As I toyed around with different headline ideas for this article (some of which I wouldn't put into print), I finally concluded what I already knew: Politics is a rough sport and not for the faint of heart. That said, when one politician attacks another, how about just owning it when called out instead of making a flimsy excuse? 

Before we begin, this disclaimer: I'm not particularly fond of either of the ladies in the article, so I don't have a dog in the fight. However, I am quite fond of honesty and integrity, and dishonesty and lack of honesty are anathema to me. Anyway, let's jump in, shall we? 

Former Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake claimed in an interview on Monday that her past criticism of late Arizona Sen. John McCain (R) was "in jest." 

During a November 2022 campaign event, Lake reportedly said:

We don't have any McCain Republicans here, do we? Well, get the hell out!

Lake then called McCain, who died nearly two years earlier, a "loser" and also called Arizona state Republican Sen. Wendy Rogers — who has said white supremacists are "patriots" and called for hanging political enemies — a "hero."

“We don’t have any McCain Republicans here do we? Well, get the the hell out!” - Kari Lake before she called McCain a loser and white nationalist Wendy Rogers a hero.
https://t.co/CSKSmVNwsU https://t.co/9CpgicLxny pic.twitter.com/T7PtGnOXUS

— Tony Cani (@tcani) November 5, 2022

As one might expect, John McCain's family wasn't happy with Lake disparaging the late senator.

So, back to Lake's Monday interview, in which she said in response to criticism of her 2022 comment:

It was said in jest. And I think that if John McCain, who had a great sense of humor, would have heard it, he would have laughed. [Republicans] need to get a little bit thicker skin because we’re going through some tough stuff right now and we need to be able to take a joke.

Only Lake knows if she was joking, but I doubt that any responsible person would laugh at a politician referring to someone who calls white supremacists "patriots" as a "hero." 

McCain's daughter, Meghan McCain, one-time co-host of "The View," fired off a blistering response to Lake's claim that she was just joking with the "loser" blast.

Kari Lake is trying to walk back her continued attacks on my Dad (& family) and all of his loyal supporters after telling them to “get the hell out.” Guess she realized she can’t become a Senator without us. 

No peace, b*tch. We see you for who you are — and are repulsed by it.

Ouch. 

Kari Lake is trying to walk back her continued attacks on my Dad (& family) and all of his loyal supporters after telling them to “get the hell out”. Guess she realized she can’t become a Senator without us.

No peace, bitch. We see you for who you are - and are repulsed by it.

— Meghan McCain (@MeghanMcCain) February 20, 2024

No word if there's an upcoming steel cage match between these two fine ladies, but if one does go down, I'd definitely do pay-per-view.

The Bottom Line

As I said at the top, I'm not a fan of either of these ladies. As a result, I have no predisposed political perspective from which to offer a biased opinion on who was right and who was wrong. 

That said, whether one loved or loathed John McCain — and likewise Kari Lake — one would hope that neither the politics of the late senator nor those of Lake would impact another's opinion of who was out of line.

By the way, I know those hopes would be dashed.