Kari Lake, Kelli Ward and the Arizona GOP have lost their minds
It’s, we’re informed, a “bombshell”. A surprising piece of political skullduggery that has shaken our honest state to its very core.
Fortunately, the Arizona Republican Get together is on the job.
Not even 24 hours after Katie Hobbs’ election as governor grew to become official, the Republican Get together is asking on Lawyer Basic Mark Brnovich to research her supposedly nefarious dealings.
Cue state GOP Chairwoman Kelli Ward:
“Two days in the past a bombshell was dropped that Arizona Secretary of State, Katie Hobbs, pressured Twitter to take away posts whereas she was working to develop into Governor of Arizona,” Ward wrote, in a Tuesday letter to Brnovich.
The occasion is asking Brnovich to “instantly examine” Hobbs for “directing a personal firm (Twitter) to suppress free speech.”
So, what treachery did Katie Hobbs commit?
Ward additionally needs the outgoing lawyer normal to nail Hobbs for illegally coordinating with Twitter “to take down a message she presumably considered as detrimental to her marketing campaign”.
“It seems that Secretary Hobbs, appearing in her official capability, utilizing state assets, and at instances in coordination with the Biden Administration, privately requested Twitter to take away posts on her behalf,” Ward wrote.
Naturally, Kari Lake helps the decision for an investigation, declaring that Hobbs’ “warfare on political dissent and the First Modification has solely simply begun.”
Goodness.
So what method of mischief did Gov.-elect Katie Machiavelli perpetrate on an unsuspecting public? What treachery warrants such angst over at GOP HQ?
Based on inside Twitter paperwork that surfaced over the weekend, Hobbs’ workplace notified the nonprofit Heart for Info Safety (CIS) a couple of pair of tweets containing “election associated misinformation”. CIS then handed alongside the data to Twitter, which deleted the 2 tweets.
The circumstances behind these deleted tweets
Allie Bones, assistant secretary of state, says the 2 tweets have been flagged as a result of they falsely claimed that Arizona’s voter registration system is run by a international company.
“Is our total election system international owned?” one of many now-deleted tweets requested.
So the tweets – which got here from a now-deleted Twitter account that seems German and was arrange in June 2020 – have been flagged on Jan. 7, 2021.
For the calendar challenged, that’s the day after U.S. Capitol was stormed by the Trump mob and practically 5 months earlier than Hobbs introduced her run for governor.
Why did Hobbs win?Her marketing campaign staff particulars victorious technique
Bones mentioned it’s commonplace process for presidency companies and different organizations to report social media content material that violates a platform’s phrases of service.
“It’s the Secretary of State’s job to ensure that voters are knowledgeable about easy methods to vote and the way our election system works,” she mentioned, in a press release. “One of many methods we do that’s by working to counter disinformation on-line that may confuse voters.”
Or put one other method, working to counter lies meant to sucker voters into believing there was a conspiracy afoot.
Nevertheless it’s all an election conspiracy, proper?
Based on Ward and probably the most delusional on the far proper, it was all an orchestrated plot geared toward stifling dissent in order that Hobbs might then march, unchallenged, into the Governor’s Workplace two years later.
“The SOS of AZ and Gov candidate, Katie Hobbs, used the ability of the AZ SOS to collude w/ Twitter to unconstitutionally violate 1st Modification rights of Individuals for her personal political achieve,” Georgia Sen. Marjorie Taylor Greene declared on Sunday. “That is communism and Hobbs cannot be governor. I’m calling for a Federal investigation.”
“Staffers for the Secretary of State of Arizona, ordered by gubernatorial candidate and then-Secretary of State @KatieHobbs directed censorship via CISA…that is unlawful,” Fox’s Tucker Carlson proclaimed on Monday. “This can be a crime. A criminal offense towards our democracy.”
“@katiehobbs warfare on political dissent and the First Modification has solely simply begun,” Kari Lake’s campaign tweeted. “Disgrace on all those that have refused to carry this petty tyrant accountable. There’s nonetheless time to do the best factor.”
Gee, and also you marvel why the Republican Get together misplaced each main race in Arizona this yr?
Attain Roberts at laurie.roberts@arizonarepublic.com. Comply with her on Twitter at @LaurieRoberts.
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This text initially appeared on Arizona Republic: Kari Lake calls for a Katie Hobbs investigation. That is weird