Montini: Reasons to be McSkeptical of Martha McSally

Rep. Martha McSally wants to be a U.S. Senator.

That we know for sure.

What we don’t know is if she wants to be Martha McSally. Because that person – whoever it is – keeps changing.

She paints herself as the straight-talking, hard-charging former fighter pilot, but she was McSilent for the longest time when it came to giving a straight answer on running for the Senate.

She criticized Donald Trump during the campaign, once tweeting:

Now she wants to BE him?

Now, in an oddly McShifty way, she compares herself to him, saying in a campaign video, "Like our president, I'm tired of PC politicians and their BS excuses. I'm a fighter pilot, and I talk like one. That's why I told Washington Republicans to grow a pair of ovaries and get the job done."

She needs the primary votes of hardcore Trump supporters who might otherwise side with Republican primary opponents Kelli Ward and Joe Arpaio, so she’s suddenly gotten McSkittish about criticizing the president.

When Trump trashed what he called “s--hole” countries she said, “I speak a little salty behind closed doors at times as well, so I’m not going to throw the first stone on using any language.”

Of course, it wasn’t about language. McSalty pretended she is incapable of distinguishing profanity from prejudice, just as she had nothing to say about the creepy Alabama Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore. All to keep from offending any of those Trump voters.

When Sen. Jeff Flake condemned the president for attacking the press -- correctly pointing out that Trump was using the same anti-media language as dictators like Josef Stalin -- McSally became McSanctimonious, saying, “I don’t agree with Senator Flake and comparing our President to Stalin, who murdered 20 million people, is absurd.”

Even though she knew Flake was comparing Trump’s words to Stalin’s words. Not his deeds.

Most recently, McSally expressed McSpecious support for the release of the so-called “Nunes memo,” which the head of the FBI called reckless, inaccurate and dangerous, and which puts (what should be) the apolitical nature of the Department of Justice at risk.

This must be a little confusing for Republicans who support Trump, and for those who don't. During the campaign McSally was positively McSlippery when it came to Trump, refusing to endorse Trump's presidential campaign and now getting testy and refusing to answer when asked if she voted for him.

So, who is McSally, really?

Republican voters know who Joe Arpaio is.

They know who Kelli Ward is.

But this other person, this political changeling who wants to be a U.S. Senator, they have no clue who she is.

That makes me McSkeptical.  

Reach Montini at ed.montini@arizonarepublic.com.

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