An open letter from several AZGOP officers

Dear Fellow Republicans,

We would like to state that anyone who wishes to quote from this letter is welcome to do so as long as you quote the whole letter. We are not interested in having “twisted snippets” from this letter.

First, let us say that Senator Jon Kyl has been a good and decent Senator for Arizona. Although we do not see eye to eye with the Senator on the immigration issue, Senator Kyl has been there for Arizona and the Republican Party time and time again. I know many share the concerns of the inflammatory rhetoric that has been targeted at Senator Kyl in recent days. We would ask that the discourse and debate remain civil and that we continue to debate the contents of the bill and not personally attack the man. With that being said, we believe that the record needs to be set straight.

On Saturday, May 19th, 2007, Senator Jon Kyl invited Republican Party leadership to meet with him in his office. In attendance were Chairman Randy Pullen, 1st Vice Chairman John Rutledge, 3rd Vice Chairman Parralee Schneider, Secretary Linda White, Sergeant at Arms Alberto Gutier, Assistant Treasurer Larry Pickard, Senate President Tim Bee, State Representative John McComish, and about six staff assistants.

Senator Kyl delivered a presentation on the status of the Border Security and Immigration Reform Act of 2007. He detailed to the group why he thought this was a good bill and why he was supporting the measure. We, as a group, responded that the overwhelming majority of phone calls, e-mails, faxes, and walk-ins from both Phoenix and Tucson were opposed to this legislation. Chairman Pullen explained to Senator Kyl that the Republican Party could not support the bill in its present form and that the Party would have to take a stand opposing the legislation. Senator Kyl understood the position Chairman Pullen was in.
No officer of the Arizona Republican Party at any point in time said a negative word about Senator Kyl. We understand that Senator Kyl has little choice and has little control of what is included in this bill, including not securing our borders and a blanket amnesty for all those in the U.S. as well as their extended families, which is the brainchild of liberal Ted Kennedy.

We oppose and deplore those who have used negative rhetoric and outright lies to attack Chairman Pullen and other members of the Republican Party while masquerading as Republican Party leadership. Their distortion of facts and lies about Chairman Pullen’s statements are a testament to immaturity and desperation by those who want nothing more than to see this Republican Party fail.

Chairman Pullen has performed admirable under intense conditions and is doing everything in his power to hold the Republican together under extremely difficult and divisive circumstances.

We hope that this letter has been able to clear up some of the misconceptions of the past two weeks and we look forward to a united Republican Party moving forward through 2008.


Sincerely,

John Rutledge - 1st Vice Chairman - Arizona Republican Party

Matt Tolman - 2nd Vice Chairman - Arizona Republican Party

Parralee Schneider - 3rd Vice Chairman - Arizona Republican Party

Linda White - Secretary - Arizona Republican Party

Timothy Lee - Treasurer - Arizona Republican Party

Larry Pickard - Asst.Treasurer - Arizona Republican Party