“Democrats fall in love. Republicans fall in line.” — Bill Clinton
For years, Republicans had a reputation for party unity — while the ever-squabbling Democrats were the butt of herding cats jokes. A century ago, Will Rogers observed, “I am not a member of any organized political party. I am a Democrat.” And ever since, Democrats have celebrated many defeats as “moral victories” while they never missed an opportunity to miss an opportunity. Times have changed. Strife has upended that political calculus. And the GOP can thank their boy Trump for the divisive chaos of the civil war between the far-right center and ultra-right crazies.
Nowhere is this knives-out approach to intraparty politics more evident and eloquently expressed than in the desert South West.
Last fall, during a meeting of the Clark County (essentially Greater Las Vegas) Republicans, the gloves were off. Their losing 2022 state treasurer candidate, Michele Fiore, took vulgar shots at ex-state GOP Chair Amy Tarkanian. Michele called Amy “Ms. Alcoholic” and a “panty dropper after two shots." Fiore was pissed that Tarkanian had endorsed her Democratic rival.
Tarkanian refused to support Fiore’s campaign to be the state’s CFO due to Fiore’s history of IRS tax liens, which she had blamed on her ex-husband. And because the Nevada Department of Health had voided Fiore's license to operate ‘Always There 4 You’ a home healthcare service. Fiore had shuttered the business and refused to respond to the state’s request to audit her for possible Medicaid irregularities. To ice her fruitcake, Fiore compared herself to Rosa Parks — probably because she was irate that the state was denying her civil right to be a crook.
Fiore, a second amendment absolutist, had also gained notoriety with her Christmas card featuring her family, including small children, brandishing weapons to celebrate the Prince of Peace’s birthday.
In calling Tarkanian an alcoholic slut, Fiore forgot one of the cardinal rules of politics — assume someone is recording you. Fellow Republican, Drew Hirsty, videoed her remarks and sent them to Margaret White, another member of the Clark County Republican Party, who in turn sent the video to everyone.
On Jan 14, 2023, the state Republican Party Central Committee expelled Hirsty. And the bookies have him and White as a lock to be given the boot by the Clark County GOP. Because, in the Republican universe, the sinner is not the criminal but the one who publicizes the crime.
It was not all bad news for Nevada Republicans. They won back the offices of the Governor, Lt. Governor, and Controller. And they did better than their Republican neighbors in Arizona.
There the GOP, spearheaded by failed gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake in cahoots with GOP State Chair Kelli Ward, has been casting doubts on elections since Trump’s failure in 2020. Election-denier non-pareil Ward famously hired Cyber Ninjas to ‘prove’ the Democrats had rigged the 2020 election in Maricopa County. Their failure was public and ignominious.
Ward also took the fifth when the Jan 6 Committee wanted her to answer a few questions. What dirty deeds is she keeping in the dark? ~Whatever they are, they are not the only thing she is hiding. In 2021, after she won re-election to the GOP state Chair — on a second close ballot — in an election hidden from the press, she refused to allow an audit. Who is the election rigger? Hypocrisy aside, Ward is still swinging.
But for how much longer? Arizonan voters showed what they thought of the GOP’s 'fixed election' OCD by returning the US Senate seat and top state-wide offices to the Democrats. And the Republicans cannot move beyond their insanity. What should have been a straightforward election to pick the Maricopa Couty GOP Chair descended into barking madness. How many failures can the GOP survive?
We will have to see if the GOP recovers from Trumpism. And if it rediscovers that haters can do so much harm if they are united. However, the depth of crazy in cactus country is profound. It is probably too late to put that genie back in the bottle.