Intellectual Conservative interview with former Arizona Senate President Russell Pearce ...Q. What happened that caused this media fury? A. During The Russell Pearce Show on KKNT radio 960 The Patriot, on September 6th, I read a "rant" by a lady from Texas about the abuse of the welfare state we have become. It is a "rant" that has been around for several years. I do not agree with all of her solutions to the problem, but did understand her anger and frustration of the abuse. However, apparently I did not make it crystal clear that it was a "rant" and not my own words. For that I apologize. Anyone can go to google and type in "put me in charge of welfare" and pull up her rant.Q. What was your intent in reading it?A. The purpose of radio is to push debate and have meaningful conversations about what is right with America and what needs to be fixed. This was an example of the frustrations felt by many Americans and to what extent they would go to fix the problem.Q. Explain again why you did not make it clear it was a rant?A. Simply, I moved on too quickly. I have one hour for the radio show, and it never seems to be enough time to get through all of what needs to be discussed. I simply realized after it was too late that I had neglected to mention it as a "rant" from a lady in Texas. As I ended the show, I asked Ashley who takes the callers for me, if I had failed to mention the author of the rant. She indicated I had.Q. Do you advocate for, or have you ever advocated for the "sterilization" for women?A. Certainly not. I have six sisters and six brothers; my wife is one of seven children, and we have five children and 18 grandchildren. We love children and large families. It was an attempt to show the frustration of Americans who observe abuse by those on socialist programs across this nation, where hard-working Americans are overtaxed to pay for those who take advantage. Just like Ronald Reagan said, "the best solution ... is a job."Q. Where do you stand on welfare or entitlement programs?A. I believe that responsibility should be with family, church and community, not with government programs of redistribution of other people's property. Welfare programs should never be a way of life.Q. Why did you resign after this happened as 1st Vice Chair State GOP?A. As an unapologetic conservative, I've stood up for the rule of law and our constitutional freedoms. I love this great Republic, and have loved serving Arizona and my service with the Republican Party. However, because of the liberal media's attempt to take what was not my comments, and use them inappropriately against Republican candidates, I thought it best to step down and do what is right for the party. I was elected twice as 1st Vice Chair of the state GOP by overwhelming numbers. I have great support by party faithful, but because I shared comments written by someone else and failed to attribute them to the author immediately, that was a mistake. This mistake has been run with by the liberal media and the Democrats in an attempt hurt our Republican candidates. I do not want the progressive left and the liberal media to take a misstatement from my show and use it to attack our candidates. I care about the Republican Party and its conservative platform too much to let them do that. Yet I have to recognize that hosting a radio show and the nature of the debates that we have had and will continue to have are incompatible with what our party needs from its leadership team. For that reason, I submitted my resignation as a vice chairman of the Republican Party.I want to make this perfectly clear: I will never back down from standing up for what I believe is right, and I will continue to fight for the principles that our Founding Fathers and others have committed their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor for, and in many, many cases paid the ultimate price with their lives. But I have no intention of being used as a distraction by the Democrats looking to escape responsibility for their failed policies. It is time to return the focus to where it belongs, and that is the direction that our state and country should be headed towards.
I fight every single day for the preservation of this Republic, stopping the gangster government in D.C. and here in Arizona, defending the unborn, property rights, the Second Amendment, secure borders, strict enforcement of our immigration laws (attrition by enforcement), school choice, parental rights, lower taxes, reduced regulation, our God-given Freedoms and state sovereignty as intended by our Founders. I have spent my whole life defending this Constitutional Republic and make no apologies for it. I pray for the vigilant few who continue to stand for freedom and moral values. As an Arizona State Legislator and president of the Arizona State Senate, I have been able to write and get passed some of the most sweeping and comprehensive legislation in the nation to stop illegal hiring (worksite enforcement and protecting American jobs and the honest employer), no public benefits for illegals, and the first state to require proof of citizenship to register to vote. I am the proud sponsor of SB1070, Employer Sanctions, The Freedom To Carry Act, Castle Doctrine, Self-Defense Display, Proposition 107 to stop government discrimination by eliminating affirmative action in Arizona, just to name a few. I believe that is why I am attacked by the left and open border pro-amnesty crowd with such anger and vigilance.I have tried to serve my country honorably my entire life. I am a veteran with a honorable discharge from the Army National Guard. I served 23 years with Maricopa County Sheriff's Office and as Sheriff Joe Arpaio's chief deputy; In fact, I spent most of my career in law enforcement and as a judge. I have been shot at and missed, and shot at and hit, and in fact was critically wounded in the line of duty. I have two sons in law enforcement, and one of them also has been critically wounded in the line of duty (shot by an illegal immigrant). Enough is enough.Q. What is your personal position on welfare?A. Again, there is no place in the Constitution for the redistribution of wealth. I understand the challenges out there, and I know we are a good and generous people, but citizens have a constitutional right to keep their own property. At a minimum, it should not be a way of life.Q. How are things going in your new job at the Maricopa County Treasurer's Office helping senior citizens?A. I am blessed to work with such a wonderful group of folks who actually care about the taxpayer and work hard to make sure their money is safe. We all understand that we as Americans are over taxed. Like Ronald Reagan said, to paraphrase, "The problem is not that Americans live to well, but government is living too well." I actually enjoy my work and am spending considerable time helping senior citizens on limited and fixed incomes stay in their homes through a program sponsored by the Treasurer to help them pay property tax through an Elder Assistance Program, as property taxes continue to rise through overrides and special taxing districts, putting our seniors who are low income at risk of losing their homes.Q. What do you see for the future of the Republican Party?A. I love this party and what it stands for. The problem is the politicians who break our hearts. This is the party of the people. This is the party of traditional values and constitutional freedoms. However, we elect those that run as Ronald Reagan conservatives and then vote like Jimmy Carter liberals. If you run as a Republican, you should be required to vote like a Republican. 80 percent of our party are real patriots. For the first time I can recall, we just "censured" a sitting U.S. Senator for ignoring our party principles, and that vote was at a mandatory meeting where 90 percent of the elected state committeemen voted to censure him. We often have great disdain for our elected officials, and that is because they fail to keep their promises. That is divisive and destructive to this party. We have some of our solid conservative patriots leaving the party and looking for a more conservative party, or just going independent because of these "RINOs" if you will. We must take back our party and make our folks and America proud. I am proud to be an American and will continue to work to strengthen this party and hold elected officials accountable to our platform. If we don't, we will destroy this party from within. I call on all constitution loving Americans to join me in keeping this party the party of Reagan and one that we can count on.
