Businessman Wil Cardon launched one of the first major salvos in the Republican primary race for Senate with a video highlighting opponent Jeff Flake's globe-trotting at tax payer's expense.
Cardon and Flake are running against one another in the Republican primary for the Senate seat of outgoing Republican Sen. Jon Kyl.
The video, which includes pictures of Flake on the beach, highlights the longtime Congressman's travels to 40 countries, including "European vacation spots, exotic locales and warmer climates during winter." The video says he travels in "private government jets costing up to $10,000 an hour."
"Despite a major recession, bad economy and lost jobs, Jeff Flake has traveled the world at taxpayer expense. . . more than any other House member," says the video, citing the Arizona Republic as the source for the claim. "International jetsetter Jeff Flake — another career politician wasting our tax dollars."
Flake’s office did not immediately return calls requesting comment, but we’ll update this blog if they get back to us.
Flake has represented Arizona’s sixth Congressional District since 2001 and serves on the House Committee on Appropriations. His campaign website highlights how he has “established himself as leading conservative reformer and is responsible for the current ban on earmarks.”
“Leading national taxpayer groups consistently rank Jeff among the most fiscally conservative members of Congress,” his bio says.
Elaborating on the impetus for the video, Cardon's spokeswoman, Katie Martin, said in an email that "It is imperative the voters of Arizona know that while Congressman Flake falsely touts a fiscal conservative message, his record shows that he is Arizona's biggest abuser of taxpayer funded travel. Congressman Flake wants a promotion to the Senate but his abuse of taxpayer money for these junkets can no longer be tolerated."
Stay tuned to the Pueblo Politics blog throughout 2012 for news, updates and information about Arizona politics.
Please Wait…