GOPer pushes for violence...toward other GOPers

Geez, and I thought AZ GOP primaries were crazy. 

Oh wait...they are.  It's just a question of how long before a candidate here goes to the same place.

My first guess: Blake Masters.

Second guess: Mark Finchem.

Third guess: Paul Gosar, but any AZGOPer could go here.

Actually, more than one could go here.

From CNN -

This GOP Senate candidate just released a video calling for some Republicans to be hunted

On Sunday, Illinois Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger said he received a letter in the mail a few days ago that threatened to execute him, his wife and their newborn.

"There is violence in the future, I'm going to tell you," Kinzinger said on ABC's "This Week." "And until we get a grip on telling people the truth, we can't expect any differently."

Less than 24 hours later, Eric Greitens, a leading contender for the Republican Senate nomination in Missouri, released a new video in which he is depicted as hunting RINOs (Republicans in Name Only).

"I'm Eric Greitens, Navy SEAL, and today we're going RINO hunting." Greitens says as he walks down a sidewalk with a gun in hand.

And violence toward anyone, even GOPers, is a bad thing that should never be tolerated.

The silence from AZGOPers is deafening.

Dear USPS: Got your next wall photos for ya

 I was going to title this with a "Dear USDOJ..." title, but it was too long.

As in "Dear USDOJ: A bunch of crazy people, insurrectionists, insurrectionist-enablers, and wannabes met in a rather infamous town...and bragged about it."

I don't know if it quite falls into the category of the 1957 Apalachin gathering of the Mob (as far as I know, no arrests happened today), but it seems to qualify as the modern equivalent.

Mark Finchem, playing fast and loose with the truth more often than any alleged public servant should

This post gets kind of convoluted and involved, so allow a lot of time to read it.

Rep. Mark Finchem has a bit of a “truth” problem.

Not the first time I've posited that, but even I didn't realize how bad it was.

Arizona's Financial Disclosure Forms for its elected and appointed officials are an exercise in vagueness and non-disclosure (name of the form notwithstanding).  In short, they are almost completely useless.

"Almost."

As it turns out, a little patience helps. :)

From Finchem's 2022 Financial Disclosure Form (covering the prior year of 2021) -

Of the four corporate ties that he discloses, three don't exist in AZ according to the ACC.

And that one, Pathway Research, has been administratively dissolved since November, well before he submitted the form.

One, Frontier Applied, form-given AZ address notwithstanding.*is* active.  In Nevada.

Another, United Precious Metals, is incorporated...in Utah.

The last one, Clean Power, is incorporated in Idaho.

To the best of my knowledge, him being part of corporations in other states is *not* a problem in and of itself.

However, he may run into issues with attesting under oath about him being part of a corporation that's been dissolved and further attesting to an AZ address for one that is not active in AZ.

He may also run into issues by not disclosing his ties to other active organizations.

The interesting one is the Prayer Caucus one; he's never disclosed that one even though it was incorporated in 2018 (so it should have been on his form submitted in 2019).

From his 2021 form -

From his 2020 form -

From his 2019 form -

It's been dissolved now, but maybe Finchem should re-establish the Prayer Caucus - and have them pray to God that he isn't indicted for his part in the January 6th insurrection.

Note: I came across this stuff while looking into another elected and that person's spouse.  While both state on their forms that one of their offspring works at an LLC with the same mail drop address as the elected official, but hasn't been incorporated in AZ according to the website of the Arizona Corporation Commission.

However, according to both the AZSOS and the FEC, no campaign funds have been directed to this LLC as yet.

Then I found the Finchem stuff.  With the lack of hard evidence regarding the first matter and me being unwilling to accuse someone of something without more than I have, I chose to set aside the first matter until I have more time to look into it.

Ummm...so who wants to tell him?

Mark Finchem seems to have a bit of a problem with the truth.  At least, with the telling of it.

First, he lied about his whereabouts at the January 6 insurrection.

From Jerod MacDonald-Evoy at the AZ Mirror -

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

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, there's this (from Twitter) -

Yes, he seems to believe that the future? Arizona Secretary of State and the current Arizona Secretary of State (and future? Governor of Arizona are more responsible for skyrocketing gasoline prices than the people running Big Oil.

Or maybe he just wants others to believe it.

The blind leading the blind?

Example 1:

Example 2:

Two are members of Congress; two are members of the Arizona legislature who are running for Arizona Secretary of State.

Treason may not be enough for Mark Finchem. Just follow the money.

 From Rick Hasen at Election Law Blog -

“GOP lawmakers are pushing high-tech ‘fraud-proof’ ballots. A Texas company could be the only supplier.”

WaPo:

Holographic foil. Special ink designed to be sensitive to temperature changes. Nearly invisible “stealth numbers” that can be located only using special ultraviolet or infrared lights.

Those are among the high-tech security features that would be required to be embedded on ballots under measures proposed in at least four states by Republican lawmakers — all promoters of false claims that the 2020 election was marred by mass fraud — in an attempt to make the ballots as hard to counterfeit as passports or currency.

But the specialized inks and watermarks also would limit the number of companies capable of selling ballot paper — potentially to just one Texas firm with no previous experience in elections that consulted with the lawmakers proposing the measures.

Mark Finchem, an Arizona state representative spearheading the , said in an interview that he developed ideas for the proposals after discussions with executives of Authentix, a company in Addison, Tex. The firm has since hosted other GOP lawmakers at its office and given presentations about the idea to legislators in two states, according to participants and social media posts.

Finchem is a cosponsor of two of the bills floating through the Arizona with this language

legislature - HB2041 (held in committee) and SB1120 (amended to include an appropriation of $12,000,000).

House Appropriations is scheduled to consider a striker (with this language) to HB2726 with an appropriation of $6,000,000 in it.  Offered by Rep. Regina Cobb.

A similar bill, SB1028, sponsored by state Sen. Wendy Rogers, but without any appropriations language, was held in committee in January.

Rep. Mark Finchem may tell and believe "The Big Lie" but have no doubt - most of all, he wants to win the R primary that he's part of.

Yes, he was part of the January 6th insurrection, and yes, he thoroughly hates (see the proposals he has sponsored and cosponsored) citizens, immigrants, LGBTQ+ people, Covid mitigation measures and, of course, voters (which is interesting, because the office that he's running for, Arizona Secretary of State, oversees the state's elections.  So I guess that means he only hates voters who don't agree with him.)

He's running in the R primary for AZSOS against "Beau" Lane and fellow legislators Shawna Bolick and Michelle Ugenti-Rita.  The winner of the D primary, Adrian Fontes or Reginald Bolding, waits in the general.

The culmination of his hate is his sponsorship of HCR2033, wherein he seeks to overturns the 2020 presidential election, but only in Maricopa, Pima, and Yuma counties.  Biden won Maricopa and Pima, and Trump barely won Yuma, and, if they're overturned, combined, the margins in those places would be more than the margin of Biden's victory in AZ.

Finchem is doing his level best to help...Democrats win in 2022, even though they are widely expected to lose control of both chambers of Congress in the midterm elections.

From Politico's Playbook on 2/7 -

[snip]

DOUG SOSNIK of Brunswick Group argues that “there would need to be a series of developments in order for the Democrats to defy history”:

1. The virus needs to be contained with the country returning to a new normal.
2. Inflation needs to start going down by summer.
3. The economy and the stock market need to maintain steady growth, particularly as interest rates begin to rise.
4. The supply chain needs to return to normal.
5. There is not a global crisis.
6. Biden’s job approval rating needs to be in the high 40s by summer.
7. Republicans need to nominate unelectable general-election candidates and run lousy campaigns. They are capable of this and have done this in recent past cycles, choosing far-right candidates such as TODD AKIN or CHRISTINE O’DONNELL who ended up losing in the general election.
8. Trump and Republicans need to keep talking about the 2020 election.

1 seems to be happening already; 2 will happen (I hope); 3 and 4 are already happening and, I expect, will mirror 1; 5 could be a problem, especially if Putin invades Ukraine; 6 will follow 1, 2, 3, and 4; and 7 and 8 are where Finchem comes in.

I don't know if he's "unelectable" in the general, but, while whining about the election in 2020 and treason may show well in an R primary, it doesn't look good in a general election.

In and of itself, the events of January 6th, and Finchem's part in both it and continuing the "Big Lie" don't make him eligible for the coveted Legislative Loon Award..

Nope, like the Darwin Awards, there are rules for the Legislative Loon Award, and the events of that day caused the deaths of others during and after the events.

Do you have too many brain cells and want to kill off a few? Be in Florence, AZ on Saturday

Downside: you'll lose some brain cells...and possibly be exposed to Covid.

Upside: you won't get a DUI because of this lineup.

From KNXV (entire article quoted here because it includes a list of speakers) -

Former President Donald Trump event to be held Saturday in Florence, guest speakers announced

Former President Donald Trump is set to hold a Save America rally in Florence this Saturday with multiple guest speakers including Mike Lindell, Dr. Kelli Ward, and other state representatives.

Event organizers confirmed Tuesday that gates would open at 8 a.m. and doors would open at 2 p.m. for the 4:30 p.m. event on Saturday, Jan. 15 at Canyon Moon Ranch.

Trump is set to speak at 7 p.m.

Guest speakers at the event were also announced Tuesday. The list includes:

• Kari Lake, Donald J. Trump Endorsed Candidate for Governor of Arizona
• State Representative Mark Finchem, State Representative from Arizona's 11th District and Donald J. Trump Endorsed Candidate for Secretary of State of Arizona
• Representative Paul Gosar, US Representative from Arizona's 4th Congressional District
• Representative Andy Biggs, US Representative from Arizona's 5th Congressional District
• Representative Debbie Lesko, US Representative from Arizona's 8th Congressional District
• Dr. Kelli Ward, Chairwoman of the Republican Party of Arizona
• Dr. Alveda King, Donald J. Trump for President 2020 Advisory Board Member
• Boris Epshteyn, Donald J. Trump for President 2020 Strategic Advisor and Advisory Board Member
• Mike Lindell, CEO of My Pillow

Rep. Mark Finchem - will he have a Legislative Loon Award to show off while campaigning for AZSOS?

In most other states, he would have already locked up the award, but in Arizona?

He is a dark horse; hardly out of contention, but he's going to have to work at it.

On the other hand, he's in a Republican primary in his quest for Arizona Secretary of State.

He's already been endorsed by Cheeto, and he will run his mouth in an effort to show his loyalty to Cheeto/the right-wing of his party.

He's pre-filed two bills (as of this writing) -

HB2023, making ballots public records.  Finchem has already exhibited a self-serving attitude toward public records.

HB2022, repealing the section of law that allows  public health authorities to mandate treatments and/or vaccinations for those infected with a "highly contagious and highly fatal disease".

The AP finds that voter fraud is almost nonexistent. Quelle surprise!

Guessing that Mark Finchem, Paul Gosar, Cheeto himself, et. al. can't be bothered with facts.

From AP - 

Far too little vote fraud to tip election to Trump, AP finds

An Associated Press review of every potential case of voter fraud in the six battleground states disputed by former President Donald Trump has found fewer than 475 — a number that would have made no difference in the 2020 presidential election.

Democrat Joe Biden won Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin and their 79 Electoral College votes by a combined 311,257 votes out of 25.5 million ballots cast for president. The disputed ballots represent just 0.15% of his victory margin in those states.

[snip]

Mark Finchem et.al. are now using resorts to peddle the "big lie"

The use of resorts is *so* Republican.  My only question is were the witnesses bused in or were limos provided to them?

 From an email from the ADLCC, or Arizona Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee -

In case someone believes that the ADLCC is too partisan to be credible, from KOLD (Tucson) -

Cyber Ninjas, state Republican leaders election integrity complaints to Pima County

The Cyber Ninjas and state Republican leaders brought their “election integrity” complaints to Pima County following a months-long election audit in Maricopa County.

The all-day event was hosted by state Rep. Mark Finchem and held at an Oro Valley resort.

Finchem has faced backlash for controversial tweets and has been accused of ethical violations and getting paid to try to overturn the 2020 election. He is a candidate for Secretary of State, which oversees elections in Arizona.

GOPer candidate for AZSOS fundraises on a statewide voter intimidation effort

From Dennis Welch of AZFamily.com (note: I usually quote the first two paragraphs of a story here, but since this only a three paragraph story [actually, it's a four sentence story], so I'll quote the entire story) -

Finchem calls for statewide door-to-door voter verification

State Rep. Mark Finchem, who is a strong supporter of the partisan election review of the 2020 election, is calling for a "statewide door- to-door voter verification."

Finchem, who is also running for the Republican nomination for Secretary of State, made the announcement in a fundraising letter sent out this week. He is running in a crowded republican primary where former president Donald Trump's endorsement could play a key role in who wins.

There are more than 4.3 million registered voters in Arizona and it's unknown how he intends to carry out such a massive project because he did not return requests for comment.

Apparently, despising democracy isn't a good platform for a candidate for AZSOS

 From Raw Story - 

'Trump audit' blasted as 'botched' by Arizona Republican booed off stage at his 'Big Lie' rally

Secretary of State hopeful and Arizona state Sen. Michelle Ugenti was booed off stage at the "Rally to Protect Our Elections" in Phoenix on Saturday.

"Whoaa. GOP Secretary of State candidate ⁦Michelle Ugenti⁩ is booed off stage at TPUSA rally for Trump. She opposed GOP lawmaker's wish list for election changes," KPNX-TV reporter Brahm Resnik reported. "FYI Trump base crowd was primed to boo Michelle Ugenti. Wasn't anything she said. Boos rained all over room from start till she bailed out."

Of course, if Ugenti-Rita exits the race for the R nomination for AZSOS that would leave Mark Finchem as the most significant R candidate* in that particular primary, and he despises democracy just as much as she does.

*=subject to change

Update on 7/25/2021: Ugenti-Rita starts speaking at 1:19:06 mark of this CSPAN video; her appearance only lasts until 1:20:30 mark, so it's brief.

I'm not an expert on GOP politics (like that isn't obvious :) ), so maybe their primary voters like candidates who are combative and impatient.