Ruben Gallego vs. Kari Lake
I have been trying to listen to all of the debates for the U.S. Senate. Mostly they have been fairly civil affairs. This debate is an exception. Kari Lake is the reason. She speaks over her opponent. She speaks when it is not her turn. She speaks beyond her time limits and generally pays no attention to the agreed upon rules. Given her continued disrespect for the voting process in the 2020 election and her own failed bid for Governor of Arizona in 2022, her disrespect for the debating rules should be no surprise.
Immigration
To hear Kari Lake speak, you would think there is only one issue in this election: immigration. If the question is inflation or the economy, the answer is building the wall. If the issue is housing, the answer is deporting illegal immigrants. Although it is not clear that she draws a distinction here between legal and illegal immigrants, since they both consume housing. If the issue is abortion, the answer is, bizarrely, protecting women from illegal immigrants. It is clear why she opposed the bi-partisan bill to do something about illegal immigration. Without this issue she has nothing.
Whatever Ruben Gallego may have said on the issue of immigration in the past, he seems to favor strong border protection now. This includes building a wall where those guarding the border think it will be helpful.
Foreign Policy
On foreign policy Kari Lake will certainly abandon support for Ukraine, thereby inviting further aggression by Putin. She seems to think it impossible for a smaller country to defeat a larger one, despite the evidence from Vietnam and Afghanistan. She also appears to have slept through history class when the lessons of the dangers of appeasement prior to WWII were discussed. She will support Israel, but so will Gallego.
The Filibuster Rule
I have to say that Ruben Gallego’s willingness to end the filibuster rule to legislatively codify Roe v. Wade disturbs me. That said, Trump has said he favors abandoning the filibuster rule and it is hard to imagine Lake opposing anything Trump wants. Sadly, I think the filibuster rule does not have a long life expectancy, no matter who controls the Senate.
Abortion
Democrats have over reached on this issue in the past. But Gallego’s current position and that of the Democratic Party, i.e. legislatively re-establishing the rights under Roe v. Wade on a national level, is appealing. It is certainly more appealing to me than a mix of state legislation, including some draconian laws that essentially ban abortion under all circumstances and attempt to limit the ability to travel to receive an abortion. Kari Lake seems to think that defending the rights of some states to ban abortion is a more important defense of liberty than placing the issue in the hands of individual women. This is an odd notion of liberty that reminds me of the Confederacy claiming that they seceded from the union to defend freedom.
The Endorsement
Ruben Gallego is no centrist but Kari Lake is beyond the pale. I, therefore, endorse Gallego for the U.S. Senate from Arizona.