June 25, 2020 09:29 AM UTC

At Least He's Not Your City Councilman

• 3 Comments
• by: Colorado Pols

In another edition of our long-running feature, “At Least They’re Not Your Legislator,” we take you to Scottsdale, Arizona, to meet one of the most tone-deaf dipshit politicians you’ll ever come across.

As The Washington Post explains:

Taking the stage Wednesday at an anti-mask rally in Scottsdale, Ariz., Councilman Guy Phillips (R) appeared in a black face mask. The crowd’s applause tapered into shouts.

Take the mask off!” they yelled. Phillips stood looking at them for a moment.

Then, in a monotone voice, he said into the microphone, “I can’t breathe.” 

He said it again, louder: “I can’t breathe” — echoing the dying words of George Floyd that have become a rallying cry in nationwide protests against police violence. [Pols emphasis]

Then Phillips ripped off the mask, rolled his eyes and feigned relief as the crowd cheered for him. “Insanity!” he said of the mask mandate.

Now, he’s facing calls to step down, as critics on both sides of the aisle have condemned his “callous” insult to Floyd’s memory and the nation’s reckoning over racial injustice. Sen. Martha McSally (R-Ariz.) called Phillips’s “I can’t breathe” comment “despicable” while Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) said “despicable doesn’t go far enough” to describe Phillips’s behavior.

When you’re a right-wing Republican being called out by fellow right-wing Republicans like Sen. Martha McSally and Gov. Doug Ducey, you know you really screwed up.

Of course, this goes beyond politics. Just don’t be an asshole, okay?