Leaders of the Maricopa County GOP were shocked last week when Arizona State Republican Party Chairman Robert Graham moved to cut off promised rent money for the new office of Arizona’s largest Republican county organization in the state.
According to an article by Frosty Taylor, in the top insider spot for pachyderm news, the MCRC (Maricopa County Republican Committee) Briefs, “MCRC Chairman Tyler Bowyer confirms reports that the MCRC received notification of the ‘stop payment’ from the bank last week. AZGOP never notified Bowyer, nor the MCRC Treasurer of the ‘stop payment.’ MCRC Treasurer David Ludwig messaged the AZGOP upon receiving notification from the bank, however, the AZGOP has not responded.”
“We are still in shock that Robert (Graham) would commit to funding the office through 2016 and suddenly pull the funding,” Bowyer told Taylor.
LaFaro called on Graham to resign immediately. “Robert Graham is pathetic and this latest stunt is just one more reason he needs to resign immediately or be recalled,” stated LaFaro on Tuesday. “I’ve said all along that Robert Graham has sold his soul to the devil and to the RINO establishment here in Arizona – John McCain, Jeff Flake and Jon Kyl to name a few. And let’s not forget Sean Noble, Robert Graham’s good friend, business partner and the Prince of Dark Money according to the news and social media.”
“They are so out of control, I can’t speak for the establishment and I don’t want to,” said Arizona’s conservative leader A.J. LaFaro in an interview on the James T. Harris radio show. “Here in Arizona, and around the country, they are trying to do an ethnic cleansing of conservatives and Tea Party members. I am witnessing it all the time,” LaFaro told the conservative radio talk show.
LaFaro said that he had the “pleasure of attending the event,” referring to the July 13 ribbon cutting for the new headquarters of the Maricopa County GOP. “Chairman Bowyer and his Treasurer did not know the checks had been stopped prior to the ribbon cutting and open house.” LaFaro called the move “crazy.”
Graham’s organization refused to acknowledge Trump’s visit which had been arranged for by the Maricopa County GOP. Many complained after Graham said he could not be in town for Trump’s event; claiming at first that he had GOP duties elsewhere and then claiming that he had to be in Oregon for his grandmother’s birthday.
LaFaro says he doesn’t know if Robert Graham is deliberately trying to punish Maricopa County Republican Chairman Tyler Bowyer for helping sponsor the Donald Trump Campaign Rally a couple of weeks ago – but, he says, “it sure looks like it.” According to LaFaro, “several news and social media articles, Arizona’s RINO establishment sent Chairman Bowyer a strongly worded letter demanding the event be cancelled.”
LaFaro told Harris, “that Senator Jeff Flake tried to stop the event from happening. However with Trump joining popular Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, there was little chance that the establishment could stop the effort.”
“Trump’s hard charging, blunt talking, tell-it-like-it-is, pull no punches personality has taken America and the world by storm thanks to the news and social media,” LaFaro told Harris. “His polling numbers have skyrocketed giving him a commanding lead in a majority of the polls.”
“Let’s face it – the American people listen when Trump speaks,” quipped LaFaro. “Whether they love him or dislike him, everyone knows Donald Trump is running for President. Who knows who the other 31 declared Republican candidates are. Yes, I said 31 according to “2016.republican-candidates.org.”
Despite the fact that Graham ran for Arizona GOP Chair as someone – the only one – who could raise big money, LaFaro revealed that he recently reviewed the AZGOP’s FEC latest campaign finance report for January 2015 through June 2015 and according to the report the Arizona GOP only has a little over $23,000 cash on hand. “I wanted to review the AZGOP’s campaign finance report they are required to file with the Arizona Secretary of State; however, the State has a different reporting cycle and their report isn’t due until January 2016,” said LaFaro.
According to Taylor, when she reached out to Graham on July 20, “regarding reports of the ‘stopped payment’, Graham responded, “It appears that Maricopa County is doing well. I thought it was appropriate and wise to hold back funds and allocate the resources based on need. With 14 other counties we have some large battles potentially in CD 1 and CD 2 not to mention our goal to bring the state house and senate to a greater majority. We are working to help all the counties in the state with the Redroots program. It has been my pleasure to help Maricopa get off the ground and into an office and look forward to working with them on Redroots.”
This raised concerns about the financial situation for GOP candidates around the State, and specifically Congresswoman Martha McSally. Just last week, an online Tucson publication reported that McSally had greatly inflated her fundraising numbers. McSally, who has regularly voted with the McCain camp, won her seat last year by less than 200 votes.
LaFaro is forging ahead with plans to run conservatives for office and ignore the fact that the establishment seems more intent on punishing Bowyer and the Maricopa County Republican Committee and conservatives. “The next move for the grassroots is to continue to fightback against the RINOs at every level of the AZGOP – from the precinct on up,” LaFaro told Harris. “Continue to recruit conservative Republicans who are fed up with the direction of this country, that are mad as hell with the spineless establishment elite that are destroying America: the politicians, crony capitalists, chambers of commerce, unions, special interest groups, illegal aliens and terrorists (both foreign and domestic) who have sold their souls to the devil at the expense of America’s future generations. Their continued status quo will no longer be acceptable or tolerated.”