While I don’t personally dislike Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey as a person, I don’t understand him as a governor.
I try not to make politics personal or to attack a person’s personality or character but try to focus on the differences I have with the policies advanced by certain elected officials. The exception to that rule is when I observe particularly offensive acts that appear to be abusive. For instance, I have confronted Democratic California Rep. Maxine Waters for advocating harassment and provoking violence against Trump officials and supporters. I have pursued congressional sanctions against Democratic New Jersey Rep. Bill Pascrell, who has brought abusive bar complaints with the object of having all Trump lawyers disbarred — even though Pascrell is not a party to any action the lawyers have undertaken on Trump’s behalf, and there are adequate remedies available to local judges if it is found that the attorneys have undertaken frivolous actions.
I view those two acts as crossing a line of political discourse, because they attempt to foment violence on the one hand and take away the livelihood of political opponents on the other. This malevolence is driven by an authoritarian mindset that wishes to destroy anyone who doesn’t agree with these two radical leftists’ political views.
I relate this because the action by Arizona’s governor must be critiqued in a way that he might consider a personal attack. I am attacking his leadership of the state on two specific points while trying to respect that the outbreak of COVID-19 has produced a milieu in which it is hard to manage the state.
The first problem is that the governor has leapt over the bounds of the emergency authority set forth in state law. He views the authority as a broad grant of power to manage all the affairs of every resident of this state, rather than the more accurate and limiting intent of the statute, to manage Arizona’s resources, the personnel and material of the state government, to address an emergent situation.
Ducey has threatened to take away the livelihood and freedom of any who attempt to prevent him from abusing his power. For instance, his Health Department has harassed a private gym and threatened to take the gym owner’s business license and put him in jail because he keeps his private gym open.
The gym owner only allows club members to come in by appointment and keeps the facility sanitized. There has never even been one gym member or staff that has contracted COVID-19 by going to that gym. In fact, the head of Ducey’s Health Department testified in court that they had never traced a single case originating at any gym or bar in Arizona.
To pursue this gym owner is an abuse of power. To attempt to take away his business and threaten to take away his freedom is tyranny. And there are many other small business owners who have experienced similar fates.
Yet, the governor not only allows this to happen, he encourages it. He sanctions it. And, that is worthy of criticism.
And while singling out certain business owners to bring all the power of the state to crush an individual is bad enough, the governor also wants emotional cover for his efforts. He recently tweeted that no one is talking about the myriad negative effects of lockdowns, yet he and his policies perpetuate those negative effects. His leadership has resulted in the very lockdowns that he pretends didn’t happen on his watch.
He is responsible for the increase in mental health problems throughout Arizona. He has caused the economic restrictions that have produced countless business closures. He has sanctioned the limitation on elective medical procedures that have resulted in deaths and exacerbation of untreated illnesses.
That is bad enough, but then he forgets that many warned him of the consequences of his policies. For example, months ago, while the Arizona Legislature was in session, he could have used emergency resources to test every resident and worker in assisted living facilities. He chose not to.
Since March, I have warned repeatedly about the perils of the lockdowns, restrictions, and mandates that Arizona has instituted. I reiterated that these actions have not valued and protected all Arizonans and have taken a great economic and societal toll on the lives of our citizens.
These warnings and admonitions, and many more, fell on deaf ears in the Ducey’s office.
I do not dislike Ducey. I dislike that he has, on the one hand, exceeded the limits of his power, allowing bureaucrats within his administration to vindictively persecute singled-out Arizonans, while on the other hand, attempting to avoid responsibility for his choices.
I simply do not understand his method of governance.
Andy Biggs represents Arizona’s 5th Congressional District.
