Sorry, Gov. Brewer, you can't defend democracy and vote for Trump

Former Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer is a hard-core, never-wavering Republican. Rock solid.

She is also a board member of the Defend Democracy Project, which aims to fight the conspiracy theorists and election deniers eroding trust in the democratic process.

Somehow, the former governor, like many others, believes she can have it both ways.

No.

Everyone’s mother was right: You can’t have your cake and eat it, too.

Brewer trusts elections but will vote for Trump?

Brewer is on the democracy board with Republican former U.S. Rep. Matt Salmon, Democratic former state Rep. Daniel Hernandez and Republican Yuma County Supervisor Jonathan Lines.

The organization is working in Arizona, as well as in Georgia, New Hampshire, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, trying to dispel conspiracies and educate people on how the election process actually works.

Brewer knows all about that. She ran Arizona’s elections as secretary of state before becoming governor.

She told The Arizona Republic’s Mary Jo Pitzl, ”I know there have been hiccups in elections, but never enough to change elections.” She added that she has never doubted the outcome of Arizona’s elections.

Then she said of former President Donald Trump, “I will vote for him. He’s the Republican nominee.”

Wait … what?

She rejects conspiracies but will vote for Trump?

On the homepage of the Defend Democracy Project, it says right at the top, “Trump and his allies spread lies and cheered on a violent attack on our country to try to overturn the results of the election.

“Today, the same people are hard at work laying the groundwork to override our votes in future elections so they can put themselves in power regardless of the outcome of an election … .”

And yet Brewer, a board member says, “I will vote for him.”

In an op-ed that Brewer wrote for The Republic, she wrote in part, “It’s imperative that we reject baseless conspiracy theories and disinformation that seek to delegitimize our democratic institutions. False claims of widespread voter fraud not only erode public trust in elections but also undermine the credibility of our political system writ large.

“Instead, we must rely on facts and evidence ... .”

And yet she said, “I will vote for him.”

Who embodies what's wrong more than Trump?

On the Arizona version of the Defend Democracy Project’s website, it blames the erosion of trust in the electoral process on “election deniers,” “ideologues” and “the MAGA movement.”

Who embodies all that more than anyone?

And yet Brewer says, “I will vote for him.”

Maricopa County GOP tells us: They are squalid bigots

I’d guess there are many Republicans who are like her. They mark the “R” on the ballot, no matter what. No matter who.

I get loyalty. I grew up in a family, a neighborhood, a town, where loyalty was everything. But it wasn’t blind. It was based on trust. On shared values, which matter more than any one individual.

Take a page from McCain or Kinzinger

In politics, it’s a belief in country over party, something beautifully stated by the late U.S. Sen. John McCain in his Nov. 5, 2008, concession speech to President Barack Obama.

He said in part, “I urge all Americans who supported me to join me in not just congratulating him, but offering our next president our goodwill and earnest effort to find ways to come together, to find the necessary compromises, to bridge our differences and help restore our prosperity, defend our security in a dangerous world, and leave our children and grandchildren a stronger, better country than we inherited.”

Should Brewer need a more contemporary example of country over party, I’d suggest Republican former U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger, who sat on the select House committee that investigated Trump’s role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.

In a recent online video, Kinzinger said, “As a proud conservative, I’ve always put democracy and our Constitution above all else. And it’s because of my unwavering support for democracy, that today, as a proud conservative, I am endorsing Joe Biden for reelection.”

Yeah. That.

Reach Montini at [email protected].

For more opinions content, please subscribe.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Former Gov. Jan Brewer can't defend democracy and vote for Trump