AZ-Sen: Martha McSally (R) Skipped Coronavirus Hearing To Hang Out With Trump On Air Force One

Kudos to Dan Desai Martin at The American independent for highlighting this:

Sen. Martha McSally (R-AZ) did not attend a Senate hearing Tuesday on the federal government's coronavirus response so she could take a trip on Air Force One with Donald Trump.

The Senate Banking Committee, of which McSally is a member, held a hearing with Brian Miller, Trump's nominee to be special inspector general for pandemic recovery at the Treasury Department. Miller, currently a White House lawyer, would oversee more than $2 trillion in coronavirus response spending if he is confirmed.

Instead of participating in the hearing, McSally flew to Arizona with Trump.

McSally bragged about her trip with Trump on social media, posting a selfie with two other Republican members of Congress preparing to board Air Force One. In the photo, none of the members wore face masks or maintained distancing of six feet, both included in guidelines the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended to slow the spread of the virus.

The hearing started at 2:30 p.m. Air Force One departed for Arizona, with McSally on board, at 10:20 a.m.

With Trump, McSally toured an Arizona factory that makes protective equipment, including face masks.

That’s just awful. McSally is sucking up to Trump because she’s too fixated on re-election then her own job. Also, this was the dumbest answer ever:

This week, it was her office’s absurd response to a column I wrote Thursday, detailing how McSally told her constituents that she wouldn’t support sending much needed aid to cities across Arizona that are reeling from the economic disaster wrought by the coronavirus.

Congress, you see, had already sent $150 billion to states and cities in previous aid packages. And even though that money can’t be used to fill budget deficits, and even though it’s available only to the three Arizona cities – Phoenix, Tucson and Mesa – with more than 500,000 residents, McSally was clear that “this is not the time” for more money to be given to cities and states.

On top of that, she also failed to repudiate Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s comments that cities and states facing steep deficits should explore filing for bankruptcy instead of seeking help from the federal government.

Faced with explaining those comments, McSally’s spokeswoman gave The Arizona Republic what is probably the worst possible answer: The senator’s words weren’t ever meant to be public.

Let’s unpack just how bad that statement is.

First of all, it’s wildly and demonstrably untrue. McSally made the comments not at a closed-door fundraising event, but at a virtual town hall hosted by the city of Surprise. That town hall was promoted by local media, was recorded by the city’s government TV channel and posted online after the fact.

Telling such an obvious lie is insulting to Arizonans, and makes it clear that McSally and her aides think we’re as dumb as they are duplicitous.

But beyond that, why would their defense be, “You weren’t supposed to hear that!”?

The implication of that is profound: Voters aren’t supposed to know what their (unelected) representative actually thinks about policies that affect them.

When the defense of a policy position boils down to, “Oh, shit, was that out loud?,” you’ve badly lost the messaging battle.

And in this case, McSally has definitely lost that battle. Every Arizona city is in need of financial help. The coronavirus hit right as Arizona’s economy was entering peak season – tourism hits its apex in the spring, golfers from around the world show up at our multitude of courses and the Cactus League is in full swing. All of that evaporated in an instant, taking every city’s sales tax revenue with it.

And while McSally blamed “the Left” for wanting to rob Arizona taxpayers by “bailing out” liberal cities, the reality of her position is that real harm will be visited upon the cities she represents – cities that, in many cases, are led by Republicans – and the constituents that live in them.

Meanwhile, Mark Kelly (D. AZ) has been acting like a real public servant:

‘

Senate candidate Mark Kelly is doing his part to help the hungry during the COVID-19 pandemic.

He volunteered his time with mobile meals Monday to deliver food to seniors and others who are home-bound.

Hunger and food security are a constant project of Kelly's. He's been an advocate for the southern Arizona food bank since 2011.

Let’s defeat McSally again. Click here to donate and get involved with Kelly’s campaign.