I almost don’t like to watch the news anymore. Watching the craziness that is coming out of the White House, the House of Representatives, and the Senate should motivate every American to get involved. Closer to home, the consequences of our elections really hit Arizona and Pima County. While many Arizonans may not be directly affected by the Nord Stream pipeline, learning that our Republican Senator (T.J. Shope, LD-8) voted with the democrats to stop HB 2190 (vaccine requirement prohibited in businesses, universities, and health care facilities) hits home.
As a business owner I do appreciate the freedom to deny service to a customer, but #shopemeyourpapers won’t happen in my business. Do we want to allow businesses to deny service to those who choose not to be vaccinated with a vaccine that is not approved by the FDA? This is a very dangerous can to open; what’s next? While Governor Ducey issued an Executive Order banning “vaccine passports” and preventing state and local governments from requiring Arizonans to provide COVID-19 vaccination status to receive service, it did fall short of extending the executive order to businesses.
Many of our children are still masked up in our schools as summer school starts along with our Arizona 100+ degree weather. The Arizona election audit resumes the count today, and other states are following Arizona’s lead and looking at their own election results and processes. Meanwhile the Independent Redistricting Commission is working on redistricting the Congressional and Legislative districts in Arizona. For our Legislative Districts, that means we will be reorganizing in the coming months. Right here in Pima County, Supervisor Steve Christy continues to fight the good fight on the Board of Supervisors, working not only for his District 4 but for all Pima County–while the democrats on the BoS attempt to keep the community locked down.
So we must remain happy warriors. The phrase “happy warrior” comes from an 1806 poem by William Wordsworth titled Character of the Happy Warrior. A happy warrior was described as a brave, generous, and moral man, who was able to remain virtuous even in the midst of distress; an optimist who is able to thrive amidst conflict. The Pima County Republicans will remain happy warriors as we work to register voters, appoint Precinct Committeemen, meet our Candidates, walk our neighborhoods, and have some fun together. Hope to see you all at the baseball game on Thursday! Bear Down, Happy Warriors!