Kari Lake and Wendy Rogers mocking the attack on Paul Pelosi is classless. And on brand

Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake at the studio of AZTV7 for a 30 minute televised Q&A with talk radio host Mike Broomhead on Oct. 22, 2022.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake at the studio of AZTV7 for a 30 minute televised Q&A with talk radio host Mike Broomhead on Oct. 22, 2022.
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Politics in Arizona spiraled to a new low this week, if that’s even possible.

During a campaign event in Scottsdale on Monday, Kari Lake evidently thought it would be hilarious to make light of the attack on Paul Pelosi while talking about school security.

“It is not impossible to protect our kids at school. We act like it is. Nancy Pelosi, well, she’s got protection when she’s in D.C. Apparently her house doesn’t have a lot of protection,” Lake deadpanned, drawing laughter from the crowd.

This as the 82-year-old man lay in intensive care after being attacked with a hammer by a right-wing nutjob who broke into his home in the dead of night.

David DePape, 42, who posted conspiracy theories about the 2020 election, COVID and the Jan. 6 insurrection, is accused of breaking into the Pelosi home, hoping to kidnap House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and possibly break her kneecaps as a lesson to Democrats.

Funny stuff.

The facts of the attack? Who needs them?

State Sen. Wendy Rogers apparently thought so.

She retweeted a phony Amazon ad offering a “Paul Pelosi Fake Attack Novelty Item Headpiece.” The headpiece displayed a bloody hammer, “perfect for partying with random strangers.”

But then, Rogers is in good company.

No less than Elon Musk, Donald Trump, Jr., and that guy who sees mules everywhere, Dinesh D’Souza, have taken to social media to promote the sick theory that Friday’s attack was really a tiff between Pelosi and his gay lover.

It’s ridiculous, and there are no facts to back it up.

Another view: Those spinning Pelosi attack could learn from Tucson shooting

But then perhaps it’s no more ridiculous than the fact that people like Lake and the rest of Arizona’s – and America’s – MAGA slate are still talking about a “stolen” election two years later.

Facts, like the attack on Pelosi, are apparently funny things.

You don’t need them to convince an appallingly large number of voters to give you money or, possibly, the reins of power.

Lake thinks her joke is a show of character

The real joke, of course, is on us. We live in a world in which there are no boundaries anymore, nothing is off limits in a sick attempt to score a political point.

A time in which elections officials fear for their lives as opportunistic politicians urge on the loonies, in the name of God and for the (supposed) love of country.

And we allow it. Next week, we might even reward it.

Reached for comment, Lake’s campaign told NBC News that her remarks didn’t need clarifying.

No, they really don't.

In a later interview with Fox’s Tucker Carlson, Lake implied that making fun of the attack on Paul Pelosi is somehow a sign of strength – a show of character.

“We can’t talk about all these issues, because the media has told us they’re prohibited,” she said. “You can’t talk about vaccines, you can’t talk about elections, you can’t talk about Paul Pelosi, and now you can’t talk about Nancy Pelosi.

“I’m talking about all of those things,” she added.

Funny, I recall a time when mocking a man as he lay hospitalized with a skull fracture said more about you than it did about anybody else.

Reach Roberts at laurie.roberts@arizonarepublic.com. Follow her on Twitter at @LaurieRoberts.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Kari Lake shamelessly mocks the attack on Paul Pelosi