Local Tea Party gets 'Time' mention; Brown to visit for McCain fundraiser

Feb 28, 2010 — The Arizona Daily Star

Rhonda Bodfield

Feb. 28, 2010 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- The Tucson Tea Party got a mention this week in Time Magazine.

While we're sure it's flattering to get singled out by the national press, the story made the group a bit more ambitious than it really is.

The story quotes Tom Jenney, state director of Americans for Prosperity, boasting that the "very independent" Tucson Tea Party folks "knocked out one city councilman and now want to recall the governor and two other City Council members."

We knew Mayor Bob Walkup got a reprieve from the group's recall effort. Perhaps he also got a promotion we didn't hear about.

Flap over a flat tire

Meanwhile, Beth Walkup said she doesn't need a man -- to change a flat tire, that is.

She said that she's been doing it herself since she was 15, when her father said she couldn't get a driver's license until she could change a tire, change her oil and swap out a battery.

She blew a tire Wednesday at Grant and Alvernon and was on her knees in her business suit looking for a place to brace the jack when a police officer pulled up. Walkup said the officer jacked up the car and loosened the bolts, but she herself put the tire on.

While she has AAA, she said she didn't call because she could do it faster herself.

As for how the police got there, Walkup said she didn't, and wouldn't, call for them. "They already have so many things tying them up," she said, adding she had no idea how the officer came across her.

But since the episode came up on a morning radio show, some folks have taken to prank-calling City Hall, asking if the police can send someone over to change a tire.

Walkup said she knows her husband, the mayor, has his critics. "I just think it's a below-the-belt punch to go after his wife," she said.

The Tucson Police Department did not return phone calls seeking more information on its tire-changing service.

Brown in town

Massachusetts Republican Sen. Scott Brown will be in town Saturday to help U.S. Sen. John McCain's re-election bid.

Along with a $1,000-per-person fundraiser sponsored by Jim Click and Don Diamond, the two will head over to McKale Center to watch the Cats play USC.

McCain's spokesman Brian Rogers said Brown is a big basketball fan.

Yes, but is he an Arizona fan?

"He's a fan of John McCain's," Rogers said.

And Take that ...

Some of the best smackdowns of the week involved McCain in some fashion or another. Here's a recap.

--President Obama to McCain at the health care summit Thursday: "Let me just make this point, John, because we're not campaigning anymore. The election's over."

McCain comeback: "I'm reminded of that every day."

--J.D. Hayworth showed up at McCain's campaign headquarters in Phoenix Thursday, saying since McCain challenged Obama to 10 town hall debates, he wants the same for the Senate race.

McCain comeback: "While Sen. McCain is today leading the fight on behalf of Arizonans to stop the government takeover of our health care system, Mr. Hayworth held a press conference in our campaign parking lot." McCain spokesman Rogers said the senator will be happy to debate once Hayworth is a certified candidate.

--Democratic City Councilman and possible Senate candidate Rodney Glassman sent out a release after the summit, saying the maverick is history. "Instead, John McCain 2.0, the cranky partisan, went to the Blair House meeting today, determined to blow up health insurance negotiations."

McCain comeback: "We suggest Mr. Glassman pursue a career in stand-up comedy."

Contact reporter Rhonda Bodfield at 573-4243 or rbodfield@azstarnet.com

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