The tea party candidate in a close Arizona Republican congressional primary is taking aim at an unusual target: Sarah Palin.
“I've been really, really disappointed by some of these endorsements and some of the things she's done,” former Marine Sgt. Jesse Kelly said at a small gathering videotaped by former Kelly supporter and Tucson tea party activist Robert Mayer. “She’s got a lot of rehab on her image to do because we need independents to win it, and you don’t need to be less conservative to win independents, but you can’t have your image destroyed, and she needs to rehab that.”
Kelly, now a project manager at a construction company, is running against GOP state Sen. Jonathan Paton for the right to challenge Democratic Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in November.
Paton immediately slammed Kelly for his remarks. “Jesse sounds more like Keith Olbermann or Joy Behar than a Republican candidate for Congress,” Paton spokesman Daniel Scarpinato said, referring to the two outspoken, liberal talk show hosts.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0810/41243.html