Randy Pullen is not beholding to the special interest agenda which so dominates the Arizona political scene. For example, he led the fight for the passage of Proposition 200 which helped to limit voter fraud and illegal alien participation in Arizona's elections through the presentation of personal identification at the polls. Even State Senator Jack Harper (R-Surprise) recently noted that if Pullen was not active on the Arizona political scene, "the Democrats would have been bussing illegal aliens to the polls".

What I like most about Pullen is that, while the majority of the Republican Party has capitulated, he is not giving in to the insatiable corporate thirst for more cheap labor by standing up for the enforcement of our immigration laws.

Now, Pullen wants to be the chairman of the Arizona Republican Party. His candidacy should be welcomed by every conservative Republican. Yet, Pullen's conservative, activist background, which champions citizen causes as opposed to the corporate servitude practiced by so many in the Republican party, have made Pullen the target of several vitriolic attacks and threats from dark recesses of special-interest governmental benefactors. Several prominent Republicans with a financial stake in who becomes the GOP Chair, such as special interest lobbyists Mike Williams and Kevin DeMenna, have threatened to withhold financial contributions to the party if Pullen is selected to lead the Republicans.

The astute rank and file Republican would be wise to view the lobbyists' rejection of Pullen's candidacy as a vote for the welfare of the common man. Unfortunately, the common man no longer plays a role in Republican politics in this new age of corporate-dominated party politics.

If the Arizona Republicans had 100 men like Randy Pullen I would never have left the Republicans and defected to the Constitution Party. Pullen stands for the Constitution and doing what is right for Arizona and the nation. The reasons why I respect Randy Pullen are precisely the reasons why I do not believe that Pullen has a chance of securing the leadership position of the Republican Party. His opponent, Lisa James, is already beating the fundraising bandwagon by lamenting that a Pullen victory will mean less money for the GOP. God forbid that the Arizona GOP would dare to witness the rise of a prominent Republican who puts citizen welfare ahead of special interest profits!

Heaven knows that the common person needs a viable alternative to the present-day Republicans. However, if you think that the Democrats are any better, consider that our illustrious governor is threatening to break the bank with her most recent socialist health care proposals. The Governor's health care plan will cost in excess of what the entire budget was for fiscal year, 2006. Further, this same Democratic governor is threatening to further impoverish Arizona's school districts by increasing the requirements for math and science. There is nothing wrong with increasing requirements in the areas of math and science as this would be a win-win situation for all. However, the Governor's proposal leaves individual school districts to figure out how to fund these proposed requirements, while Arizona ranks last in the nation for per pupil funding. The Governor is also promising to greatly raise teacher pay. This is a good idea since Arizona's teachers are among the worst paid in the country. However, the Governor is proposing placing $50 million dollars towards upping beginning teacher salaries to $33,000. This sounds admirable until we look under the covers of this proposal and realize that teachers, who leave the education profession, do so in about the fifth year of their careers. Therefore, one would be justified in questioning the placement of the $50 million dollars solely on beginning teachers. Meanwhile, our childrens education continues to suffer.

In the aftermath of the Governor's landslide victory, the "tax and spend" nature of the ultra-liberal "Janet" is just beginning to emerge. If Janet has her way, every Arizonan will be taking home less and less money in order to accommodate her new socialist agenda.

Further evidence of how far out of touch the Democrats are with mainstream Americans is demonstrated by how Arizona's Governor has responded to border issues. She opposed Pullen's brain-child, Proposition 200, until the political winds began to blow against her. The Governor may engage in photo-ops while strolling along the Mexican border, but she is no more than a wolf in sheep's clothing. "Janet" may talk tough about illegal immigration, but in reality, she sees this population as future, indebted constituents.

Under this Governor's watch, we have witnessed a National Guard unit being overrun by Mexican drug dealers while illegally crossing the border. Amazingly, the National Guard troops were not allowed to carry ammunition or to return fire despite the fact that the soldiers were placed in harms way. Under the Democrats, our borders are an imaginary line and the enforcement of our immigration laws are an option.

There are indeed some good Republicans. However, three of the best, Randy Pullen, Tom Tancredo and Ron Paul have all been marginalized and ostracized by their own political party. Their crime? Doing what is right for the American people as opposed to serving the deep-pocketed special interests.

As long as the majority of our citizens continue to view the Republicans and the Democrats as the only viable political alternatives, we will continue to see our country slip into the abyss of a declining standard of living and the continued loss of American sovereignty and individual civil liberties.

If Lisa James is elected to head Arizona's GOP, maybe more and more Republicans will begin to awaken and look for a viable third party option. One can only hope so.

Randy Pullen, good man, right man, right time, wrong party.