That appearance of party unity at the Republican National Convention this week.
Not so fast says a bipartisan group of Biden/Harris supporters headlined by John McCain confidant Wes Gullett at a campaign event at the Biden for Arizona Tempe Campaign headquarters.
It should be noted that several noted Republicans did not make the pilgrimage to Milwaukee to bend the knee to the Trump/Vance ticket.
That includes former President George W. Bush, 2012 Republican Presidential Nominee and current Utah Senator Mitt Romney, and Trump’s first Vice President Mike Pence.
So much for unity.
During the Tempe event earlier today, Gullett said he would no longer stand with the Republican Party because it “no longer holds the values that I do.”
Mr. Gullett went on to say:
“Look at the Republican convention this week. I’m ashamed of what our party has become. Arizona Republicans have traditionally advanced and defended American values. We’ve always believed that every American no matter their background or their circumstances should have the freedom and opportunity to live out their American Dream.”
“That’s not what I’ve heard this week. Now more than ever we need leaders who put country over party. As a Republican, I believe my party has the moral and ethical responsibility to restore faith in our Democratic institutions not tear them down. In the spirit of John McCain. Country first! I call on other Arizona Republicans to join me in choosing country over party in this election and voting against Donald Trump.”
After noting all the terrible things a Trump/Vance Administration would do under the precepts of Project 2025 and how Donald Trump had Congressional Republicans obstruct a bipartisan border security deal for political gain, Gullett relayed:
“I believe in our American President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are fighting every single day for our fundamental rights and freedoms to make these personal choices that are sacred and protected, not criminalized. Not only has Trump threatened all the progress Arizonans have seen, but Trump also poses a serious threat to our nation. We can’t have a felon representing us on the world stage let alone one that would destroy our NATO alliance and ruin our standing abroad. The world is looking to us, America.”
When asked by a journalist from ABC-News 15 about whether President Biden will stay at the top of the Democratic ticket, he replied:
“President. Biden is a good man. He’ll make the right decision. It’s up to him and we will move forward…He’s done a good job and he’s ready to lead.”
When asked by me that the Republicans in Milwaukee are trying to present that they are a united front. You’re here today. It seems Republicans are anything but united. Mr. Gullett responded:
“I think there’s a lot of Republicans who are concerned about Donald Trump. And I think that it’s important to let them know that it’s okay to vote for the Democrats. To vote for President Biden and that it’s a safe place and it’s a better America; a better future for our country. That’s what I want to do. I want to tell Republicans that it’s okay to come over. It’s it’s a good place…We’ve got a growing group.”
Other speakers forcefully called attention to what would happen to the country if the Trump/Vance Team were able to implement the contents of Project 2025.
Arizona Education Association President Marisol Garcia spoke of the hardships public schools and school children would face including:
- “The national expansion of ESA voucher schemes and scams that are happening here (in Arizona) and destroying our budgets will take over and become a nationwide problem.
- “The rollback or elimination of any sort of student loan programs that have been massively beneficial to not just teachers but all educators and public school workers.”
- The block granting of Title One Monies to the states instead of specifically allocating those funds to the schools and impoverished children that need it the most.”
- The focus on culture wars “that are not happening in our classrooms.”
Garcia reminded the audience that the Biden/Harris Administration has seen a significant investment in education and children including the temporary expansion of the “child tax credits that allowed our students to buy clothes that they need. Food that is needed free lunch and breakfast things that keep our students focused in classes.”
In a second Biden/Harris Administration, she contended that “They have a plan for growth. They have a vision for ensuring that the workforce is taken care of and safe and as a proud union labor leader, this is something that is critically important to us because working families across Arizona on a daily basis face working conditions that are not keeping them safe and ensuring that they can have healthy families and have the healthy lives that they deserve.”
When asked by me what the MAGA Project 2025 would mean for Pre-K programs like Head Start, Ms. Garcia replied:
“I think it’s really clear that Democrats like Joe Biden have been focused on Pre-K and the development of students specifically in high-poverty areas. And so when what we want to see is an expansion of not just Head Start but all Pre-K programs for and up so that students have the leg up that they deserve. (With regards to Trump and Project 2025,) I mean, we just see further privatization with people utilizing it to make money. They’re not interested in the development of all children and so I don’t think we’re going to see any of the federal support that we need and pretty clear that they want to destroy the entire Department of Education.”
Maricopa County Supervisor Steve Gallardo advised that:
“We’re here today on the final day of the Republican National Convention because our values and freedoms are at risk should Donald Trump, JD Vance, and MAGA Republicans remake our country through their Project 2025 plan. The contrast couldn’t be more stark between Donald Trump’s Project 2025 and President Biden’s vision to protect reproductive freedom, defend democracy, lower costs for families, and guarantee all Americans have a fair shot.”
He called attention to the following policy recommendations from the Heritage Foundation policy document that would wreak havoc on the American People including:
- Raising the retirement age to 70 and cutting Social Security benefits.
- Expansion of Presidential Power.
- National Abortion Bans.
- Take away health care protections with pre-existing conditions.
- Compromising elections and Democracy.
When former State Senator Lorenzo Sierra spoke about “The Orwellian nightmare that is the RNC convention,” he expressed his concerns that a Trump/Vance Administration would mean “more than one million Arizonans would lose access to (health care) coverage” through the Affordable Care Act.
He also worried that DACA recipients, many of whom work in the health care field, would be among those subject to the Trump/Vance Project 2025 Mass Deportation scheme and throw the industry into chaos.
Speaking about his mother who passed away from a treatable form of cancer because she was poor, Sierra said “That’s what awaits millions of Americans under a second Trump Administration.”
Reminding people that the “Biden/Harris Administration enhanced the ACA and have saved Americans 800 million dollars a year on healthcare costs,” Sierra also brought up that the President and Vice President “Fought Big Pharma making insulin at 35 dollars a month for seniors; a game changer for those seniors that need that vital insulin just to stay alive.”
He called on the “need to protect the ACA. We need to protect our country. A second Donald Trump term is nothing but a disaster waiting to happen on a global scale. I encourage. Everyone to not only look at the Biden/Harris ticket and vote down on our tickets below the people running for Senate, Congress, and Legislature, looking at Democrats up and down the aisle because that’s what’s going to ensure that we have a Democracy moving forward.”
When asked about President Biden remaining on the ticket during the question and answer session, Sierra forcefully responded:
“I am 100% behind the President, his agenda, and his vision for America. And when you compare Joe Biden has said, is a good man, a great man, a consequential president against a convicted felon, sexual abuser, business cheat… And for us to be focused on anything other than this 2025 vision of America with Deportation police on the streets. With the gutting of Health Care. Shame on us if we’re having that conversation about whether or not we should keep Joe Biden. We should keep our eye on the ball. And that is this country that we love…”
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