-member audience that “99 percent of (mass shootings) have been by Democrats pulling their guns out and shooting people.”

Mother of Jesus! Mr. Kiehne may be onto something. I’m wondering why the other candidates, State Representative Adam Kwasman and House Speaker Andy Tobin chose not to provide this information. Maybe Kwasman and Tobin are not privy to Kiehne’s secret sources. One of Kiehne’s secret source may have been conservative talk show host Roger Hedgecock:

January 20, 2013

Based on the assertions of Roger Hedgecock a right-wing radio show host, the meme that the five worst recent mass shootings were committed by registered Democrats is making its way through e-mail chains and social media. Hedgecock asserts, without providing any evidence or sources, that the Ft. Hood shooter, the Virginia Tech shooter, the Aurora Theater shooter and Adam Lanza of Sandy Hook infamy were all “registered Democrats”.

The 100% estimate may be a bit stiff. The above item from Examiner.com provides some research by the author:

• “Registered Democrat” may not be an exact fit for Nidal Hasan (Fort Hood shooter from 2009), since neither Texas nor Virginia (his previous residence) have party registration.
• The same goes for university shooter Seung-Hui Cho, since he lived in Virginia. Besides, Cho was not a citizen, and as such he could not register in either party.
• Voter registration forms for James Holmes were found, but it was not the same James Holmes who shot up Colorado movie theater.
• There appears to be no evidence of party registration for Adam Lanza, the Connecticut school shooter. If he were a registered Democrat he would have been an unlikely one. His mother’s home had “conservative reactionary” written all over it. She was a noted doomsday prepper and a strong believer in gun rights. Adam killed his mother with her own assault rifle.
• The Columbine shooters, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold were children and, as such, were not allowed to vote. There seems to be no evidence their families had any Democratic Party affiliation.

That’s five notorious shooters with no demonstrable Democratic Party affiliation. Unless there have been 500 high-profile shootings in the past 100 years, the claim of 99% Democratic approval is going to have to languish.

Here is more from Examiner.com:

• James Huberty hated Mexicans and the United States. In 1984 he killed 21 and injured 19 in San Ysidro, California.
• Buford O. Furrow was a white supremacist. He shot up a Jewish Community Center in California in 1999 and subsequently shot a postal worker to death.
• Jim David Atkinsson “hated Democrats, liberals, African Americans and homosexuals.” Sounds pretty conservative to me. He murdered two and injured seven in July 2008 in Tennessee. [Editor’s note: Joe Barnhart was one of the injured.]
• Keith Luke was a white supremacist (and a Democrat?). He set out to kill Jews, blacks and Hispanics in a Massachusetts killing rampage.
• Donnie Baker was a former (not current) Republican campaign worker. He shot seven, also in 2008.
• Richard Popalowski is a white supremacist. His opposition to President Obama (a Democrat) became obvious. He was sure Obama was going to have the government seize all guns. He killed three cops in Pittsburgh in 2009.
• A man (not identified) “thought the Obama administration was conspiring against him.” He shot and killed two deputies in Fort Walton Beach in 2009.
• An anti-abortion activist (likely not a Democrat) murdered Dr. George Tiller in 2009.
• A “right-wing white supremacist and Holocaust denier” killed a black security guard at the National Holocaust Museum in 2009.
• The Sovereign Citizen movement is not known to be associated with the Democratic Party, but members Jerry Kane and Joe Kane killed two police officers in 2010.
• In 2010 Jared Laughner (apparently not a Democrat) killed six people and wounded 13, one of them Democratic Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.
• Wade Michael page is a white supremacist (possibly not a Democrat). He shot and killed six and wounded four in Wisconsin in 2012.

As of this writing, Gary Kiehne’s secret sources remain just that. When they become known I will post a follow-up. Please check back in about ten or twenty years.