Pullen for the Party

Bruce Ash on Jack Murtha and Earmarks

RNC National Committeeman, Bruce Ash, tackles the pressing issues of the day.

This week's commentary: Jack Murtha and Earmarks
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AZGOP SPECIAL REPORT: TURNING THE TIDE IN IRAQ!

The following includes an Associated Press report dated yesterday, October 23, 2007. A link to the story in its entirety is at the conclusion of this AZGOP Special Report.

We send this out today to stress the importance of our standing by our soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and guardsmen – and our President and military leaders – whose resolve is turning the tide in Iraq.

America and our freedom-loving allies around the world cannot show any cracks in our resolve to defeat Al Qaeda or other terrorists in Iraq, Afghanistan or elsewhere around the world. To do so would be tantamount to an invitation for their terror to strike again on American soil. Just as wrong, to do so would be to admit that their campaigns of fear could ever be tolerated.

“They have to be convinced that we're not leaving. That's the issue. If they were to think we're leaving we'd have also sorts of trouble,” Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch said in the AP report. General Lynch is a senior American commander on the ground in Iraq. We at the Arizona Republican Party happen to trust strategists like General Lynch far more than surrender-happy armchair quarterbacks like Democrat US Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid or Democrat US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who seem more concerned with their next election than with the actual realities of our military operations and the future of our country.

ON TO VICTORY!
~Randy Pullen, Chairman

Emphasis (bolding) has been added to the following AP report:

SHARP DROP SEEN IN U.S. DEATHS IN IRAQ
By STEVEN R. HURST

BAGHDAD (AP) — October is on course to record the second consecutive decline in U.S. military and Iraqi civilian deaths and Americans commanders say they know why: the U.S. troop increase and an Iraqi groundswell against al-Qaida and Shiite militia extremists.

Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch points to what the military calls "Concerned Citizens" — both Shiites and Sunnis who have joined the American fight. He says he's signed up 20,000 of them in the past four months.

"I've never been more optimistic than I am right now with the progress we've made in Iraq. The only people who are going to win this counterinsurgency project are the people of Iraq. We've said that all along. And now they're coming forward in masses," Lynch said in a recent interview at a U.S. base deep in hostile territory south of Baghdad. Outgoing artillery thundered as he spoke.

CLICK HERE to read the entire AP report!

Bruce Ash: SCHIP and Veterans

RNC National Committeeman, Bruce Ash, tackles the pressing issues of the day.

This week's commentary: SCHIP and Veterans

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PULLEN TO OBAMA: PRESIDENTS CAN'T CUT-AND-RUN!

Phoenix, AZ—Arizona Republican Party Chairman Randy Pullen welcomed to Arizona Democrat presidential candidate Barack Obama, junior U.S. senator from Illinois, with the following advice: “President’s don’t get to cut-and-run from tough decisions, Senator,” Pullen said.

After cancelling a campaign trip to South Carolina last month to return to cast “critical” votes in the U.S. Senate, Mr. Obama mysteriously skipped the Senate’s vote condemning MoveOn.Org for their cowardly personal attack on General Petraeus, who they falsely accused of betraying the United States.

“Senator Obama cast votes before the MoveOn.org vote and after the MoveOn.org vote that day,” Pullen said. “Maybe he got lost? Or because he’s more concerned about not upsetting this ultra-liberal group that will do or say anything to win elections Senator Obama cut-and-ran rather than telling the American people what he felt about an important issue.

“At least Democrat Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is bold enough to stand up and surrender to the terrorists and Democrat U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is bold enough to push for the largest tax increase in American history,” Pullen said. “Right or wrong, they stand up for what they believe in, day in and day out. Senator Obama, however, doesn’t show up to be counted – and that isn’t very presidential.”

# # #

CLICK HERE to see the original AZGOP press release.

AZGOP RESPONDS TO THE CALL!

One of the big battles of 2007 is the Louisiana governor’s race, pitting popular GOP rising star, Congressman Bobby Jindal against several Democrats in a race to fill the vacancy of failed/retiring Democrat Gov. Kathleen Blanco. Word spread from the Republican National Committee to the state parties that “all hands were needed on deck” to win this critical victory and show the nation that our Republican Party is back and better than ever! And what better way than by picking up a Democrat gubernatorial seat? Chairman Pullen responded to the call and dispatched Political Director Brett Mecum and Field Representative Pascal Kropf to New Orleans to prepare for and assist with the RNC’s 72-Hour operation (our party’s heralded GOTV effort).

Brett and Pascal send the following note from the thick of the election:

"Since arriving, there has been non-stop activity here in the Big Easy. We’ve joined a team of people from all across the country, including South Carolina, New Mexico, Arkansas, Nevada and Oregon. The RNC has us hitting the pavement, knocking the doors, executing an impressive 72-Hour effort including doorbelling, phone calls, rallies, you name it! Today alone, our team knocked on over 20,000 doors, well above what the campaign originally asked of us. The excitement for a Republican victory is big, and it’s evident in the people here as well as in all of us who came to volunteer from around the country. One thing is clear, when Republicans get to work, we get to work in an impressive way. Congressman Jindal is energized, brilliant, enthusiastic and has great ideas for his state – not unlike the candidates we’re recruiting in Arizona. We’re down to the final 48-hours now and there is much work to be done. To everyone at home in Arizona, wish us luck!"

CLICK HERE to learn more about Bobby Jindal!

And CLICK HERE to learn more about the Louisiana governor's race!

PULLEN TO BIVENS: STARK SHOULD APOLOGIZE

Phoenix, AZ—In congressional debate today, California Democrat Congressman Fortney “Pete” Stark suggested President Bush derived “amusement” from the death of U.S. soldiers in the war on terror. Arizona Republican Party Chairman Randy Pullen said his Democrat counterpart should call on all Democrats to demand Stark apologize.

“…But you're going to spend it to blow up innocent people -- if we can get enough kids to grow old enough for you to send to Iraq to get their heads blown off for the president's amusement,” Congressman Stark said earlier today, igniting a firestorm of outrage. Moments later, congressional Democrats added fuel to the fire refusing to declare the remarks inappropriate, issue an apology, or ask the congressman to retract his remarks.

“We haven’t even entered the actual election year and Democrat rhetoric is so vitriolic that callers to our headquarters are quite shocked,” Pullen said. “I can’t think of a moment in history when Democrats have stooped so low as to suggest a sitting U.S. president took pleasure from the death of American servicemen.

“Just weeks ago the Democrats used MoveOn.Org to suggest one of America’s most decorated generals had betrayed his own nation,” said Pullen. “Today senior Democrats are saying on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives, a place where many great and important debates have taken place, that the President is amused by the death of U.S. soldiers.

“Why has the Democrat Congress sunk to just 11-percent approval ratings, the lowest in American history?” Pullen asked. “Perhaps because their gutter-trash, morally-bankrupt, do-nothing record in Congress upsets the American people as much as it upsets me. We don’t need to turn the U.S. Congress into the Jerry Springer show.

“Congressman Stark owes the President and the American people an apology,” Pullen concluded.

# # #

CLICK HERE to read the original AZGOP press release!

McCaffrey on The Republic's "Live Talk" today

LIVE TALK

1. In Arizona today, what do you regard as the main differences between Republicans and Democrats?

MCCAFFREY: Arizona Republicans are getting the job done. We're working to protect the border which the governor failed to do, protect Arizona veterans which the governor failed to do, and protect our children which the governor failed to do. Next, we'll try to keep the Democrats in the legislature from raising taxes to pay for the crisis the governor's budget proposal would lead the state into.

2. Democrats are doing a bit better than Republicans in registration lately in Arizona, but both parties continue to lose voter registration share to Independents. Why do you think your party is not getting as many registered voters?

MCCAFFREY: Through the first six months of this year, GOP registration fell 2% and Democrat registration fell 2.9% while Independents gained 9.8%. In September, Republicans out-registered Democrats in Maricopa County and we believe that trend will continue and expand. While Democrats with their 11-percent approval rating in Congress don’t appear to have learned their lesson from past mistakes, Republicans have returned to their core principles of smaller government, lower taxes, stronger families, safer communities, better education for our children, and a secure border. Independents and, I hope, conservative Democrats, will again find a welcome home back in Arizona’s Grand Old Party.

3. Why do you think Independents largely vote Democrat in 2006 and appear to be strongly leaning that way in 2008?

MCCAFFREY: First, independents moved to leftward in 2006 not as a shift toward the Democrats in Arizona, but as a protest vote and a wake-up call for Republicans to hold true to Republican values, predominantly on fiscal issues like taxes and spending. Independents and conservative Democrats rejecting their own party are now responsible for the Democrat Congress having recently earned its 11-percent approval rating (the lowest in history). The challenge now for Republicans is to earn back those swing voters once more – like we did between 1994 and 2004.

4. Why do you think Democrats did so well in Arizona in last year's election, particularly in picking up two Congressional seats with the election of Harry Mitchell and Gabrielle Giffords? What are GOP strategies to retake them?

MCCAFFREY: First, I wasn't in Arizona and started at the state party on March 1, but it appeared to be something of a perfect storm: Democrats masquerading as Republicans, unhappy Independents, and a Republican Party that needed to find its way again. But three important factors to remember: this wasn’t a vote *for* the Democrats, these remain heavily GOP districts, and the freshmen Democrats now have a long, difficult record to explain and defend.

Harry Mitchell and Gabrielle Giffords have voted with Nancy Pelosi 89% and 92% of the time, respectively. For record-breaking budgets, against securing the borders, for secret union ballots, for the largest tax increases in history – for the liberal Democrat agenda they neglected to campaign on.

5. Republican Rep. Rick Renzi's decision to not seek re-election in the sprawling 1st Congressional District has thrown that race wide open. How do you win this seat, which has been held by Republicans despite a voter registration that favors Democrats?

MCCAFFREY: The first district is a classic swing district with a Republican edge because of several factors. The voters have been served well by Republicans in the US House and US Senate and the same reasons to vote Republican yesterday apply to voting for a qualified Republican candidate tomorrow.

6. Are GOP scandals threatening the core of Republican supporters? And is the Iraq war weighing heavily on GOP candidates this year?

MCCAFFREY: Scandals certainly had an impact in 2006, but we've always been good about learning from our mistakes. Democrats may promote their own congressmen who are caught by the FBI with $90,000 in corrupt money hidden in their freezer (Harry Mitchell voted for him), but we don't. We take these matters far more seriously, and voters recognize that.

Today, Arizona Republicans take extra care in our candidate recruitment and we teach extensive campaign finance and ethics at our campaign schools. Going the extra distance to prevent others' past mistakes is an important step to cleaning up government.

As for Iraq, the tide is turning very clearly in our favor. The President has just announced that our force in Iraq will be reduced by an entire brigade before the January. Even the left-leaning Washington Post is writing articles about how Al Qaeda in Iraq and the insurgents have been dealt “perhaps irreversible blows in recent months”. All this is detrimental to the Democrats and MoveOn.Org’s “America Can’t Win” election strategy.

The fact is, America can win and we will. That might not be how Nancy Pelosi or CNN wants to brand the war on terror, but that doesn't stop it from being the truth.

7. Immigration sharply divides the Republican Party. Until that issue is settled, how do you create a unified party going into an election? And are you afraid of losing the Hispanic vote, given the perceived racially charged rhetoric coming from the ultra-conservative right?

MCCAFFREY: First, 80% of Arizonans support border security. It’s hardly a divisive issue. The American people want to be secure. It’s the primary responsibility of government, and government isn’t doing its job. It’s about competence.

The Democrat Party loves trying to make this a racial issue. The critical distinction to make is a vast majority of Hispanic Arizonans are concerned about the guns, drugs and gang violence permeating the schools their children attend, too. The problem for the Democrat Party being morally-bankrupt and scaring people toward liberalism is that at the end of the day, Democrats still haven’t helped anyone.

8. Some social conservatives are saying they cannot vote for a pro-choice candidate such as Rudy Giuliani. If pro-life Republicans won't vote for a pro-choice nominee, why should pro-choice Republicans vote for a pro-life nominee?

MCCAFFREY: When it’s all said and done, I think you'll look back at this election cycle and see there were very few single issue voters.

9. I keep hearing about Arizona being a key state. In fact, all of the Southwest could play a major role in deciding who's elected president. For instance, if a Democrat wins the Southwest, he or she wouldn't need Florida or Ohio. What's your take on the Southwest?

MCCAFFREY: I think Southwest voters are no-nonsense voters who tolerate less of the politics and look for candidates with real solutions. Silliness like Democrats suggesting their congressional staff need to be vaccinated before going to NASCAR events or the Superbowl here in Arizona next year doesn't sit to well with bright, free-thinking voters in the Southwest. Results matter here.

10. Is having George Bush a plus or minus for GOP candidates? Most seem to be disassociating themselves from the president.

MCCAFFREY: Would you prefer a Democrat in the White House right now? Can you imagine the budget Hillary Clinton would be signing into law as your readers read this (assuming they could still afford their newspapers – and assuming you could still afford to print)? Seriously, though, 2008 is an open seat and I think you've seen candidates from both parties eager to talk about the need for change. What's will be interesting is if voters who are expecting more this election cycle buy into Senator Clinton's "I'm a DC-insider, I get it, I've got the DC experience" campaign.

11. Is there even such a thing as a Goldwater Republican anymore? His name is often evoked, but his principles less so.

MCCAFFREY: There is indeed a Goldwater Republican, and I would ask all those who read this to do two things: head to a bookstore or the library and take a look at Senator Goldwater's The Conscience of a Conservative. The first time I read it, I was shocked at how the conservative message hadn't really changed. Goldwater gave rise to a conservative movement which elected President Reagan, who set the stage for the 1994 Republican Revolution. Together, they put forth the notion that we can bring fundamental change to government. Real change, however, usually takes time – and that's not easy to accept in this age of 24-hour news cycles.

12. Which politicians or public policy experts do you admire? Why?

MCCAFFREY: I grew up with Ronald Reagan who said "What I'd really like to do is go down in history as the man who made Americans believe in themselves again." I grew up in politics with the Republican Revolution of 1994, and admired former Speaker Gingrich and those with him who tried very hard to change the way Washington did business: John Kasich, Dick Armey, John Boehner.

As Gingrich put it: "I'm not interested in preserving the status quo; I want to overthrow it." For me, it's not about amending the tax code; it's about scrapping the code and starting fresh with something fair for everyone. It's about proving that no matter how big our nation is, government can indeed be reined in to again work for the people.

And, of course, as Victor Hugo said: "There is one thing stronger than all the armies in the world, and that is an idea whose time has come." That idea is change, and I think many of the answers are being brought forth from our reinvigorated Republican Party.

http://www.azcentral.com/news/aztalk/forum/articles/1017forum_livetalk-CR.html

Worth reading

REPUBLICANS ARE TOO GLOOMY
by William Kristol

Republicans are downcast, depressed, and demoralized. Bush is unpopular. Cheney is even more unpopular. Scandals continue to bedevil congressional Republicans, and it's hard to see the GOP taking back either the House or Senate in 2008. History suggests it's not easy to retain the White House after eight years in power (viz. the elections of 1960, 1968, 1976, and 2000). And the Republican presidential candidates seem problematic, each in his own way.

Meanwhile, the Clinton coronation proceeds apace. Normally sensible commentators discourse on her Hamiltonian qualities and on today's liberals' Burkean ways. (If Hamilton and Burke weren't so used to having their memories misappropriated, they'd be spinning in their graves.) The American people, it's presumed, are too befogged by the mainstream media to see through pathetic Democratic stunts like rolling out a not-poor 12-year-old to read a radio script making the case for government-provided health insurance for allegedly poor children. And then Al Gore wins the Nobel Peace Prize. It's too much to bear.

Well, fellow conservatives--grin and bear it. And cheer up! After all, among other recent American winners of the "Peace" prize were Jimmy Carter in 2002 and the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War in 1985. These turned out to be pretty good contrarian indicators for how the American people would vote in the next presidential election--to say nothing of what actually produces peace in the real world.

In that real world, conservative policies are working fine, and liberals are providing little in the way of alternatives. The Bush tax cuts have been thoroughly vindicated: National wealth is up, unemployment is down, and the federal deficit is lower than the day the 2003 tax cuts were passed (though the Bush administration seems incapable of explaining any of this). The Republican-passed Medicare prescription drug benefit is working well and coming in under cost. And does anyone lament the fact that the last big Democratic idea--HillaryCare--failed to become law? Would American health care be better off if Republicans had rolled over and let it pass?

On the Hill, we're about to have a big debate over eavesdropping and wiretapping--areas where Bush's policies have kept the country safe, and helped foil terror plots abroad too. The Democrats haven't figured out that they are being led over a substantive and political cliff by the ACLU. Bush's two Supreme Court appointments are turning out to be exemplary--the Court should be a big issue in 2008--and Clarence Thomas's memoir is the No. 1 bestseller in America.

Have you noticed we're winning the war in Iraq--despite the assurances of Democrats, including their Senate leader, that the war was already lost? It's going to become increasingly clear in the next year that the problem with the Bush administration has not been too much force, too much strength, too much support for democrats abroad. The problem, especially in the second term, was too little of all these. Bush's first-term policies liberated Afghanistan and Iraq, convinced Libya to give up its nuclear program and Pakistan to stop proliferating, and inspired liberal, democratic forces in Lebanon and Ukraine. Passivity (outside of Iraq) in his second term emboldened dictators from Iran to Syria to North Korea to Burma. But the solution to the failures of the Bush administration is a reinvigorated conservatism, strategically grounded and competently executed, accompanied by a thoroughgoing conservative/neoconservative (Burkean/Hamiltonian!) reform of the institutions of the U.S. government so as to secure America's interests in a dangerous world.

The Democratic nominee looks likely to be either Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama. Hillary is furiously triangulating (it's a family tradition), criticizing Obama for saying he'd meet with the Iranian mullahs and then saying she would, voting for a hawkish resolution on Iran then cosponsoring a dovish one. But even Bill's triangulation got him only 43 percent of the vote in 1992 and 49 percent in 1996--and in terms of political skills, Hillary's no Bill. Obama, for his part, seems no more experienced in dealing with serious affairs of state than Jimmy Carter did in 1975. Obama could conceivably follow in Carter's footsteps and get the nomination--but America learns from her mistakes.

That's partly because the GOP nominee will be stronger than Gerald Ford (with all due respect to the memory of that decent man, who would have been a better president than Carter). While a half-term senator and a one-term senator fight it out for the Democratic nomination, the GOP candidates include an experienced senator who's a war hero, the most successful political chief executive in recent times, an impressive businessman/governor, and a canny lawyer/senator/actor with Washington experience and a nice, middle-American background and manner.

Here's what's likely to happen: When the nominees are selected next year, the Republican will be behind--just as the GOP nominee trailed, at various times, in the 1980, 1988, 2000, and 2004 campaigns. Then the Republican will rally and probably win. Look to 1988 for a model: a tired, two-term presidency, a newly invigorated Democratic Congress causing all kinds of problems for the administration, an intelligent, allegedly centrist Democratic nominee, and a bruising Republican primary with lots of unhappiness about the field of candidates. This resulted in a 17-point early lead for Michael Dukakis over George H.W. Bush, but an eventual Republican victory. True, the current Republican incumbent, George W. Bush, isn't Ronald Reagan. And the 2008 Republican nominee is going to have to chart his own path to victory. It will be a challenge. But it's a healthy one. Let McCain, Giuliani, Thompson, and Romney have at it. The competition will be good for them and good for the party, ensuring that the winner will be up to the task both of winning the presidency and leading the country.

--William Kristol

http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/014/214lenrb.asp
© Copyright 2007, News Corporation, Weekly Standard, All Rights Reserved.

Bruce Ash on The Daily Wildcat's inappropriate cartoon

RNC National Committeeman, Bruce Ash, tackles the pressing issues of the day.

This week's commentary: Freedom of Speech vs The Daily Wildcat

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MECUM PROMOTED TO POLITICAL DIRECTOR

Phoenix, AZ—Arizona Republican Party executive director Sean McCaffrey today announced the appointment of Brett Mecum as political director. “Brett has proven himself a dedicated political staffer, an able deputy and a talented strategist,” McCaffrey said. “We started considering what qualities we were looking for in our political director and it became clear we wouldn’t be able to find a better candidate for the position than in someone who already knows the state, our candidates, our opponents and our operations.”

Said Mecum, “I plan on bringing the same tenacity and energy that served me well in communications to the position of political director. The Arizona Republican Party has a tremendously talented staff in place and I look forward to working with them over the coming year as we wipe away the Democrats’ 2006 gains throughout Arizona.”

Mecum joined the Arizona Republican Party as Director of Communications in mid-February 2007 and has served in that capacity until his appointment as Political Director, effective today. Until a new communications director is named, Sean McCaffrey will also serve as spokesman for the state party.

“Our priority is to train, equip, fund and prepare our candidates, our county parties and our districts for the election cycle ahead,” said Randy Pullen, chairman of the Arizona Republican Party. “Brett has an aggressive program plan to implement across fifteen growing counties. I’m confident he’s a great choice for the job, our campaigns and our candidates are in fine hands.”

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