Welcome To The Forever Election
Infinite Insanity In Your Face
Not a long time ago in a galaxy not far, far away…
the Wednesday after election day allowed all to take a deep cleansing breath.
Turn on the TV and the obnoxious assault of political ads was gone, replaced by cheery holiday messages. The losers conceded and the winners promised to do their best. The campaigns were visible only through leftover candidate signs at stoplights. Election Day was The End.
Well, that was then…
First 2021 and now 2022 have put us in Forever Election mode.
Why? Close races combined with early voting will keep Arizona’s County Recorders counting well into next week. Vote counting is serious work, the real stuff of a functional democracy. Doing it correctly takes time. MAGA Extremists like former Trump Intelligence Director Richard Grenell are not only dead wrong in this Tweet..
…they’re potentially endangering election workers.
We need to give these true public servants a secure place plus the time and trust to do their jobs.
“Election Day” is the past. We now live in “Election Week” and likely “Election Month.” And, that’s OK. Take your time. Get it right.
Vote counting isn’t the only reason we’ll need to settle in the for the long haul.
Lawsuits Are Almost Certain
My money says the first drops at 9AM Tuesday. It’ll be a serious one, probably from the League of Women Voters or ACLU alleging voter intimidation at a polling place. The Extreme MAGA Goons are ignoring court orders. They continue to stand at drop boxes. Tuesday, they’ll shift their dangerous nonsense to polling places.
Not far behind will come the MAGA Extremists. Khaleesi Kelli Ward will claim hacked voting machines, or rogue ballot harvesting, or Biden spy satellites blasting the servers her MAGA wackos have screamed about for the last two years. The Big Lie chaos will begin early Tuesday and roll on and on and on and on and on and on and on…..all without any evidence.
This is Extreme MAGA’s democracy-denying game. Distract with lies. Intimidate with weapons. Scream “my rights” while denying rights to others.
Let them have their tantrum. Even if it takes a month, count every vote!
Look For A Court Challenge To Katie Hobbs’ Oversight Role
As Secretary of State, Hobbs will run this election. She did so in 2020.
But, this time she’s running for Governor against I-accept-results-only-when-I-win Kari Lake. Kari Lake, whose entire reason for breathing is to perpetuate the Mad King’s Big Lie. Lake started beating the Dump Hobbs drum this past week. She’s put down a marker.
If Lake loses, especially in a close race, she’ll throw the penalty flag. Hobbs cheated, she’ll say, I won. The Election will continue until who knows how many courts sort out fact from MAGA fiction.
This Toxicity Could Bring Violence
The Department of Justice is worried. The Cold Civil War is primed to go hot, fed by these Extremist lies and abetted by cowardly Republicans like Senate President Karen Fann who played along with MAGA BS the past two years. Kept alive through a cowardly Ducey endorsement of election denier Lake and Oath Keeper Senator Wendy Rogers.
Fann’s and Ducey’s cynical and spineless behavior was in direct conflict with Arizona Republicans who pushed back – Maricopa County Recorder Steven Richer, Maricopa County Supervisor Bill Gates, Mesa Mayor John Giles, and Peoria Mayor Cathy Carlat.
Giles and company are on the right side of history. This is the biggest election in forever. Listen to them.
If you haven’t early voted, if you’re holding out for in-person on Tuesday, then get to a polling place. Your vote against Extremism can save our democracy.
No, I Don’t Mean Extremism From Democrats
I’m saying, your vote can put a big ass speed bump in front of Kari Lake (Extremist Election Denier), Mark Finchem (Oath Keeper and Jan 6 Insurrectionist), Blake Masters (Misogynist), Abe Hamedah (Pretender), Tom Horne (Ethics Train Wreck), and anyone running for the Arizona legislature with an R next to their name
Elect any of these people and Arizona immediately enters a new dimension of CRAZY!
And, nothing exemplifies Arizona Crazy more than a MAGA legislature with Governor Kari Lake signing their bizarro bills into law.
In the best of times, the AZ Legislature is unhinged…
…the crazy uncles spewing poison like SB1070. They are so confident in Tuesday’s outcome, they have a slate of Trumpster legislative leadership ready to go. They win, and you can expect:
Elections will not be fair and free. They’ll be burdened by onerous ID requirements and limited to in-person voting on Election Day.
The border will be armed with militia primed to shoot refugees on sight, as Wendy Rogers was secretly recorded telling Progressive Activist Lauren Windsor
LGTBQ people will be threatened by Cathi Herrod and her minions.
White Christian Nationalists like Charlie Kirk will force his “God” into your life.
White Supremacists will attack People of Color under the cover of being “tough on crime.”
Public education and teachers will be further demonized under the cover of “parental rights.”
Our precious water will go to resorts and foreign corporate interests while climate change will be ignored.
With no brakes, no Hobbs veto, no Attorney General Kris Mayes defending our rights, Extreme MAGA could make Arizona unlivable.
What about the Economy and the Border and Crime? Democrats Own This, Right?
WRONG!
Nations worldwide are struggling with inflation and high interest rates. Just ask Liz Truss if Conservative approaches work. Inflation isn’t Joe Biden’s problem. It’s tied to global forces:
Putin’s war on Ukraine and his weaponization of energy and food.
The negative impact on multiple supply chains of China’s Covid 19 lockdowns.
OPEC’s manipulation of oil markets.
Our border problems come from decades of Republican negligence. They’ve repeatedly failed to work with Democrats to develop a comprehensive immigration policy. For the GOP, it’s easier to blame than actually address the issues, now compounded by asylum seekers from around the world.
Democrats are not defunding the police or letting criminals own the streets. Crime is a Republican dog whistle on race. Has been for over 50 years. Democrats believe in policing that doesn’t murder people of color. Democrats oppose prosecuting individuals on fake charges and denying them their constitutional rights.
Aren’t You Just Buying the Dems’ Fear Mongering and “Witch Hunts?”
No.
While, Arizona Democrats aren’t the best and brightest, they’re not a personality cult built on White Supremacy and misinformation.
They won’t storm the Capitol and hunt down Republicans. Negotiating Medicare drug prices and forging student loans won’t burn down Democracy.
Yes, Arizona Democrats are frustrating. Katie Hobbs is an uninspiring gubernatorial choice as were David Garcia in 2016 and Fred DuVal in 2014. Mark Kelly has been hiding in the bunker for two years as Extreme MAGA ran wild. State School Superintendent Kathy Hoffman needs to grow some fangs. The late Grant Woods would have been a far better attorney general nominee than Kris Mayes.
But, you fight with the army you have.
What Democracy has right now is you and your vote.
If you’re voting Tuesday, vote to keep Democracy safe. Don’t vote Republican.