Friend:
Thank you. Promises Made, Promises Kept: We have much to be proud of. Those that love Freedom and Respect the Rule of Law stand with us.
I’d be lying if I said I was not extremely disappointed by being voted out in a recall election. It has been an honor to serve the people of Arizona in the legislature for the last decade and I am sad to go under these circumstances.
There is still much to be done, even though we lead the nation in many areas, such as economic recovery, safer neighborhoods, job creation, quality education, 2nd Amendment freedom, lower taxes, less regulation, defense of the unborn, protection of property rights, and yes, a return to the principles laid down by our Founding Fathers. We have changed the national debate in a good way. More than 34 states are modeling legislation after Arizona. WOW, who would have ever thought we could have had that kind of an impact? I am deeply grateful for this opportunity to serve and to have made a difference.
The World War II pilots had a saying; “If you’re not taking flak, you’re not over the target.” Well apparently I’ve been living over the target for some time.
The company behind the film Atlas Shrugged Part 1 is replacing 100,000 title sheets from the film’s newly released DVD and Blue Ray versions because the copy writer incorrectly described the late Ayn Rand’s 1957 novel, Atlas Shrugged, as a story of “self-sacrifice.”
Put simply, that’s like calling Michael Moore a tea partier.
Rand, who in 1964 published a collection of essays called the The Virtue of Selfishness, renounced self-sacrifice on principle. She famously argued that altruism must be rejected “if any civilization is to survive.”
As the producers noted in an apology announcement, Rand’s work extols “a society driven by rational self-interest.” On the back of the film’s retail DVD and Blu-ray however, the movie’s synopsis contradictorily states “AYN RAND’s timeless novel of courage and self-sacrifice comes to life…’”
In the words of Texas Gov. Rick Perry: Oops.
Larry Arnn, president of Hillsdale College, discusses the Declaration of Independence, the founders, Woodrow Wilson, and the founders of modern liberalism and how they gave more power to government.
If you haven’t been following the Alinsky methods being used by Randy Parraz and his far-left associates to take down Arizona Senator Russell Pearce (R), you should pay close attention. They may target your Republican legislator very soon. If they can destroy Pearce, they can destroy anybody. The recall election will be held November 8, 2011; early balloting begins on October 13 (that is, tomorrow).
So who is Russell Pearce?
Senator Pearce gained national prominence in April 2010 as the architect of SB1070, one of the toughest anti-illegal immigration laws in America. It allows Arizona to enforce the federal immigration laws which have been left unenforced for many years.
Pearce has spent his political career writing and sponsoring legislation that honors constitutional conservative principles.
Here are some brief highlights.
After former Gov. Janet Napolitano resigned, Sen. Pearce oversaw the biggest budget cut in Arizona’s history: $500,000,000.
He sponsored legislation to stop eminent domain abuse and protect property rights. He sponsored SB1108, the “Freedom to Carry Act,” making Arizona the number one-state for 2nd-Amendment freedom.
Gov. Mitch Daniels (R-IN), now serving in his seventh year as the state’s CEO, has clearly left his mark on Indiana. This year, with Republicans in control of the state legislature, he’s continued to reform government, enacting landmark education reforms.
Daniels shared stories of his policy accomplishments in a wide-ranging speech last week at Heritage. He’s the author of a new book, “Keeping the Republic: Saving America by Trusting Americans.”
Some extremists are targeting my favorite Arizona legislator, Senate President Russell Pearce, because he sponsored Arizona’s illegal immigration bill SB 1070. Deep pockets on the left are funding a recall effort against him. A more liberal candidate, Jerry Lewis, has been found to run against Pearce in the recall election. A third candidate, Olivia Cortes, has also turned in enough signatures to qualify for the ballot. The recall effort is not really surprising, considering Pearce has become one of the leading mainstream figures in the country opposing illegal immigration. The left sees him as a real threat because he is also personable and well-liked. Even some of his colleagues on the far left like him, such as Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, who is so liberal she once received the Vladimir I. Lenin award from the Arizona Federation of Taxpayers.
The recall signatures were collected by a shadowy organization calling itself “Citizens for a Better Arizona. ” Its website “About Us” page does not include a single real name, only a vague description. The recall organizer is Randy Parraz, a labor organizer who ran the Arizona AFL-CIO a few years ago and who also worked for the national AFL-CIO for eight years. According to the Huffington Post, “In the fall of 2007, Randy returned to Arizona and began work in the housing industry as a political organizer for the Laborers’ International Union of North America. ” Parraz  has also worked as a community organizer with Dallas Area Interfaith, an affiliate of the Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF) founded by none other than Saul Alinsky. Parraz started the Student Institute for Social Change, a left wing organization. He ran as a Democrat against Senator John McCain in 2010 and finished last in the race. He co-founded the innocuous sounding “Maricopa Citizens for Safety and Accountability,” which appears to exist solely to bash Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Parraz was arrested in 2008 for disorderly conduct and criminal trespassing due to his conduct protesting Sheriff Arpaio. Afterwards, he turned around and sued the county for $500,000. He cites the Marxist book “Pedagogy of the Oppressed” as one of his favorite books.
In late August House Majority Leader Eric Cantor published an open memo announcing that House Republicans would seek to block ten regulations currently being considered by various federal administrative agencies. Most of these regulations involve the Environmental Protection Agency, including ozone protection, greenhouse gas regulation, coal ash and utility pollution standards. The National Labor Relations Board is also targeted for its proposed union election rules and its attempt to block Boeing from opening a new, non-union factory in right-to-work South Carolina.
Rep. Cantor has sound reasons to target these regulations. The economic impact of any one of these ten regulations on an economy already on the brink of a double-dip recession would be severe. Some, like new emission rules for utility plants are guaranteed to increase energy costs, which would have a cascade effect on all aspects of the economy. Others, like NLRB’s Boeing decision, are bald-faced pandering to the labor interests that shower so much support on Democrats in general and President Obama in particular. Put bluntly, the targeted regulations serve special interests like unions or environmentalists at the expense of the public interest.
Bolton had talked about a presidential bid for months, but had shown few signs of starting one. He made just one trip to an early primary state this year and amassed no donor base or staff for a potential presidential campaign.
Still, he ratcheted up his criticism of the GOP field in July, when he launched a group to push foreign policy and national security issues into the spotlight.
The fiery former ambassador said frequently that the current crop of GOP candidates lacked serious foreign policy experience. He often talked about filling that role himself.
Ultimately, Bolton told Fox — the network where he is a paid contributor, in addition to his job as a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute — he decided against a run because he did not think he could mount a successful campaign.
