Chris Simcox, co-founder of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, announced in late April that he will challenge incumbent John McCain for the 2010 Arizona U.S. Senate nomination.
Back in March 2005, Simcox and Jim Gilchrist -- founder of the civilian border patrol organization -- mobilized volunteers to converge on that state's Cochise County and patrol the border.
They pulled off a public-relations coup, with unauthorized entry from Mexico as their lightning rod. About half of the Minuteman volunteers cited lethargic politicians as their motive for joining the mobilization.
Contacting their representatives brought no response, many complained. Mostly, they said, the threat of terrorism inspired them. The participants appeared to be deeply patriotic, their pride worn on their sleeves.
When photographer Wilhelm Scholz and I showed up on an assignment in that area, the Minutemen had appropriated symbols like the flag -- on hats and T-shirts -- to illustrate their discontent.
Gilchrist ran as an American Independent Party congressional candidate in California near the end of that summer. In an e-mail backing him, Simcox criticized Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, President Bush and the Republican "establishment," as he referred to them, for supporting one of their own party members over Gilchrist, charging they were "soft" on immigration.
In the same 2005 e-mail, Simcox said, "We cannot afford to have another congressman in D.C. who is willing to sell out our country's national security for party gain." He added that Gilchrist would "help put the fear of God in the GOP."
Now, it appears, Simcox is setting out to put a little disruptive fear of his own into Arizona's Republican politics. He wants to join the party.
In April 2005, Gilchrist and Simcox split the Minuteman Project into two factions. Insiders attributed it to their butting egos as they scrambled for media attention. Gilchrist characterized some Minuteman members as "wacko."
Simcox had previously relocated to Arizona from Southern California. In Tombstone, he published a newspaper, the Tumbleweed. The paper's tone turned policy issues into talk about bravado, gumption and guns.
The organization he co-founded increasingly adopted elements of a nativist movement. There were charges about "sell-out officials" and "national sovereignty violations." Valid patriotism came only in the Minuteman vintage.
Perhaps it was appropriate that this culture would take root in Tombstone, near Boot Hill, and that the newspaper offices were on Toughnut Street. On the other hand, many local merchants laughed it off and referred to the handful of Simcox's followers as "The gang that couldn't shoot straight.''
When Scholz and I called Simcox for an interview in 2005, he was continually "out of the office." In mid-2006, he also was mostly unavailable to account for issues arising from the status of funds up to $1.8 million for a 6-foot-deep "Israeli-style" border trench and fence he proposed to erect.
Some Simcox critics are openly gleeful that he announced for the Republican nomination. His statements are often cynical or extreme. He is such an easy target.
His motivation does not seem to be to join the Republican Party but for the party to join him, to transform it from the party of Lincoln to the snide one of Rush Limbaugh.
Simcox and others like him will only divert the discussions we should be having; his jarring words incite theatrics that appeal to a lower nature. His bio has no history of problem solving; rather, it's one of taking pleasure in a problem.
Our political periscope tells us Simcox has no chance of winning. Now we expect better in our politics.
(Jose de la Isla writes a weekly commentary for Hispanic Link News Service. Contact him at joseisla3(at)yahoo.com. For more stories, visit scrippsnews.com.)
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, http://www.scrippsnews.com)
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