Monday, September 24, 2007

Karen Ray, "Be Careful"

Karen Ray, the Arkansas Republican Party's executive director really stepped in it last week. Some of our Republican state legislators have been looking into the illegal immigration costs to our state government.
In recent weeks, state agency heads appeared before legislative committees detailing what they had found. To those Republicans, it appeared they were making progress by bringing attention to an aspect of illegal immigration that hadn't been considered.

This isn't sitting well with Karen Ray or the rest of the National Republican leadership. The intellectual elites of the Republican Party don't want to upset the big businesses who profit from illegal immigration, nor do they want to upset any illegals who could in the future vote Republican.
In one e-mail to Ray, Woods related that he'd talked to Tyson's Archie Schaffer, who apparently didn't like all the attention on illegal immigration. Woods said in the e-mail that Schaffer had told him he would oppose bills dealing with immigration.
That evoked a response from Ray, in which she began lecturing the lawmaker:
"I understand that fighting hard for your constituents' wants is very important. But I think as an elected official, it is more important that you fight for what they need, not necessarily what they want." "I'm going to side with the businesses on this one. Be careful!!" she warned.

Naughty, naughty Jon, you're not suppose to work for the wants of the people, you suppose to work for the needs of the Republican Party leadership. Karen Ray has make it quite clear that the Republican's leadership in more concerned with the state's special interests than the legitimate concerns ordinary citizens have on an increasingly important issue.

From David Sanders
More comments here

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think your interpretation of what Ray said is lacking. You have put words in her mouth by indicating that she hinted the elected official should adhere to the Party as opposed to his constituents. I don't think one should read to far into this email, especially when you are lacking the surrounding content. Most likely the content of this email has been manipulated for someone else's benefit (obviously not Ray's). I believe, to be informed voters, we must not take what we are told as the solid truth at face value. Afterall, it is politics...

Valerie said...

Per, www.nwaonline.net/articles/2007/09/19/news/092007arimmig.txt
"Ray acknowledged Wednesday that she sent the e-mail that was posted on the Arkansas Times' blog a day earlier, but denied that it reflected the state party's views. Ray said the e-mail was meant to be a private conversation and would not identify the lawmaker she sent it to."
Karen has acknowledged the e-mails. The person who released them was probably concerned that Karen was working with the Farm Bureau on immigration and that she was telling legislators who/what they should be working for. She does state that her view wasn't the State Republican Party’s view. I was wrong to over read that. I do know that the National Republican Party is working for comprehensive immigration reform (amnesty). I don't know what the State Republican leadership's view of illegal immigration is. Are they working with major business interests to provide amnesty for illegals? The national leadership of the Republican and Democrat parties are at odds with the American public. Who does the State Republican leadership stand with, illegal immigrants or American citizens?

Anonymous said...

Is Karen Ray still working with Farm Bureau or did the RPA executive committee put at stop to that?

If not, why did they allow it to continue? If not, isn't that an implied agreement with what Karen Ray is doing?