On Tuesday, the Arizona Senate voted to censure Sen. Wendy Rogers for threats she made to her fellow Republicans and a series of what are described as anti-Semitic tweets.
Rogers, who is currently being sued by a former staff member for alleged abusive behavior, made vague threats to colleagues in tweets ranging from wanting her political enemies to be hanged on a “newly built set of gallows,” to destroying the careers of any Republican, who crossed her.
Early on Tuesday, Rogers tweeted: “Good morning! So today is the day where we find out if the Communists in the GOP throw the sweet grandma under the bus for being white.”
Few of her colleagues would describe Rogers as “a sweet grandma.” Rather, Rogers is viewed largely by “colleagues on both sides of the aisle as a calculating flame thrower who knows no boundaries,” one insider told the Arizona Daily Independent. “As for her skin tone, her’s is similar to most of her colleague’s, but theirs is a lot thicker.”
Specifically Rogers was censured for damaging the reputation of the Arizona Senate. Senators found her to engage in disorderly behavior.
“I do not apologize,” said Rogers before casting the first and one of three votes against the censure.
The Senate issued a statement after the vote saying that Rogers’ statements included “publicly issuing and promoting social media and video messaging encouraging violence against and the punishment of American citizens, as well as vowing political destruction of those who disagree with her views. These actions have damage the reputation of the Arizona State Senate.”
“The actions of the senator do not reflect the voice or the stance of the caucus, nor the legislative body. We believe in our God-given right to free speech protected by the First Amendment, but we don’t support hateful words that bring shame to all. We, as elected officials are held to a higher standard,” said Senate President Karen Fann.
“I have known Sen. Rogers for many, many years, and I chose to distance myself and not support her as I learned her true character, as a liar, hater and political bomb-thrower,” former Arizona State Representative Bob Thorpe told the Arizona Daily Independent. “Rogers is all about promoting and furthering Rogers, not about humbly serving our citizens. And by the way, Rogers even lies about living in our Flagstaff district, she doesn’t, she actually lives 150 miles away in Tempe… however after losing elections for a decade, she decided to run in Northern AZ where she thought she could finally, finally win something. Rogers is devoid of any redeeming qualities, she needs to be removed from office and she must never hold public office again.”
I am horrified by the anti-Semitic views of Nick Fuentes, & would never associate with him. I am forcibly struck by the hatred of this man and encourage @WendyRogersAZ to denounce him along with me. Pray for the peace of Israel. 🇮🇱 https://t.co/E5tQlmAHOt pic.twitter.com/MZQlikSRvG
— Senator Kelly Townsend (@AZKellyT) March 2, 2022
In 2019, questions were raised as to whether Senator Martin Quezada should be censured for his racist rant prior to voting “no” against candidates for the Arizona Commission on Appellate Court Appointments because they were not people of color. Despite across the aisle embarrassment caused by Quezada, the matter was never addressed by the Senate as a whole.
After previously saying that Rogers was better than her opponent in the last election cycle, Governor Doug Ducey praised the Senate’s vote.
“Anti-Semitic and hateful language has no place in Arizona. I have categorically condemned it in the past and condemn it now. I strongly believe our public policy debates should be about creating opportunity for all and making our state a better place, not denigrating and insulting any individual or group. I believe the vote taken today by the Arizona Senate sends a clear message: rhetoric like this is unacceptable.
“These are incredibly divided times, but picking a side in the fight to protect western democracy is an easy call. It’s Putin versus freedom. I will always side with freedom,” continued the governor. “I believe any statement supporting Russia’s actions in Ukraine is not only ill-advised, but wrong and dangerous.”