Why Republican Kari Lake cannot and will not lose the Arizona governor's race

I blame the mess America is in on Toto the dog.

Remember in the movie when Dorothy, the Tin Man, the Cowardly Lion and the Scarecrow are ushered into the great hall of the Wizard of Oz to ask for help, to ask for direction, to be saved, and in thunderous voice, with flashing lights and loud noises the Wizard starts bellowing at them, and then Toto, Dorothy’s little terrier, pulls back a curtain to reveal an odd, portly man operating a panel of levers and dials and switches and speaking into a microphone?

And the man yanks back the curtain and the wizard’s voice booms, "Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!"

But it’s too late.

Because Dorothy and her friends recognize the phony wizard for what he is. An ordinary man.

Not a great scene, a terrible scene

I used to think that was a great movie scene, but now I know it’s terrible. And I hate “The Wizard of Oz” for allowing those of us who’ve seen the film to believe something like that would happen in real life.

No.

Not in America.

Not since 2020.

For almost two years now the wizard of Mar-a-Lago has been bellowing about a stolen election, and in spite of all the proof to the contrary the gullible munchkins who fell under Donald Trump’s spell have refused to acknowledge that he conned them. Even now, as the select committee on the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol pulls back the curtain, the members of Trump’s Lollipop Guild deny his many offenses, some of which should be prosecuted as criminal.

Lake and Finchem and more, oh my

And we’re seeing that same denial in Republican political candidates like Kari Lake, running for governor in Arizona, and Mark Finchem, running for secretary of state.

They not only cling to the false claims about the 2020 election but perpetuate the ludicrous narrative trumpeted by Trump that defeat at the ballot box is impossible for them, and the ONLY way they could lose the election is if there is fraud.

A report in Axios Phoenix by Jeremy Duda points to some of the conspiratorial talking points being spewed by Lake and Finchem.

Like when Finchem said, “Ain't gonna be no concession speech coming from this guy. I'm going to demand a 100% hand count if there's the slightest hint that there's an impropriety. And I will urge the next governor to do the same."

Or when Lake said of Arizona in the recent Republican candidate debate, “We don’t have fair elections,” and “They’re going to have to cheat even harder to win this.”

She's also suggested that her opponents will use the votes of dead people to try to defeat her, as shown in a video clip tweeted by right-wing tracker Ron Filipkowski.

Sadly, ridiculous claims like this – mimicking what Trump has said since his election loss – have become ubiquitous campaign rhetoric for Republican candidates in states all over the country.

About those three missing traits

The basic message is: If we don’t win it’s only because the other side cheated.

No proof is required.

Just as no proof of widespread election fraud or cheating has ever come from Trump or his lawyers, only failed lawsuits, audits that confirmed the election results and debunked conspiracy theories by the dozen.

It leaves a rational person wondering how so many Americans don’t see that Trump is not the wizard he claims to be, even after the curtain has been pulled back.

There's an answer to that, actually, in the form of the Tin Man, the Scarecrow and the Cowardly Lion. From them we learn that confronting a great and powerful phony requires a brain. And a heart. And courage.

Reach Montini at ed.montini@arizonarepublic.com.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Why Kari Lake cannot and will not lose Arizona's governor race