Minuteman Chris Simcox's past will haunt his GOP primary bid against McCain
By David Neiwert Thursday Apr 23, 2009 5:45am
The latest step in Minutemen cofounder Chris Simcox's extreme makeover is now up for electoral review: Simcox is challenging John McCain in the Arizona 2010 GOP primary.
For starters, there's going to be all that footage available of Simcox when he was in his full-on Minuteman phase, including footage like that above -- excerpts from filmmaker Nikolaj Vijborg's excellent short documentary, USA Under Attack, containing the following quotes from Simcox:
I feel that the people that are coming across, invading this country, I think that they should be treated as enemies of the state. We need to putting them in work camps. Anyone could walk through these borders of this country bringing bombs, chemicals, weapons of mass destruction. I think they should be shot on sight, personally.
Those guys [D.C. politicians] need to be, you know, lynched. If we're attacked again, then we need some vigilanteism. Then we need some going into Washington, pulling them out of their offices, kicking them out of office. We need revolution.
And then there was his Minuteman compatriot in this video, Craig Howard:
No, we ought to be able to shoot the Mexicans on sight, and that would end the problem. After two or three Mexicxans are shot, they'll stop crossing the border and they'll take their cows home, too.
Stephen Lemon at Phoenix New Times is positively licking his chops, since Simcox's candidacy will make for an entertaining primary, if nothing else: "This must be what reporters in Louisiana felt like when ex-Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard David Duke ran against Edwin Edwards for Governor of the Pelican State."
Moreover, Simcox has so much baggage that you can probably count on a good deal of ink being spilled over the job of dredging it all up:
But this sort of calculated posturing will not rid him of all the baggage he's accumulated in his weird journey from L.A. kindergarten teacher to self-avowed border patriot in Cochise County, and now Scottsdale resident and seeker of public office. He is widely loathed in his own movement for his high-handedness, hence the nickname, "The Little Prince." Defectors from his ranks have regularly accused him of financial shenanigans, shenanigans he's denied. According to the few financial records MCDC has online, Simcox draws no salary from the organization he leads, which raises the question as to the source of his personal income.
Simcox cannot write off these complaints and questions as coming from sore losers, traitors and plotters of internal coups. In 2006, the conservative Washington Times published a stinging expose about Simcox's lack of financial accountability as president of MCDC. The article pointed out that former MCDC-ers were "questioning the whereabouts of hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions of dollars in donations."
Then there's the problem of his criminal record. In 2004 Simcox was convicted in U.S. District Court of carrying a semi-automatic handgun onto a national park, and giving a "false or fictitious report" to a federal park ranger about the incident. He received 24 months of supervised probation and a fine of $1,000. The gun carrying stuff might play well with his followers, but his conviction for giving a "false or fictitious report" could raise concerns about Simcox's credibility.
A piece I wrote for The American Prospect last October exposed these dealings in even greater detail:
Meanwhile, Simcox's MCDC organized a follow-up border watch in Arizona in April 2006, and the group began recruiting new Minutemen around the country--everywhere from Illinois to Washington to New Hampshire. The donations began pouring in. Now thoroughly enmeshed in the [Alan] Keyes organization, all the MCDC donations flowed into a web of nearly a dozen organizations revolving around Declaration Alliance, including Diener Consultants; a Texas outfit called American Caging that acted as the escrow agent and comptroller for the operation; Renew America, a Keyes-run "grass-roots organization"; and a direct-mail company called Response Unlimited.
The association with Keyes' organizations raised hackles within MCDC ranks. Some of the Minutemen began exchanging e-mails denouncing the relationships, since Keyes and his groups were perceived within the ultra-right ranks as being "neoconservative" organizations whose interests were inimical to theirs. Gilchrist, who had washed his hands of the Keyes groups, sent out a bulletin making clear that his Minuteman Project no longer had any associations with Simcox and his outfit. The Washington Times reported on the dissent and quoted Keyes dismissing the MCDC's internal critics as anti-immigrant racists "and other unsavory fringe elements attempting to hijack the border security debate to further their individual agendas."
Simcox was undeterred. In April 2006, he hit on the idea of building a "state of the art" security fence along a section of the Arizona-Mexico border and told The Washington Times that he had more than $200,000 in donations. He described the project as one that would "feature separate, 14-foot-high fences on both sides of the border, separated by a roadway to allow the passage of U.S. Border Patrol vehicles, with surveillance cameras and motion sensors." It was this description that enticed Jim Campbell to pony up his $100,000. But there were problems, notably that there were few private landholders along the border willing to participate. The ranch owner who had agreed to a fence had no interest in an "Israeli style" security barrier; he only wanted a standard barbed-wire fence to keep out Mexican cattle. So that was what was built. The steel Campbell bought was to be used for a short section of "demonstration" fence at another ranch. Of the promised 70 miles of security fence, so far a length of only .7 miles has been erected. Much of Campbell's steel still lies in a pile, collecting Arizona dust.
... Certainly there was a significant gap between Simcox’s public claims of having raised $1.6 million for the fence, and what his financial disclosure forms show his organization actually spent on it. No one can say for sure because the MCDC won’t let anyone touch its books. But a look at the organization’s 2006 public filings indicates that, of all the money raised for the border fence, only a small amount (if any at all) went toward its construction. The forms for the Declaration Alliance—through whom all the border-fence donations were directed—show that it brought in nearly $5 million that year for all its programs. What percentage of that $5 million consisted of border-fence donations is unclear, but considering that the fence appeals began in May 2006 and have remained the MCDC’s (and Declaration Alliance’s) chief fundraising focus in the months since, it is likely that they provided at least a majority of that money. It also shows that $3.19 million went to the MCDC. But for what?
The Declaration Alliance largely spent the money on printing, consulting, and similar activities. The only indication on the form that any actual money went back to the MCDC in the field is $143,000 listed as “operational expenses,” though this money reportedly was for MCDC border watches, not the fence project. If any of those millions of dollars actually went toward building a border fence, it’s difficult to ascertain where they are and how much was disbursed—though a look at the disclosure form for the Minuteman Foundation, the MCDC entity set up specifically to handle the fence project, shows a mere $87,500 in total revenues from donations for 2006. If that’s the actual revenue coming from that $3.19 million the Declaration Alliance says it spent on the MCDC—and you estimate that at least half of that is fence-related—then we’re talking about less than 6 percent coming back to build the fence.
In other words, the best rough estimate is that about 94 cents of every dollar Jim Campbell spent on the fence went toward printing, mailing, consulting, and the like. It’s no wonder members at the field level were seeing so little of the money that Simcox claimed to be rolling in.
No doubt all this will start coming to greater public attention, now that Simcox is attempting to run for public office.
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Oooooooo, popcorn time! This should be fun. The Battle of the Titans of Stupid and Batshit Crazy.
Everyone! Set your DVR's!
They got Texas beat with these idiots. And I'm willing to bet this guy beats McCain in the primaries.
Sarah PayMe should be there with a sign saying "no Sex For Browners".
Racist mutts comparing immigrants looking for work to terrorists.
blind hatred somehow L&L...
Otherwise, their own self loathing would become unbearable. };)>
Mexicans were there a heck of a lot longer than those white folk have been. Same with the cows.
And, of course, anyone who thinks these clowns have a valid point need to look at the dustup about DHS spying on 'right-wing extremists' - in other words, it's all fine and dandy when you think the target is someone else, like illegal immigrants oozing over the border.
But the list won't end there. Next, it'll be the liberals, the gays, the pagans, the secularists, the other minorities, the terrorists, old Europe, new Europe, socialist Europe, fascism, communism, dadaism, cubism ...
And the problem-solving ability is summed up as, "I can haz guns."
Wow! Is this the best the GOP has to run against McBush??
on the northern border of the US are every bit as crazy. They sit in lawn chairs scanning the border with ceaseless vigilance to keep out the tuberculosis and leprosy ridden hordes of Canadians who apparently are crossing over to take advantage of America's munificent social programs.
Bringing their politeness, and strange accents with them!
The horror! ;)
I can't say I was shocked to see one of these thugs wearing a Savage Nation cap.
Could you imagine having to live on a diet of minute steaks
And Vienna Sausage?
and Spam...don't forget about teh Spam...and other highly salted canned meat products.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8huXkSaL7o
Do shammity, peck, and o'really and all the rest of the gang on FAUX like them some protein shakes?
I know his wife; she was quite explicit.
When was this filmed? Any idea?
the doc was filmed in '06...so it may be older.
All the footage is from 2006.
:)
"You didn't have to do it, but you did, but you did, but you did.....and I THANK YOU......"
i had a problem with my computer crashing because of virus attack. now two weeks later i believe that it's fixed. however rather than picture on your site i only get a boxed red x. so i must have inadvertenly hit something to prevent picture downloads. can you or anyone else help me get back on track. thanks, ron.
Buy a Mac.
Oh God No!!! Don't tell them about Macs.
If Macs become popular, the bad guys will start writing malware for OSX - oh wait, that would require a level of sophistrication above a 7th grade computer science course.
Which I highly doubt...
;)
Don't tell anyone about Macs! yellerdawg's right!
Go to TOOLS.
Go to INTERNET OPTIONS.
Select the ADVANCED tab.
Scroll down to MULTIMEDIA.
Make sure "SHOW PICTURES" is checked.
Click on APPLY.
Hardly any trouble with that.
This story is hardly a shock- notice how Simcox dehumanizes Mexicans - I wonder if his racial hatred also extends towards latinos who are American citizens? I do know if many of these right wing Minutemen had their way, aLL Latinos in this country would either be deported or executed.
I wonder if he feels similar hatred for the many undocumented Irish and Eastern European immigrants in this country..oh wait, they're white people, so I guess he feels they're okay..
which is nice, quiet little small town California (insert eye roll here)... they hate anyone whose skin is two shades darker than theirs.
One of them has proposed... in the online forum run by the local newspaper... that in the case of "those people", the children be taken from the homes at the end of their eighth grade year and placed in labor camps because "they obviously lack the ability to complete a 'normal' high school course of studies". He also advocates forced sterilization of "those people" as a means of controlling their population and therefore their assault on mom, apple pie on "his" American way. There's more but you can see where he's coming from and where he's going.
And the majority... probably 70-75% of the people who commented on his twisted vision of how society should be... agreed with him and offered their own "solutions" for the "Mexican problem" (shades of the Holocaust, eh?). While all of them stopped short of actually using the word "Euthanasia", the implication was there in every post.
There are more of these nuts out there than most sane people can imagine and you'd best not take them too lightly. they've run the country for 20 of the last 28 years after all.
to me...
I think THEY'RE the ones who need to be sterilized.
Yipes!!!!!!!!! Is this the part of California that Blackwater was going to build (has built????) Blackwater West?? These kreeps give me the willies!
and I hate knowing that they're from my home state. NC...
Unless any of us are Native American-we are all illegal immigrants. The people of the Mayflower were illegal immigrants and also the Spanish and French who came to Flordia and Louisisana.
..if you are born in the USA, you are and always will be an American Citizen. That's all it takes. I was born here, I expect to die here. My parents, born here. My grandparents may have been born in Italy and Germany but they migrated to the US and obtained citizenship. Most of us are not illegals as you state. You can argue about different aspects of American citizenship but calling us illegals doesn't quite wash.
oops should've been posted below the spam comment above...
I'm pretty sure these guys sample one anothers 'salty meat' in the sage brush from time to time.
I just can't quit you!
....that's just wrong....but funny!
I'm a WV guy too....Doddridge County here...one of about 4 democrat/liberals in the whole county tho'
drivel from hannity and limbaugh, methinks
Knobs with the hard to decipher letters "On" and "Off."
hadn't invaded Mexico and stolen more than half of their country
this wouldn't happen.
steal it from? If L. Ron Humbbug hadn't kept part of the real story to himself we would know why this is no longer the land of the free Sabre Tooth Cat and the home of the brave wooly mammoth.
like the teabaggers, the 'minutemen' were a talk radio creation that went to fox and lou dobbs after months of being pumped by limbaugh and hannity to rile the base for the 2006 elections, distract from katrina, and try to blame dems for vote fraud where they won (the brown hoards are voting!).
anyone who calls themselves minutemen should have been marching on washington to depose king george instead of threatening women and children looking for work. what a dick.
looking at the people who come over the border as just people who were looking for a better life. I thought to my self, if I lived over there or some where where life just sucked so bad the only thing I could do was go to America any way I could. I thought to my self, they are just trying to get a better life. Who would not want a better life.
THEN I worked in a private prison where they had about 2500 of these border jumpers. What I saw and what they said still is in my mind. They had NO respect for any Law in America. One asshole who was all ways bitching about the medical treament he was getting at the prison. I asked him, if you don't like the way you are getting treated here, why did you come over here. He said, he could not get medical treament he needed in mexico. He came over and wanted to get picked up so he could get FREE medical. Others were so arrogant, they were just assholes. Even the legal people who came over by the rules did NOT like these guys.
This is not a new issue pepole, it has been going on for the last 50 years. Our people in congress have helped this shit for years. The rerason, MONEY... the big corporate America wants them to come over, they give them jobs. They can pay them what they can get away with. what they are going to do bitch, no. The rich want to keep there money, if they give jobs to Americans and try to fuck them, then you end up with a UNION. They can't tell Americans to shut the fuck up or I will turn you in to the goverment.With these people they can.
Think about the big pictuer here, if the people at the top don't want you to look at what there doing, just give them some thing else to look at. Don't look at us, its not us that is trashing the countru, its the people comming over the borders that are taking your jobs. They would not be taking our jobs if you assholes wernt giving them jobs because you dont want to pay Americans a good wage to support there home.
McCan is so out of tuch with what is going on he said on the campaine trail, " I will pay $50 an hr to people to pick lettuce, but you must stay for the hole season. what a retard.
This is a issue that the people who are at the top want nothing more than seeing people fight each other over this than look at what they are doing to keep this going.
Conservative farmers love immigrant workers. They make better than minimum wage, but they also die young. It's pretty easy to fault a nonperson for any accidental injuries or death and not have to pay out for medical bills.
it should be clear that the White Trash minority will no longer be denied representation in the federal government!
Oh, wait - they were represented in the federal government for eight years back in the 1990s, it's just that they didn't realize it because Bill Clinton isn't a card-carrying member of the NRA.
Geez, these people sure are particular, huh?
tell me just when the middel class was represented by any dem or repug.
the people in washington take care of each other first, well, the corporate people first then themself.
These assholes in congress have the best medical OUR money can buy. Federal law enforcement health insurance is SHIT. If Dick was just a guy, he would have been dead years ago.
Then there's the problem of his criminal record. In 2004 Simcox was convicted in U.S. District Court of carrying a semi-automatic handgun onto a national park, and giving a "false or fictitious report" to a federal park ranger about the incident
So this guy gave "false or fictitious report to a federal ranger" Let me see, did scooter libie lie to a grand jury, get covicted, then his suger dady comuted his time.
I see if you are just a regular person, you get no breaks, you go to jail. but if you have somes people with power at the top, don't worry about going to jail, I will fix that.
These guys are nothing but idiots. Notice how one of them is wearing a "Savage Nation" hat? If Michael Savage is where he gets his views from, well, what more can I say?
It is time for America to clean itself up 'from the inside out.'
I'll be putting together my list of those I'd like to deport - starting with Simcox and his ilk; then, maybe McCain, the Bush Crime Family, CEO's of most major global corps., 98% of Congress-critters; and, of course all of the nut-wits at Faux News. That'll do for starters.
attorneys, lawyers. scmb sucking assholes. what do have with 1000 attorneys at the bottom of the sea, a good start....
competition from a serious candidate. Hard to beat McCain's money machine. But it might be an interesting primary if he can bring out some dirt on McCain...but I'm not sure if there is anything out there that isn't already "known" about McCain.
There doesn't seem to be any shortage of people that get upset about the illegal alien situation in Phoenix, but Simcox doesn't stand a chance.
There is lots about McNut. Just look at his past, the saving and loan, the nut bag who ran the phoenix news paper who McNut was buds for years and gave him free time in the news paper. look up ( I think his name was tuley or something like that.and yes, people in phoniex know there is to many border jumpers in phoniex,san antino and all over the US. about 25 million.
And, what about the tapes that were made in nam that were Classfied.
Non of that stopped him from running for President.
What's all the commotion about?
I've done the same things Simcox is doing...
...okay, I was six years old back then, didn't flaunt real weapons and the game was called "cops and robbers" instead of "militias and Mexicans". ;)
I believe this is your work, which I have edited for brevity:
"Today the minuteman movement is beyond mere disarray; it is in the early stages of complete decay. The arc of the Minutemen's decline and fall happens to trace almost precisely that of previous right-wing populist movements, notably the Klan of the 1920s and the militias of the 1990s.
In 2007, the MCDC claimed some 2,000 volunteers at various border watches, though the on-scene reports indicated far fewer participants. In 2008, the activity dropped further, so that the annual April border watch attracted only a few dozen participants and no media coverage.
Over the past year, several incidents of violence have been associated with various subfactions of the Minutemen. Last summer, a couple of Minutemen created a video portraying the shooting of border-crossers--which they later admitted was a hoax but decidedly a reflection of their real attitudes. The men were in a group that had spun off from the San Diego Minutemen, itself an independent offshoot of the movement."
Based on the good work you have done on Simcox I have to surmise that his candidacy is simply another phase in a seriously mentally unstable man's quest to create a cause he can loot for his own financial gain.
I am only sorry you left out the parts where his ex-wives accuse him of child endangerment and/or molestation. But that might raise questions as to why this guy deserves any attention at all.
Ricky, your surmise is pretty much the same as mine.
Let's just say that Chris Simcox is a rich subject, and it's hard to fit it all into a post that's already too damned long (as mine have a tendency to be anyway) ...
..like we need W back in office.
For those that don't know me, that's sarcasm right there!
Yes I agree surfjac...that is indeed some high grade sarcasm!
throughout the upper keys as a conning steward of only high grade
stuff.
just gives me a headache and the munchies.
Makes me quite flatulent as well.
is now a danger to air quality and a front is forming off Southern Florida threatening boatloads of freedom seeking victims of commie tyranny.
is now an accomplice.
And I thought you said a front is "fromming" off Southern Florida, lol!
fromming is a gift form God, not something His Emmanation lNm blows out his bloody arse.
now that's funny!
..is the so-called Patriotism these "people" subscribe to; it just ain't patriotic! There are people desperate in the world to live, to make a living, to see their children do better than us and that desperation leads them to the USA. I will not say that illegals should get a free pass but shooting someone who is hungry or trying to feed their child or support an ailing parent, c'mon really, where's the humanity? We've treated many cultures badly in the past and many would like to time-travel and do things differently I suppose but in modern times, the greatest measure of our culture should not be taking violent measures against people who just want to live. The illegal immigration into the USA is the definition of "dilemma".
why do you hate America??!! (jk)
televangelist. It ain't any more patriotism than it is Jesus
they subscribe to. It's what they can get out of other's wallets by purporting to have a pipeline you can access for the price of a subscription.
... probably mistake Jesus for one of them brown folk and shoot 'em in the head.
"Lessee ... brown skin ... scruffy clothes ... long hair ... travelin' in a pack with 12 other guys, all brown skinned, scruffy, with long hair ... we's got ourselves a pack o' illegals. Open fire, boys!"
was pretty liberal, they'd probably shoot 'em extra for that.
roaming around with a bunch of men, at a time when people used to get married in their teens. Means that Jesus was probably not of the heterosexual persuasion, if you know what I mean.
I am willing to bet these pious christians will be the first in line, to nail back to the cross their gay, liberal, brown savior.
Ah, the hypocrisy of a patriot displaying his American pride via trinkets made in China, while shooting guns to express his love for the king of peace. Ain't that the American way, eh?
that this Jebus character was also of Hebrew heritage...and we all know how those pious pseudo-xtians juuuust loooove them some Jewish folk!
after someone told them they need them in order to bring Armageddon.
Funny how they did not care much for the Jews when they thought they did not need them.
so the rest of us heathens can live in peace.
This battle will be fun to watch. I want to see how far out there McCain can get.
Wouldn't those caps classify as flag desecration?
Nothing more dangerous than a backwater bedwetter with a gun.
"Bill Clinton is the worst president we every had"
Those backwaters had jobs under Bill Clinton and lost them under Bush. The nutters who are fortunate enough to be working after the Bush years will get a tax break under Obama in 2009. Yet they hate the Demmycrats.
Makes you wonder how these nutters can figure out how to breath on their own.
Their self hate is pervasive through their lives, to the point that when they vote... they do so for the party which goes literally against their own interests.
These people are a psychiatrist wet dream, between the projection, the self-loathing, and the constant deflection of blame. There could be a plethora of journal articles and theses that could be written using these assholes as data sets.
I am starting to see a pattern here. LOL.
Yup...that and the Brokeback Mountain type surroundings...definitely some type of pattern here...
I think the Minutemen hatred for Mexicans often extends to hatred of ALL Latinos in America-even US citizens. I've even seen these rioght wingers go after Puerto Ricans- even though Puerto Rico is an American territory!
Michael Savage is overt in his racial hatred of all Hispanics- calling Mexicans 'sub human'- is such overt racial hatred the norm or exception within the Republican Party?
they are the perennial reminder that we took the SouthWest from someone else.
I always found amusing to see white folk complaining that people, who were here before their ancestors jumped off the boat from Europe, are migrating illegally.
It is just another manifestation of the overwhelming stench of projection, the favorite modus operandi for the common right winger these days.
that the guilt you imply is non-existent. Texans and others from this part of the country are proud to have taken it. Those that harbor the sentiments you decry do so because Abe Lincoln opposed the Mexican War and was then a hypocrite in not letting those he did not want in to begin with get out when they wanted to.
That and he freed the slaves.
What could possibly go wrong?
Joe, the make-believe border guard.
His weapons convictions will only make him a folk hero and win him votes. I'm certain our humble author remembers Claude Dallas. As crazy as the those who saw Dallas a hero are, the gun nuts in Az are worse.
I do agree with you.
.... when they see this crap!
before the air ran out of his movement and/or he had emptied the wallets of his unwitting believers.
Texas seems to have a lot more than their fair share of sick bastards like these hateful pigs.
It's plain to see they equate Mexicans, people of darker skin, as in the same class as animals.
Interesting listening to them perpetuate their nonsense based hatred toward President Clinton. "worst president ever"....cough, cough. Get your head out of your ass, goat roper. Were you sleeping through the last eight f*cking years??
I'm ashamed these pigs have citizenship. Maybe we can figure a way to give theirs to some immigrants, and let them climb the hills in Afghanistan, looking for "illegals" to shoot on sight. Pigs, pure and simple!
If you follow the author of the post's links I think you will find this feller is from New York or somewhere near Connecticut, birthplace of the Bushes. He migrated to California and from there to Arizona.
Don't blame Texas for this one. We have enough on our plate.
get a mac...
are everywhere. My city is packed border to border with assholes like this. Shit 70% of the guys I grew up with are like this. Makes me sad...
Hearing guys like this talk about 9/11.. He must hate NYC if he hates Mexicans. Obviously he's never lived there, so it's just a racial thing. (As if there were any doubt.) So "ironic" how 9/11 galvanized the shrinking conservative base.
Just to see everyday coverage of Grandpa Cloud-Yeller-Atter having to fight off this loony before the general election. This guy is the reason we have the word "flim-flam."
at the thought that this man could potentially be the Arizona chapter of my Hispanic side of the family's Senator.
And to think I considered joining my relatives in Phoenix once I finished college!
to hear this creep and his compatriots) talk about so nonchalantly, and with his easy-going drawl about shooting people, lynching people, and putting people in work camps.
Let's save all this film evidence of his statements for later. We'll need it to counter the "cleansing" his campaign will obviously need to begin attempting.
Sick, sick, paraniod, scared, sociopathic, compassionless, ignorant bastards. These are not adults and should not be treated as such. There guns should be forcable taken and then they should have their pants pulled down in public and whip their asses red. Little slimey shits. Fu*k these un-Amercian fascists Repblican brain-dead pieces of shit.
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