Is Mohave County really this clueless?

The Mohave County Republican Party held its annual picnic over the weekend.

While Arizonans across most of the state are masking up and doing what they can to try to slow down the spread of COVID-19, Republicans in northwestern Arizona ... aren’t.

No less than state Republican Party Chairwoman Kelli Ward posted pictures of the Saturday event on Facebook, featuring a crowd of mostly older Republicans sitting side-by-side or standing shoulder-to-shoulder as they posed for pictures.

“Awesome day at the Mohave County Republican Picnic!,” Ward wrote.

More like astonishing. To see Ward – a doctor, no less – posing for party pics with a big ol’ smile on her face.

Oh, it wasn’t much of a surprise to see Rep. Paul Gosar without a mask. The hard-right congressman sees a conspiracy behind every bush. He long ago pronounced that COVID-19 was “clearly waning” in Arizona.

Sen. Martha McSally, at least, was smart enough wear a mask while posing for pictures.

She didn’t have to. Mohave County has declined to pass an ordinance requiring masks in public, calling it a matter personal responsibility.

Which appeared mostly absent on Saturday.

The only laws broken were the laws of common sense and common decency — societal rules the rest of us are following in order to to protect people of the demographic represented by Saturday’s picnickers.

Public health officials tell us the best ways to stop the transmission of this highly contagious disease are to wear a mask and to keep your distance from other people.

Yet Gov. Doug Ducey refuses to issue a statewide mask mandate and he specifically exempted political events from his order barring gatherings of 50 or more people.

And so we left to ponder the party of personal responsibility.

As one guy informed me over the weekend, “I won’t wear your mask even if Ducey mandates it. If people stopped getting tested this would all be over. People that are perfectly fine are being told they’re sick.

“You are a leftist Nazi.”

Meanwhile, The Arizona Republic’s Yvonne Wingett Sanchez notes that in the two weeks leading up to Saturday’s picnic, the state saw a 49% increase in the number of confirmed coronavirus cases. Meanwhile, Mohave County saw a 64% increase.

Gee, I wonder why.