Liz Cheney, Kari Lake, Arizona, and Me

Apparently, Liz Cheney is putting her money where her mouth is.  Her PAC is dumping oodles of dollars into tv and radio ads in Arizona, urging voters to avoid casting a ballot for the Republican candidate for Governor, Kari Lake.  I don't believe I have ever voted for a Democrat, but if I lived in Arizona I am certain that I would this year.  Kari Lake has thanked her for her "anti-endorsement", claiming to have raised $300,000 since the ads began.

Ms Lake is a former tv news anchor whose claim to fame seems to be that she can read from a teleprompter.  She and TFG have an unabashed love affair.  She's wildly enthusiastic about her plans - solving our water crisis by building a pipeline from the Mississippi, sending the National Guard to the border to stop the wave of immigrants who are bringing fentynal in to poison our young, and approving of the armed drop box watchers to secure the vote.

Let's see....... 

The Mississippi has gotten so low that shipwrecks are being uncovered.  According to Border Patrol statistics, ~89% of the fentynal crossing the US/Mexico border comes in via US citizens.  Young people joining the National Guard are signing up for the educational benefits and the opportunity to help Arizonans in a crisis; they are not signing up to be pseudo-Border Patrol agents.  And those MAGA clad domestic terrorists are photographing voters and recording license plates and making themselves obnoxious when Mom drops off her ballot and - heaven forfend - her husband's ballot at the same time.  

The sad part is that no one seems to care.  She is ahead in the polls.

Her opponent, the current Secretary of State, did a great job defending her office and its work in the 2022 election.  Even our Republican Governor agreed that there was no fraud, despite the fraudit paid for by the citizens of Maricopa County..... even though they didn't ask for it.  She was on all the news programs, she spoke to all the talking heads, she wrote editorials and responded to reporters' questions all through the post-election hullaballoo.  

Unfortunately, since then she has been MIA.  To call her campaign lackluster would be to give it more credit than it deserves.  She refused to debate, citing the shit show that was the Republican candidates debate.  Although the Center for Clean Elections has run these pre-election debates for decades, and had a plan to keep things orderly, none of that mattered to her.

And so, Kari Lake can call her a coward and there is really no good response.  A muted mic if the discussion veered off topic (eg denying the validity of the last election) would have been a simple solution.  It would have made for great tv.  Serious questioning by the moderators, forcing Ms Lake to defend her position that the election was stolen from, would have educated some and encouraged others. 

Instead, the polls show an ever tightening race, pulling formerly flailing Senate candidate Blake Masters along for the ride as Lake and Blake signs start to pop up around town.  Mark Finchem, who was at the Capitol riot on January 6th, is neck and neck with his opponent.  Mark Kelly's lead is down to 2 points.  I am looking ahead to living in a state with MAGA types at all the levels - Senate, Governor, Secretary of State - which must certify the next Presidential election.

All three of them have refused to say whether they will accept the 2024 results, regardless of the outcome.  This does not bode well.

I really like living in Arizona.  With this in the wind, though, Little Cuter's notion of a commune in the Italian countryside is looking ever better.  Am I too old to learn another language?