LD – 27 NEWS

 

April 2007

 

LETTER FROM THE CHAIRMAN

 

Dementor Pachyderms

 

            Some of you may know that I’m a fan of the Harry Potter books.  And, if you have either watched the movies or read the books, you are probably familiar with the evil creatures called Dementors.  These fictional creatures are capable of sucking every happy thought out of you - leaving you only thinking of the worst events in your life.

            Unfortunately, it seems that these aren’t only found in the fertile imagination of J.K. Rowling.  I see many in the GOP.  They are the ones that are already telling us that the Republican Party will be decimated in the 2008 election.  They see the GOP as being in a funk that will last years as we try to figure what we believe.  And, they are telling us that Hillary has already won the election and the Democrats are on their way to increasing their margins in both the House and Senate.

            I disagree.  I see no reason to believe them and even think they are spreading their point of view just to push their own political agenda.  I think the GOP is in a strong position to bounce back in 2008.  Here are my reasons:

            1. THE GOP HAS NOT LOST ITS WAY.  One of the Dementor themes is that the Republican Party became the party of big government in the last few years.  And, until we become the party of small government, we will continue to lose.  I disagree.  Although we did start spending money like a drunken sailor in the past few years, we remain committed to small government.  In the last few years GOP politicians successfully fought to limit government regulation, lower taxes, and reduce red tape.  We are just as committed to small government as we were.

            Then there is the Second Amendment.  When we took power in 1995, the accepted attitude of government was that the Second Amendment was limited to the militia.  The administration was looking at outlawing the private ownership of handguns, semi automatic firearms, and more than a few hundred rounds of ammunition.  Today, the official policy of the government is that it is a guarantee of the right of the individual to own firearms.  And, have seen legislative protections for firearms owners and manufacturers increased.  And, the majority of GOP lawmakers remain committed to these principles.

            2. 2008 LOOKS GOOD FOR THE REPUBLICAN PARTY.  There are several reasons why I’m optimistic about 2008.  First, forget the current unpopularity of the GOP.  Popular opinions change and it’s a year and a half until the 2008 election.  Just think about Spring 2005, when analysts thought that the GOP had a chance to get a filibuster proof Senate. 

Right now, polls show that both McCain and Giuliani can beat Hillary or Obama.  And, the internals show that neither of the Democrat candidates can expect to improve because Hillary has high negatives and Obama is relatively unknown.

GOP presidential contenders also have the opportunity to divorce themselves from any Bush Administration decision.  Since Vice President Cheney will not be running, all the GOP candidates can campaign without being tied to the decisions or popularity of President Bush.  That could very well be the winning margin in the 2008 election.

We also have good chances especially in the 2008 Congressional race.  If we can take back the Democratic seats that went for Bush in 2004, we will have control of the House again.

3. THE DEMOCRATS ARE UNABLE TO LEAD.  Being in the opposition and being part of the government are two different things.  And, it appears that Senator Reid and Speaker Pelosi don’t know the difference.  During the first 100 days, they have generally been acting as tools of their radical fringe base instead of acting as parts of the government.  Many of these bills were controversial and unlikely to pass so the Democratic leadership had to whip “moderates” like Gabby Giffords to vote for them.  As a result, they have handed the GOP with several campaign issues that resonate with moderate and independent voters.  Many Democratic congressmen will rue the votes they made in the early days of the 110th Congress.

So, contrary to the “enlightened” talking heads in Washington, I see a lot of opportunities.  Stay focused on the basics (voter registration, enlisting PCs, and getting the Republican voters to the polls) and we will prove those experts wrong next year.

 

Harold Hough

LD-27 Chairman

 

 

STATE GOP CHAIR RANDY PULLEN TO BE GUEST SPEAKER

 

            LD-27 will be host to State Republican Chairman Randy Pullen on April 21st.  Randy was elected in January and has tirelessly traveled the state during the last couple of months to meet Republicans.  He will be giving us an update on what is happening in the state party and what we will be doing in 2008 to put Arizona solidly in the Republican column.

            I have also been informed that the McCain for President Committee will be sending someone to give us an update on the McCain campaign.  If anyone knows representatives for either the Giuliani or Romney campaigns, let me know so we can extend an invitation for them to come and speak to us sometime in the future.

 

 

WORKING LUNCH MAY 5TH

 

            There will be a meeting of the Pima County PCs on May 5th.  And, rather than holding our meeting on the third Saturday as usual, we decided it might be a good idea to have our district meeting after the Pima PC meeting over lunch.  As Linda Barber noted, we do some of our best work over food.

            What we want to do at this lunch is brainstorm about what our district can do to increase the number of Republican votes, then put together a plan to implement it.

 

 

GOP CALENDAR

 

Apr 10, Tues, 11:30am - The Pima County Republican Club at the Sabbar Shrine Temple, 450 S. Tucson Boulevard. The speaker: Capt Al Melvin, US Naval Reserve, presents Puerto Nuevo.  Luncheon Buffet - $8.00.

Apr 17, Tues, 11:30am - The Pima County Republican Club at the Sabbar Shrine Temple, 450 S. Tucson Boulevard. The speaker: Chuck Moffett, "Reduce Your Taxes."  Luncheon Buffet - $8.00.

 

Apr 21, Sat. 9:00 am – LD-27 District meeting at the Golden Corral on Midvale.  The speaker will be State GOP Chair Randy Pullen.

Apr 24, Tues, 11:30am - The Pima County Republican Club at the Sabbar Shrine Temple, 450 S. Tucson Boulevard. The speaker: Frank Atenori, "Special Operation in the Current War." Luncheon Buffet - $8.00.

 

 

ORIGIN OF GOP

 

            A favorite abbreviation for the Republican Party is “GOP,” which dates back to the 1870s and 1880s.  The abbreviation was cited in a New York Herald story on October 15, 1884: “The G.O.P. Doomed,’ shouted the Boston Post.  The Grand Old Party is in condition to inquire.”

            But what the GOP stands for has changed with the times.  In 1875, there was a citation in the Congressional Record referring to “this gallant old party,” and according to Harper’s Weekly, in the Cincinnati Commercial in 1876 to “Grand Old Party.”

            Perhaps the use of “the G.O.M.,” for Britain’s Prime Minister William Gladstone in 1882 as “The Grand Old Man” stimulated the use of GOP in the United States.

            However, GOP is a somewhat ironic nickname since the Democrat Party is 22 years older.