No Problem , We've Got This!
19,000+ Dead Arizonans says you actually have no clue, Governor Ducey
You can’t spell Crazy…
Just weeks after Arizona crossed the 19,000-death threshold, number 11 nationally…
Just five days after President Biden’s we’ve-all-had-enough-speech sent the My Freedom-FU Crowd into yet another spasm of insurrection…
And, on the very day when this science-defying state added 2609 new COVID-19 cases along with 117 new deaths, the most since February…
Attorney General Mark Brnovich (R) chose to sue the feds.
“I promised Arizonans that we would not stand for the Biden Administration's egregious federal overreach on vaccine mandates,” Brnovich blustered in a Tweet. “Today, we have filed the first lawsuit in the nation against the unconstitutional mandates. Arizona will not tolerate this assault on our sovereignty.”
Man the barricades! Wow, what a tough guy!
Before dropping his suit, I wonder if the AG checked in with the next of kin of the 19,000 who’ve died under the pandemic management of Governor Doug Ducey (R) and former Arizona Department of Health Services Director Dr. Cara Christ. Did he call any of the ICU nurses and physicians who exhaustively continue to treat the non-vaccinated while they gasp for breath and rethink their anti-vax decisions? Did he speak with anyone from Arizona’s substantial science community about why this state continues to struggle, 20 months after recording its first COVID-19 case?
Probably not.
Ducey’s, and now Brnovich’s failed policies of going directly against science, of relying on “personal responsibility,” of crawling, no leaping, into bed with the genius plans of the Trump camp says to Arizona, “No problem, we’ve got this.” 19,000 dead Arizonans say otherwise.
Ducey and Brnovich have plans to move up the food chain, the AG to the U.S. Senate and the Guv to the White House. So, the “R” (or is it “T”?) next to their names means they’ll ruthlessly step over the dead bodies of 19,000 Arizonans to get there. They’re all in with the racist “patriots,” QAnon conspirators, and tax-averse billionaires who follow 45 blindly, the group that just won’t admit their failure to effectively manage the pandemic and protect Arizonans.
This is where we’ve been and where we are in State 48 and America.
Memo to Brnovich and Ducey: COVID-19 continues to morph, continues to infect, continues to kill…
BECAUSE YOU GUYS BLEW IT!
For a very brief period, it wasn’t this way. Way back in the spring of 2020, the governor actually seemed to believe that this COVID-19 thing was for real. Because he knew this virus was extremely dangerous and still is, he declared a state of emergency and all but locked down the state. Ducey wore a mask, convened the state’s universities for modeling and advice, and endured the backlash of the businesses and the My Freedom-FU Crowd.
Then in May of 2020, The Donald’s presidential campaign carnival came to town. As a swing state, Arizona had new importance in big time politics, and Ducey folded under the pressure. First, he tried to fire the scientists for delivering data that didn’t match up with his plans. Then, by Memorial Day, data be damned, he ignored science entirely and reopened Arizona.
Even as the bodies have piled up, Ducey put his own and Trump’s political futures first. Brnovich went along, delivering legal opinions supporting the non-governance of the pandemic. And so, 19,000 have died, hospitals remain overwhelmed or on the edge of being so, and vaccination rates are just 56 percent. And, by the way, we’re tracking toward 21,000 fatalities by December 1.
New Territory for Brnovich, Not for Ducey
This may be new territory for Brnovich, who once upon a time seemed to have some common sense and decency, like when he told FOX’s Neil Cavuto that Trump lost the election in Arizona fair and square. But for Ducey, this absolutely cold-blooded approach is consistent with his rise to wealth and power. He got very rich selling Cold Stone Creamery stepping on his franchisees as they complained about its poor operation. The sale itself ended up in arbitration when the buyers felt scammed. But Ducey skated, ran for State Treasurer and won, then sold Arizona voters a Koch Brothers vision for Arizona.
Arizona Ranked 50th for “Life, Health and Inclusion”
Seven years in, it ain’t going well, despite what you read on the Guv’s Twitter feed. His approach - cut every tax, destroy every regulation, privatize every government function, line the pockets of your big money buddies - puts Arizona at the bottom of many social welfare indices, including primary and secondary public education.
Despite touting a business-is-everything approach, Arizona finished a mediocre 30th in a CNBC ranking of business-friendly states. The business network ranked us 50th in its “life, health, and inclusion” category, last place due to both our pandemic performance and our terrible record of inclusiveness and voting rights. Voting rights, by the way, is something AG Brnovich is working hard to limit as he tries to make good with the Big Lie Trumpsters for his Cavuto truth telling. I guess “Arizona is open for business” only if you don’t want to vote, don’t want to get COVID, and don’t value diversity or inclusion.
Much still to talk about in upcoming posts, because as these two gain national prominence, we all need to know the truth about Doug Ducey and the damage he could do in the White House and what chaos Mark Brnovich could initiate in a Republican controlled Senate.
In the meantime, as Arizona’s COVID 19 death numbers move toward 20,000, let’s remember the governor who presides over it all and the AG who enables him.
And also breaking Tuesday…
Word that Maricopa County Attorney Allister Adel has been in rehab for substance abuse since late August.
Adel is presiding over the s**t show that MCAO has been since Rick Romley retired in 2004. The “Politically Charged” strategy (see below) developed on her watch. Arizona Republic Columnist Elvia Diaz says it’s time for Adel to resign. Maybe we can get Romley back in there to clean things up.
Celebrating Great Journalism
Nice work ABC15 Investigator Dave Biscobing for his immensely important reporting on corruption within the Phoenix Police Department and Maricopa County Attorney’s Office. It’s worth 48 minutes of your life to watch his Special Report, “Politically Charged,” which uncovered efforts by cops and prosecutors to make political prisoners of Black Lives Matters protestors. Thankfully, Dave’s tireless work stopped this Nixon-like strategy cold. Full disclosure, I had the privilege of working with Dave on this series when I was News Director at ABC15.
Nice work also by The Arizona Republic’s Ian James for his reporting and photography of the crisis faced by Arizona’s iconic rivers, the San Pedro, the Santa Cruz, and the Verde. These essential waterways are threatened by over pumping, development, and the state’s continued negligence of its water resources.