How Kari Lake gulped cash from the 'McCain swamp'

Back when Kari Lake, the Republican candidate for Arizona governor, was proudly endorsing a homophobic antisemite Republican candidate for the Oklahoma Legislature named Jarrin Jackson, he posted an image of the two of them with the quote, “I am honored to be endorsed by the #AmericaFirst (and Trump-endorsed) warrior who drained the McCain swamp in Arizona and is now the GOP nominee for governor in Arizona – Kari Lake … ”.

Not long after that, Arizona’s “Trump-endorsed warrior” beat a hasty retreat once she started getting bad publicity for supporting an antisemitic homophobe.

However, the stuff about draining the “McCain swamp” came straight from Lake’s standard stump speech, often mimicked by Arizona Republican Party Chair Kelli Ward (currently playing The Joker to Lake’s Harley Quinn).

Kari Lake has strongly criticized debt forgiveness

Lake once told an audience at a campaign event, “This is time to replace the disgusting, dirty McCain swamp with, maybe, I don’t know … a Lake? You need somebody who is going to represent ‘we the people.’ ”

She said, “We can’t put another Swamp Creature in the governor’s office and expect changes …”.

Her campaign “War Room” Twitter account wrote, “Dear Swamp, Here in Arizona, we don’t operate by federal edict, we go by the Constitution …”.

It goes on.

Lack of evidence: Lake's lawsuit to ban voting machines tossed

After all that tough talk it might come as a surprise to Lake’s supporters that her plan to drain that notorious government swamp seems to have involved dipping the family bucket into the murky waters and carrying home a sloshy pail of cash.

Yet her husband got cash from the PPP

After Lake joined the chorus of Republican hypocrites griping about President Joe Biden’s student debt relief program it was pointed out in a Phoenix New Times article that Lake’s husband had a loan of $5,663 forgiven under the government’s Paycheck Protection Program.

This after Lake’s “War Room” account tweeted: “Democrats like @JoeBiden & @katiehobbs will rob you blind and expect you to thank them for it,” retweeting a Fox News clip from the Republican National Committee saying, “The people that already paid their student loans, they don’t get anything out of this deal.”

I attended a parochial school during my youth and don’t recall in the Bible story (Matthew 14:13-21) where Jesus transforms five loaves of bread and two fish into enough food to feed a crowd of five thousand if there was any resentment aimed at those getting the free food by members of the flock who’d prepared for a long day by stopping to purchase deep-fried cod sandwiches on the way.

Even her Dear Leader wallows in the 'swamp'

Many of the Republicans griping about student debt relief were the happy recipients of PPP loan forgiveness.

Among other financial breaks.

It’s their way of saying, “I got mine, but I don’t want you to get yours.” An attitude shared by Lake’s Dear Leader.

Former president Donald Trump condemned the student debt relief program in a statement, saying, “Joe Biden and the Radical Left Democrats have just orchestrated another election enhancing money grab, this time to the tune of $300,000,000,000 – and just like I predicted, it’s coming right out of the pocket of the working-class Americans who are struggling the most!”

As if no one would notice or remind Trump that he has avoided paying his debts by declaring bankruptcy six – count ‘em – SIX times.

Does it get any swampier than that?

Reach Montini at ed.montini@arizonarepublic.com.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Kari Lake gulped cash from the 'McCain swamp' she criticizes