AZ Central columnist EJ Montini put it well in the headline of his February 7, 2021, calling Arizona House Republicans Debbie what’s my name Lesko, Andy masks are tyranny Biggs, Paul my family will not vote for me Gosar, and David ethical lapse Schweikert “four Q’Anon Quacks.”
These four Trump Zone-Fox Island-Disinfowar residents, who had already demonstrated their fringe reactionary inclinations through years of public disservice, have set new lows since the 2020 elections with their:
- Coddling of the Trumpist Big Lie on the 2020 Presidential Election being rigged or stolen.
- Objecting to the certification of the Arizona (all but Schweikert) and Pennsylvania Electoral College votes.
- Helping to spread disinformation (Gosar and Biggs) and encourage the behavior that would lead to the January 6, 2021, Trumpist Domestic Terrorist Attack on the Nation’s Capitol.
- Vote to keep Marjorie let’s kill Democratic Leaders and Jewish financed lasers caused the California Wildfires Taylor Greene on her committee assignments.
In his column, Mr. Montini wrote of these four Trumpist-Q’Anon enablers:
“They’d each already sworn oaths to support and defend the U.S. Constitution, then chose Donald Trump over that oath, spreading disinformation about the election, which led to unnecessary discord among Americans, which led to unnecessary death and destruction at the Capitol.
And they were elected again.
Then they tried to have your votes nullified.
Then, instead of supporting what is right and honorable, they supported a fellow Republican who liked the idea of putting a bullet in the head of the House Speaker and suggested a gigantic wildfire has been started by a Jewish-controlled laser beam.
And they could not have done any of that without the approval of 1,009,832 of our brothers and sisters.”
Montini’s point on what the voters were thinking is well merited. In all four Republican currently held Arizona House Districts (Four, Five, Six, and Eight) viable and mainstream Democratic nominees were available for voters to choose from.
Three of them (Delina DiSanto, Joan Greene, and Michael Muscato) have commented on what their Republican opponents have done and what needs to be done.
Arizona House Congressional District Four Democratic Nominee Delina DiSanto.
“As I look at the rhetoric that has incited our citizens and the partisan support of people like Rep Taylor Greene and not standing tall to denounce the riot at the capital, I remember from history what James Madison said:
“The aim of every political constitution is, or ought to be, first to obtain for rulers men who possess most wisdom to discern, and most virtue to pursue, the common good of society; and in the next place, to take the most effectual precautions for keeping them virtuous whilst they continue to hold their public trust . . . .”
Where has Biggs, Gosar, Lesko, or Schweikert shown any wisdom to recognize the true nature of our citizen’s lives here in Arizona? Have any of them held the common good of our society? What high moral standards have they kept? None. They pander to partisan factions than work for the common good of Arizonans. Voters want candidates who are trustworthy, ethical, accountable, not egocentric or self-serving. These four representatives have been failing their constituents for years, with their lies, conspiracy theories, and unethical behavior. Every candidate who ran against them, including myself, tried to bring attention to their fraudulent conduct, knowing they are a danger to our citizens, to our state, and our nation. But they still got elected. If you believe a candidate has the courage to go up against one of these representatives, will work for the common good of Arizonans, has the quality to think sensibly, then you truly need to get behind them. Just because you believe Democrat candidates can’t make it in “red districts”, then you are forsaking the candidate and the voters. Democrat candidates need to get their message to the voters who will listen. Grassroots is great. Volunteers are key elements for groundwork and phones. But it takes money and lots of it to fund the entire campaign organization, especially letting voters know what you want to do for them, but to also point out not to believe the lies and deception from especially these four, Biggs, Gosar, Lesko, and Schweikert. Messaging is extremely important and expensive to broadcast. If we continue to allow these members of Congress to take the oath that they don’t even uphold, then we will continue this hypocrisy and it will ruin our democracy. I cannot sit back and watch these four or other legislators destroy our democracy, increase suffrage and disenfranchisement, and create a divide in our country that we have not seen since the Civil War.”
Arizona House Congressional District Five Democratic Nominee Joan Greene.
“Is anyone surprised Biggs supports Marjorie Taylor Greene?
- He recruited her
- Endorsed her
- Spent money on her
- Brought her into the fold when he along with several other GQP met with Trump in December, (to discuss the possibility of challenging the Electoral College on January 6, 2021), before she was even sworn in.
- Taylor Greene isn’t just a colleague, they are soul mates in thoughts and beliefs. You saw it in the video when they huddled together in the safe room and refused masks.
Michael Muscato (CD8, Debbie Lesko) Delina DiSanto (CD4, Paul Gosar), the Democratic nominee (CD6, David Schweikert) and I will continue our fight so the people in our districts are aware of who they truly are. We hope the AZ Democratic Party supports and joins us.”
Arizona House Congressional District Eight Democratic Nominee Michael Muscato.
“Is anyone surprised? I’m not and no one I know is… The question I have is what is the Arizona Democratic Party doing to change this?
Without Democratic Party resources and financial investment, Lesko Biggs and Gosar will reign for as long as they wish. It’s a reality. Trump invested heavily into these areas in an attempt to win Arizona through them because of how abandoned these areas are. Biden wins Arizona but loses CD8 by 18 points… Kelly wins AZ but loses CD8 by 17 points…Each of these districts has had phenomenal candidates with platforms that promote the policies democrats and republicans agree on. The same and better platforms that are winning statewide Arizona races. In each of these districts, Democrats have one third to one-half of the precincts without so much as a precinct committee member to help organize for democrats. In 2020 not a dollar was spent in coordination with the party to defeat these elected officials despite a budget more than twice the 2018 budget. Also worth noting is the $2.7 million dollars that were left sitting in the bank as opposed to being reinvested into the communities of democratic supporters for their local challengers.
In order to hold these Republican elected officials accountable, we must first hold our own party officials accountable. Do we really want to win? Because Joe Biden and Mark Kelly can thank the Navajo Nation and the minority community for stepping up for record turnout. The days of running to minority communities right before the election for their votes need to stop right now. The days of ignoring red districts completely and allowing the GOP to use those resources to help win and defend other races need to end now. The days of using Democratic supporters for their time and money without giving them any return on their investment needs to stop now. The days of beating ourselves so that the Republicans don’t have to need to stop now.
There are four congressional districts with more than 1.25 million voters that prove Arizona is far from blue. The good news is many of us know what needs to happen. Our focus shouldn’t be on the quacks in office. It should be on doing all of the things that are needed to ensure they are never in office again. Arizona has had plenty of MTG’s. It’s time for Democrats to play hardball.”
These Democratic nominees speak with a passion and frustration that warrants serious attention and follow-up by county and state party leaders as they plan for the next election cycle.
The battle for the soul of the country is still on and no local, state or national office should be ignored going into 2022.
Recent polls have shown that the majority of the country supports the new Administration and leadership that competently moves the country forward.
Trumpism and the 40-year-old Republican brand that created him is cancer that needs to be removed from the American body.
However, much work needs to be done to educate and convince voters in all congressional, county, and legislative districts that candidates that subscribe to the Trumpist-Q’Anon wing of the former Party of Lincoln are not the answer to meeting their public service needs.
Defeating Donald Trump was vital.
Getting rid of his Election Denying and Coup Plotting cult disciples in 2022, 2024, and beyond is essential to rebuilding the American Ideal.
The job now is better educating the voters, improving turnout, and eliminating the Democratic undervote in many of these areas.
Fortunately, the best poster board for this strategy are the “Four Q’Anon Quacks.”
Lesko, Biggs, Gosar, and Schweikert create the best Democratic ads with their words and deeds.
Hopefully, voters will realize this in 2022.
Hopefully.
For YEARS, I’ve been thoroughly disgusted with the Arizona Democratic Party precisely because of their abdication of duty when it comes to defeating the likes of Trent Franks (yeah, he had to torpedo himself), Debbie Lesko, Biggs, Schweikert, Gosar, et al. If the Dem Party would show some spine and some strategy, not to mention money, in electing quality Dem/liberal/progressive candidates, imagine the many thousands of independent voters who would find encouragement and jump on board.
I ran in Congressional District 8 and had the same experience with the Democratic Party as Michael Muscato. I want to support what he has said in his response above. It is exactly like the Party has conceded these districts & provided no competition for the lousy representatives you have mentioned. The fact is that individuals Democrats who were outstanding stepped forward as candidates and did what they did pretty much on their own. For me there was not even a word of thanks for your efforts and expense offered.