When did MAGA become the price of being Republican?

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OPINION — Steve Grogan’s recent letter, Trump, GOP don’t embody the Cowboy Code, struck a chord. He wrote that he once voted Republican and supported Ronald Reagan, but no longer recognizes what the party has become.

He isn’t alone.

For generations, Arizona Republicans proudly supported Barry Goldwater, Ronald Reagan and John McCain. They championed limited government, fiscal responsibility, constitutional checks and balances, strong American alliances and character in public office.

MAGA should not be confused with traditional Republican principles. It embraces “America First” populism, sweeping tariffs, mass deportation and skepticism toward longstanding alliances, and is increasingly identified with Donald Trump.

Kari Lake made the divide particularly clear during her 2022 campaign for governor, when she asked whether there were any “McCain Republicans” in her audience. She told them to “get the hell out.”

John McCain served Arizona in Congress for nearly 35 years, almost 32 of them in the U.S. Senate, and was the Republican nominee for president in 2008. The Republicans that Lake dismissed represented a long and important tradition in Arizona politics.

There are many Republicans in Congressional District 8 whose values remain rooted in traditional conservatism. They haven’t abandoned the principles that made them Republicans simply because they don’t support Donald Trump.

Yet the Republican candidate on their ballot for Congress is Rep. Abe Hamadeh, an unabashed Trump loyalist. That raises a legitimate question: Does an “R” after a candidate’s name mean that candidate still represents the values traditionally associated with the Republican Party?
Being a Republican does not require being MAGA. Being a conservative does not require supporting Abe Hamadeh or Donald Trump.

Kari Lake told McCain Republicans to “get the hell out.” They are still here. So are the conservative principles they believe in.

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