MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIRMAN

With the Republicans in charge of both the houses and a Republican Governor we should be able to present bills and get them passed without worrying about the infamous Janet “No” Veto. However, with this goes greater responsibility to get this state on the right track of fiscal conservatism and smaller government and getting the budget under control. The Democrats that were elected will do as they always do and whine that since they are not in control they can't get anything done. Well, if we as Republicans can get things done and at least try to solve this economic crisis, we might very well be able to get more people over to our Party and get even more Republicans elected in 2009 and 2010.  Remember how the Citizen and Star said that they were going to take over the majority in the Arizona House; well you saw that they were in a dream world and in fact we gained seats Additionally, with President Obama taxing and spending every dime we have and capitulating to every government that threatens us we should be able to win over the hearts and minds of all people living in Pima County. President Obama stated that he wanted to have an open and transparent government and then he turns around and with the Congress passes a 1 Trillion dollar “stimulus package” and no one reads the bill or puts it out to the media before signing it or puts it on the Internet. This is not transparency but “lets hurry up and get it through before anyone figures out what we have done”. As things get worse, under the Obama administration, which they will, we will be the shinning light. Don't throw away those McCain bumper sticks quite yet because when things get bad you can put them on your car and say "see I didn't vote for him". Now what we need to do is get our voter registration drives going, talk to more people about becoming Precinct Committeemen, walk your neighborhoods and get to know all the Republicans, Independents and those Democrats that know they should be Republicans. We can't just sit and wait for things to happen we must make them happen which means dedicating just a few hours a week. We are a great party with great people but we must motive ourselves and other people to make the change that we need. Ask yourself, who have I registered to vote, have I got someone to become a PC or have I worked on a campaign lately; if the answer is NO, it is time to put the remote down and ask what can I do for the Party? Think about it, our Party was founded as the anti-slavery party and we have voted for more civil rights legislation than the Democrats ever have (they just keep feeding the Kool-Aid to all that will listen and say they are the party of minorities). We need to stop being this elitist organization, work together, recruit minorities and build this party up to the place where we have the majority in Pima County. This is not an impossible task but takes work, a cooperative effort and a determination to be the most inclusive party. This does not mean that you must change your moral or beliefs but that you are at least willing to listen to another point of view. I spent several years working with the Russians (the old Soviet type solders and KGB officers) and if you think about the worst Democrat you know, they pale in comparison to dealing with these Russians I had to deal with. However, as bad as these Russians were we always managed to come to some form of agreement. We can do the same with the Democrats in Pima County and win them over and maybe even convert a few to our side. We are the Party that is totally opposed to socialism and believe in the free market. We are the Party that believes in equal opportunity but not necessarily equal results. We believe that people are the answer not the government. I have seen what happens when the government becomes a leviathan, as it did in the Soviet Union, and it will fail. If you live in District 29 and want to see taxes lowered and smaller government please call or email myself or one of the District 29 officers and tell us that you want to get involved and we will “make your day”.

Pat Kilburn

Chairman,  Republican District 29