Frank Antenori: Putting the "bully" in "bully pulpit"

State Sen. Frank Antenori (R-Hates Tucson, even though he lives there and represents part of it) has never been known as "one of the good guys" or even as particularly civil, especially toward Democrats and anybody else who dares to disagree with him, has sunk to a new low.  He's added himself to the list of people who didn't get the message that LD18 voters sent Tuesday about how fed up the voters are with the arrogance, pettiness and personal agendas that dominate Arizona's politics.

From an editorial in the Sierra Vista Herald (emphasis added) -

Among the first lessons taught to our youngest students is the importance of getting along with others.

We learn at an early age to “play nice,” and to “treat others with respect.”

Apparently District 30 State Senator Frank Antenori skipped that lesson, or flunked kindergarten.


Shortly after Tuesday’s recall election that saw Senate President Russell Pearce lose his seat to challenger Jerry Lewis, Antenori ripped into the newly-elected fellow GOP member in an Arizona Capital Times interview.

“Cold shoulder? I want him out on the freaking lawn. I don’t even want him to have a desk in the building. He can caucus with the Democrats for all I care,” Antenori is quoted telling the newspaper.

This is the man who bullied the Pima County Supervisors into appointing him to the state senate in 2010 by publicly threatening that he wouldn't do anything to help Pima County if they didn't.  At the time, he was already in the state house of representatives, not representing Pima County, even though he was elected to do just that.

With Antenori, like Pearce before him, elected office is all about his own personal agenda, not the needs of his constitutuents.

And the other Republicans in the AZ Senate must agree with that  premise - the just elected him to a leadership position.

For the record: Jerry Lewis, the man who soundly defeated Russell Pearce, is as conservative as any other R at the lege. He is just civil about it. And that may be why Antenori and many of his caucus-mates already despise Lewis.


They're afraid he'll make them look bad by comparison.

David Safier at Blog for Arizona offers his take here.