Republican Jesse Kelly, who is seeking to unseat Democratic Congresswoman in Southern Arizona's Congressional District 8, said this morning that he hadn't had time to completely review the GOP's new Pledge to America, but he liked what he had seen so far.

"I'm a bit shocked by how outstanding it is," Kelly says.

Others are less charitable. Andrew Sullivan has a round-up of reaction here and here. His own thoughts on the "fiscal fraudulence" here.

David Frum, the former Bush administration speechwriter who has been critical of the GOP's direction, calls it "a pledge to do nothing":

Here is the GOP cruising to a handsome election victory. Did you seriously imagine that they would jeopardize the prospect of victory and chairmanships by issuing big, bold promises to do deadly unpopular things?

But if the document is unsurprising, it’s also unsurprising that Erickson and those who think like him would find it enraging. The “Pledge to America” is a repudiation of the central, foundational idea behind the Tea Party. Tea Party activists have been claiming all year that there exists in the United States a potential voting majority for radically more limited government.

The Republican “Pledge to America” declares: Sorry, we don’t believe that. We shall cut spending where we can — reform the legislative process in important ways — and sever the federal guarantee for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Republicans will redirect the federal government to a new path that is less expensive and intrusive than the status quo. But if you want promises of radical change? No. Too risky. We don’t think the voters want that — not the smaller, older, richer, whiter electorate that votes in non-presidential years, much less the bigger, younger, poorer, less white electorate of presidential years. And even that smaller, older, richer, whiter electorate is highly wary of cuts to programs that benefit them, Medicare above all.

But the real news is this: You can primary a Bob Bennett, you can nominate a Sharron Angle, you can balk Karl Rove and Mike Castle — but when decision hour arrives, the leadership of the party rejects the assessment of the American electorate offered by Rush Limbaugh, Dick Armey and for that matter Erick Erickson.

Sounds like Jesse Kelly might be losing that revolutionary spirit as the general election draws closer.

Think you can set the land speed record for finishing one of Daggwood Cafe's signature sandwiches? Your mission, should you choose to consume it, is thus:

TRIPLE DECKER!!! PILED HIGH WITH HAM, ROAST BEEF, SMOKED TURKEY, SALAMI, PASTRAMI & PEPPERONI. LAYERED WITH CHEDDAR, HAVARTI, MUENSTER & PROVOLONE CHEESE. STUFFED WITH SPROUTS, LETTUCE, TOMATO & RED ONION, WITH MUSTARD, MAYO & PICKLE SPEAR.

Contest hopefulls have to fill out a registration form and explain why they should be one of the 12 people chosen. The registration deadline is Saturday, Sept. 25. The contest takes place Saturday, Oct. 9.

There will be prizes. More information here.

Got a special e-mail yesterday. Here it is, verbatim:

A stupid brood mare you are and you like the rest of the damn wetbacks think it is okay. They are illegal aliens and the majority of them are little bastards like you, nothing less or more. It is a shame your parents were kicked out of the country prior to your illegal mother hady ou here. The problem is we have a too many, not a majority, who feel as you, "bring the sorry bitches on to have their babies". Sad you are in a minority and I will tell you.
Frank Bowers, FIC, Austin, TS

Bill Buckmaster moderated a debate with Legislative District 26 House candidates Nancy Young Wright (D), Vic Williams (R) and Terry Proud (R).

This stylized, darkly comedic shoot-'em-up bristles with reverential allusions to edgy Western greats Sergio Leone and Sam Peckinpah, and offers nods to Stephen King's Dark Tower graphic novel and Jim Jarmusch for his 1995 hallucinatory cult Western Dead Man.

Last Rites is set in 1910, a waning period in the hyper-violent Wild West that intrigued director Tiller Russell, because, as he tells The Range, ".45 semi-automatics were being used in backroom gunfights alongside flint-lock pistols, just as horses were riding side by side with the same kind of Harley Davidsons the U.S. Army dispatched a fleet of into Mexico to hunt down Pancho Villa."

The film traces the story of a young, hot female gunslinger (Lizzy Caplan) who’s determined to risk all—and perhaps betray all—to undertake a perilous journey, culminating in a blood sacrifice trade with a Mexican bruja (witch) for the bullet-riddled corpse of her lover: a borderland desperado named Ransom Pride. She wants to bring him home for a proper burial.

One of the film’s standout performances is the understated yet riveting work of Peter Dinklage (The Station Agent), a double-barreled, sawed-off shotgun-toting dwarf who’s indisputably a badass—although he has the mind and soul of a poet.

The movie also stars outlaw country-music legends Kris Kristofferson and Dwight Yoakam, and is based on a screenplay written by another, Texas country elder statesmen Ray Wylie Hubbard.

"When I met Kristofferson (to discuss the film), all he said to me was, 'I love it. I want to do it. What else you wanna talk about?' And I said, 'Peckinpah.' At which point (Kristofferson) regaled me with the story of making Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, with Peckinpah and (Bob) Dylan, in Durango, Mexico. He told me how Dylan came up with the lyrics for "Knocking on Heaven's Door" while Peckinpah was taking a piss in the screening room, 'cuz he was so pissed off about the dailies being out of focus. Apparently, the room went dark when Pecknipah was standing in front of the projector light, and Dylan just started writing. And I thought, 'Bury me ... this is as good it gets.'"

The Last Rites of Ransom Pride is scheduled to be screened at the Fox Tucson Theatre, 17 W Congress St., on Friday, Sept. 24, at 8 p.m. Tickets are $7.50 at the door or at www.azundergroundfilmfest.com.

There's an after-party at Sky Bar with Acorn Bcorn

Republican Jesse Kelly has unveiled his first negative ad against Democratic Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. We can't seem to find an embed code, but here's a link if you want to see it.

Read it here: Tedski mocks Senate candidate Ted Downing's assertion that he'd be welcome to caucus to with Republicans if elected as an independent.

U.S. Sen. John McCain takes on Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. The Hill reports:

McCain proposed bringing some of the local Arizonan sheriffs who patrol the state’s border with Mexico up to Washington D.C. to testify, saying that they would tell a different story.

“Let’s get [Cochise County] Sheriff Larry Dever and sheriffs that Secretary Napolitano says she’s in contact with and they’ll tell you,” McCain said. “They’re law enforcement people, they’re down there on the front lines, and they’ll tell you that they have not seen an improvement.”

At which point, Napolitano, encouraged by the suggestion, shot back.

“Let’s get [Santa Cruz County] Sheriff [Tony] Estrada and Yuma County Sheriff [Ralph] Ogden and some of the other sheriffs as well,” said Napolitano, as the room erupted in laughter.

“Be more than happy to,” said McCain, who ended his line of questioning and promptly left the hearing, which was halfway finished.

McCain correctly notes that many people who live along the border remain frustrated by the ongoing troubles related to illegal immigration. But one reason they're frustrated, even though fewer people are crossing, is because the problem has been going on for so long—and until recently, McCain had a much different approach to dealing with the problem. Another reason: The crackdown has brought more criminal elements into the smuggling game and wedded the drug cartels to the coyotes.

McCain's transformation from a lawmaker seeking a comprehensive solution to the border problems into a partisan who wants to exploit the border for political gain is complete.

ETA: Does McCain really have any standing to ask someone else about a change in position?