Len Munsil: Republican Candidate for Governor

Why do you feel compelled to impose YOUR religious beliefs on other citizens? In particular, I point to your historical support for a marriage amendment banning any form of same-sex union.

Marriage is a religious institution. Clearly it is within a church’s purview to decide on who can get married within their church. The state has decided to encourage family formation by affording rights to married couples – but when the state decides on the characteristics of an acceptable mate you have the foundation of tyranny (e.g. – interracial marriage).

Protecting the rights of citizens is the government’s rightful business. Government has no right in defining an acceptable class of spouse. Please don’t bring up incest, bestiality, etc. in your response The issues with incest are based in science and backed up by data… and animals are not consenting adults with the rights afforded people.

Prop 107 is akin to legislating who can be baptized: the government simply does not have a role in defining issues of faith.

Mr. Munsil, please explain why your lobbying group chose to limit the rights of Arizonans with the marriage amendment rather than investing your energy in strengthing marriage? With a 50% divorce rate, domestic violence, and the prevalence of emotionally dysfunctional families we heterosexuals can hardly claim mastery of the subject. If marriage is so important to our society, doesn't working to strengthen it make more sense?

You were quoted by Don Goldwater as saying that people who help illegal immigrants are not doing anything wrong. Do you support No More Deaths and other groups who put water in the desert for the immigrants? Many religious leaders do support them, including the Catholic bishops.
Your website is not completely clear on this, but it would seem to be consistent with a pro-life position.

I'm alarmed that you would destroy a memorial established in the memory of the victims of September 11, 2001, because of a difference of opinion you have with the sentiments. It's not a reasonable or rational response.

The U.S. Constitution in Article VI requires all public office holders at all levels of government to take an oath to "support this Constitution." It does not mention an oath regarding Scripture, and, in fact, does not mention Scripture anywhere. Should you see a conflict between the Constitution and Scripture, would you honor your oath to uphold the Constitution?

I have been branded as "Anti-family" by your operatives. I am a gay equality activist, but I come from a strong family and I value strong families. At age 34 I came out to my parents. It was tough - but they had the love, courage and honesty to listen to me and to understand me. They knew me well enough to see that I did not choose homosexuality, and to understand that it does not go away. They also appreciated my honesty & courage, to the extent that my coming out actually strengthened our family. My father recently passed away after 55 years of faithful marriage. If my mother could hear your people describe me today as "anti-family" it would break her heart. What would you say to her to defend your actions?

A recent documentary on Barry Goldwater pointed out that "Mr. Conservative" disliked the religious right because of its desire to hyperregulate personal sexual and religious beliefs.

How can Mr. Munsil call himself a conservative when his main focus seems to be more government intrusion into our private lives via constitutional amendments and inflammatory comments about gays?

Since Mr. Munsil is so focused on what he considers to be "family values," does he think the Congressional leadership of his political party should resign because they covered up inappropriate sexual behavior by a Congressman?

Mr. Munsil claims that Gov. Napolitano's record number of vetoes in the last legislative session is proof that she is out of touch with Arizona voters. If that is so, why is it that the Republican-controlled legislature has not overriden any of these vetoes?

Mr. Munsil's Republican party controls Congress, the White House and the Supreme Court. Why should we think he would be more effective at controlling the border than the other members of his party?

Can you comment on employer sanctions?

How do you stand on Abortion rights and legislating the medical community based on religious beliefs?

I'm interested in Proposition 107, specifically the part of the proposition which would prohibit the State of Arizona or any of its agencies to provide domestic partner benefits for heterosexual and homosexual unmarried couples alike.

It's worrying to me that you helped draft this. I heard you say that, and this is a quote, "it won't take away from thousands. The numbers we've heard are a couple hundred". I don't know where you got your numbers from, but even if they're right, why are you willing to hurt even a couple of hundred Arizonan families?

It doesn't seem to me that you're committed to families, your only committed to families that look like yours. To say that only married couples can contribute positively to society seems mean-spirited and bigoted to me.

You claimed today that Arizona has the highest crime rate in the nation? Which statistics are you using? That doesn't jive with anything I have seen.

Since you are a detail-oriented person, please explain the symbolism intended by giving the Arizona flag on your campaign signs and logos 15 rays instead of the usual 13.

Mr. Munsil represents what I believe to be why America is headed in the wrong direction. Absolutely no compassion for others (building fences) and a supieriority complex that only helps build hate (gays, Mexicans). I am a Catholic and I pray that you find the love, forgiveness and tolerance that I found in the Bible.

What about the demand from the farms that need this workforce? The California farms are now seeing their crops rotting in their fields because of the immigrants who were stopped from coming into this country to work for cents to the dollar in these jobs. Are you willing to send your 8 children to do this job? wash dishes at restaurants? clean rooms at hotels? Who is going to do these jobs that Americans refuse to do?

You come off as Mr. Nice Guy with lots of kids and family attitudes, Pro-life, and many issues I can identify with.

But do you think you will be hurt by your association with the "Christian Right" which is being criticized for its pro-war posture? You have associated yourself with the Republican pro-war leadership. Your stance on the Memorial question identifies you as pro-war.

How do you justify being pro-life and pro-war at the same time? Isn't that a Biblical paradox? How do you justify this Biblically??

Finally, your campaign Manager Nathan Sproul, was caught red-handed throwing away Democrat registrations during a voter registration drive, among other things he has done.

You brought up trustworthiness in your Here and Now interview. Were you implying that you and your Republican party members are trustworthy? For starters, your campaign manager threw away democratic voter registration ballots. Evan Mecham of your party was impeached. Symington of your party was impeached. Nationally, your party has the worst record of corruption that we have seen in decades by a party.

If you had such an interest in the 9/11 memorial, Mr. Munsil, why didn't you get involved during the construction process? Why, now, right before an election, have you pulled a Republican smear and sleaze campaign regarding this memorial?

You say that Janet Napolitano is not mainstream. Do you think you are, Mr. Munsil? Mainstream American and mainstream Arizonans, for starters, don't have 8 children. That, right out of the box, is not mainstream. That is turn of the 18th and 19th century, Mr. Munsil.

So, you're pro-life, are you? For which lives are you pro-life, Mr. Munsil? Please be specific. As far as I can tell from your comments, you are against gays (I guess they're not lives to your way of thinking), you are pro war (I guess the hundreds of thousands of killed and maimed individuals in this illegitimate Iraq war are just - well, not lives - then what are they, Mr. Munsil?)

You commented that you thought Jane Hull was a good governor. Please, Mr. Munsil. The only good governors this state has had in the 27 years I've been here have been Babbitt and Napolitano. Mecham, Symington, Hull? All Republican and all embarrassments to this state, Mr. Munsil. And, it sounds like you are even more extremist than the Mechams, Symingtons and Hulls.

I notice that you make claims that are not substantiated. You said that children are better off in families and social research backs that up. Not so, Mr. Munsil. Research tells us that children raised in functional loving families, whether they be gay families, single families or two parent families, are the best adjusted. Children raised in unhappy, dysfunction, rigid, inflexible and authoritarian environments where two parents are present do not do well in society. So, Mr. Munsil, get your facts straight.

You said that it was unconscienable that Janet Napolitano was not stopping the illegal entry of immigrants across the border. This, Mr. Munsil, is a federal issue. I think you better make an appointment with George Bush and have this discussion with him. Governor Napolitano has done more for this state in 4 years, bringing us out of the right wing extremist dark ages, than every Republican governor past and future.

In short, Mr. Munsil, listening to you only made me dig in and vow to do everything I can in my power to make sure Janet Napolitano is re-elected.

You are a far cry from being mainstream, Mr. Munsil. Should this state ever become your idea of mainstream, I would not want to live here anymore.

I need to make a factual correction to the previous comment that Paula Garner made. Governor Fife Syimington was not impeached. He was convicted on six counts of fraud and resigned from office. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals threw out the convictions due to the improper removal of a juror. Federal prosecutors had refiled charges, but they became moot when former President Bill Clinton pardoned Symington before leaving office.

I was just talking to my family and neighbors the other day, and the converstion was around how much we dissaproved of Napolitano's job as governor, however, nobody knew who was running against her. Your campaign people are definitely not doing their jobs. Who is Len Munsil? What does he even look like? No posters out there. No advertising? I'm sorry, but please don't be toooo terribly upset if he loses the race. Thanks