As the late Senator Robert Byrd (D-W.V.) once noted, James Madison said at the Constitutional Convention that the Founders intended the Senate to be ‘a necessary fence’ that could ‘protect the people against their rulers.’ In contrast to the House of Representatives, which was set up to represent the people’s passions, the Senate was conceived to both represent the states and serve as a chamber of sober reflection. “[The] Founding Fathers intended the Senate to be a continuing body that allows for open and unlimited debate and the protection of minority rights,” Byrd said. “Senators have understood that…since the Senate first convened.”

Many lament the state of affairs in Washington today. The Congress doesn’t seem to function as it should. President Obama issues executive orders that bypass the normal legislative process and evade democratic accountability. Everyone, it seems, is arguing rather than listening.

Much attention this political season has been paid to the issues of taxes and spending – and rightfully so. It’s no secret that we face serious challenges with regard to the deficit, our unwieldy tax code, and the looming implementation of ObamaCare. Yet, many of our government’s most far-reaching and intrusive actions have actually originated behind the scenes and out of the public eye: that is, in its issuance of a flood of federal regulations.

Our second president, John Adams, stated that “[f]acts are stubborn things.” But during a campaign season, the facts are frequently ignored by candidates engaging in revisionist history – an old trick for those with empty records. For example, consider some recent claims made by President Obama regarding our nation’s economic mess.

Last month at the United Nations General Assembly, several Muslim-majority countries pushed for the implementation of a so-called “blasphemy ban,” with countries like Iran arguing that religiously insensitive language should be classified as “hate speech” and banned under international regulations.

For 26 years, it has been my privilege to represent the people of Arizona in the U.S. Congress. As many of you know, that service will come to an end when Senator-elect Jeff Flake takes my place in January. And as you might imagine, this is a bittersweet moment for me. But, in the end, public service is never really about the servant – it’s about the public.

It has been said that the only thing necessary for the persistence of evil is for good people to do nothing. Nowhere is this truer than in North Korea, a repressive police state that mercilessly tortures its citizens and routinely threatens its neighbors – and the United States – with war. Clearly, it is in our interest to see democratic reform in Pyongyang, both for our own safety and for the well-being of North Korean citizens themselves. But change won’t happen overnight – which is why we must plant the seeds of freedom and human rights now that can one day lead to a more democratic regime less prone to lashing out at the free world.

There’s been a lot of talk lately about class and income. Perhaps no one has talked about the issue more than President Obama.

Earlier today, U.S. Senate Republican Whip Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) delivered his farewell address in the United States Senate Chamber. The speech served as a capstone to Senator Kyl’s 26 years of public service, including four terms (8 years) in the U.S. House of Representatives and three terms (18 years) in the U.S. Senate.

The year was 1623, and the first settlers of Plymouth Colony found themselves in a dire situation. Since their arrival in New England three years earlier, the Pilgrims had struggled to jumpstart their fledgling colony – a settlement founded on the hope of religious freedom and with the financial backing of a group of English investors who expected a handsome monetary return. Under the terms agreed to with their investors, the Pilgrims were to be organized under a commonwealth, a form of government that would ostensibly ensure their survival in the harsh New England environment by allowing each member of the colony to draw from a common pool of resources (while giving the investors back in England the ability to more easily collect profit).

This November 12th, we commemorate Veterans Day – a time to give thanks to those who have served in our armed forces. These brave men and women valiantly answered the call when their country needed them most, leaving behind friends and family to risk everything in the name of freedom. On the ground, in the sea, and in the air, they trained and fought for the traditions and ideals upon which our nation was founded – and that continue to make it a shining beacon across the globe. We owe a great debt of gratitude to these courageous defenders of our liberty.

More than four years ago, a Russian attorney named Sergei Magnitsky selflessly exposed a brazen plot by senior Russian officials to embezzle some $230 million and was subsequently jailed on fabricated charges. As confirmed by the Russian Presidential Council on Human Rights, Magnitsky was mercilessly beaten and denied medical care while imprisoned over the next year, eventually dying in police custody of untreated pancreatic disease.

Republican Jon Kyl may be retiring from the Arizona Senate this year, but he’s not going out without expressing his feelings about President Barack Obama.

Senator Jon Kyl, the Assistant Minority Leader in the United States Senate, has endorsed Mike Hellon for Supervisor in Pima County District 1.



Christopher Chenery grew up barefoot and poor. Determined to improve his family’s future, he worked hard and developed a business savvy that resulted in a profitable career as a public utilities executive in the early 20th century. Even with the onset of the Great Depression, Chenery remained successful enough to purchase back his family’s horse farm (which his cousin had previously been forced to sell). Restoring a sense of family pride, Chenery built stables and a home on the farm, which he owned and operated until his death in 1973.

U.S. Sen. Jon Kyl plans to donate historical materials and papers collected during his time in Congress to his alma mater, the University of Arizona.

In his 23 years in Congress, "there has never been a piece of legislation that will take more of our freedom than this health care bill," Republican Sen. Jon Kyl told a Tucson Tea Party gathering of hundreds Wednesday at an Oro Valley church.

Sitting in Sen. Jon Kyl's office waiting for my scheduled interview, I was struck at just how hard any senator is expected to work and how much time is spent doing it by those who, as most do, take their job seriously.