Let’s stop funding reckless GOP officials

As a precinct committeewoman from Legislative District 28 in North Central Phoenix, I was once again dismayed and insulted by my own party’s actions. The party faithful toils so hard while party officials squander their labor on undisciplined, mean-spirited name-calling that serves no other purpose than to bolster big egos and small ideas.

For his part, AJ LaFaro must resign as GOP county chairman for no other purpose than he lacks any modicum of credibility outside a narrow group of people who seem to require 100 percent lockstep agreement on all issues.

The issues we face in this state are a multifaceted cadre of intricate policies questions that Mr. LaFaro did not bother to learn before he rose to testify on behalf of me and thousands of other elected officials in this state. That dog won’t hunt… and he has lost the right to represent me.

It is time to break with those who can no longer carry the distinction of trusted, responsible leadership. And, until we remove that underlying crop of GOP officialdom, there is an alternative.

We are no longer slaves to the party apparatus – paying tribute to those who can afford to throw the personal bombs of inadequacy at any elected official. The U.S. Supreme Court ensured that through the independent expenditure process, we are no longer required to pray at the altar of party politics to effectively communicate with the electorate.

Independent expenditures have made party politics nearly irrelevant because the LaFaroesque party “leaders” have become their own liability – thus incapable of raising the necessary money to effectively run political campaigns. Let’s face it, those leaders have forfeited the right to speak for us when they can no longer be a grown-up at a public meeting before the people we help get elected. But that does not mean the rest of us do not have a conservative and discerning vision for Arizona.

It is any person’s right to have a voice and alienate whomever they please, but for the rest of us here in the real world – who must actually accomplish something – we can support our causes through forceful independent efforts. Our conservative voices can be heard using the independent expenditure system that the Supreme Court codified not so long ago.

So, the time is now, let us move ahead by ensuring our contributions go to any number of independent expenditure committees to support candidates and causes that better Arizona. Stop writing checks to party officials who no longer deserve our support.

I have had my differences with the governor, she once vetoed a bill I would have liked to see implemented. But I do not question her integrity. I know she is working hard and honorably for Arizonans. Not all issues are black and white, and are certainly not simple.

So let’s move ahead with a health plan that works for Arizona and returns $2 billion of our own federal tax money for Medicaid expansion. To be clear, I did not support Obamacare. However, here is some news for my collaborators in the GOP: Congress passed, Obama signed, the U.S. Supreme Court validated it. Then America re-elected president Obama who said he would not repeal it. We lost, let’s move ahead, shall we?

 – Rebecca McKay is a precinct committeewoman in Legislative District 28.