It was not what I expected to hear. I was out canvassing one hot afternoon for Ann Kirkpatrick and Kyrsten Sinema when a man answered the door and said he was a Republican. I was politely backing away when he asked to see the literature I was holding.
“I’m going to vote Democratic this year to put a check on Trump,” he explained, to my surprise.
I recounted the story to another Democratic Committeeperson, and she said she had a similar experience. She was canvassing and the guy at the door said he had never voted Democratic, but he would this year, because of Trump.
I wondered if it was a general phenomenon. Before you write this off as my wishful thinking, hear me out.
Furthermore, please consider the following when deciding whether or not to vote this election:
If you think we can do better than one in four children in Arizona living in poverty, then vote in November.
If you think we can do better than being near the bottom in the nation in education funding, then vote in November.
If you agree with gubernatorial candidate David Garcia that “no one should be left behind,” then vote in November.
If you agree with Superintendent of Public Instruction candidate Kathy Hoffman that the “future of Arizona is in our schools,” then vote in November.
If you agree with Attorney General candidate January Contreras that public service should be about the “little guy and democracy” and the people, especially the most vulnerable (like those with pre-existing health conditions), need to be protected, then vote in November.
If you agree with Treasurer candidate Mark Manoil that local and state Arizona economic development would be better served with local community banks than Wall Street banks, then vote in November.
If you want Arizona to be the solar capital of the country and greater utility investments steered towards solar, water, and wind like Corporation Commission candidate Kiana Sears, then vote in November.
If you want the stench of Dark Money removed from the public arena as most of the Democratic local and state candidates want, then vote in November.
If you want public servants like this year’s Democratic candidates that listen to their constituents and show up to public forums and debates, then vote in November.
If you want all civil rights protected, including the right for women to choose and the newly recognized rights for members of the LGBTQ community, then vote this November.
All elections are important. The 2018 elections may be more so because if the forces of reaction, intolerance, and backwardness are allowed to prevail, it may be a long time before we recover.
Like her patron in the Oval Office, Representative Martha McSally says one thing but supports another.
Like Donald Trump, Martha McSally says she will do one thing and instead does the opposite.
Martha McSally still says she is fighting to protect people who have Pre Existing health conditions. Her voting record, including her votes to repeal Obamacare without a replacement that would protect those preexisting conditions, proves otherwise.
Martha McSally still says she is fighting to protect her sister and brother veterans. Again, her voting record against measures protecting veterans from predatory loans, promoting job training, and safeguarding their healthcare prove otherwise.
This culture of hypocrisy towards our veterans, the people who are willing to sacrifice their lives for our country, apparently extends to her office staff in Tucson. One married couple, Carey and Caleb Hayter, recently recounted how the McSally office was dismissive of their request to help research and help assist the couple, two retired veterans of the Marine Corps, in their pursuit of finalizing disability eligibility and issuance of benefits to Carey through the Veteran’s Administration. After receiving the standard bureaucratic form letter from the McSally office that they could not help, the Hayters took their plight to the Arizona State Department of Veterans Services where their staff was able to assist the Hayters and bring the matter of Carey’s disability eligibility to a positive outcome.
Republican Senate Nominee Martha McSally and Democratic Senate Nominee Kyrsten Sinema
During the course of this election season, Republican Senate Nominee Martha McSally has made much of her military background and her championing of veterans causes in general. However, voters should be made aware that on issues such as the recent tax cuts and the attempted repeal of the Affordable Care Act, McSally embraced the Republican gospel of voodoo trickle down economics and the harshness towards the ill and desperate rather than advocating the needs and welfare of her sister and brother veterans.
President Trump speaking at a rally at Mesa Gateway Airport on October 19, 2018
Once upon a time, mainstream politicians would stay far away from politicians that have been endorsed by the Ku Klux Klan or those who have taken pictures with white supremacists. That was the era before Donald Trump.
Now, as most Republican candidates (including Martha McSally and Doug Ducey) in Arizona fall over themselves to meet him at a rally in Mesa, it does not appear to matter that he was. Even in Arizona, this behavior appears to have no consequences as Doug Ducey took a picture with known white supremacists earlier this year. In another time (over two years ago), that might have dealt a deathblow to his reelection campaign. Not today and it is a shame because it teaches our children some wrong lessons about the value of a person’s character in our public servants.
Trump, The KKK-endorsed candidate and popular vote loser, spent October 19, 2018, in Arizona on a campaign swing to help Republican Senate candidate Martha McSally after her abysmal debate performance on October 15. True to form, he spent his time at a rally in Mesa wowing the crowd that traveled hours to see him, McSally, and the other state Republican candidates with outlandish remarks complementing Republicans for policies that they were not responsible for and accusing Democrats of acts either untrue or ones that Republicans or their supporters are guilty of. It is almost as if they were looking through the Alt-Right Looking Glass and mistaking the Democrats for themselves.
It was not what I expected to hear. I was out canvassing one hot afternoon for Ann Kirkpatrick and Kyrsten Sinema when a man answered the door and said he was a Republican. I was politely backing away when he asked to see the literature I was holding.
