The Arizona GOP’s annual meeting erupted into fireworks, as grassroots disruptors took to the stage, disavowing the state’s establishment Republicans like Governor Doug Ducey.
The main purpose of the annual Arizona GOP State Committee meeting, held in a church in Phoenix on Saturday, is to elect a number of party positions, including Chair, Secretary and Treasurer. What would likely have been a relatively uneventful meeting was interrupted by a number of grassroots individuals, who managed to get on the stage.
Secretary candidate Lisa Daniels, who was nominated only a short while before candidate speeches began, yielded her time to two grassroots pro-Trump activists, Daniel McCarthy and Steve Daniels, a decision that a number of the establishment supporters in the crowd seemingly disapproved of, booing them as soon as McCarthy began speaking.
“We will never succumb to communism in this country or in this state. I don’t care what Republican operatives you guys continue to produce, but in this room we have some remarkable people,” McCarthy, who ran in the Republican Primary last year against Martha McSally, said, before he was cut off by the crowd and officials.
However, Arizona GOP Chair Dr. Kelli Ward made sure that the two were still able to speak to the crowd. “I’m an advocate of free speech and that means here in the Republican Party,” Ward said. “It’s better for us to live the principles that we say we hold dear, in that more speech is better than less, and you all can make the decision about what they say, and how you feel about it!”
Points of order were raised against the pair, including one asking if McCarthy was a registered Republican, due to him expressing his interest in creating a “Patriot Party” with President Trump on Twitter.
Better join the Patriot Party because we're going to actually fight the Biden agenda.
Hoping @GOP joins us in this fight. https://t.co/PGeO3dx9G8
— Daniel McCarthy for Arizona (@DemandDanielAZ) January 20, 2021
McCarthy proceeded to quote Thomas Jefferson, who “once said that once a Republic has become corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of its growing evils, but by removing the corruption and restoring it in its entirety. Every other correction is either useless or a new evil,” and slammed the “uniparty system” and controlled opposition candidates like Martha McSally and Arizona Governor Doug Ducey:
Do you hear what I’m saying? Our founders warned us of what’s going on. You have a uniparty system. I was blocked last year. They took a controlled opposition candidate [McSally] and spoonfed them to you. Martha McSally, Doug Ducey, they are controlled opposition and you know it! This party put Doug Ducey in office and Doug Ducey should be recalled by this party! Any chairperson should be recalling Doug Ducey and recalling Rusty Bowers. Why don’t you guys want to recall the man that certified a fraudulent election? You’re booing me! Constitutional conservatism IS the Republican Party!
McCarthy finished his speech by hoping that the Arizona GOP would re-elect Dr Ward for another two year term as chair of the party in the meeting, in order to crush the establishment Republicans and the “uniparty” system that he railed against.
