kyl outed. allard too.

After publishing the "sneaky senator" post on Wednesday, I called Wayne Allard's D.C. office, which had closed for the evening. I got through the next morning, but after being put on hold for 20 minutes, I hung up. Luckily, I was walking to work, so I had the time (though not the cell minutes). I didn't know that a combustible press release from Allard staffer Steve Wymer was awaiting in my inbox, and likely increasing calls to his office that morning.

Boasting Allard's resolution for a National First Responders Appreciation Day, the release slipped:

"Since I don’t think first responders have really done anything significant in comparison to their counterparts who have dealt with real natural disasters, I have no idea what else to say here…”

A "corrected" release arrived right around the time the media-advocacy ploy to find the censoring Senator fingered Jon Kyl. The following is from the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies:

The Republican from Arizona was unmasked following an ultimately successful campaign by the Society of Professional Journalists to publicly identify the senator who placed a secret hold on the OPEN Government Act. The OGA would improve the government's response to public requests for information under the federal Freedom of Information Act, and is supported by AAN and dozens of other groups, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the conservative Heritage Foundation. The bill has already passed the U.S. House of Representatives by a vote of 308-117 and was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee. Kyl tells the Associated Press that he'll continue to block a vote of the full Senate until the Justice Department's "uncharacteristically strong" objections to the bill are assuaged. His Republican colleague on the Judiciary Committee, Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), disagrees: "This is an important, bipartisan issue that deserves the consideration of the full Senate," Cornyn says. AAN encourages its members to call their senators to let them know that you support the OPEN Government Act and oppose Sen. Kyl's obstructionist tactics.

Some advice: Put on your headset or plug in your ear piece before you call. We'll have to fight the immigrant-hunting right for Kyl's time. His backing and negotiating of the Senate's immigration reform bill, which they're expected to take up again starting tomorrow, threw a match on the fueled heap that is Arizona's immigration debate. I imagine Tom Tancredo veering off the campaign trail to be the first at Kyl's door in the morning, illegally imported Cuban cigars in hand.

At least have your hands free for the keyboard, or other distractions, while you're holding.