Pullen for the Party

Weekly Round-Up

Another week has passed here at the AZGOP and with the election now only 192 days away, we are quickly approaching the 2008 State Convention. I’ve talked about the convention in our weekly newsletter, The Tusk Times, on a few occasions and want to use this opportunity to discuss the convention in further detail.

The convention will be held on May 10th at the Mesa Convention Center. Over the course of the first three weeks of April, County and Legislative District committees gathered to select delegates and alternates to the State Convention. Roughly 1,200 delegates were chosen as well as a large number of alternates. These delegates and alternates represent Republicans throughout our great state. At the convention they will cast their vote to select delegates and alternates to the Republican National Convention being held the first week of September in St. Paul, MN. The delegates will caucus at the State Convention based by their congressional districts.

Although the major part of the State Convention will be the selection of delegates to the National Convention and electing your National Committeeman and National Commiteewoman, various resolutions will be up for debate and approval. These resolutions express the sense of the Arizona Republican Party in regard to specific policy issues. Such issues may include: border security, healthcare, right to life, taxes and the state budget. Many vendors will be represented at the convention. They will be selling GOP paraphernalia including buttons, pins and pens, hats, t-shirts, bags and, of course, elephants. Many candidates for office will be present collecting signatures and five dollar Clean Elections donations. The event should be a great time for everyone. This will be a truly historic event for the AZGOP as our very own U.S. Senator John McCain is our presumptive nominee for President of the United States.

Finally, I am pleased to announce MICHAEL REAGAN, the son of President Reagan, will be the keynote speaker for the 2008 AZGOP Victory Dinner. The dinner will be held on May 9th at the Phoenix Marriott in Mesa. Proceeds from the dinner go to the Victory Fund which will be used to help Republicans throughout the state get elected. I am extremely pleased to have Michael as our keynote speaker and look forward to his address. For more information and to purchase tickets to the 2008 AZGOP Victory Dinner, please visit our website at www.azgop.org.

RANDY

Pullen's Weekly Round-Up

Another income tax day has come and gone, and Arizona Democrat elected officials have both voted to raise our taxes and vetoed legislation to make tax relief permanent; all in one week: A typical week for Democrats. It’s simply ironic how they took such ardent stands against Arizona’s working families during ‘tax season’.

On Wednesday, Democrat Governor Janet Napolitano vetoed legislation which would have made permanent the state property tax repeal passed by the legislature in 2006. By vetoing the legislation she is subjecting Arizona homeowners and small business owners to a $250 million a year tax hike starting in 2010. Senate President Tim Bee and House Speaker Jim Weiers took a principled stand by passing this legislation and sending it to the Governor. The bill had the backing of a wide variety of organizations representing business, industry and regular homeowners. This move by the Governor is a slap in the face to Arizonans who are struggling to meet the rising costs of fuel, food and other everyday necessities. Equating the tax increase to giving up ‘just a couple of lattés per week’ shows the elitist feelings the Governor holds and how out of touch she is with the average Joes who are struggling to make ends meet. Raising taxes is irresponsible and harmful to the economy. The simple fact of the matter is the government cannot tax it way to prosperity. Wealth and prosperity are created by hard working individuals, businesses and entrepreneurs. It’s best to leave money in the pockets of American families and job providers, not in government coffers.

In Washington this week, freshman Representatives Gabrielle Giffords and Harry Mitchell each voted three separate times to raise taxes on American families. By voting “Yes” on Roll Call votes 186, 192, and 194, Representatives Mitchell and Giffords thrice blocked a Republican motion to make permanent the tax relief packages of 2001 and 2003. This legislation, known as the Tax Increase Prevention Act (HR 2734) is necessary because the Democrat have hidden over $600 billion in tax increases in this year’s budget. The tax increases, which amount to roughly $2,000 per person, are the Democrats’ way of ‘fixing’ government. Both Mitchell and Giffords campaigned in 2006 on providing tax relief to Arizona families. A massive increase like this is not relief. Rather, this is an economic disaster in the making. Over $1 trillion in new wealth has been created since the enactment of the ’01 and ’03 tax relief packages, not to mention the thousands of new jobs in the same time period. There is never a reason or time to raise taxes. Arizona families can’t afford to have more of their hard earned money taken from their bank accounts by Democrats in control of Congress. Rather than keep their campaign promises and side with their constituents, Representatives Giffords and Mitchell sided with liberal Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi. Even after Ben Bernanke, chairman of the Federal Reserve, warned against raising taxes in these uncertain economic times, Giffords and Mitchell went along with the MoveOn.org crowd and voted to let the tax binge commence.

This week has obviously focused on tax issues. They are front in center in the debate over the direction of our country. On one hand, the Democrats believe the government is the answer. On the other, Republicans believe in the exceptionalism of individuals and private enterprises to meet the needs of our country. Republicans want to leave taxpayers with more money and less government intrusion. Democrats want to leave taxpayers with more government intrusion and less money. As Thomas Paine wrote in The Rights of Man, “It can only be by blinding the understanding of man, and making him believe that government is some wonderful mysterious thing, that excessive revenues are obtained…” We here at the AZGOP will continue to remove the blinders whenever the Democrats attempt to replace them on Americans.

RANDY