What if Kari Lake is right?

Why the left still want her to shut up. Opinion.

What were the Arizona media so worried about? Why couldn’t they give Kari Lake’s campaign a fair shake? Maybe because publicizing Lake’s campaign platform — which made her plan to secure the border a top priority — would alert Arizonans and the rest of America to the facts about what was happening at the border and disrupt the progressive narrative.

I’m not an Arizonan, but I’ve been following Kari Lake in the news ever since her 2022 campaign for the Arizona governor’s seat, when I happened to see her on Tucker Carlson’s show on the Fox News channel. I’m an unaffiliated voter, and I have always tried to take in information from a wide range of sources — left, right and center — in order to get a balanced perspective and reach my own independent views.

When it comes to political conspiracies and election denialism, I’m late to the party.

The 2020 presidential election and the events of January 6, 2021, filtered through the media coverage I saw at the time, induced an uneasy state of cognitive dissonance. We went to bed on the night of November 3, 2020, believing that Trump had very likely secured a second term. We awoke to learn that Joe Biden, who had barely campaigned, had a commanding lead. When the dust finally settled, the Washington Post reported: “Biden was put over the edge by Pennsylvania’s 20 electoral votes after the state was called on Nov. 7. Biden added later Arizona and Georgia, states that have not voted for a Democrat for president since Bill Clinton.”¹ The pro-Democrat mainstream media crowed, “the 81 million votes Biden won is by far the most any presidential candidate has ever received.”²

In the aftermath of January 6, 2021, the official narrative that emerged of a violent insurrection and attempted coup d’etat at the U.S. Capitol during the official certification of electoral ballots clashed with my understanding of how Capitol Hill security actually works. Having lived in the DC area for more than a decade, I knew the Capitol Hill police and other law enforcement on the ground that day should have been able to prevent a security breach at the Capitol.

Questioning the “violent insurrection” narrative, and the assertions that President Donald Trump had “incited” his supporters, I assumed the official version of January 6 was likely a cover for miscommunication and poor planning leading to the Capitol breach. I was still giving the federal government and mainstream media the benefit of the doubt.

In the months following January 6, I learned that election officials, poll workers and other witnesses from across the U.S. had been coming forward with specific concerns about procedural changes made by state administrators shortly before the election, the handling of mail-in ballots, computer issues, and other troubling irregularities.³ For me, President Trump’s election challenges suggested that genuine flaws in election integrity, and possibly even malfeasance, would be exposed in court. Trump’s continued assertions that elections had been rigged, and the volume of lawsuits he filed (more than sixty),⁴ suggested to me there had to be some basis in fact for his “election denialism.”

Without enough information to have an informed opinion, I kept an open mind and waited for the legal challenges to play out in court.

But news coverage of President Trump’s election challenges was dismissive across the board.⁵ Without discussing the merits of Trump’s evidence — in many cases asserting that he brought “no evidence” — The Washington Post,⁶ National Public Radio and other mainstream outlets portrayed his challenges as mere political showmanship, and “election denialism” was cast as a religion for right-wing MAGA zealots. In many of Trump’s lawsuits his attorneys were slapped with sanctions — monetary penalties usually reserved for the most egregious cases of abuse of legal process — intended to send a chilling message to other would-be election deniers and their attorneys.⁷

Without probing further into the facts I took the court rulings as decisive and moved on — but with an unsettling sense of vertigo. Questions lingered. Many questions.

Through 2021 and 2022, narratives diverged till Americans were seemingly divided into two separate paradigms. For the left Joe Biden, after campaigning from his basement, was the elected president. For many on the right, Trump’s second term had been usurped, but it was clear that the Democrats’ slur of “election denialism” was being used to silence dissenting views. I slowly came to grasp the extent of the mainstream media’s conspiracy. The gap in narratives has continued to widen, further polarizing the nation.

Beginning in January 2021, as soon as Biden took office and appointed Alejandro Mayorkas as Secretary of the Department Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Border Patrol agents at the U.S.-Mexico border, under orders from DHS, had quietly begun admitting unlimited numbers of asylum seekers — releasing them within the U.S. on their own recognizance rather than detaining them while their asylum claims were investigated, as had been the policy of previous administrations.⁸ In a nutshell, the Biden administration decided to allow anyone who appeared at our border to claim political asylum on the basis of “credible fear,” and to remain in the U.S. while their claim was investigated. Claims processing is currently taking about six years.⁹ The change in policy went mostly unnoticed and ignored by mainstream media.

But Arizonan Kari Lake noticed.

By the time campaign season for the 2022 mid-term elections came around, the border crisis was exploding, and the synthetic opioid fentanyl, which was being smuggled in across the U.S.-Mexico border, had become the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18-45.¹⁰ But with the exception of Fox News, none of the major national news outlets was reporting on the growing crisis.

During her campaign for governor, Republican candidate Lake complained to Tucker Carlson of bias in Arizona’s local media. Lake had committed the unpardonable sin of speaking her truth — she had questioned the results of the 2020 election and professed a belief that President Trump had likely won. A former television news anchor herself, Lake decried the “fake news” for dismissing her as an “election denier” and refusing to cover her campaign and her platform.¹¹

“If they aren’t bad-mouthing me and running hit pieces on me, then they will have to talk about the issues,” Lake said. “When you look at our policies, our America first, Arizona first policies, once they start covering that, it’s game over, we win in a landslide, and then they’re stuck with me…. I’m a nightmare for the liberal media in Arizona.”¹²

But the liberal media in Arizona — and nearly all media outlets in Arizona have a strong liberal bias — chose not to cover Lake’s campaign platform. At all.

As mid-term Election Day 2022 approached, Lake refused interviews to left-wing reporters because she knew they wouldn’t portray her fairly. She also pointed out that her Democrat opponent, Arizona’s then Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, had refused to debate Lake and had run, essentially, a basement campaign.¹³

Courtesy Kari Lake for Governor Campaign

What were the partisan Arizona media so worried about? Why couldn’t they give Kari Lake’s campaign a fair shake? Maybe because publicizing Lake’s campaign platform — which highlighted her plan to secure the border — would alert Arizonans to the facts about what was happening at the border and disrupt the progressive narrative.

Lake’s “Arizona first, America first” platform illuminated the grave national security risks that had emerged as a direct result of Biden’s open borders. In Lake’s words:

We’re going to secure the border, we’re going to call it what it is. Issue a declaration of invasion on day one. Get troops on the border in the form of our National Guard. We’re going to stop people from coming over. We’re going to stop the cartels from having control of our border. 

I don’t like it, as a mother, and I know no Arizonan likes it that we are the pipeline for the most dangerous, deadly drug this country has ever seen, called fentanyl. Number one killer of young people, it’s coming through Arizona because Joe Biden gave control of the border to the cartels. 

On day one we’re going to invoke our Article I, Section 10 authority and take back control of our border away from the federal government. It’s a dereliction of duty, what they have done. And we’re not going to let Joe Biden drag the state of Arizona down while he’s trying to destroy this country.¹⁴

Biden had, in fact, unilaterally and unlawfully¹⁵ opened the border in January 2021, and by October 2022 illegal (though permitted under Biden policies) alien entries exceeded 200,000 per month. I’m now convinced many Arizonans were not — and still are not — even aware that the border is open. The only realistic conclusion is that progressive media in Arizona are intentionally keeping them in the dark.

The counting of Arizona ballots took more than a month, but Hobbs finally certified the results of the state’s election on December 5.¹⁶ Although the legality of Hobbs’ certification of the results of her own election has been roundly asserted, Hobbs had no concern for the appearance of impropriety created by her actions.

Lake filed suit against Hobbs — in Hobbs’ capacity as Secretary of State — in Arizona court over a slew of serious allegations including printer-tabulator problems on Election Day that had prevented many people from voting, signature verification discrepancies on mail-in ballots, missing chain-of-custody documentation and more.¹⁷

Following Lake v. Hobbs in the Arizona press, it is clear that the overwhelming majority of news outlets are not only partisan, they’re dismissive and unprofessional in their treatment of the story and of Lake herself. By watching the trial live-streamed and by understanding the evidence in the case, I was able to get a fairly clear picture of how the state of Arizona had deprived its citizens of a free and fair election.

Since taking to the web and social media, myself, to research and to share information about the grave humanitarian problems, economic devastation and cartel crimes that have become rampant because of the open border, I routinely encounter Arizonans and other Americans who are not only unaware the border is open, but who insist that I’m lying when I explain that Biden actually campaigned on opening the border. As a factual and legal matter, this is not in dispute. Last month the U.S. Border Patrol Chief, Raul Ortiz, testified before Congress that operational control of five out of nine sectors of the southern border are under the control of transnational criminal organizations.¹⁸

But too many Arizonans are either willfully blind to the reality, or continue to reside in the ignorance inculcated by the Arizona Republic, the Phoenix New Times and other news outlets that participate in the conspiracy of silence surrounding the border crisis.

For the “independent” Phoenix New Times, coverage of the border has consisted of mud-slinging against those who try to bring attention to the crisis, effectively silencing conversation. As of today, Phoenix New Times has hardly published a single substantive article on the border crisis in more than a year.

For the Arizona Republic (and its digital version AZCentral.com), coverage of “border issues” has consisted mainly of skewed, Biden-friendly and factually bereft accounts that emphasize foreign advocacy groups’ complaints about “unfair” entry restrictions.¹⁹

Lake’s Democrat opponent now sits in the governor’s seat, and is friendly to illegal immigration and the open border. Rather than enhance border security by calling out National Guard troops, as Governor Greg Abbott has been doing in Texas, Hobbs is welcoming aliens with open arms, and providing bus and air transportation to their destinations of choice. She also announced a plan to provide $40 million in state funds for college tuition assistance for illegal aliens to attend Arizona universities.²⁰

When harms to local communities are raised, such as the increase in high-speed chases and the challenges posed for law enforcement, these problems are treated in terms of passive helplessness, as though “human migration” were a force of nature, like the migratory habits of flocks of birds or herds of cattle.²¹ The progressive narrative not only dehumanizes, it also downplays the Biden administration’s responsibility for causing the free-for-all at the border, and for eliminating the negative consequences that deter illegal entries.

Arizonans who care about the truth of how their elections are run should not be satisfied to rely on slanted news reports, nor should they accept unquestioningly the opinion of the Maricopa County-elected trial judge. Witnessing the same sanctions practices that have served to punish and chill other legitimate election challengers now playing out in Arizona courts,²² it would not be unreasonable to suspect that the courts in Arizona may not be acting independently.

One remaining claim in Lake’s case has yet to be adjudicated — whether the state violated its own laws by failing to follow mandated procedures in verifying voter signatures on mail-in ballot envelopes. In Lake’s words, “the violation of procedure allowed for tens of thousands of illegal ballots to be approved and counted…. [T]his issue alone casts the veracity of Katie Hobbs’ victory in serious doubt.”²³

Given the left-wing media’s willful blindness to the grave security, humanitarian and economic problems caused by the open border, is it unreasonable to equate the left’s cries of “the border is not open” with their equally vociferous smears against “election denialism”? In other words, if the progressive media don’t want us to know about the border, what else are they keeping us from knowing?

Regardless of the final disposition of Lake v. Hobbs, Arizonans owe it to themselves to understand the evidence in the case and reach their own independent conclusions, free from the partisan bias of Arizona’s news media. Arizonans deserve to know the truth about their elections.

1. Fowers, Alyssa, Atthar Mirza and Armand Emamdjomeh. “The votes that won Joe Biden the presidency.” The Washington Post, 13 November 2020. Available: https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/elections/vote-margin-of-victory/ (Retrieved 7 April 2023).

2. Chinni, Dante. “Did Biden win by a little or a lot? The answer is … yes.” NBC News. Aired 20 December 2020. Available: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/meet-the-press/did-biden-win-little-or-lot-answer-yes-n1251845 (Retrieved 10 April 2023).

3. Cruz, Ted. Justice Corrupted. Washington, DC: Regenery, 2022. p. 141. (“In the two months after the election, more than sixty lawsuits were filed by President Trump’s legal team or his allies, all of them alleging fraud or electoral misconduct. There were cases in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Arizona, Wisconsin, Nevada, and Michigan, all of which had gone heavily — and somewhat unbelievably, given the pre-election polling — for Joe Biden.”)

4. Ibid.

5. Ibid. p. 148 (“Case after case alleging fraud was rejected [by the courts]. Sometimes, these cases were rejected on the merits of their particular claims, but many others were rejected on procedural grounds that had nothing to do with whether voter fraud had occurred. Rather, they were rejected because of the manner or timing in which the lawsuits were brought. In countless reports, the corporate media conflated these two types of outcomes, claiming that all of the cases were invalid based on the handful that were rejected based on actual substance.”)

6. See, e.g., Joseph Marks, “The Cybersecurity 202: My Pillow cyber symposium is yet another font of election fraud lies.” The Washington Post. 11 August 2021. Available: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/08/11/cybersecurity-202-my-pillow-cyber-symposium-is-yet-another-font-election-fraud-lies/ (Retrieved 10 April 2023).

7. Scarcella, Mike. “Attorney sanctions upheld in ‘utterly baseless’ lawsuit challenging 2020 election. Reuters. 13 December 2022 Available: https://www.reuters.com/legal/legalindustry/attorney-sanctions-upheld-utterly-baseless-lawsuit-challenging-2020-election-2022-12-13/ (Retrieved 10 April 2023).

8. The fact that Biden intentionally opened the border is not in dispute. See, e.g., “The Biden plan for securing our values as a nation of immigrants.” https://joebiden.com/immigration/

Bensman, Todd. Overrun: How Joe Biden Unleashed the Greatest Border Crisis in U.S. History. New York: Post Hill Press, 2023. (“I lay most of the fault for this historic crisis more on enablers in the Biden White House and the present Democratic Party iteration than on the immigrants … who rationally respond to unlocked doors left open on purpose.”) p.25.

9. Federation for American Immigration Reform. “Are Democrats losing their nerve over Biden’s asylum abuse?” 29 December 2022. Available: https://www.fairus.org/blog/2022/12/29/are-democrats-losing-their-nerve-over-bidens-asylum-abuse (Retrieved 10 Apr 2023).

10. Mizan, Nusaiba. “Fact check: Is fentanyl the leading cause of death among adults?” El Paso Times. 2 February 2023. Available: https://www.elpasotimes.com/story/news/2023/02/02/fentanyl-overdose-cause-of-death-among-adults-greg-abbott/69867350007/ (Retrieved 10 April 2023).

11. Kay, Katty. “Kari Lake: Interviewing the election denier who ran for Arizona governor.” BBC News. 15 November 2022. Available: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-63593153

12. “Kari Lake: The First Amendment is important, and they’re trying to take it away from us.” Tucker Carlson Tonight. Fox News. Aired 14 September 2022. Available: https://video.foxnews.com/v/6312326445112 (Retrieved 7 April 2023).

13. “Hobbs explains why she won’t debate Kari Lake.” CNN. Aired 16 October 2022. Available: https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2022/10/16/katie-hobbs-wont-debate-kari-lake-arizona-governors-race-sotu-bash-vpx.cnn (Retrieved 10 April 2023).

14. “Kari Lake: The First Amendment is important, and they’re trying to take it away from us.” Tucker Carlson Tonight. Fox News. Aired 14 September 2022. Available: https://video.foxnews.com/v/6312326445112 (Retrieved 7 April 2023).

15. Wilner, Michael & Ana Ceballos. “Biden administration opts against appealing Florida immigration case ruling.” Tampa Bay Times, 16 March 2023. Available: https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida-politics/2023/03/16/biden-immigration-detention-moody-desantis-border-lawsuit/ (Retrieved 10 April 2023).

16. Bidar, Musadiq. “Arizona certifies election results.” CBS News. Aired 6 December 2022. Available: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/arizona-midterm-election-results-certified-today-2022-12-05-katie-hobbs-governor-mark-kelly-senator/ (Retrieved 8 April 2023).

17. Alexander, Rachel. “Kari Lake files lawsuit loaded with evidence contesting election results.” Arizona Sun Times. 10 December 2022. Available: https://arizonasuntimes.com/news/kari-lake-files-lawsuit-loaded-with-evidence-contesting-election-results/ralexander/2022/12/10/ (Retrieved 9 April 2023).

18. “Failure by Design: Examining Secretary Mayorkas’ Border Crisis.” 118th Congress (2023) (Testimony of Raul Ortiz).

19. See, e.g., Perez, José Ignacio Castañeda. “Migrants decry 3 years of border restrictions as Homeland Security secretary visits nearby.” Arizona Republic, 22 March 2023. Available: https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/border-issues/2023/03/22/migrants-decry-3-years-of-title-42-as-secretary-mayorkas-visits-border/70035454007/ (Retrieved 9 April 2023).

Gonzalez, Daniel. “Cubans are increasingly turned away at border but have other options to enter U.S.” Arizona Republic, 6 March 2023. Available: https://www.azcentral.com/in-depth/news/politics/immigration/2023/03/06/humanitarian-parole-policy-cubans-turned-away-southern-us-border/69860928007/ (Retrieved 9 April 2023).

20. Blitzer, Ronn. “Dem gov ‘absolutely’ blames feds for border crisis, but admits own policy ‘can be seen’ as attracting migrants.” Fox News. Aired 12 February 2023. Available: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/dem-gov-absolutely-blames-feds-border-crisis-admits-own-policy-seen-attracting-migrants (Retrieved 10 April 2023).

21. Perez. “Senator Kyrsten Sinema: Homeland Security not ready for end of border restriction.” Arizona Republic, 6 April 2023. Available: https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/border-issues/2023/04/06/sen-kyrsten-sinema-dhs-not-prepared-for-end-of-title-42-in-may/70085628007/ (Retrieved 9 April 2023).

22. Sievers, Caitlin. “Lake: Don’t sanction me because I believe my fact-free claims.” AZ Mirror, 7 April 2023. Available: https://www.azmirror.com/2023/04/07/lake-dont-sanction-me-because-i-believe-my-fact-free-claims/ (Retrieved 10 April 2023).

23. Alexander, Rachel. “Kari Lake responds to Arizona Supreme Court’s decision remanding part and rejecting part of her appeal.” Arizona Sun Times, 23 March 2023. Available: https://arizonasuntimes.com/justice/kari-lake-responds-to-arizona-supreme-courts-decision-remanding-part-and-rejecting-part-of-her-appeal/ralexander/2023/03/23/ (Retrieved 10 April 2023)