If Bennett’s unfit to lead state, so is Gov. Ducey
Gov. Doug Ducey’s double standard on John McCain is purely political and nakedly hypocritical.
And by his own party’s definition, it should disqualify Ducey from leading our state.
Ducey called it “indecent, embarrassing and revealing” after GOP candidate for governor Ken Bennett vowed not to appoint Cindy McCain to her husband’s Senate seat.
Ducey spokesman Daniel Scarpinato said Bennett’s speculation about a replacement for McCain, who is 81 and has brain cancer, should mean “Ken Bennett has disqualified himself from consideration by anyone with any sense of decency.”
Strong words. But what about Scarpinato’s boss and the president? What about Donald Trump? Trump has said far worse about McCain, including the comment that being a prisoner of war in Vietnam didn’t make McCain a hero.
“He’s not a war hero. He’s a war hero because he was captured. I like people that weren’t captured,” Trump said.
That was before McCain got sick — so maybe it didn’t count under the Ducey Decency Rule.
On May 10, White House press aide Kelly Sadler told colleagues there was no reason to worry McCain’s opposition to Gina Haspel, Trump’s choice to head the Central Intelligence Agency, because McCain is “dying anyway.”
The kind of tasteless, crude, bottomfeeding remark we have come to expect from the Trump administration.
It was — as Ducey said of Bennett’s comment — “indecent, embarrassing and revealing.” Only more so.
But Doug Ducey remained silent about Sadler’s “dying anyway” remark.
In fact, Ducey sat at Trump’s right hand during a subsequent meeting at the White House. There is no record that they discussed Trump’s lack of respect for Arizona’s senior senator.
No mention of how that could be a disqualifier for holding office.
But let’s face it: It’s a lot easier Ducey to condemn his political opponent than it would be for this governor of a conservative state to take on Trump.
It’s not heroism. It’s politics. Arizona Republican Party chairman Jonathan Lines was another Republican leader who remained mum about Sadler’s “dying anyway” remark.
Yet Lines jumped into the BennettDucey fued over McCain with a tweet to tell Bennett:
“@BennettArizona ~ I am disappointed in you. Regardless of your personal feelings towards the McCains this type of attack has zero place in our Party or our State, you’ve disqualified yourself from leading our state.”
Gee, whiz.
Zero place in our Party.
Wow.
That’s a high standard for the GOP, where McCain bashing has become something of an obsession among the far right.
It’s good to have this on the record. If “zero place” is the standard, then Trump shouldn’t be in the White House and Ducey’s sycophantic support of Trump is so “revealing” that he should also be “disqualified ... from leading our state.”