Non-voters

This news just in: Republicans croak.

Last week while I was researching a story about the Arizona Republican Party’s dismal showings during the last quarter in both voter registrations and financial contributions, Republican political consultants Bert Coleman and Nathan Sproul attributed the party’s problems to chairman Randy Pullen.

Coleman, president of Phoenix-based Coleman Dahm & Associates, and Sproul, president of Tempe-based Sproul & Associates, already were up to speed on the figures that were released earlier in the week by the Arizona Secretary of State and Federal Election Commission.

Coleman and Sproul get paid for knowing such things and for knowing how such information can be used to get Republicans elected. They’re credible sources and they certainly know the buzz among party insiders and voters alike. They told me Pullen was dividing the party with his anti-immigration reform rhetoric.

Naturally, I tried to reach Pullen for a response. State party officials declined to make him available and instead put me through to state party executive director Sean McCaffrey.

I explained the gist of my findings to McCaffrey and asked him for his take on the registration figures and finance numbers, and in particular, whether he thought there was any merit to the GOP insiders’ criticism of Pullen. McCaffrey was familiar with the topics, because he had fielded a call by Arizona Republic reporter Matthew Benson, who was working on a similar story, a short while earlier.

It turned out to be an interesting interview. McCaffrey offered this bit of insight about the third-quarter voter registration numbers, which show Democrats outpaced Republicans by nearly a 4-1 margin statewide in signing up new voters… 

“The most recent report from the Secretary of State, you have to be careful, because the numbers that they reflect are two things – one, new registrations; and inactive voters that are removed from the files because they don’t respond to mail, because they no longer live in the state, because they’ve been purged for any number of reasons. And so the total numbers that are published in that press release don’t reflect totals of just registrations. So you have to be careful in just calling them registration numbers, just by themselves.”

I replied, “Yeah, I’m aware of that, of course. And you’re also aware that Democrats and independents croak and move away as well. Dying is not just a Republican phenomenon.”

McCaffrey said, “I just want to make sure, because your colleagues over at the Republic, it seems to be a new thing for them and they’ve been here for 60 years or however long you’ve been here. And I just want to make sure it’s not going to be a miss-told story again. So, I’m the new person and I’m continually surprised at how often I correct Democrat fallacies in this state in the media.”

Oh.

So to get this important point on the record: Republicans croak – despite any fallacies to the contrary that have been printed in the Republic or spread by Democrats. In an effort to double-source McCaffrey’s GOP Finite Life Theorem, I tried to get confirmation from noted Arizona Republican Barry Goldwater, but he was unavailable for comment, because, as fate would have it, he’s dead.

My story about the GOP’s living voters and contributors can be accessed here: http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/100676.

And one final point, Tribune reporters and Republic reporters definitely are not colleagues. They’re rivals  –  to the bitter end.

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.

Randy PullenA Republican insider pointed out that Randy Pullen, the chairman of the Arizona Republican Party, today supported the nomination of Michael Mukasey or Michael Mulkasey or Michael Mu-somebody Or Another for attorney general.Here

Nancy Pelosi (center)U.S. House speaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi is scheduled to visit the East Valley next week, but it will be a personal visit rather than an official visit, said Rep. Harry Mitchell Thursday.Pelosi, a Democrat from California, will be visiting her daughter and grandchildren, who live in Scottsdale, he said. Mitchell, a freshman Democrat, represents Arizona

Jon KylU.S. Sen. Jon Kyl has been taking his lumps for his involvement with Senate

Southern Arizona politico Tom Dunn, who writes a blog called Think Right Arizona, has published a photo of state Republican Party chairman Randy Pullen holding the infamous middle-finger letter at a press conference on May 21.Dunn obtained the photo from A.J. Alexander of the Spanish language newspaper La Vos. (Alas, the Tribune did not staff the press conference with a photographer.)During the press conference, Pullen said the sketch of a fist with a blue extended middle finger represented the thoughts of party members concerning the Senate’s immigration reform legislation.For a look at the letter, and to read Dunn’s comments on the dust-up within the Republican Party, check out his blog here: http://thinkrightaz.blogspot.com/

Jon Kyl, one of the architects of the Senate

Arizona Republican Party chairman Randy Pullen went into serious damage-control mode Friday. The only question was exactly whose reputation he was trying to defend — Jon Kyl’s or his own.Pullen sent a blast e-mail to Republicans statewide to defend Kyl, whom Pullen said has served the state and nation with

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