As a Republican, I naturally reject identity politics.
Republicans, unlike our Democrat counterparts, tend to vote for the most qualified people, regardless of race or gender. In general, you could say we took Martin Luther King, Jr.'s dream to heart and decided we actually should judge people by the content of their character.
Despite our lack of obsession with identity politics, that doesn't mean we should be out there intentionally alienating people either.
Unfortunately, that's exactly the direction of Today's Arizona GOP, under the "leadership" of Tom Morrissey, Rob Haney, Mark Spinks, Russell Pearce, et. al.
Alienating Hispanics
Anyone who has paid attention to Russell Pearce's career trajectory knows that he won't be satisfied with anything less than an ethnic cleansing of anyone with brown skin. When Pearce was elected to Senate President, we were immediately doomed to another round of pointless, showy legislative initiatives directed at the ongoing harassment of Hispanics. (Don't we have a budget deficit to deal with?)
Now don't get me wrong. I think the Feds (under Bush and Obama) have failed miserably at securing the border, and need to be forced into doing their job.
And as has been pointed out before- many, many, Arizona Hispanics (legal immigrants and/or children of legal immigrants) are also concerned about illegal immigration. They don't want the drug dealers from Mexico streaming across the border either.
But having Pearce out there foaming at the mouth is not the way to convince reasonable people of that fact. That's something most reasonable people can agree upon.
Alienating Hispanics, Women, and Blacks
Again, I'm not trying to lump all people of one group together as if they naturally agree, but let's make some generalizations based on data, shall we?
1) Hispanics and blacks generally attend church more frequently than the general public.
2) Women attend church more frequently than men.
3) People who attend church generally care more about "family values" or behaving in a moral manner.
Agreed? Good. Now how does this relate to the AZ GOP?
1) Tom Morrissey has been married 5 times. Allegations have been made by his ex-wives about physical abuse and other untoward behavior. It doesn't matter if these allegations are true or false, the fact that they exist is enough to cause a problem. It may not be fair, but it's the truth. Setting aside the allegations, he has had 5 wives. In my day, we had a name for men like that, and it wasn't "Mr. Chairman."
2) Mark Spinks, who works for the AZ GOP in "grassroots development", is an unrepentant convicted sex criminal.
3) Brett Mecum, the AZ GOP Executive Director, has a long history of, ahem, unethical behavior, which has been well documented here and elsewhere.
Republicans, unlike our Democrat counterparts, tend to vote for the most qualified people, regardless of race or gender. In general, you could say we took Martin Luther King, Jr.'s dream to heart and decided we actually should judge people by the content of their character.
Despite our lack of obsession with identity politics, that doesn't mean we should be out there intentionally alienating people either.
Unfortunately, that's exactly the direction of Today's Arizona GOP, under the "leadership" of Tom Morrissey, Rob Haney, Mark Spinks, Russell Pearce, et. al.
Alienating Hispanics
Anyone who has paid attention to Russell Pearce's career trajectory knows that he won't be satisfied with anything less than an ethnic cleansing of anyone with brown skin. When Pearce was elected to Senate President, we were immediately doomed to another round of pointless, showy legislative initiatives directed at the ongoing harassment of Hispanics. (Don't we have a budget deficit to deal with?)
Now don't get me wrong. I think the Feds (under Bush and Obama) have failed miserably at securing the border, and need to be forced into doing their job.
And as has been pointed out before- many, many, Arizona Hispanics (legal immigrants and/or children of legal immigrants) are also concerned about illegal immigration. They don't want the drug dealers from Mexico streaming across the border either.
But having Pearce out there foaming at the mouth is not the way to convince reasonable people of that fact. That's something most reasonable people can agree upon.
Alienating Hispanics, Women, and Blacks
Again, I'm not trying to lump all people of one group together as if they naturally agree, but let's make some generalizations based on data, shall we?
1) Hispanics and blacks generally attend church more frequently than the general public.
2) Women attend church more frequently than men.
3) People who attend church generally care more about "family values" or behaving in a moral manner.
Agreed? Good. Now how does this relate to the AZ GOP?
1) Tom Morrissey has been married 5 times. Allegations have been made by his ex-wives about physical abuse and other untoward behavior. It doesn't matter if these allegations are true or false, the fact that they exist is enough to cause a problem. It may not be fair, but it's the truth. Setting aside the allegations, he has had 5 wives. In my day, we had a name for men like that, and it wasn't "Mr. Chairman."
2) Mark Spinks, who works for the AZ GOP in "grassroots development", is an unrepentant convicted sex criminal.
3) Brett Mecum, the AZ GOP Executive Director, has a long history of, ahem, unethical behavior, which has been well documented here and elsewhere.
And let's not forget this little gem from the GOP Senate Majority Leader this weekend.
What's not for women and family values voters to love?
Alienating Blacks
Lest you think Hispanics are the only ones that are unwelcome in today's Arizona Republican Party, let's not forget the recent virtual lynching of LD 20 chairman Anthony Miller, the party's only black district chairman in Arizona, ever.
The attack on Miller was led by Mark Spinks, Tom Morrissey and Rob Haney, among others.
Morrissey and Spinks were silent about the entire affair. The only thing Haney ever said on the record is that Miller is a liar (and something negative about John McCain, naturally).
Run the only Black party leader out of town and call him a liar. Nice strategy.
Again, it doesn't matter if Mark Spinks, Tom Morrissey and Rob Haney are racists or not. The fact that they all lacked the sophistication to see how their actions would be perceived (or even worse- they knew but didn't care) is an indication of just how amateur this triumvirate is.
Alienating Youth, Women, Hispanics and Blacks
Let's face it. The Republican Party has an image problem. They are perceived as the party of old, white, men.
Yes, that perception may be unfair. But pretending that perception doesn't exist is a losing strategy.
So let's take another look at your Arizona GOP "leadership":
Tom Morrissey: Old guy. White guy. On his fifth wife; may or may not have beaten previous wives. Led the ouster of the only black elected GOP official in Arizona. Loves Russell Pearce, who hates Hispanics.
Rob Haney: Old guy. White guy. Called the only black elected official in the AZ GOP a liar. Reigns over the MCRC, a group with a median age of about 83. LOVES Russell Pearce, who hates Hispanics.
Mark Spinks: [Relatively] Young guy. White guy. Unrepentant sex criminal. Led the ouster of the only black elected GOP official in Arizona. (Heard he's into Hispanic chicks though, so that's a plus.)
What's not for women and family values voters to love?
Alienating Blacks
Lest you think Hispanics are the only ones that are unwelcome in today's Arizona Republican Party, let's not forget the recent virtual lynching of LD 20 chairman Anthony Miller, the party's only black district chairman in Arizona, ever.
The attack on Miller was led by Mark Spinks, Tom Morrissey and Rob Haney, among others.
Morrissey and Spinks were silent about the entire affair. The only thing Haney ever said on the record is that Miller is a liar (and something negative about John McCain, naturally).
Run the only Black party leader out of town and call him a liar. Nice strategy.
Again, it doesn't matter if Mark Spinks, Tom Morrissey and Rob Haney are racists or not. The fact that they all lacked the sophistication to see how their actions would be perceived (or even worse- they knew but didn't care) is an indication of just how amateur this triumvirate is.
Alienating Youth, Women, Hispanics and Blacks
Let's face it. The Republican Party has an image problem. They are perceived as the party of old, white, men.
Yes, that perception may be unfair. But pretending that perception doesn't exist is a losing strategy.
So let's take another look at your Arizona GOP "leadership":
Tom Morrissey: Old guy. White guy. On his fifth wife; may or may not have beaten previous wives. Led the ouster of the only black elected GOP official in Arizona. Loves Russell Pearce, who hates Hispanics.
Rob Haney: Old guy. White guy. Called the only black elected official in the AZ GOP a liar. Reigns over the MCRC, a group with a median age of about 83. LOVES Russell Pearce, who hates Hispanics.
Mark Spinks: [Relatively] Young guy. White guy. Unrepentant sex criminal. Led the ouster of the only black elected GOP official in Arizona. (Heard he's into Hispanic chicks though, so that's a plus.)
So if you happen to be non-white, a woman, young, or not OK with treating women like objects, you have no place in today's Arizona Republican Party.
Do I have that right? No? Well that's what leadership is telling me.
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