Friday, August 5, 2022

2020 Deniers & Trump Sycophants: GOP Primary Winners Portend a Dark Cloud Over America

 

Top L-R: Lake; Masters; Finchem (all AZ)
Dixon (MI); Schmitt (MO); Brown (KS)

Kari Lake running to be the next Governor of AZ and her wild, wacky and totally crazy stances on key issues that shows how far the national GOP has fallen all due its attraction to and sticking with Trump and nominating crazies to run in local, state, and Federal election in 2022 and probably forever. 

The voters all across the country had better pay close attention and follow those races like this one posted below for Lake in AZ. 

It is critically important to preserve our fragile democracy now under serious threat from this Trump owned and operated GOP wherein they seem to be thriving to see him crowned as Emperor of America – that is harsh fact.

This introduction brings GOP-Rightwing-Conservative thinking into full view reported on here from FiveThirtyEight (always a good place for polls, opinion, and up-to-date public reactions to current events) with this headline:

“Why Republicans Take Jan. 6 Less Seriously Than Other Americans”

Historically, Americans haven’t disagreed on the seriousness of national tragedies — think 9/11. But that’s not the case with the storming of the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.

One year later, more than 70% Americans still regard January 6 as a bad or tragic day for America and that includes 60% Republicans, but there is still a stark partisan divide on more specific aspects of that attack on Nation’s Capitol that shows many Republicans still minimize the importance of that day. 

Even though an average of 63% of Americans across four recent polls supported the congressional investigation into the day’s events, an average of 59% of Republicans oppose it. In the same vein, 56% of respondents to a YouGov/University of MA poll (December 14-20, 2021) thought it important to learn more about what happened, but 75% percent of Republicans said that it was time to move on.

Republicans also tend to use kinder language to describe the events of Jan. 6 and its participants with some 62% of Republicans used the word “protesters” to describe the people who attacked the Capitol; while only 31% called them “rioters,” and 10% called them “insurrectionists.” Even 26% even called them “patriots.” 

Then, a December 27-30, 2021 poll from YouGov/CBS News found that majorities of Americans overall described January 6 as an “insurrection trying to overthrow the U.S. government.” But, around 4/5 Republicans said they would not use those terms. 

Some 47% of Republicans did describe the rioters’ actions as “patriotism,” and 56% said they were “defending freedom.”

When the pollster asked those respondents why they felt that way, most said it was because the rioters were “exercising their right to protest (82%) and drawing attention to fraud in the 2020 election (79%).” 

Only 35% percent said it was because they were “trying to stop the electoral vote count” or “targeting Democrats and those disloyal to Donald Trump.”

This hints at a big reason why Republicans seem to take Jan. 6 less seriously than other Americans: They simply subscribe to a different reality of what happened that day.

My insert at this point: And, now as we head into the 2022 midterm elections we have the likes Kari Lake and so many others like her with that mindset. 

It is very troubling and quite frankly dangerous to our national survival since right now the likes of Lake and others are already saying that 2022 will be “rigged, fraudulent, and stolen” who does that sound like?  

Here is where Kari Lake stands and what she had stated in the past and still says today on critical issues (from her various speeches and new reporting): 

COVID-19: Lake led anti-mask rallies, calling on Arizona State University students to violate the university's mask requirement policy. Lake said that if governor she would not tolerate mask requirements and vaccine requirements of the COVID-19 pandemic. Lake told a group of Republican retirees that she was taking hydroxychloroquine to prevent COVID-19 infection. She stated that, as governor, she would work to have both hydroxychloroquine and  Ivermectin (medically unsafe for humans that is used as a de-wormer for animals) produced in the state to make it easier for us to get these lifesaving drugs. 

She questions medical science behind COVID-19 vaccines, and said she had not been vaccinated.

Political positions: Lake identifies as a conservative Republican for Trump and him as the 2024 candidate. During her campaign, she attracted support from right-wing extremists, appearing with a Nazi sympathizer and QAnon-linked activists at campaign events. She accused President Biden and Democrats of harboring a demonic agenda. 

Abortion: Lake said in 2022 that she considers abortion to be the ultimate sin and praised the Supreme Court for overturning Roe vs. Wade. She support for banning both surgical abortions and medically approved prescriptions as well. 

Immigration: In an op-ed for the Independent Journal Review, Lake wrote that as governor she would deport illegal immigrants that enter Arizona without seeking federal approval and complete unfinished portions of Trump's border wall.

LGBTQ issues: In 2015, Lake made several posts in support of transgender youth, but in 2022 ran a firmly anti-transgender campaign. She took anti-LGBT rights positions, opposing legislation to create non-discrimination protections. 

Guns: In an interview with 60 Minutes Australia, Lake asserted that Australians have no freedom due to strict Australian gun laws; in a tweet several months later, Lake said that if elected governor, she would not recognize federal gun laws.

2020 “Big Lie” claims that align with Trump: Lake has been a leading proponent of the false claim that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from Trump. During her campaign, she aligned herself with Trump, and made promotion of election lies central to her candidacy. 

Lake falsely claimed that Joe Biden did not receive 81 million votes and that Arizona (which was won by Biden in the 2020 presidential election) was actually won by Trump. 

After the 2021 Maricopa County presidential ballot audit found no evidence of election fraud, she demanded the election be decertified — a legal impossibility, as such a process does not exist. 

She endorsed a false assertion by Trump spokeswoman Liz Harrington that Democrats use mail-in ballots to rig elections. Lake tweeted quotes made by Sidney Powell on the Lou Dobbs Tonight show falsely asserting there was a sweeping election fraud conspiracy. 

She has advocated imprisoning AZ Secretary of State Katie Hobbs (who is running for governor as a Democrat) on baseless and unspecified allegations of criminality related to the 2020 election. 

Judicial Issues: Lake also called for imprisoning journalists. Lake repeatedly and falsely claimed that defendants arrested in connection with the January 6 attack were being held in prison without being charged. Trump endorsed Lake and as well as pro-Trumpers like kooky Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) and disgraced National Security Advisor Michael Flynn. Lake said she would not have certified Biden’s AZ win if she had been governor at the time. 

My 2 Cents: What is wrong with the voters who turn out and vote for these kind of candidates? I suppose they agree with them (as the poll numbers above reflect); or maybe they are not well-informed (except via FOX); or, that they simply don’t give a darn about the future of the country, losing their voting rights, and other rights.

Detailed info on 2020 election deniers seeking office (won their primaries).

Candidates who stand with QAnon, Oath Keepers, and other known radical and ID domestic terror groups is very troubling.

Not much else to say about all that except it portends very badly for our country as a free and democratic state on the world stage.

Thanks for stopping by.


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