Dems think Ducey will probe Cyber Ninjas? Ha!

The Arizona Democratic Party is calling on Gov. Doug Ducey to investigate the Senate’s ninja auditors and bar them from collecting public money.

“The Cyber Ninjas are not only unfit to audit elections, but they are also making a mockery of Arizona’s procedures that protect the taxpayer from grift and waste,” Raquel Terán, chair of the Arizona Democratic Party, said in a press release. “Governor Ducey must do everything in his power to protect Arizona taxpayers from falling victim to Cyber Ninjas. These charlatans should not receive a single dime of taxpayer dollars to sow doubt in an election that Ducey himself called safe and secure.” (pause)

(pause)

OK, I’m done laughing now.

Oh, not at what Terán says or what is contained in the party’s five-page complaint to Department of Administration Director Andy Tobin.

She’s absolutely correct that the ninja auditors are the stuff of a circus act, certainly not the sort of qualified experts that reasonable people would turn to for a real, nonpartisan audit of something as important as an election.

She’s right that the ninjas never, ever would have been selected as a state contractor had the state’s procurement code been followed. What they lack in qualifications they make up for in transparently partisan motivations.

She’s right that the state was never authorized to accept $5.7 million in private gifts to pay for this official state audit, as required by law, and that taxpayers have no idea who is offering up these gifts.

She’s right that this contract seems to have no ending point, allowing the ninjas to continue to leverage their state contract to solicit donations, with the apparent blessing of their benefactor, Senate President Karen Fann.

And she’s absolutely spot on that the audit has been a disaster from Day One. Remember when the auditors brought blue pens onto the audit floor — leaving it to The Arizona Republic’s Jen Fifield to explain to head ninja Doug Logan that blue pens and ballots don’t mix?

Where Terán goes wrong is in thinking that Republicans care about any of that.

Or in thinking that Ducey is going to step in.

Early on, the governor stood up to the Trump and the state Republican Party, expressing confidence in Arizona’s election procedures and certifying the election results even as Hail to the Chief rang out on his cellphone.

But somewhere along the way ... right around the time when Fann chuga-lugged the Kool-aid ... Ducey made for the nearest bunker.

While Maricopa County’s four Republican supervisors and Recorder Stephen Richer have stood tall and told the truth to their constituents – knowing the price they would pay – Ducey hid out.

He is hiding still.

“I know that there are people that want to complete this audit. I look forward to the findings,” Ducey recently told KTAR’s Mike Broomhead.

That’s some leadership right there. You can chalk it up to Ducey not wanting to interfere with the workings of another branch of government – in this case, the Senate – but really?

This is a governor who regularly issues edicts to schools, to cities, to counties, and yes, even to the Legislature when it suits him.

It just doesn’t suit him to lift even one finger to stop Fann and her ninjas from doing all they can to undermine the public’s faith in Arizona elections.

Not because he believes in what they are doing but because he’s afraid of angering the base. This, even though that ship sailed when Trump turned on him for following state law and certifying the election results.

Meanwhile, the Democrats are at least trying to inject some reason into what is happening here.

“Nearly every day yields additional, publicly-reported facts concerning the Cyber Ninjas’ lack of qualifications and questionable methods,” the party’s complaint says. “The result is an aimless state audit that flouts best practices and common principles of transparency and good government.

“We are confident that an investigation will confirm the mountain of already-public evidence Cyber Ninjas is an irresponsible public contractor, unable to fulfill the role for which it has been retained and unworthy of additional Arizona contracts.”

I’m confident, too.

That no investigation will be forthcoming.

It’s difficult to reach Republicans that far down the rabbit hole.