Secretary Mattis is an unmatched patriot, warrior and leader who has spent his life keeping America safe. I am grateful for his service as SECDEF and concerned about the void he leaves at such a critical time.
— Martha McSally (@RepMcSally) December 21, 2018
It didn’t take Martha McSally very long to become the Arizona GOP’s establishment crusty critic. In fact, it was her ability to channel the late Senator John McCain that earned her an appointment to his Senate seat.
So when McSally tweeted out her “concern” about the firing of General James Mattis by President Donald Trump it had to warm the hearts of Arizona’s neocons.
McCain’s seat had been temporarily filled by Jon Kyl. Governor Doug Ducey appointed the unoffensive Kyl to hold the spot until after 2018 General Election.
Kyl’s temporary appointment prevented the certain uprising in the Arizona GOP ranks that a McSally appointment would have created.
During her unsuccessful Senate run against Krysten Sinema, McSally pivoted right and became a fan of Trump. The only people who believed – or pretended to believe her – were progressive columnists, like EJ Montini and Laurie Roberts, who needed to “kookify” her on behalf of Sinema.
Republicans did buy the act and as a result did not support her enthusiastically enough to secure her victory. Besides, most in the GOP grass root ranks knew that the powers-that-be would keep her in the Capitol one way or another so she was the last person in which they were going to invest their time or capital.