Democratic Party chair sees chance to make state better

Arizona Democrats selected Bill Roe as party chairman last weekend by acclamation. The Tucson conservationist has long been active in environmental issues as well as party politics, particularly on the fundraising end. He was a regular presence at meetings last year of the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission, tracking the panel's work as it redrew the state's political boundaries.

Roe succeeds Andrei Cherny, who resigned as chairman in January to pursue a congressional bid. He inherited a party headquarters that is rebuilding after losing key staff positions (mostly to work on congressional campaigns). The staff has been brought back to near full strength because of the efforts of Executive Director Luis Heredia.

Roe said he wants to invest in research on the party's donors, to better understand how to reach out to them; serve as a coordinator for congressional campaigns; and do the requisite hand-holding of candidates.

He sat down with The Republic last week to talk about his plans for the party as it goes into the 2012 election cycle.

Question: Why did you seek the chairmanship? Did you jump? Or were you pushed?

Answer: I had a long discussion two months ago, and the sense was you don't gain anything by seeking it. Wait and see what people really want. Ann Wallack (Maricopa County Democratic chairwoman) and I talked at some length about what was best for the party right now. There really weren't any other serious candidates. ? We decided for now we would work together as a team through the election.

Q: The news release about your appointment mentioned you're talking about building strong county organizations. Is that akin to (former Democratic National Chairman) Howard Dean's 50-state strategy, where you have stronger organizations at the base?

A: Well, yes. I hadn't thought of it that way. We have organizations in 13 of the 15 counties. (La Paz and Apache are the exceptions.) All of the other counties are very vibrant.

And what's interesting right now is everybody's excited. (T)here is a real palpable air of excitement about the future. The same thing at the state committee meeting. We had a remarkably good turnout. We had way, way over quorum.

We have a strong, unified party. And quite unlike the last couple of elections for party chair, where there was a real dogfight, this was a vote by acclamation. ? Everybody is focused on the opportunities we've got coming up for this November.

Q: What is it that's creating this energy?

A: I think people sense the Republicans have really overreached.

I had an e-mail from somebody I served with on a board. He said, "I'm tempted to admonish that you should be careful what you wish for. But instead congratulations on being chosen to lead the Democratic Party. Although I'm still struggling to be a Republican, I am convinced we must have a more competitive Democratic Party if we're going to overcome our worst political instincts in this state. I hope you can accomplish that."

That is symptomatic of a huge number of phone calls and e-mails that I have gotten, not just from Democrats but from people across the board. They're unhappy.

And I think there's a real sense with redistricting there's an opportunity to make the Legislature better. This huge push by the Republicans, all these bills, whether they be assaults on women and reproductive rights, people, I think they are trying to say it's time to take control back and try and be a normal state again.

Q: What are Arizona's chances of being a battleground state in the presidential election?

A: The president's campaign manager was here a month ago, Jim Messina ? The decision would be made later this spring. It would not be on personalities, it would be entirely data driven.

But he shared with us some polls that are very encouraging. And since then, the polls have gotten better in Arizona. So I am cautiously optimistic the president will play a much larger role than either the president did four years ago or (John) Kerry did eight years ago.

Editor's note: The Republic invited Tom Morrissey to sit down for a similar interview when he was elected GOP chairman in early 2011. The requests went unanswered.

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Democratic chair tweaks Romney over narrow win (AP)

WASHINGTON – The chairwoman of the Democratic party describes Mitt Romney's narrow victory over Rick Santorum in Tuesday's Iowa caucuses as "a bad night" for the Republican front-runner.

Appearing Wednesday on Fox News Channel, Democratic National Committee chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz said Romney "spent the most and only beat the person who spent the least by eight votes."

She said Romney is "limping into New Hampshire," where he is heavily favored to win next week's first-in-the-nation primary.

Asked why her party had campaigned so aggressively against Romney, Wasserman Schultz said he "earned scrutiny because he's relentlessly attacked the president."

Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus, also appearing on Fox, rejected Wasserman Schultz's assessment. He called Tuesday "a great night," because "the whole country is talking about who the Republican nominee will be."

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DNC Chair Lands Double Standard Smackdown on RNC Chair Over Weiner (ContributorNetwork)

Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus found out quickly Sunday on NBC's "Meet The Press" that Democratic National Committee chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz was nobody to underestimate, even in a case of defending actions made regarding the scandal of Rep. Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y., whose ongoing Twitter photo and sext message scandal has caused great consternation within his own political party. Priebus also discovered that making statements in an ideological fight should be made when one's remarks are defensible.

David Gregory, host of "Meet The Press," asked Wasserman Schultz why she called for Weiner's resignation Saturday, a move that was echoed by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. She noted she had given the besieged congressman time to "do the right thing, make a decision, reach the conclusion that he needed to step back, and step down on his own." She added that, since he had not done so by Saturday, she felt the need to "weigh in."

Priebus went on the attack, stating it was a "question of leadership" and that Weiner had turned Washington "and this country into a three-ring circus." He added for good measure, "We've got leadership and a Democratic Party that are defending a guy that deserves no defense."

Wasserman Schultz immediately went on the offensive, refusing to grant Priebus his assumed moral high ground. Stating Priebus' statement couldn't pass the "straight-face test," pointing out that it came "from a chair of a party none of whose leaders called for Senator Vitter, who actually broke the law, to resign, who is still serving (in) office."

Sen. David Vitter, R-La., was involved in a scandal in 2007 where he solicited a prostitute.

But the DNC chairwoman wasn't done. She spoke about Sen. John Ensign, who resigned in May, and his two-year affair with a campaign staffer that made national headlines. The matter has become part of a Justice Department investigation as well. "You never called for his resignation, so it's a double standard and it's unacceptable," she observed.

When Gregory asked the RNC chairman for a response, he said he was not "defending these men" and quickly changed the subject to President Barack Obama and the economy.

The Weiner scandal began when a blogger Andrew Breitbart posted a racy Twitter photo of a man in bulging underwear and alleged the image to be that of the married congressman. After a week of denials, Weiner announced he had lied and that not only was the photo of him, he had sent the photo. He also admitted to sexual conversations with women outside his marriage but nothing illegal -- and that he would not be resigning. Pelosi immediately called for an ethics committee investigation (characterized by Priebus as an attempt to try to save Weiner's job).

But it was the surfacing of an explicit photo of Weiner and an investigation into the private messages sent a Delaware teen that pushed the Democratic leadership into forcefully calling for Weiner's resignation. Several Republicans, Democrats and former DNC chairman Tim Kaine had called for his resignation earlier in the week. Kaine stated that Weiner's lies were "unforgivable."

Weiner announced plans to go into a psychological treatment facility Saturday, according to the Atlantic Wire, and said he would take a leave of absence from his congressional duties. It is as yet uncertain if he plans to heed the call of his Party leader, Wasserman Schultz, and resign.

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