Once upon a time, by which I mean the 2012 primaries, I cut my teeth in Arizona politics walking for Chad Campbell, Lela Alston and Katie Hobbs. It was not my first foray into activism and politics, not by a long shot, just my first here. Now, I am a very, very wonky Democrat, so it was absolutely not enough for the party to tell me hey here's the people we're walking for, have your canvass pack and go. No, no no, I had to look up their individual legislative records. I had to learn for myself that these were not just people with "D" after their names, these were good, honest, upright legislators, worthy of my time as an activist and my vote as a citizen.
Now, don't get me wrong, I know and I love Lela and Katie. I have held conversations at great length with these fine women and can honestly say without reservation that their heart, mind, body and soul are unreservedly dedicated to our causes. But the pitch at the door?
"See this guy here?" and I'd point to him out of the trio on the lit, "This is Chad Campbell. He's the Minority Leader. We have to keep him."
The rest of the pitch varied. Some doors I talked about transparency in government. Sometimes tax giveaways for corporations. If they asked about jobs I talked about his Buy Arizona bill. But at every door what was consistent was that this man was obviously made of brass to stand up there with a tiny little caucus, knowing full damn well the Tea Party was going to mow us all down, and fight for all he was worth because that's what we sent him down to the Capitol to do. I did not sell Chad at the door as a legislator. I sold him as a hero.
I can still sell him as a hero. We demanded a plan for safety, and Chad Campbell gave us one. The right wing rolls out crazy bills to cut funding to our schools and redirect it to "merit" (read: give to charter) programs, and there's Chad Campbell in the media, swingin' for all he's worth. And Medicaid? When Brewer departed from the embargoed speech to beat her chest like a Democrat and call for AHCCCS expansion, Chad Campbell was first in line to throw his arms around that position and seize on an opportunity to work across the aisle, not in the name of bipartisanship, but because expanding Medicaid is the absolute right thing to do.
Bob Thomas and the Tea Party think this is a reason to take him down. In a sense, they're right. If I had a full frontal lobotomy and became a Tea Partier, yes, I'd probably paint a target on Chad Campbell. He's our leader. When it comes to the on-the-ground fight for Arizona, Chad has chosen to put himself at the tip of the spear in the absolute worst of times. Taking him out would deny us our hero. It would be a humiliating, demoralizing loss. It would stand to reason one would simply manipulate the system during an off year, take advantage of structural weakness and resource deprivation, astroturf an operation out of thin air, and take him down.
Bob Thomas, you have made one critical mistake. I still live and breathe.
I have met so many in this district, in this state, that want nothing more than an opportunity to go to war with the Tea Party. We have borne all we shall bear at their hands. The ALEC legislation, the voter suppression, the privatization, the humiliating disrespect of the President, the accounting chicanery in the budget - we are simply done with it all. I expected the war to come in 2014, when the Governor would be up, and probably MCSO as well thanks to Respect Arizona. But Bob Thomas and the Tea Party think they can roll into Central Phoenix and take down not just any elected, but the Minority Leader? Chad Campbell has made me proud as champion of our issues at the state legislature. He has stood and fought for us all. We must all stand and fight for him.
This means war.
