President Trump was elected in no small part by advocating for strong border security and immigration enforcement.  So why are we, as a nation, still debating immigration policy?  Part of the reason is that the voters have sent mixed signals with whom they elect versus what they really want.  The politicians would understand if the voters followed through with a clear message.

Consider the case of Arizona.  Arizona voters enacted their own immigration law, which was tough on illegal aliens and border enforcement.  But at the federal level, two of the four Republicans in the Gang of Eight, who wrote legislation that was very pro-illegal alien, were from Arizona.  The conservatives in the Senate voted against that legislation.  That is the problem.  Arizona has two senators who claim to be conservative but vote moderate.

Let me get the obligatory McCain history out of the way.  I think Senator McCain served his country with distinction while he was in the military.  He should be commended for his service there.  But if you think that service makes him sacrosanct, immune to any criticism, you are living in a fantasy world.  No conservative would co-author legislation with Senator Russ Feingold putting limits on campaign funding that effectively serves as an incumbent, AKA Deep State, protection bill.  That was McCain's signature legislation.  No conservative would co-author legislation with Senator Ted Kennedy.  But McCain did.  He is a moderate Republican, not a conservative.  And I am truly sorry that he has been stricken with cancer.  But cancer can be survived, and hopefully he will recover.

Then there is the curious case of Senator Flake.  I won't try to relitigate all of Flake's curious commentary here; needless to say, if Senator Flake had been a solid conservative in deed, he would be cruising to re-election rather than sitting out a race he would surely have lost.  I will say this about NeverTrumps in general, a group of which Flake is clearly a member: NeverTrumps seem to consider themselves personally more moral than President Trump, but their self-righteousness blinds them from any ability to acknowledge that President Trump has been implementing conservative policy and moving the country to the right after four disastrous years of Obama.  They should be helping that movement, but instead, their personal preening gets used by the left and the media to impede the president.  Arizona Republicans can do better.

Sheriff Joe Arpaio served Maricopa County honorably and effectively.  But Joe Arpaio is 86, which is four years older than Senator McCain, who is already not fully serving the state of Arizona because of his age.  Arpaio would be 98 at the end of a second term.  Does anyone believe he could represent the state effectively at 98?  And how do the skills of being sheriff translate to the skills of being a U.S. senator?  If you have visions of federal inmates in pink jumpsuits, you are deluded.  Very little of what Sheriff Joe did as sheriff would get through the Republicans in the Senate, let alone the Democrats.  If Arizona voters want to honor Joe Arpaio, they should do it another way.  Sending a protest vote splitting the Republican outcome is a waste of a vote and not wise.

Representative Martha McSally is a moderate Republican in the swing Second Congressional District.  Yes, she was a fighter pilot who strongly supports the military, but one issue alone does not a conservative make.  Mark Kelly was a fighter pilot, too.  On most other issues, she is more moderate, which clearly fits her district but not the state of Arizona.  McSally is a member of the Main Street Republican Partnership and the Tuesday Group, two moderate Republican organizations frequently at odds with the promotion of conservative principles.  Why send a Republican McLight when you can send a solid conservative?

President Trump intervened in the Nevada political scene a few months ago by asking Danny Tarkanian to forgo a Senate battle with Senator Heller and run once again for a congressional seat.  Nevada is a purple state trending blue, so the races there tend to be on the front line of that political divide.  To his credit, Mr. Tarkanian was willing to adjust to a political battle that fit the state, thereby avoiding a contentious race for Senate.  And now there is a good chance that Republicans can hold the Senate seat and flip a congressional seat red.  American Thinker readers should consider supporting these two men on the aforementioned front line.

Arizona is a red state with little chance of turning blue at the state level – but it could easily lose the swing districts, including the Second Congressional District.  Had President Trump been as visionary for this state, he might have asked Sheriff Joe not to split the conservative vote and Representative McSally to hold on to the Second District.  It would be sad to see Arizona waste an opportunity to send a conservative to the Senate and contribute to the loss of the U.S. house at the same time.

Arizona Republicans have a clear choice to pick a solid, long-term conservative in Doctor Kelli Ward.  Dr. Ward is a proven conservative who votes conservative, eloquently advocates for conservative principles, and knows when to support a president who is implementing conservative principles or colleagues who will vote conservatively in the U.S. Senate.  In Dr. Ward, they would not have to worry about silly NeverTrump behavior undermining the president or silly immigration tactics undermining the rule of law.

I pray that Senator McCain fully recovers from his cancer.  And I pray that Arizona Republicans don't make the same mistake thrice.