In retaliation against her support for President Joe Biden over disgraced former President Donald Trump, the Arizona GOP voted to censure Cindy McCain, who fired back in the same maverick spirit possessed by her late-husband Senator John McCain.
After years of Trump attacking and belittling her husband even after his death from brain cancer, Cindy McCain understandably refused to endorse Trump in 2020 and enthusiastically endorsed Biden instead. Rather than understand her decision, Arizona Republicans vindictively censured her along with former Senator Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) and Governor Doug Ducey, who refused to bow down to Trump’s demands that he rig the vote for him.
According to the Arizona Republic:
Kelli Ward, the fractious leader of the Arizona Republican Party, narrowly beat back significant competition on Saturday to win another two-year term as the organization’s chairwoman despite the endorsement of former President Donald Trump. The closely watched result offers an early, state-level indication that Trump retains sway over the activist base of the GOP, though it is more tenuous. The election also suggests the longstanding divisions in the state party in the Trump era have not abated.
The party members later passed three resolutions censuring high-profile Republicans: Gov. Doug Ducey, former Sen. Jeff Flake and Cindy McCain. It was another sign of the party’s move to the right.
It’s also a sign of how pathetic Republicans have become. They are literally punishing other Republicans for not voting a certain way. Particularly disgraceful is the censuring of Cindy McCain, who had to endure years of Trump bullying her husband while he was alive only for Trump to then continue attacking him after he died. Trump did not even want to lower flags to half-staff after McCain died. Yet, the Arizona GOP seriously expected Cindy McCain to endorse and vote for Trump despite that abuse?
Well, this little stunt by the Arizona GOP backfired because both Cindy McCain and Jeff Flake released defiant statements:
It is a high honor to be included in a group of Arizonans who have served our state and our nation so well…and who, like my late husband John, have been censured by the AZGOP. I’ll wear this as a badge of honor.
— Cindy McCain (@cindymccain) January 24, 2021
If condoning President Trump’s behavior is required to stay in the AZGOP’s good graces, I’m just fine being on the outs. https://t.co/2rzCTu1AcZ
— Jeff Flake (@JeffFlake) January 24, 2021
This vote to censure McCain is not a good look for the Arizona GOP. It’s exactly why Arizona voted for Biden and now has two Democratic senators. And it’s likely the state will lean blue for quite some time as more Republicans cut ties with an increasingly extremist party that chooses loyalty to a traitor over country.
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