Does Martha McSally think Arizona voters are stupid? You bet she does

Opinion: Martha McSally is borrowing from Trump’s playbook to appeal to our worst instincts. But she's not the only candidate doing so.

Elvia Díaz
The Republic | azcentral.com
Rep. Martha McSally, left, and Rep. Kyrsten Sinema prepare to debate in the Arizona PBS studios at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University in Phoenix, Monday, October 15, 2018. One of the two will become the first woman to represent Arizona in the United States Senate.

There is a reason Republican Martha McSally accused her Democratic rival of “treason” against the United States.

In one second of the 60-minute debate, McSally grabbed national headlines in her desperate quest to win the U.S. Senate seat from Arizona.

McSally’s reason? She’s counting on us – the Arizona voters – to be stupid enough to believe her unsubstantiated accusation against one of the most moderate politicians in the state’s recent history.

Sadly and unfortunately for Arizona’s seven million residents, she may be right about our own proclivity to rely on soundbites and television attack ads to make our voting decisions.

Martha McSally has come unhinged

McSally, a one-time reasonable Arizonan, has come unhinged. She's borrowing from President Trump’s playbook, appealing to deplorable humanistic instincts to win over hearts and minds.

In the KAET/Arizona Republic debate, McSally accused Democratic opponent Kyrsten Sinema of committing treason against the United States because she appeared to suggest in a 2003 radio interview she didn’t care if an American joined the Taliban.

If you dig just a little, you’d know Sinema has undergone an incredible transformation since her days as an anti-war activist and Green Party member.

She’s become a remarkable moderate congresswoman, who defies her own Democratic Party to vote with Trump’s 60 percent of the time. Why wouldn’t Arizonans want a senator who can be disciplined and thoughtful with her messaging, carefully weighing issues regardless of party politics?

But who cares about that, right? All that matters now in Trump's America is to keep exploiting even the tiniest bit of darkness in our soul to tighten our grip on power at any cost and at anyone’s expense.

Steve Gaynor also is playing this game

Sadly, McSally isn’t the only one embracing Trump and his appalling appeal to a small but active number of white nationalist voters to win on Nov. 6. 

This week, Republican Steve Gaynor proudly posed with the Patriot Movement AZ touting its endorsement for Secretary of State.

“Arizona doesn't not need or want far left Katie Hobbs to hold that office. Steve is a highly successful businessman and deserves your vote,” read the Facebook post.

A screenshot of Steve Gaynor's endorsement from the Patriot Movement AZ, which was posted on Facebook.

Why Gaynor feels he needs the Patriot Movement AZ endorsement in his bid against Democrat Katie Hobbs is beyond me – other than to appeal to extreme nationalist voters.

You’ll remember in April, Gov. Doug Ducey denounced the group’s behavior after facing harsh criticism for posing for a picture with its members.

The controversial group, which backs Trump’s harsh illegal immigration policies and advocates for the Second Amendment, has been harassing minority protesters at the state Capitol.

“We call on Mr. Gaynor to denounce Patriot Movement AZ and the group’s behavior,’’ said Carlos Galindo-Elvira, the regional director in Arizona for the Anti-Defamation League. “There is nothing ‘patriotic’ about this group. Members consistently have been verbally abusive toward Hispanics, Native Americans, and Muslims.”

Aren't we better than this?

But this sort of thing may get a lot worse Friday when Trump visits Arizona to rally his extreme conservative base for McSally, Ducey and Republicans like Gaynor.

We shouldn’t expect anything better from the likes of McSally and Gaynor as long as they continue to believe voters are stupid enough to blindly swallow their rhetoric.

We Arizonans are better than that. Aren't we? 

Elvia Díaz is an editorial columnist for The Republic and azcentral. Reach her at 602-444-8606 or elvia.diaz@arizonarepublic.com. Follow her on Twitter, @elviadiaz1.

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