Arizona Senator Wendy Rogers tried a number of times to win a congressional seat, but the outspoken Republican was even too looney for the Arizona GOP, and you know that’s a low bar in a state that’s given the world Joe Arpaio, Jan Brewer, Mark Finchem, Paul Gosar, and assorted other shining lights.
So in 2020 the Republican Party held its nose and invested $500,000 in her District 6 senate race, one of the most batshit crazy areas of the state—previously represented by creationist Sylvia Allen, the “Earth is 6,000 years old” genius. Gov. Doug Ducey still maintains that Wendy Rogers, an election denier, conspiracy kook, January 6 cheerleader, and member of the Oath Keepers, was a “better” choice than her Democratic rival.
Trump loves Rogers, natch.
So last week Marjorie Taylor Greene garnered most of the press for speaking at Nick Fuentes’ white supremacist hate fest (AFPAC, because CPAC is too darn liberal), but Wendy Rogers also spoke, calling the crowd “patriots.” And unlike Greene, Rogers didn’t try to walk-back her participation with Nazis, because they’re her people! When Fuentes urged the audience to celebrate Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the manly men shouted “Putin! Putin!”, Wendy Rogers was right there with them.
Rogers effusively praised Nick Fuentes, the event’s racist organizer, who she said had been “de-platformed everywhere” because he says things that upset “the media and the far left.”
“I truly respect Nick because he’s the most persecuted man in America,” she said to loud cheers, adding later that he was “standing up to tyranny” by creating AFPAC.
Today, State Senator Wendy Rogers made her alliance with the pro-Putin crowd clear:
Got that? The socialist democracies of Europe are Nazis—not Nick Fuentes, who praised Putin by comparing him favorably to Hitler.
“Now, they’re going and saying, ‘Vladimir Putin is Adolf Hitler,’ as if that isn’t a good thing,” he said, before chuckling a rehearsed nervous laugh...
Even disgraced former Sheriff Joe Arpaio, another speaker at Fuentes’ event, couldn’t live up to that level of treason. After a disoriented speech in which Arpaio said he really isn’t “the biggest racist in the country,” even though that’s his reputation, they booed him for saying that, just like they did when he said he never intended to shoot “illegals” at the border:
“I’m not about to shoot illegals who are coming across, just for coming illegally,” he finished, to no cheers.
“…to no cheers,” for not killing people. So there’s Trump’s GOP: Joe Arpaio is booed for not being racist and murderous enough, and Wendy Rogers is cheered for supporting Putin’s invasion, while calling European nations Nazis for aiding a democratic Ukraine.
UPDATE: The Arizona Republic reports this morning that even members of Rogers’ Arizona Republican Party are pissed—not that she spoke at a white supremacist event; others like Arizona Rep. Paul Gosar have done that without repercussion. However, during her speech Rogers clearly sided with the madman Putin and his murderous policies, she throws dirt at Zelenskyy yet champions Trump, she even suggested that “traitors” who oppose her (Dems and RINOs) should be publicly executed.
So today a censure vote is schedule in the Arizona Senate, and it appears to have the votes to pass (it passed, see Update 2).
Sen. Paul Boyer, R-Glendale, a leading Republican critic of far-right rhetoric, said [Republican] Senate President Karen Fann called him last night asking if he would support a censure.
"I said 100 percent, yes," Boyer said, adding that he believes enough Republicans will join with Democrats to successfully censure Rogers. Senate Minority Leader Rebecca Rios, D-Phoenix, said the plan was for Fann, R-Prescott, to join with Democrats in the censure.
Arizona hasn’t censured a legislator in 30 years, and no one is quite sure what the penalty is, other than “you did bad.” She could be removed from committees or leadership positions. Rogers is no doubt already planning to use the censure in her fundraising, writing today on Telegram:
"So today is the day where we find out if the Communists in the GOP throw the sweet grandma under the bus for being white..."
Same old, same old: communists, white victimhood. She only forgot to mention God is on her side (she’s done that elsewhere).
UPDATE 2: The Senate voted today to censure Sen. Rogers. Below is a headline you don’t see every day, and a helpful story if readers don’t know much about Rogers.
Arizona Sen. Wendy Rogers censured by Senate after calling for public hangings, attacking Ukraine's president
A GOP majority (11 of 16) joined all Dems (except 1 absent), so it passed easily. Gov. Doug Ducey, who praised Rogers just a few days ago, applauded the censure. Rogers remained defiant: “I do not apologize. I will not back down.” I have a sense her future fundraising mailers and stump speeches are going to highlight the censure—a badge of honor that’ll appeal to the Trump cult.
Rogers maintains this is a Free Speech issue, and she’s only being censured because she’s white. Hey, knucklehead, there’ve been a whole lotta white people saying stupid shit at the Arizona Legislature for a long time, and you’re the first person in at least 30 years to be so honored with today’s Shithead-of-a-Generation diploma. You said and wrote vile, dangerous shit. Full stop.
Republicans mostly framed their yes vote in terms of “dishonoring the Senate” or some such weaselly nonsense. The actual statement of censure doesn’t even mention Rogers or state specifically what she did or said, but I imagine that was the compromise to get so many R votes. However, during their time to speak, Democrats, many who are women and/or POC, who’ve been putting up with Rogers’ dominionist bigotry for a couple years, had their say. Some urged Rogers to resign or said she should be expelled.
That’s not likely. When Rogers responded by saying she will “personally destroy the career of any Republican who partakes in the gaslighting of me,” it sounds like she’s sticking around, with a purpose.