Kari Lake’s claims against opponent Katie Hobbs proved false
PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) -- Kari Lake, the Republican gubernatorial nominee, took to social media this week, baiting the promise of a political bombshell against Democrat opponent Katie Hobbs. Now, the bombshell is blowing up and sparking new questions.
Lake hurled accusations at Hobbs in a 3-minute video posted on Twitter on Tuesday afternoon. “In Hobbs’ Arizona, your kindergartner wouldn’t learn the Pledge of Allegiance,” said Lake. “As a legislator, Hobbs actually voted to block the Pledge of Allegiance, our national anthem, our Constitution, the Declaration of Independence and even the Mayflower Compact from being taught to the next generation of Americans right here in Arizona.”
To back up Lake’s shocking allegations, the video showed a bill that Hobbs voted against four years ago. However, the bombshell Lake promised was proved to be incorrect. “Voting against this bill would not be voting against the national anthem,” said Wes Gullett, former chief of staff to previous Arizona Republican governor Fife Symington.
Gullett points out the bill Lake refers to only covered adding the state motto, “Ditat Deus,” which means “God Enriches,” and the national motto of “In God We Trust.” It would not have purged anything from the approved list of materials that could be read and posted in Arizona classrooms. The claim has led to speculation, with some saying Lake doesn’t understand how laws are created. “That’s why we have campaigns because we see if people are qualified to be governor. Reading bills is a qualification of being governor. You have to know what a bills says, how a bill changes, how a bill becomes a law. Those are fundementals that Kari Lake doesn’t understand,” said Gullett.
On Wednesday, Lake doubled down on Twitter, referring to a pair of other bills she claims supports her accusation. However, those bills don’t refer to the Pledge of Allegiance or any founding document. In the video, Lake also claimed Hobbs supported sex education being taught to kindergartners. In the 2016 legislative session, Hobbs did sponsor legislation that would have required medically accurate and age-appropriate sex education in K-12 Arizona schools.
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