No One Should ever Confuse the Republicans at the Arizona Legislature as Members of Public Service or the Genius Bar

As long as the current brand of the former Party of Lincoln is active in Arizona and across the country, journalists will never be without material to write.

Arizona Legislative District (LD) Six  State Senator Wendy Rogers and House Representative Joseph Chaplik are two cases in point.

Both of them, over the last several days, showed why no one should ever confuse the Republican Delegation at the Arizona State Legislature with members of Public Service or the Genius Bar.

Wendy Rogers Strikes Again. 

The LD Six State Senator, given a reprieve by the Senate Ethics Committee (but not the courts) last week for her alleged harassment of a legislative assistant, decided to celebrate by attending an event hosted by the Oathkeepers, of which, as EJ Montini reported in his March 7, 2021 column, she is a member.

She even tweeted about it.

Had a great time speaking to the Cottonwood Oathkeepers tonight. I am a member of the Oathkeepers and I really like their dedication to our Constitution and to our country. Thank you for having me! pic.twitter.com/7CCBY77tQg

— Wendy Rogers (@WendyRogersAZ) March 7, 2021

This is the same Oathkeeper organization whose leading members are being arrested for their part in organizing the Trumpist Domestic Terrorist Attack on the Nations Capitol on January 6, 2021.

Rogers’s sentiments, given her record, are not surprising. Still, her having the gall to say this organization is dedicated to the country and Constitution that they tried to overthrow on January 6, 2021, is extremely nauseating and unworthy of anyone holding a public service position.

Colonel Felecia French, the 2020 Democratic LD Six State Senate Nominee offered her views on Roger’s acts and words, commenting:

“As a 32-year Army and National Guard veteran, I can’t even count the number of times I’ve both taken and administered the military’s oath of enlistment, swearing to “…support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.”

“State Senator Wendy Rogers tweeting about her membership in the Oath Keepers, an extremist and self-avowed anti-government organization, makes a mockery of the voters whom she was elected to represent in her public office.”

“Oath Keepers attacked the U.S. Capitol and conspired against the government of our country to prevent Congress from certifying President Biden’s legitimate election victory. On that day, violent rioters injured more than 140 law enforcement officers and killed Officer Brian Sicnick—by definition, this makes the Oath Keepers the domestic enemies we should be defending our country against.”

As Mr. Montini wrote in his column, where is the moral outrage from the State Republicans to Senator Rogers?

The clock is ticking.

Joseph Chaplik shows his Mental Prowess on the House Floor

When advocating for his bill allowing businesses to defy local mask ordinances, LD 23 State Representative Joseph Chaplik cited the example of no mask requirement during the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s.

Apparently, according to AZ Central columnist Laurie Roberts, no one in the State House corrected Chaplik and told him that AIDS was not transmitted by air.

To be fair to Chaplik, his predecessor Jay Lawrence was not much of a great thinker either.

The Arizona Republicans, displaying the same mental prowess as their LD 23 colleague voted for his bill to allow businesses to defy public safety measures.

Eric Kurland, the 2018 and 2020 LD 23 Democratic Nominee, commenting on Mr. Chaplik and his reactionary colleague’s obtuseness, wrote:

” While it is easy to focus on the sheer stupidity of the man and his lack of knowledge, we are missing a couple of points. One is that he is a dangerous kind of dumb because he isn’t smart enough to realize he should stop talking. The second, and most important point, is that this bill passed with unanimous Republican support. There is no denying that however asinine it may be, if it is a Republican bill, it will always get 31 votes from their caucus. While we are laughing at Chaplik and making jokes comparing him to Jay Lawrence, it is the second point that should be a sobering reminder of how important it is to get a Democratic majority in one of the chambers.”

Colonel French and Mr. Kurland are right.

Public Servants need to be committed to the State and Federal Constitution and not support/engage with groups that actively seek to undermine them.

How is being a member of the Oath Keepers show a commitment to the American Ideal?

It does not.

Public servants should also work for the public good and pass legislation that helps the people prosper and moves the state forward.

How do blindly passing measures that defy public safety or others that suppress the vote or undercut public education enable prosperity and move the state forward?

They do not either.

Arizona and the country would be so much better if there were two governing political party’s.

It is a shame there is only one.

No one should ever confuse the Republicans at the Arizona Legislature as being the one.