birds of a feather

Kari Lake’s unhinged Mar-a-Lago fundraiser’s secret weapon was a deranged rant by Roseanne Barr

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Kari Lake is trying to convince moderate Republicans and independents she isn’t crazy.

Hosting an unhinged fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago doesn’t help her cause!

The Arizona gubernatorial loser held an event Wednesday at Trump’s tacky resort, raising over $1 million for her senate campaign. There’s no glossing over that number. It’s a significant haul! But Lake’s fortunes in November won’t depend on whether MAGA heads support her candidacy.

It will depend on whether she can grow her base. So far, the results have been very mixed.

And that was before Roseanne Barr started ranting about “baby blood-drinking” college administrators.

Roseanne, who was apparently the master of ceremonies, was filmed delivering a deranged message to future college graduates.

“Hey old bro, how are you doing? I’m here at Mar-a-Lago, supporting Kari Lake. It was a fantastic evening, and our Trump is here, being the DJ, and I just danced and everyone is amazed,” she said, before getting into the real crazy part.

“So I’m just going to say to you, please drop out of college, because it’s going to ruin your lives!” she added. “Do me a favor, drop out. They don’t teach you nothing good. Email me, or Twitter me, or whatever you call me, and I’ll help you with your life. But you’ve gotta get out of college, because it’s nothing but devil-worshipping, baby blood-drinking, Democrat donors.”

Ummm… OK? Roseanne’s rantings definitely don’t prove that Lake is a mainstream candidate, despite the endorsements she’s received from members of the Republican establishment.

Oh, and did we mention Roseanne was holding a BIG glass of white wine? That might be relevant as well…

Locked in a tight race with presumptive Democratic nominee Ruben Gallego, Lake is in the midst of a failing charm offensive. Instead of attracting new voters, she’s repelling some of her old ones.

One of her early supporters, Arizona Tea Party president Dan Farley, now says he’s skeptical of her core beliefs.

“Kari Lake is making a lot of rookie mistakes, and you just don’t know what you’re going to get with her or where she’s going to land,” he told the New York Times. “She’s a powerful force but kind of like a bazooka lacking aim. She’s blowing up her own garage instead of enemies in the driveway.”

Related:

Kari Lake’s excuse for her latest, crushing, legal humiliation beggars belief

Does she think anyone is going to fall for this explanation?

Lake burst onto the political scene in 2022, when she ran a scorched earth gubernatorial campaign against Democrat Katie Hobbs. The ex-TV personality spared no insults when it came to knocking down her Republican opponents, denigrating each candidate on a personal level. 

Lake wound up losing to Hobbs by over 17,000 votes, but not before alienating members of her own party. Former Rep. Matt Salmon, who Lake said was “OK with special needs kids being raped” because he opposed her plan to install cameras in school bathrooms, told the NYT he’s ignored her recent overtures.

“There’s nothing authentic about her,” he said. “She touts her endorsements, but two years ago she would have criticized anyone with those same endorsements and declared them swamp creatures.”

Lake, for what it’s worth, mocked Salmon during a radio interview for refusing to meet with her.

Maybe the biggest obstacle facing Lake in her quest for widespread appeal is her refusal to stop spouting up election conspiracy theories. At a recent rally, she announced her plans to keep contesting the 2022 election results, even as she campaigns for senate. 

Since November 2022, Lake has filed more than half a dozen lawsuits claiming the election was rigged. She’s lost every single one.

In addition, Lake punted on a defamation lawsuit filed by an electoral worker, Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer. For years (literally), Lake has claimed, with zero evidence, that Richer stuffed ballot boxes with 300,000 invalid votes during the 2022 count. He says he’s received death threats as a result of her demented fantasy.

Late last month, Lake’s attorneys moved to forfeit her defense in the case. Richer acknowledged his victory on social media. (Lake, for her part, says she’s not defending herself, because proceeding with a trial would offer legitimacy to Richer’s claims. Riiight…)

“I’ll get my due,” posted Richer. “But not the millions of people she lied to. Not the thousands of people who donated ‘to continue the fight.’ Not the people who have gone to jail because they so strongly believed Kari’s lies. Those people won’t get their due.”

Those people can vote, however, and they’re already weighing in. Gallego’s campaign recently announced he raised $7.5 million during the first three months of the year, a figure on par with some Democratic senate incumbents.

A pro-LGBTQ+ congressman, Gallego is raising more money than Lake, the NYT reports. In the last quarter of 2023, his campaign raised $3.3 million, whereas Lake netted $2.9 million.

That means Lake is operating at a cash disadvantage, which might explain her frequent trips to Mar-a-Lago.

The MAGA anti-drag queen also seems dedicated to just following around Trump, as Meghan McCain pointed out.

“Kari Lake is NEVER in Arizona – she just lives at Mara Lago following Trump around like a basset hound,” she posted.

Whew! Lake is so odious, she even makes Meghan McCan seem likable. That’s quite the feat, regardless of what happens in November.

Related:

Absolutely nobody is buying Kari Lake’s latest charm offensive

The Arizona gubernatorial loser continues to face widespread unpopularity in her home state.

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