By Gregg Dudash | Fountain Hills
There’s something oddly performative about several hundred people spending their Monday mornings protesting a congressman … for doing what he said he would do.
In an era where political theatre routinely outpaces policy, this latest production outside Rep. Schweikert’s Scottsdale office fits neatly in the political genre where outrage substitutes for outreach and spectacle replaces strategy.
Protestors claim to be outraged — deeply, righteously so — that Schweikert supports the president of his own party. Imagine that: a Republican aligning with Republican leadership. One might as well protest water for being wet.
Their grievances? Sweeping, theatrical and delivered with the certainty that accompanies feelings, not facts. Accusations of constitutional betrayal, economic vandalism (speaking of which, anyone drive there in a Tesla?), and apparently not hosting enough town halls (because nothing says “we want dialogue” like shouting from the curb).
This isn’t civic engagement — it’s political cosplay. A movement driven less by solutions and more by spectacle. One protestor declared, “We are fighting for all the residents of CD-1.” But when the “fight” amounts to repeating Twitter slogans with the passion of a Broadway audition, I’m left wondering: Who’s really being served here? The man we elected is doing what we elected him to do. Reminder: Republicans won, Democrats lost. And this is how democracy works.
We don’t expect unanimity in politics. Healthy disagreement is American. But meaningful opposition requires more than signs and chants. It requires substance, accountability and yes, a willingness to engage beyond the megaphone.
If the goal is to change Schweikert’s policies, persuasion — not performance — means offering ideas, not waving signs. Otherwise, let’s just admit it: this is less about policy and more about emotional release — a kind of primal scream therapy dressed up as civic virtue.
Which is fine — just don’t call it governance.
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