PHOENIX — The head of the Arizona Republican Party launched criticism Monday at a U.S. Senate immigration compromise bill, saying the party base is "incensed" by the deal and, particularly, by Sen. Jon Kyl's involvement in drafting it.
"We have people coming in every day, tearing up their registration cards and throwing them on the floor, or coming in and changing their registration from Republican to independent," said party Chairman Randy Pullen during a press conference at the state headquarters in Phoenix.
Pullen held up what he called a "graphic" representation of how Republicans feel. It was a drawing of a hand with the middle finger pointing up and highlighted.
"This is basically the outlook that many of our party faithful are feeling right now about the Republican Party," he said.
Kyl defended his stance on the Senate floor, referencing criticisms from his Arizona constituents, noting in a chamber now controlled by the Democrats that it's necessary to work with them to get things done.
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Kyl's involvement in the compromise — he was a lead negotiator in the deal and has defended it on the national stage — has exacerbated conservative border activists' ire over the proposal.
"He understands that the party base is unhappy with it," Pullen said of Kyl. "He also understands that a lot of that unhappiness is with him and where he is on this issue."
While Pullen said criticism has also been directed at Sen. John McCain — someone accustomed to ruffling the right-wing base — Kyl's prominent role has drawn most of the fire his way.
Pullen isn't the only Arizona Republican taking aim at the bill. Former U.S. Rep. J.D. Hayworth, who lost his congressional seat in November, appeared Monday on the Fox News Channel to criticize the bill.
Kyl, whose Washington staff did not return late-afternoon phone calls, has said while he doesn't like every aspect of the bill, with Democrats now controlling Congress, the legislation is the best opportunity for action on immigration.
He reiterated that position Monday on the Senate floor, stating: "Of all of the criticism that I have received for being one of the sponsors of this legislation, the one that I don't quite understand from my constituents is, why would I sit down with Sen. (Ted) Kennedy," Kyl said, according to a transcript provided by his office.
"And what I've tried to tell them is, I understand your anxiety about sitting down with Sen. Kennedy, but on the other hand, in a body of 100 senators that are supposed to try to work together to find solutions to problems, do you not at least acknowledge that every now and then you have to sit down and talk to each other, even when you're on the other side of the aisle?"
But Pullen and others in the conservative wing of the party think the bill amounts to amnesty, since illegal immigrants will be allowed to remain in the country if they pay fees, $5,000 in fines and the head of the household returns to his or her home country to apply for citizenship.
Pullen said the bill is "10 percent Republican and 90 percent Ted Kennedy."
Nevertheless, the issue has divided pro-business Republicans from border activists in the party.
Margaret Kenski, a Southern Arizona Republican strategist who has worked for Kyl, said the plan divides both parties.
"I think we're seeing a real bipartisan effort to solve a problem that bothers a lot of us, and in the process, not everyone got what they wanted," she said. "In the long run, I have a hard time seeing the core Republicans voting for Democrats because they are unhappy with the compromise."
Democratic Party Chairman David Waid said although he would have preferred for Kyl to have been an advocate for comprehensive overhaul during his campaign last year against Democrat Jim Pederson, Waid defended Kyl's support for the Senate bill.
"He's come around to a position that is in the best interest of the people of Arizona," Waid said. "The inflexible, complete partisan approach doesn't work."
Contacting U.S. senators, GOP
E-mails to U.S. senators must be done through a form on their Web sites.
Sen. Jon Kyl http://kyl.senate.gov (Click on message to "Senator Kyl") Tucson office: 575-8633
Sen. John McCain http://mccain.senate.gov (Click on "Contact") Tucson office: 670-6334
Arizona Republican Party Email: info@azgop.org; Phoenix: 602-957-7770
