So, Arizona State Senator Kelli Ward (R-Lake Havasu City) recently went to the Bundy Ranch to defend Cliven Bundy from them "evil guv'mint revenooers" (that may or may not be an actual quote, but it captures the flavor nonetheless).
After his wildly racist and disparaging comments were publicized, she took to Twitter to disagree vehemently:
OK, not so much "vehement", but "kinda milquetoast", and today she took to Twitter to rail against Donald Sterling!
It actually took about 10 minutes, and at the prompting of someone else for her to agree that Donald Sterling is racist, and before that, she trotted out the conservative ooga-booga that is "political correctness" (or as I call it, "not being an asshole") as the real villain.
All of this goes back to the unwillingness of conservatives to call out bad behavior before it gets mainstreamed (in Arizona, you only have to look at the bad end of JT Ready to see where not calling it out leads), and when they are eventually forced to speak out, it's often in the most mildest of terms.
This weekend, I covered the Cliven Bundy story on my podcast, The Beatdown Report (The Last Refuge of Cliven Bundy). While doing the research,I found Kelli Ward's comment to the Washington Post:
"Apparently he has some thoughts that aren't shared by many Americans. He is free to think and speak as he chooses (even if it may offend) and we are free to listen (or not) and form our own opinions. I am thankful for our amazing Constitution and the 1st Amendment right to freedom of speech — if I don't agree, I don't seek to silence or shame the speaker or to paint his associates with the broad brush of collective condemnation."
(emphasis mine)
Again, it's one thing to say you defend someone's right to free speech... But to silence or shame the speaker? I look back at Occupy Phoenix and I remember how at one point JT Ready, racist and soon-to-be-mass-murderer, was given the mic. We as adults, as individuals, can and should judge those we are associated, even tangentially. Occupy could have said "No, your politics aren't welcome here" to JT Ready, Senator Kelli Ward could say to Cliven Bundy: Your positions are heinous, they don't represent me or my district, and you need to check yourself before you wreck yourself" (if she had said that last part I would immediately cut a check to her campaign fund - a small one, anyway).
But State Senator Kelli Ward doesn't "shame" or "silence". Which is odd considering a statement she made to the Kingman Republican Men's Club back in 2011 (skip to 12:58 if you don't want to listen to a lot of Tea Party argle-bargle):
"I see myself as a servant leader, I see myself as a person who is a shepherd, looking out for the flock, but also a farmer being a good steward..., and finally as a parent who is always keeping an eye out for my children or my constituents..."
If you're a "shepherd" and a "parent", isn't it your job to correct bad behavior? It's a very Hobbesian point-of-view, but it seems to be one that Kelli Ward signs on to, as a political philosophy, and one that's she not enforcing. Doesn't Kelli Ward, as someone with a bully pulpit have an obligation to call out racism, loudly, vociferously, in 2014?
I think she does. Unless, of course, she agrees with it and doesn't want to be found out. One would hope that's not it, but in Arizona, you never can tell.
UPDATE: I corrected the story to reflect Lake Havasu City as her home, not Kingman.
UPDATE II: Rec List! Thank you!