Chris Simcox

The primary reason 70 miles of new fence has been built on schedule along the U.S.-Mexico border is because of public pressure to stop the flow of illegal immigrants, according to Chris Simcox, president of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corp., a border watchdog group based in Scottsdale.

In fact, the pace of construction increased in recent weeks in an apparent attempt to meet President Bush’s self-imposed deadline to finish the work, Simcox told me earlier this week. Bush and members of Congress were afraid of the public backlash if they failed to meet the deadline.

“We’re gratified to see that with our putting such emphasis on their progress, they are now working overtime to meet their obligations. Isn’t it a shame that we have to put so much pressure on them for them just to do their job? And without that pressure, I’m afraid nothing would get done,” Simcox said.

Most of the new fence is a single-layed steel wall. A double or triple layered fence would have been better, but the single-layered fence was a good start, Simcox said. “We’re still applying the pressure necessary to ensure reform and to ensure the federal government is going to do its job, as per the specifications of the American people. We’re not going to back off of them until they get the job done and get it done the right way,” he said.

For more on the new fence, read my story in today’s edition of the Tribune. It can be accessed here: http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/9…

Elephants

A professional Republican asked me to post this notice on the blog…

The Republican Professionals club is presenting an open-invitation happy hour at 6 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 4, at Six Lounge & Restaurant, 7316 E. Stetson Drive, in Scottsdale. The headliners: radio talker J.D. Hayworth and Arizona Republican Party president Randy Pullen.

The idea behind the monthly event is to link like-mined people who can “network, socialize, synergize and hear directly from the local and statewide Republican leaders.” The happy hours are on the first Thursday each month at 6 p.m. at Six Lounge. Admission is free and information is available at  info at republicanprofessionals.org.

Randy Pullen

From the “Man Bites Dog” file: Arizona Republican Party chairman Randy Pullen had a kind word for Sen. John McCain today. Actually, Pullen had 56 kind words for McCain, which must be some sort of record.

In the party’s weekly newsletter The Tusk Times, Pullen writes about his experiences at the Mackinac Republican Leadership Conference in Michigan last weekend. The event drew 1,500 people and the all major GOP presidential candidates, including McCain.

Here’s Pullen’s reportage of his McCain’s speech:

The final speaker of the conference on Saturday night was Senator McCain. He definitely received the loudest applause as he dealt exclusively with the Islamic terrorists and the war in Iraq. He spoke from the heart with passion and brought the crowd to its feet when he admonished Columbia University for inviting Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

John McCain and Hilliary Clinton

Presidential hopefuls John McCain and Hillary Clinton are tops among Arizona voters in their respective parties, according to Bruce Merrill and his team of pollsters at Arizona State University and KAET-TV Channel 8.

Here’s the breakdown among Republicans: McCain at 27 percent, Rudy Giuliani at 22 percent, Fred Thompson and Mitt Romney at 17 percent each, and Newt Gingrich at 8 percent. Undecided came in at 9 percent.

Here’s how it stakes up among Democrats: Clinton at 38 percent, Al Gore and Barack Obama at 18 percent each, John Edwards at 10 percent, and Bill Richardson at 5 percent. Undecided was 11 percent.

Overall, McCain is still lack-luster among Republicans in his home state. Consider this: While McCain is getting 27 percent support, the anybody-who-isn’t-McCain candidates are getting a combined 64 percent support.

“Sen. McCain probably has a slight lead in the Arizona Republican primary race, but he shouldn’t and probably won’t take the state for granted,” Merrill said. “After the New Hampshire and South Carolina primaries, I think you’ll see the senator spend more time in the state and his numbers will improve.”

On the Democratic side, Clinton is an interesting candidate, Merrill said. “Voters either love her or hate her. She has very high negatives and it will be interesting to see how many Democrats who say they don’t like her will still vote for her.”

The only candidates have spent any quality time campaigning in Arizona, McCain and Romney, aren’t exactly lighting up the electorate. McCain, as we discussed, is only at 27 percent, while Romney is doing even further back at 17 percent.

To be fair though, Giuliani, Edwards and Richardson also have made campaign swings through the state. And Giuliani is likely to come back at any time to restock his Adam Sandler DVD collection.

Also interestingly, former Vice President Gore is tied for second on the donkey side, which is remarkable for a non-candidate who keeps insisting he isn’t running.

Robert Fannin