Let’s lay it all out…. the Congressional Delegation and many other long time hard-working R’s saw this train wreck as impossible to avoid with the current leadership. That is why it was a 4 vote margin of victory; a split between two factions, those who saw and opposed a divisive and arrogant group seeking control and those who didn’t care what happened to the party as long as they held the reigns of power they so desperately craved. Well, they got their way. Now they are in the positions of power and have quarrels between themselves, they have divided the party, and the recipe for defeat has all the ingredients.

Do not try to lay this at the feet of Jon Kyl. The Pullen crowd started this long before the immigration bill was ever a topic. That Pullen was opposed by the delegation has never been forgotten or forgiven by him or his cronies; his inadequacy to lead with dignity and direction was the fear of many and now he is living with the reality that we were right. No one forced this, or even wanted it, but it was a sure thing that the hubris of men like Tuttle, Haney, and Pullen would get in the way of true leadership. They fueled the immigration bill fire and jumped on the band wagon as their vehicle to get back at the Senator for not supporting their machine. Now they have a scapegoat for their own misdeeds!

How many more press releases will be issued with “Pullen…” followed by whatever latest quote or statement has been made. Why not State GOP or Arizona Republicans… Randy is feathering his nest in hopes of a gubernatorial bid. He is using the party for self edification and the result will be disastrous. He couldn’t win as Mayor, so this will have to be his stepping stone.

Senator Kyl is right; the state party isn’t doing enough. To deny it by calling those who would agree “liars” proves just how desperate the times really are.

That would show leadership and would be refreshing and will reinvigorate the grass roots. The State Party Executive Committee was meeting Saturday in the same general area where Senator Kyl was and that would have been the perfect opportunity to smoke the peace pipe. That was then and that opportunity is gone, but Senator Kyl knows how to solve this problem if he wants to. Statesmanship is looking at the big picture long-term and the onus is on him.

Good lord…that is all he said and all this hubbub???

A. He is probably just plain right.

B. It sounds like constructive criticism was about to follow.

C. Yeah, I am sure he is a bit miffed that so many turned their back on the man after what he has done for the party and this state.

D. I would love to see if the party is really doing better with fundraising under Pullen than they did under Salmon. That may be a low low bar to cross…true…but I will quite suprised.

Many of us heard him speak on the subject at various events and on radio and television. We certainly remember his campaign ads when he distinguished himself from this Democrat opponent, Jim Pederson, by repeating that Pederson was soft on border enforcement and he would provide tightened security. That memorable ad depicting him on the border with numerous Arizona sheriffs, both Democrat and Republican, drove home the issue.

Then, immediately after being reelected, he capitulated, taking up George Bush’s amnesty mantle with Ted Kennedy and John McCain. Kyl can call it “Comprehensive Immigration Reform” until the cows come home. We know we were duped by him.

Now he is safely in office to fill out the remaining five years of that six-year term we elected him to, and can do or say whatever suits him without concern about pandering for votes among what he obviously considers GOP Neanderthals.

Jon Kyl, John McCain and Jeff Flake have an immigration agenda that is not in the best interests of American citizens, just six short years after 9/11. Our open border is a pathway to our own destruction. None of them are worthy of our votes.

Really? Just Lying? Are you serious? All you have to do is go back and check back to the press releases that you released- and watch the news clippings where you were involved in criticizing Kyl. I frankly give merit to Kyl’s quote: “I wish that the state party would stop attacking me”- found previously in these blogs.

Nice. Kyl prefers Ted Kennedy to the Arizona Republican Party. Nice.

Pamela Wright’s claim that the State GOP has criticized President Bush more than Napolitano, Mitchell and Giffords is also a blatent lie.

The fact is that Ann, Pamela and others still haven’t gotten over Pullen winning and, like Kyl himself, they refuse to play like grown-ups. Thumb-sucking was one description of it and its pretty dead on.

Sean’s attempts to play nice mimic what the state party has been doing for months. Politicians are blessed with short memories for exactly this reason. They can’t afford permanent enemies if they want to get things done. Kyl should remember that.

What did you expect Jon Kyl to say?

“Oh, I thik it is wonderful that the state party criticizes me and John McCain and Jeff Flake and Senator Mel Martinez and President Bush. What more could you ask from your state party? They are truly doing everything possible to beat the Democrats. Granted, they’ve criticized President Bush more than Janet Napolitano, Harry Mitchell and Gabrielle Giffords combined, but why should we quibble about details.”

The Party has continued to make overtures to Kyl for months in an attempt to find common ground for the good of the Party, the state, and our elected officials. For the senator to continue his thumb-sucking self-pity is over the top for any elected official who has played in the political arena for over twenty years.

Senator Kyl should never have told the voters he was opposed to amnesty while concurrently working in secret with Ted Kennedy and his scurrilous staff to impose just that on the American citizens. He was hoisted on his own pitard and has heartburn that he was exposed for the fraudulent statements he was making. It is he who should be conciliatory to the Republican voters of Arizona, 90% of whom disagreed with his actions.

Senator, get over yourself and return to work for Arizona.

Sean is obviously trying to say something without saying anything; he is trying to spin it that all is well when he knows perfectly well it isn’t….and it isn’t the fault of the Senator. A conciliatory sounding message from the state party is signs of a lesson learned. Unfortunately, the damage is done.

The senator has a media relations staff person whose job it is to chase after news stories. If Mr. Wilder does not want to respond to our inquiries he is certainly free to choose that option. That also frees us to go with the story as reported given that the senator’s office does not care to respond.

The quote merits consternation because Kyl’s own actions are making it difficult for the state party to succeed in 2008. The fact that he then has the gall to criticize the party for not doing enough approaches arrogance.

GOP gal,

We were not exactly quick to cover this story, having waited a day and a half after it hit the Internet. The substantiation was its publication by a reputable news source.

Dan,

Yes newspapers are slow to retract. That is why we provided Kyl’s office an opportunity to respond. To paraphrase your own words “You can’t publicly undermine the state party and then EXPECT them to come back and be completely effective.”