R gameplan: When you can't win legitimately, lie, stereotype, and intimidate

There seems to be two basic paths to electoral victory - love and hate.  The path that Republicans have doubled down on isn't "love."

From MSNBC -

An awful lie about Haitian migrants led to this threat against citizens far away

There appears to be a campaign among some conservatives to bully everybody else into political inactivity or silence. appears 

The hateful lie pushed by Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance, that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, were eating their neighbors’ pets not only endangered those migrants, it also led to an Ohio sheriff three hours away threatening citizens who show support for the Democratic presidential nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris.

In a Sept. 13 Facebook post that he later claimed “may have been a little misinterpreted,” Portage County Sheriff Bruce Zuchowski suggested tracking “all the addresses of the people who had [Harris] signs in their yards” so that “when the Illegal human ‘Locust’ (which she supports!) Need places to live...We’ll already have the addresses of their New families...who supported their arrival!”

The hate spewed by Cheeto et. al. has traveled.

From AZ Mirror, written by Jerod MacDonald-Evoy -

In a key legislative race, the GOP candidate joked about feeding dogs to Haitians

A GOP candidate whose state Senate race could determine which party controls the legislature embraced a racist lie demonizing a group of legal immigrants, telling a room of gay Republicans last month that Pima County’s stray dogs would be fed to Haitian people if Democrats win elections.

Vince Leach made the comment at a Log Cabin Republican meeting in Pima County on Sept. 22. The former state senator, who defeated Sen. Justine Wadsack in the July GOP primary, made the comment in the midst of a back-and-forth between Republican legislative candidates and the crowd.

“At the end of the day I want every Republican up and down the ballot,” Rep. Cory McGarr, R-Tucson, told the crowd. That includes even insignificant races, and would apply to the job of “dog-catcher,” a position that isn’t elected in Arizona.

[snip]

That’s when Leach entered the conversation. “They’d feed ‘em to the Haitians,” he said.

[snip]

Leach’s comments stem from a conspiracy theory that was initially spread by neo-Nazis in the town of Springfield, Ohio, in an attempt to demonize Haitian immigrants in the community. Since then, the false claim has been spread across the right-wing media ecosystem, where it was embraced by Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, the vice presidential nominee for the Republicans, and later being promoted by GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump. 

In the weeks following the former President’s boosting of the claim, Arizona Republicans have fully embraced it. While appearing on Real America with Dan Ball, Republican U.S. Senate hopeful Kari Lake claimed that “cities wouldn’t want to confirm” the false rumor when responding to Ball claiming that pets were being “barbecued” in Ohio.

[snip]

Arizona Republican state Senate nominee Mark Finchem also shared a meme alluding to cats being eaten by Haitian immigrants, while Flagstaff Republican state Sen. Wendy Rogers posted multiple times on social media amplifying the false claim. 

And the Arizona Republican Party trumpeted the invented story, creating a billboard themed after fast-food restaurant Chick-Fil-A’s ads. 

Is petulant a good campaign look for Cheeto?

If so, he's got the R nomination locked up.

From CNN (and I presume, the Fulton County Sheriff's Office) -

Maybe someone should send this pic to Mark Finchem, Kari Lake, and all of Cheeto's other sycophants/apologists in AZ.

For that matter, perhaps Kelli Ward and the other fake electors should be added to that list.

Would-be insurrectionists lose appeal and have to pay an intended victim's court costs

Evidently, objecting to being referred to as possible traitors can be the opposite of lucrative.

From KJZZ, by Greg Hahne, Jill Ryan, and Howard Fischer of Capitol Media Services -

Gosar, Finchem, Kern lose appeal, ordered to pay court fees

The state Court of Appeals has ruled that Congressman Paul Gosar and two former GOP state lawmakers will have to pay the legal fees of another representative they sued for defamation.

The appellate decision was unanimous.

The story is a *little* wrong about one thing - Finchem is currently a former legislator, but was a member at the time, but Kern, while a former legislator when the suit was filed, is currently a member of the Arizona legislature.

From the court's pdf of the decision, emphasis added by me -

"Irrelevant", "groundless",  and "bad faith"?

Sounds like Gosar, Finchem, and Kern learned something from Cheeto, and their lawyers learned from his.

Failed election deniers don't go away; they just run for a seat in the AZ lege

Failed candidate for Arizona Secretary of State (AZSOS) Mark Finchem made noises about running for Maricopa County Recorder, which would have necessitated a move, sine he doesn't actually, you know *live* in Maricopa County.

Apparently, that aspiration has gone by the wayside.  He's now formed a committee for a run for a seat in the legislature.

From the AZSOS -

He may not actually live at that address, though.  Also from the AZSOS

From his 2022 financial disclosure -

That address goes to a condo in Phoenix.  He didn't always report that as his address, though.  From a previous disclosure -

Neither address is in the district he's running in. 

From the website of the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission -

Oro Valley isn't in LD1; neither is Phoenix.

My guess is that Finchem is, like a certain other state senator (Republican election denier, of course), and is district shopping here.   His listed campaign address goes to a manufactured/mobile home.

The current state senator from LD1 is Ken Bennett, who has some election-denying cred of his own.

Candidate updates - state and (Maricopa) county

On July 13, Republican former legislator Kate Brophy McGee formed a committee to for run the district 3 seat on the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors to be vacated by Bill Gates, also a Republican,  He's not running for reelection because of threats directed at him and his family by MAGAts.

Prediction:  as she is what passes for a moderate in today's GOP, she'll face those same threats if she wins the R primary.

Actually, the MAGAt members of her party probably won't wait for their primary to be over before engaging in threatening behavior.

She'll be acting as her own treasurer.

From the website of the Maricopa County Recorder -

State Rep. David Cook (R-LD7) is going to challenge State Sen. Wendy Rogers (R-LD7) in the primary in that district.  He hasn't formed a committee as yet but he confirmed his intent with an appearance on KPNX's (Channel 12 Phoenix) Sunday Square Off.

Prediction:  Same as above, even if Rogers is found not to live in LD7 and can't run there.

Republican former legislator and failed Secretary of State candidate Mark Finchem seems to be prepping for a run for Maricopa County Recorder.  Even though he lives in Pima County.

Prediction: No MAGAt threats (since he is one), but he may not run as he would have to move.

He hasn't filed a statement of interest with Maricopa County as yet, but the County hasn't updated that list since May 1st.

The list of Maricopa County offices to be elected in 2024 -

The AZSOS list of statements of interest is here.

Filing a statement of interest isn't mandatory before forming a committee and neither filing a statement of interest and/or forming a committee guarantees that the person doing so will appear on a ballot.

Election deniers seem to believe that residency requirements don't apply to them

First, election denier and stone bigot State Senator Wendy Rogers  objected to a reporter asking her where she actually lives.  She ultimately got slapped down for her trouble, but the die was cast.

Now, former legislator Mark Finchem may be following her example.

From AZFamily, written by Emma Lockhart -

Filings show Mark Finchem might run for Maricopa County recorder

It appears former state lawmaker and election denier Mark Finchem is gearing up to run for Maricopa County recorder. County filings show he requested a candidate packet for the 2024 election, but Finchem has not confirmed he is running. Finchem most recently lost the race for Secretary of State by more than 100 thousand votes and refused to concede.

“He is a particular brand of Republican that is a conspiracy theorist about the last election cycle and a diehard Trump supporter,” said Chuck Coughlin, a political consultant and CEO of Highground Inc.

From his 2022 financial disclosure form (covering 2021, but filed in 2022) -

From the Arizona Secretary of State (AZSOS), from his failed candidacy for AZSOS -

Problem: Oro Valley is actually in *Pima* County.

According to the website of the Maricopa County Recorder, Finchem hasn't formed a committee for a run.

Old Election deniers that lose elections don't fade away, they just keep denying that they lost

Of course, losing an election may be more lucrative for them - notwithstanding Cheeto's penchant for golfing on the taxpayer's dime, most actual election winners have to actually do things, not just speak at conferences.

At least Mark Finchem is keeping himself occupied now that he's out of office.

Of course, the way that he's doing isn't exactly constructive.

From AP via Yahoo!, (emphasis added by me) -

Election conspiracy movement grinds on as 2024 approaches

FRANKLIN, Tenn. (AP) — One by one, the presenters inside the crowded hotel ballroom shared their computer screens and promised to show how easy it is to hack into voting systems across the U.S.

Drawing gasps from the crowd, they highlighted theoretical vulnerabilities and problems from past elections. But instead of tailoring their efforts to improve election security, they argued that all voting machines should be eliminated — a message that was wrapped in conspiracies about elections being rigged to favor certain candidates.

“We are at war. The only thing that's not flying right now is bullets,” said Mark Finchem, a Republican candidate for secretary of state in Arizona last year who continues to contest his loss and was the final speaker of the daylong conference.

Finchem was among a group of Republican candidates running for governor, secretary of state or state attorney who disputed the outcome of the 2020 election and who lost in a clean sweep last November in important political battleground states, including Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

Finchem can deny it all that he wants, but his election wasn't even close.

From the Arizona Secretary of State -

The people of Arizona were clear in their rejection of him.

Alas, poor Mark Finchem. A failure not once, not twice, but thrice

First, his efforts in an insurrection failed.

From The AZ Mirror -

Mark Finchem was much closer to the Jan. 6 insurrection than he claimed

 Rep. Mark Finchem walks through the crowd right in front of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, after rioters had overtaken police and stormed the building. Finchem has said for months that he never got within 500 yards of the Capitol, but these images show he was much closer than that. Screencaps via Getty Images | Edited by Nick Martin/The Informant

Newly discovered footage taken during the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riot shows Arizona GOP legislator Mark Finchem was much closer to the day’s violence than he has previously claimed. 

Finchem has insisted that he never got within 500 yards of the Capitol building, but Getty footage of the failed attempt to stop Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s election that was recently discovered by activists on Twitter shows Finchem walking directly in front of the east steps at the Capitol after pro-Trump rioters had already broken through a series of barricades and police lines, and then smashed their way into the Capitol building

Then his efforts at an election failed.

From the website of the Arizona Secretary of State -

Finally, his efforts in court failed.

From NBC News -

Arizona judge dismisses Finchem’s election challenge in secretary of state race

An Arizona judge on Friday dismissed Republican Mark Finchem's lawsuit seeking a new secretary of state election after he lost the race in November to Democrat Adrian Fontes.

In her ruling, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Melissa Julian dismissed Finchem’s lawsuit against Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, and Fontes, confirming Fontes' election win.

The case number in question is CV2022-053927.

Paul Pelosi, the husband of the U.S. Speaker of the House, attacked in his home by QAnon sympathizer

I wish I could say that I was shocked, but I'm not.

Those with violent tendencies, like Trumpkins, consider elected officials and their families to be fair game.

From AP -

Suspect in assault at Pelosi home had posted about QAnon

The man accused of breaking into House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s 

California home and severely beating her husband with a hammer 

appears to have made racist and often rambling posts online, 

including some that questioned the results of the 2020 election, defended 

former President Donald Trump and echoed QAnon conspiracy theories.

David DePape, 42, grew up in Powell River, British Columbia, before 

leaving about 20 years ago to follow an older girlfriend to San Francisco. 

A street address listed for DePape in the Bay Area college town of Berkeley 

led to a post office box at a UPS Store.

DePape was arrested at the Pelosi home early Friday. San Francisco 

District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said she expected to file 

multiple felony charges, including attempted murder, assault with 

a deadly weapon, burglary and elder abuse.

And with Mark Finchem, Kari Lake, and others being the Republican nominees for various office, we should expect more politically-motivated violence.

Mark Finchem goes all in on his plan to use bigotry as a political platform

From AZ Family (the video of the story is about 4:22 long, but Finchem's part starts at about the 3:30 mark) -

Former President Trump visits Mesa Sunday, hosts rally for Arizona GOP candidates

Former President Donald Trump is stopping in the Valley on Sunday evening as part of his “Save America” rally, alongside several Arizona Republican candidates.

Festivities started at 5 a.m. at Mesa’s Bell Bank Park in anticipation of the former president’s arrival. Arizona’s Family reporter Jessica Parsons was at the park Sunday morning to speak with some of those in attendance at the 320-acre facility. The rally comes just three days before Arizona begins its early voting process for the Nov. 8 general election.

Guest speakers and Trump-endorsed candidates such as Blake Masters, Kari Lake, and Mark Finchem took the stage prior to the former president’s speech. Secretary of State candidate Mark Finchem told the crowd, “We’re engaged in an epic fight, a fight that was prophesied, we fight the far left radical fringe, we fight against a godless agenda that seeks to destroy out [sic] Judeo-Christian ethic favoring the satanic destruction of our families our communities our children our churches and ultimately our united Judeo-Christian culture.”

Finchem may have used the term "Judeo-Christian", but the way he used it, he meant "white".

From The New Republic, dated 11/14/2019 -

The Right’s “Judeo-Christian” Fixation

How a term that sounds inclusive is used to promote exclusion.

SEAN GALLUP / GETTY IMAGES

During one of his recent confrontations with congressional Democrats, Donald Trump made a stunning comment about the United States’ Jewish population. How could Jewish voters overwhelmingly support the Democratic party, he groused, when it included prominent critics of Israel like Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar? When American Jews voted for those politicians—or other members of the same party—who “hate Israel and hate Jewish people,” they must be ignorant or, still worse, “disloyal.”

I am not usually one to tell candidates what to do (they tend to know what they're doing and don't really need advice from Monday morning quarterbacks like me), but I will say one thing -

The Fontes campaign might be well-served to insert video clips of Finchem preaching to his choir into an ad, at least into an internet one.

Mark Finchem et. al. need some updated reading material

Pointed at this by Taegan Goddard's Political Wire.

From Grid -

Mark Finchem says Google and the ‘deep state’ are blocking his campaign site. The truth is simpler — and implicates his own team.

The Trump-endorsed, QAnon-friendly Arizona legislator who won the Republican nomination for secretary of state is amplifying yet another conspiracy theory: that Big Tech is suppressing his campaign.

(Mark Finchem's Twitter)

But it wasn’t a “deep state algorithm” that was hiding his website in Google search results, as the candidate, Mark Finchem, claimed on social media. Instead, the culprit was the campaign site’s own code.

The story was updated.

Update: Several hours after publication of this piece, Finchem’s website was changed to remove the “noindex” directive that blocked it from Google and other search engines.

The new reading material?  From Amazon -

Yup, a vote for Finchem is a vote for incompetent stupidity.

As well as bigotry, conspiracy theories outright lies...

Mark Finchem, proving yet again that he's unfit to be Secretary of State for Arizona

Maybe he's fit to be Secretary of his nearest klavern, but that's it.

From the AZ Mirror, written by Jerod MacDonald-Evoy -

Mark Finchem held a fundraiser with 9/11 truthers and QAnon influencers

Republican Secretary of State nominee Mark Finchem held a fundraiser in California on Sunday that was hosted by a conspiracy theorist who believes 9/11 was orchestrated by the U.S. government and attended by a prominent QAnon influencer. 

Nicole Nogrady, who hosted the event, has shared a litany of debunked stories and posts concerning COVID-19, abortion and other falsehoods on her Instagram account. 

The ADL has a list of members of the far-right fringe group the Oath Keepers. Surprisingly, it doesn't include the entire R caucus of the legislature.

It should, though.

From the ADL -

The Oath Keepers Data Leak: Unmasking Extremism in Public Life

In the wake of the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol, significant public and legal scrutiny was focused on the Oath Keepers, a large anti-government extremist group associated with the militia movement. Despite the group’s national profile, few specifics were known about its membership.

That changed in September 2021, when the non-profit journalist collective Distributed Denial of Secrets (DDoSecrets) published – among other data – more than 38,000 names on the Oath Keepers’ membership list. The membership data provides unique insight into the people who signed up and paid dues to the organization over the years and helps illuminate the extent to which the group’s anti-government ideology has permeated mainstream society.

[snip]

There are some notable exceptions. While COE did not find anyone currently holding office at the federal level, there were several individuals on the membership list who hold state positions, including:

• Arizona State Senator Wendy Rogers, a self-proclaimed member of the Oath Keepers, who has remained a supporter despite the group’s alleged participation in the January 6 attack. In March 2021 – just two months after the insurrection – Rogers met with the Cottonwood Oath Keepers and praised the group for their “dedication to our Constitution and to our country.” According to the database, she signed up for an annual membership.

[snip]

• Major Eben Bratcher, who works for the Yuma County Sheriff’s Office, wrote, “I am currently the Patrol Bureau Commander for the Yuma County Sheriff’s Office in Arizona. We have 85 sworn officers and Border Mexico on the South and California on the West. I’ve already introduced your web site to dozens of my Deputies.” Bratcher claims he left the organization several years ago because of the number of emails it sent.

[snip]

While the open-source resources used by COE to identify individuals typically provide accurate information, there are some limitations to this methodology, particularly in verifying names within the database that matched the names of law enforcement and military personnel.

First, multiple people in an area may have the same name. To the best of its abilities, COE worked to verify the individuals in question, and common names in high-density population areas were excluded from the final count. In addition, where applicable, COE has informed law enforcement agencies (with appropriate caveats) across the country that a person with a name matching one of their employees was found in the Oath Keepers database. Some agencies have been responsive, but others have not responded, or have responded without confirmation. Every elected official or 2022 candidate included in the final total has been confirmed based on public reporting, public statements made by the individual in question, or by comparing the information provided to the Oath Keepers with the official’s public filings, public records, or online posts containing phone numbers, email addresses, or physical addresses.

Second, it is possible that these numbers do not fully account for individuals who may have moved a significant distance, those who do not have an online presence, and those who do not self-identify their profession on their social media pages. As such, it is possible that the true number could be higher than what is documented in this report.

Third, this report does not include people who only joined local Oath Keepers chapters, or who are Oath Keepers but never officially signed up for the group. Rhodes allowed members currently serving in law enforcement and the military to participate in the organization without formally signing up, knowing that formal association with the organization could endanger their employment.

Finally, it is important to note once more that an individual’s inclusion in the Oath Keeper database is not proof that they were or are still an Oath Keeper, that they hold or held all or some of Oath Keeper ideology or viewpoints, or that they ever actively participated in Oath Keeper activities. When reviewing this information, you should bear in mind the possibility that the individual misunderstood the nature of the Oath Keepers. Before taking any action based on this information, an individualized assessment of the individual must take place.

Let me sum up the caveats in a briefer fashion:

1. Inclusion in the DB is NOT definitive evidence that someone is extremist.

2. Not being in the DB is NOT definitive evidence that someone is NOT an extremist.

The AZ tally from the ADL report -

While the ADL report doesn't contain all of the specific names of the elected officials who are members of the Oath Keepers look to be Rogers, State Sen. Kelly Townsend, State Rep. Mark Finchem, and State Rep. Quang Nguyen.  How did I come up with that list?  This article from The Copper Courier, dated June 13, 2022 -

These 4 Arizona Lawmakers Have Ties to the Oath Keepers, a Far-Right, Anti-Government Group

The Proud Boys and Oath Keepers—two far-right, anti-government extremist groups—were at the center of Thursday’s first public congressional committee hearing regarding the attack on the US Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

[snip]

Several Arizona lawmakers have expressed support or admiration for the Oath Keepers during or before their time in office. Stewart Rhodes, the group’s leader and founder, is set to face trial for seditious conspiracy in September.

Rep. Mark Finchem, R-Tucson/Casa Grande, assumed office in 2015. Less than one year earlier, he posted about an Oath Keepers meetup in Tucson. 

[snip]

Sen. Wendy Rogers, R-Flagstaff, known to cozy up to white nationalists who praise Vladimir Putin and Adolf Hitler like Nicholas Fuentes, is a self-proclaimed member of the Oath Keepers. She met with the Cottonwood chapter two months after the Jan. 6 insurrection. 

[snip]

Sen. Kelly Townsend, R-Mesa, had “Oathkeeper” in her Twitter bio for months after the Jan. 6 insurrection. 

[snip]

Rep. Quang Nguyen, R-Prescott Valley, flatly said on Twitter, “I’m an Oath Keeper. Do not ever forget it. Now what?”

More on Finchem from Time Magazine, dated August 3, 2022 -

An Oath Keeper Could End Up in Charge of Arizona's Elections

Two Donald Trump loyalists who spun baseless conspiracy theories about the last presidential election moved one step closer Tuesday night to overseeing the next one in a key battleground state.

Mark Finchem, who has identified himself as a member of the Oath Keepers, marched to the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, pushed for a fruitless partisan review of the presidential ballots in Arizona’s Maricopa County, and has vowed to radically reshape voting rights in the state, won Arizona’s Republican primary for Secretary of State, a position which serves as the state’s chief election officer.