by Pepper Provenzano
Come back, America. Stand up and speak out! Silence is tantamount to selling this country outright. It is our civic duty to vote, to come together and expose wrongdoing, to hold our leaders and controlling special interests accountable.
I made my living as an ethical journalist for 20 years, and I resent right-wing lies and disinformation. Unfortunately, we have a trio of election deniers running in Arizona with every intention of tossing out votes they don’t get.
Republican candidates Kari Lake, Mark Finchem, and Abe Hamadeh are dangerous.
Kari Lake to eliminate Democracy
At the top of the heap, Trump-loving Kari Lake vomits the same force-fed horse pucky her employer handed her for 22 years. Now she waltzes into the political arena with precisely zero political experience, slick-tongued with high-horse arrogance, divisive talking points and one alarming new angle, to eliminate Democracy.
Meanwhile, Democrat Katie Hobbs and her staff face “hundreds of death threats over the course of this campaign,” said Nicole DeMont, Ms. Hobbs’s campaign manager.
When did Arizona voters become incapable of telling right from wrong?
It’s inconceivable to me how anyone can turn a blind eye to a long track record of undeniably proven half-truths and outright lies perpetrated by a partisan extreme TV outlet, the de facto mouthpiece of election deniers, Fox News. Die-hard devotees have no idea how brainwashing works: Just wash the truth away, rinse and rewash, with a hefty dose of angry lies and phony religious zeal. Then, let dry, wave the flag like a wand, and repeat the cycle.
Finchem to be election despot
Mark Finchem, a far-right politician in the Arizona House of Representatives, is running for Secretary of State so he can manipulate Arizona election results for the next four years. If Kari Lake loses, Finchem can toss out your votes and install Lake. Mussolini, Hitler, and Franco used these fascist tactics. Have we learned nothing from WWII? Today we have these greedy powermongers, proud and loud, replicating the disastrous playbooks of nearly a century ago. Are we doomed to repeat the history we deny?
- Finchem attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.
- He identifies himself as an election denier.
- He identifies himself as a member of the Oath Keepers.
- The Oath Keepers worship Trump, who never kept an oath in his miserable life.
Abe Hamadeh, yet another election denier, is running for Attorney General. Another Trumper, his campaign has twice the budget of Democrat Kris Mayes
These three candidates deny the unquestionable results from 2020 in a blatant power grab to run future elections.
One more thing: Vladimir Putin’s unprovoked war and his unholy alliance with Mideast oil producers has shaken economies around the world, but who do Republicans blame in weaponized, hate-filled campaign ads? Their own president. Not to mention corporate greed.
Oligarchs taking over
Why abide the takeover of our world by Putin, Trump and a tiny percentage of oligarchs and greedy sycophants? Is the short-term profit for so few worth more than long-term health for the many who compose our nation’s backbone?
First-time voters: Your ballot has never been more valuable. Show up. This is your time. To protect voting rights now, we must hold the House and Senate. Vote Blue.
Retirees: Top Republican brass vow to slash Medicare and Social Security (158 House Republicans just signed a budget that would cut both). Believe them. Vote Blue.
Damn anyone who is fooled into voting for these Republicans in Arizona or any other Trump suck-ups who continue to promote the Big Lie and big liars across the United States.
Don’t let them divide our country and destroy Democracy. Vote smart. Vote against extremism. Vote Blue. Take your early ballot to one of Pima County’s 129 vote centers – today.
“If you care about our democracy . . . we cannot give people power who have told us that they will not honor elections.” – Rep. Liz Cheney, Republican.[/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]