How to find the least dishonest politician to vote for
As the state election primaries roll on from state to state, conservative Americans today have a difficult problem: How to determine which Republican candidate is the least likely to stick a knife in our back once we have elected them into office and they have power.
My phrasing here is no accident. Politicians by definition are never to be trusted. Never. The problem is that some can be trusted less than others. To find out who to vote for you need to determine who is least likely to break the promises they make during the campaign trail.
I am also only talking about Republicans, because for me based on the history of the last three decades, there is no Democrat worthy of my vote. That party has become so corrupt and power-hungry that it needs a full house-cleaning before I would ever again trust any of its candidates. Worse, in the past four years it has also begun to endorse and campaign for some downright sick policies, from aggressive blackballing and the arrest of its opponents to including the teaching of the queer sexual agenda to very young school children. Such people must be removed from power, for the sake of everyone.
Let me now show you how I have determined who I will vote for in the Republican Senate primary in Arizona to choose who will run against Democrat Senator Mark Kelly. The primary election is on August 2nd, but early mail-in voting begins on July 6th, so now is the time to start making decisions.
The leading candidates are as follows:
- Blake Masters, wealthy businessman and long time associate of Peter Thiel, co-founder of Paypal
- Jim Lamon, wealthy businessman, who made much of his wealth from solar power
- Mark Brnovich, the state’s attorney general
Two other candidates, Michael McGuire and Justin Olson, are running but are very low in the polls.
Both Lamon and Brnovich have demonstrated to me that they are untrustworthy, both in office and during the campaign. As attorney general Brnovich was ideally placed these past two years to properly investigate the election fraud that occurred throughout the state in 2020. Instead, he procrastinated and stalled, and did everything in his power to block any investigation. He might claim that no fraud took place, but he cannot know this as he refused to recognize the allegations uncovered during the election audit and never ran an investigation of his own.
In other words, Brnovich while in office behaved exactly like the established Republican Party in Washington, making big promises during the election campaign but when in office working hand-in-glove with the Democrats to stymie any possibility of reform.
Brnovich has also in his campaign literature been misusing Trump’s name to imply Trump supports his candidacy. The dishonest misuse got so bad that Trump’s lawyers had to send the campaign a cease-and-desist letter, which stated:
“Your use of President Trump’s name, image, and/or likeness is likely to deceive individuals into believing President Trump supports, endorses, or otherwise promotes your candidacy for U.S. Senate in Arizona – he does not,”
As I said, Brnovich and his staff do not appear honest or trustworthy.
Lamon meanwhile revealed his dishonesty by his reaction when Donald Trump endorsed Masters. He began posting ads and mailing out flyers accusing Masters of all kinds of slanderous charges. In one he accused Masters of being an antisemite, a patently false charge. Then, in a flyer that was mailed to my house he accused Masters of being in favor of “unlimited illegal immigration” and no borders, based entirely on a 2005 anonymous online post. Even if that old post had been written by Masters, what he wrote was hardly news. Moreover, all the writer did in 2005 was asking some legitimate philosophical questions about government and its power to control borders. Big deal.
Lamon’s campaign staff however took this old and very questionable post and immediately used it to slander Masters, essentially adopting the hateful name-calling tactics of the modern Democratic Party. And they did it by distorting the facts and twisting the words of their opponent.
That leaves me, the voter, with two minor candidates who almost certainly will not win the general election, and Blake Masters, who is presently leading in polls.
Blake Masters
Who is Masters? First, he is young, only 35. Second, he is not a politician long tied to party politics. To my mind both these factors are good things, as it means he is more likely to act independently. He is also not likely to have gone native and become a part of the uni-party political machine that presently works to block any change of the corrupt status quo.
Third, and most important, Masters won Donald Trump’s endorsement. While many people have very legitimate complaints about Trump’s term as president, the one thing Trump did that was different from every other politician I have known since I first became aware of politics in the 1960s is that he actually kept his campaign promises. As I wrote in September 2022,
Trump ran [in 2016] making a few basic promises. He would reduce the power and size of the EPA, while squelching the federal government’s ferocious appetite for imposing new regulations. He would drain the Washington bureaucracy of its worst actors. He would get us out of the Paris climate accords and the Iran deal, while renegotiating the NAFTA agreement created under Clinton. He would appoint conservative judges to shift the courts to the right. He would move our Israeli embassy to Jerusalem, while cutting off any funding with links to terrorism. He would put an end to illegal immigration.
And unlike any elected official in my lifetime, he followed through on every one those campaign promises, heartily and without fear.
You might not agree with what Trump did, but he did what he said he was going to do. He did not lie like all other politicians.
Thus, his endorsement carries weight. It suggests he thinks Masters will do the same. Moreover, the endorsement indicates that Masters’ campaign promises — which align closely to Trump’s Make America Great Again program — will be followed through. And since those policies during Trump’s term actually worked reasonably well (unlike the policies of the Biden administration today), it seems reasonable to go along with those policies again.
Of course, we do not know if Masters will follow through, and can only find out after Masters takes office. He could be a liar, or incompetent. There is no way to know for certain until he takes office.
However, any change in Washington right now can only be a good thing. Democrat Mark Kelly is certainly a waste as senator, voting in lock-step with the Democratic Party’s modern agenda of blacklisting, queer sexual politics, and anti-American hate. Any change can only be an improvement.
Anyway, this is how I have made my choice. I look at the literature of the candidates, I watch what they actually do, and reject the candidates who appear to lie the most and use slander the most. In today’s mob culture this is unfortunately the only and maybe the best way to make a choice.
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Dry useful comments, and were I entitled to vote in Arizona, I would follow them!
you nailed it Bob
I’ve held that if you want to know whom to vote for, take a drive in the country and look at the signs. Vote accordingly.
What is your assessment of the governor primary race? I grew up in Arizona and my family lives there so I have some interest in Arizona politics. From outside the state, the only news I have read is that Kari Lake had a good put down of a CNN hack.
Ha!
“Dry” useful comments should have been “Very” useful comments, but I think my error communicates my impression better!
What is your assessment of the governor primary race?
Agree with you on all the substance in this post … reminds me of a younger Lee Zelden here in NY, running against the Vicar of Vax for governor.
But … when did you get a DeLorean and a flux capacitor … “as I wrote in September 2022” ???
Bob Wilson: Right now Kari Lake is the only choice, for many of the same reasons I favor Blake Masters. Her only real competitor, Taylor Robson, comes out of the Arizona Republican establishment, which I have found to be impotent and generally useless. See:
https://ballotpedia.org/Arizona_gubernatorial_election,_2022_(August_2_Republican_primary)
“As the state election primaries roll on from state to state, conservative Americans today have a difficult problem: How to determine which Republican candidate is the least likely to stick a knife in our back once we have elected them into office and they have power.”
The fact that Republicans that we elect cannot be trusted is one of the reasons why I left the party. That the Republican members and voters have moved so far to the left is the other reason I left. Along with the other backstabbing Republicans in office, the Once-Great-Hero McCain had promised to end Obamacare, but he chose to betray his constituents and all of America due to a personal difference with Trump. If McCain could betray America for a minor personal reason, was he really the hero in Viet Nam that we always thought him to be?
“You might not agree with what Trump did, but he did what he said he was going to do. He did not lie like all other politicians.”
There were only four things that he promised that really mattered:
1) Locking up Hillary, but immediately after the election he announced that she would get away with her multiple felonies.
2) End sanctuary cities, but not only did he not end a single one, there is now at least one sanctuary state.
3) Build the wall, but he only built a few extra miles, and we now have more people pouring over our border than ever.
I have already mentioned:
4) Repeal Obamacare, but we are still living through that nightmare, and now the government thinks that they can withhold healthcare unless we obey their edicts, such as mandated faux vaccinations that are more harmful than helpful — faux vaccinations that the Democrat Party had warned us were dangerous, until they held the reins of power tightly in their hands, reigning supreme over us, and then they mandated the dangerous faux vaccines.
Trump didn’t even do any swamp draining.
The Republican Party first promised that if we gave them the House of Representatives then they would repeal Obamacare. So we gave them the House. Then they said we had to give them the Senate, too. So we fell for it and gave them the Senate. They fooled us twice. (Shame on whom?) Then they said we had to give them the President, too — “this time for sure!” (To quote Bullwinkle Moose.) So we gave them the presidency, and they stabbed us in the back. No wonder Robert does not trust Republican candidates.
The reason that we cannot tell the difference between a Republican and a Democrat in office is not because Democrats act like Republicans — none do — but because Republicans act like Democrats — many do. Voting has turned into a complete waste of time, and I have better things to do with my time, such as watching an I Love Lucy rerun. No matter which party we vote for, the results are the same, even should the Democrats do not cheat the election (which the Republicans let them do, literally with impunity).
What we really need is a new party with candidates willing to earn our trust by doing as they say, not as the Democrats and Republicans do.
Rick Grenell pulled his endorsement from Jim Lamon because of his campaign ads dissing Peter Thiel, who is a good friend of Rick’s. I haven’t heard if he has switched to Blake Masters (or if he will), but I for one like Rick Grenell. I knew Matt Salmon from his lobbying days at the AZ Legislature. He was a lobbyist in the true sense of the word. Money. More Money, and then some more. He is all in for Taylor Robson. So must be money there. I am also for Kari Lake. I like the grit.
Rick Grenell pulled his endorsement from Jim Lamon because of his campaign ads dissing Peter Thiel, who is a good friend of Rick’s. I haven’t heard if he has switched to Blake Masters (or if he will), but I for one like Rick Grenell. I knew Matt Salmon from his lobbying days at the AZ Legislature. He was a lobbyist in the true sense of the word. Money. More Money, and then some more. He is all in for Taylor Robson. So must be money there. I am also for Kari Lake. I like the grit.
Dave Johnson: Please don’t double post.
Bob—excellent points as usual….except for one thing you wrote: “While many people have very legitimate complaints about Trump’s term as president….”
What complaints would you classify as legitimate? The only one I can think of is that he hired some disloyal people that didn’t share his MAGA vision and turned pretty hard on him. People like Mattis, Bolton, Sessions, his first Sec. of State (can’t remember the name), etc. I don’t think even Trump himself realized just how deep the Deep State was and is.
Also, that Kelly character infuriates me. How any military member, let alone astronaut, after representing the best institutions of our country, could throw their lot with that openly Marxist (aka Democrat) party just boggles the mind. I think he harbors some real misplaced feelings against this country after what happened to his wife.
I will vote with the candidate closest to my values. However, do I ever trust a politician? Nope.
The problem with the GOP is that it is still the party of old money-even as the DNC is run by nut jobs.
Trump should have told Ronna McDaniel to pound sand and shove the Republican Party where the sun don’t shine on January 20th, 2021.
He had threatened to form a third party but McDaniel said the Republican Party had his voter database and would block access.
Trump should have formed that third party and asked his supporters to send him contact info for that new party. At minimum, Trump could at least screw up the dynamics of the Uniparty and could actually win many three way races.
He could still do it but it’s late for 2024.
Edward,
McCain was the hero in Vietnam he was portrayed to be. Despite significant injuries from bailing out of his aircraft and subsequent torture, he declined to participate in propaganda videos with visiting American traitors and refused early release (his father and grandfather were both 4-star admirals, so he was something of a celebrity for that and his appearance on Jeopardy) and kept faith with his fellow POWs. That’s not to say he was an exemplary man in other respects–it seems he was a bit of a playboy and a rogue at the Naval Academy, graduating near the bottom of his class, and continued in the vein in his early military career. He also had a bunch of affairs after his return from Vietnam (his wife, who had been a runway model at one point, was badly injured in an auto accident during his confinement and had put on weight and was in a wheelchair when he returned) and ended up divorcing his wife AFTER he started dating Cindy (whose dad had money–he ran a beer distributorship).
Max,
Trump running as a third party candidate would just throw the race to the Democrats; if his vanity party also ran congressional candidates, he’d lock in his former party’s (he’s a late addition to the Republican party, after giving money and support to the Dems for decades) control of Washington for a long time. They’d have the votes to get their “reforms” through to pack the Supreme Court, institutionalize mail-in voting with no ID requirement, give the franchise to the hordes of newcomers pouring over the Southern border, push transgenderism on our children, punish “wrong think” on TV and the Internet and turn a once-great military into a woke wonderland for the social justice set.
sippin_bourbon: I will vote with the candidate closest to my values. However, do I ever trust a politician? Nope.
My approach to supporting any politician – even Trump – is encapsulated in this line from the cinematic version of Starship Troopers: “You’re it, until you’re killed or I find someone better.”
——————————————-
Hominem Humilem, while this support-the-man-not-the-party independent agrees with you about the counterproductive futility of a third-party run, Trump needs to be the GOP candidate and we need to re-elect him.
Why?
To prove to ourselves that respect for our liberty is worth electing someone who is willing to offend those who would deny us that liberty, instead of fearing that we will be seen as “sinning” by not electing a Nice Person™ without regard to their ability to respect and protect that liberty.
Electing the ineffective Nice Person™ has ended up condemning our neighbors, along with ourselves, to governance in a manner reminiscent of a bull in a china shop. That is simply not nice., to our neighbors or ourselves.
Related:
Klause Schwab: World Economic Forum: “WE PENETRATED ZEE CABINETS”
Sky News: https://youtu.be/5PYkrXwoOZ4 ; 6 min.
When the leader of the World Economic Forum, Klause Schwab speaks in military terms such as they have “Penetrated” the government cabinets of several of the countries in the world in order to mandate their requirements for existence on planet earth, that is how you better understand where the political warfare that I speak of is ongoing. Be confused no more.
They lose in the courts, but they continue to remain in power. Their agenda is to end certain farmers ability to work and have their own businesses. Those who survive, “Will have to farm differently”. This is where real revolution of the people begins. You think that the voting systems around the world are getting more and more honest and accurate? Think again.
Why do you think Bill Gates, a member of the WEF, has positioned himself in such a manner?
Bill Gates is the largest farmland owner in America: report (nypost.com)
The hopeful new manager of your and your family’s existence, Klause Schwab. If you are an American and are either a Democrat or a RINO, you are owned by this Leftist Socialist agenda whether you recognize it or not. You are the problem.
https://ecp.yusercontent.com/mail?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.armstrongeconomics.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F10%2FSchwab-Klaus-World-Reset.jpg&t=1657121551&ymreqid=dc7face7-d905-7706-2f2c-5a01d901c900&sig=mBk1SY99h6z.OFfRY8Z4aA–~D
State 48! Thank you for the analysis, from down in Cochise County. I’ve been hesitant to offer another creepy tech-bro bazillionaire a Senate seat, but he seems to be the the best option. Unfortunately, Kari Lake has spent her adult life wearing really heavy makeup and reading things written for her by others into a TV camera. An actress. I’ve met a few local-yokel-TV-news talking heads, they have all been incredibly photogenic and completely air-headed. Can’t do it.
Richard Stanley: I haven’t provided my full analysis of Kari Lake, but I have made it a point to watch and listen to her interviews and appearances, and she has not given the impression of an air-headed tv anchor (many of which I have met personally in my many tv and radio appearances).
On the contrary, I have been impressed with her knowledge and her conclusions from that knowledge. She also appears to be a fighter who knows how to play the game. Moreover, her recent history recommends her. She quit her tv news job expressly because she had become disturbed at the modern refusal of tv news to cover the news properly.
Some of the people who have endorsed Taylor Robson, especially Jan Brewer and John Fife Symington, make me cringe. They are of the uni-party, and unreliable. Their endorsement actually makes me less likely to vote for Robson.
Concerned: If you wish to know some of the legitimate complaints against Trump, read Edward’s long comment in this thread. He covers them quite well.
serendipitously–I’m listening to the Michigan republican-primary debate on the radio right now. (Don’t know diddly about these people, but I haven’t yet gone digging.)
-Even at this stage my choices have already been drastically constrained in that almost a dozen potential R. candidates were not allowed on the primary ballot due to “canvassing irregularities,” (for good or evil)
–
Q: Does Arizona have open primaries?
wayne: Arizona does not have open primaries. The party you register for is the primary party you vote in.
However, those who are registered to vote but not affiliated with any party have the right to choose which party primary ballot they want to vote in. Thus, if you are an independent you can choose to vote in either the Democratic, Republican, or Libertarian party primaries. But only one.
The original purpose of the Ku Klux Klan was to intimidate Republicans in the South from running for office in those states. Once the Southern Democrats took care of those pesky Republicans they turned to other targets.
These days, the Democratic Party has the force of the government backing up its intimidation of anyone who disagrees with The Party. Who needs the KKK when the government can do the same thing and make it seem not only legal but ethical? Who needs to hide behind white hoods when the government allows the same behavior to occur in the open? Who needs brownshirts when the government will do the same job of punishing the Democrats’ enemies and rewarding their friends?
And who needs the Republican Party when it has joined the Democrats in order to avoid being the ones the government punishes?
In essence, the Republican Party has joined the modern version of the Klan, if only by inaction against it. This is why they don’t challenge stolen elections when this modern Klan has stolen them, and why they didn’t repeal Obamacare when they had the chance, and why they never move the country back to the right when they hold the power to do so. The Democrats are overt, but the Republican Party is still covert Klansmen, which is why the Republicans are not defending the current target: Trump and his allies.
If only Trump had spent his time in office draining the swamp rather than letting the Democrats get away with their felonious modern Klan activity.
There was a time when the Republican Party did what it said it would, and that time ended in 2001, after they had followed through on their promise in 1994 to fulfill their Contract With America. In this century they stopped trying to balance the budget, reduce the size of government, or counter the Democratic Party’s fundamental transformation of America. The Republican Party has left We the People to do that alone and on our own, and we are being hampered by the government Klan at every step of the way.
Hominem Humilem,
Thank you for informing me as to why McCain was such a war hero. I hadn’t known any of that in all these decades.
Of course I knew all that all these decades! There were so few heroes from that war that he was prominent and celebrated, otherwise he would never have become a presidential candidate, just another primary has-been. It seems that in Viet Nam we had to lower the bar for heroism in order to get a few, which harms those who were true heroes.
As for a third party delivering elections to the Democrats, the Republicans are already working with the Democrats, so it does not matter which party we vote for, the Uni-party or the Uni-party, we get the same horrible results. We might as well get a respectable party started, otherwise there is no reason to waste time voting. If people thought like you in the mid-nineteenth century, the Republican Party would never have formed, Lincoln would not have been elected, and America would still be a slave nation. We have to reject the evil, not just vote for the lesser evil, otherwise all we get is evil.
“Arizona makes filming police within 8ft illegal”
Kurt reads the text of newly enacted HB 2319
(July 7, 2022)
https://youtu.be/5ye_gd4If-c
26:20
“Voting Paradoxes”
https://youtu.be/tJag3vuG834
9:29
“The Minority Vote”
Bill the Butcher, Gangs of New York (2002)
https://youtu.be/WLKbcrC0krQ
3:13
Edward–
take a look at this…
“Make Rifles Great Again”
Jerone Davison for Congress
(AZ, 4th Congressional district)
https://youtu.be/BVRxzoKQ8Zk
0:30
And now, wayne, we know why the Democrats want us disarmed.