Far right Arizona State Senator Wendy Rogers with some fans, enthusiastic and otherwise, at “The Trumped Store” in Show Low.
This shitshow in the Arizona GOP is insane and best presented in a straight line: Republican Arizona state Representative Walter Blackman is a far right Army combat veteran and, uh, his surname is literal. Like if convicted felon President Donald Trump was instead named Donald Orangeman. Not relevant to the story, but a side laugh to a ridiculous tale of MAGA-on-MAGA rhetorical violence.
Blackman, first elected to the 6th District in 2018, is now in the 7th and technically a freshman again, having taken 2023 and 2024 off after coming in second in the 2022 2nd US House District GOP primary to neckbeard now-Congressman Eli Crane, the really creepy former Navy SEAL Freedom Caucasian who Trump endorsed over Blackman and Ron Watkins, the “brain” behind QAnon, and four others. Crane of course won because he was Trump’s chosen endorsee – the “real race” that Blackman was probably disqualified from for the sin of saying it was constitutionally impossible to decertify the 2020 election. The Gateway Pundit then attacked him as a “RINO,” after which Blackman’s daughter was harassed with text messages from some MAGA terrorists who wrote, among other hateful shit, “Your [n-word] dad is RINO.” And this wasn’t like Blackman wasn’t all “Stop the Steal” after the 2020 election or praised the Proud Boys at a 2022 rally. He’s pretty MAGA.
Yet Blackman had to take two years off and go back to his old job for not being MAGA enough for the Orange God Emperor. On his way back to the Arizona state House, Blackman found himself a pretty hardcore primary opponent in Steve Slaton, the owner of “The Trumped Store” in the town of Show Low. Blackman reps nearby Snowflake, a Mormon-heavy mountain town made famous in the 1993 alien abduction classic Fire In The Sky, based on a “true story” of the Travis Walton case. More useless trivia: Snowflake is not named after literal snowflakes. It does snow there, given the high elevation, but it’s actually named for its Mormon founders Erastus Snow and William Flake, the latter an ancestor of “RINO” former Senator Jeff Flake, who Trump famously ran out of Congress in 2018.
“Trumped Store” owner Steve Slaton mugging with the legitimate governor of Arizona.
Slaton was a formidable threat to Blackman in last year’s 7th state House District primary, drawing the endorsements of QAnon fan state Senators Wendy Rogers and Mark Finchem – the latter also at the time taking two years off from the state legislature at the time after losing his bid for Secretary of State to Dem Adrian Fontes. Rogers nearly got expelled for tweeting that the 2022 Buffalo supermarket massacre was a false flag and Finchem nearly got indicted for his role in Stop the Steal.
Slaton’s challenge to Blackman in the July 30th, 2024 primary was formidable given the Chinese-manufactured unlicensed bullshit peddler’s connections to certain figures. But there were questions
Hey, Slaton! Pay attention! I've taken the liberty of contacting The Department of the Army myself, demanding that they send my military records directly to the Mountain Daily Star.
This way, there will be no doubt about the authenticity of my records. It's all about ensuring a… pic.twitter.com/1PJfyEEHJw— Walt Blackman LD7 Representative (@BlackmanForAZ) May 5, 2024
Wrote Blackman – who earned a Bronze Star in Iraq – after the cutoff in the tweet: “It’s all about ensuring a fair and unbiased verification. Now, it’s your turn. I CHALLENGE you to do the exact same thing. Let the Mountain Daily Star thoroughly examine your official DD214 compared to what you’ve given to KMOG. It’s about time you stepped up. Since your buddies accused me of tampering with your DD214, this is your opportunity to set the record straight. If you truly are the Vietnam combat veteran you claim to be, then you have nothing to worry about. So, prove it!”
So Slaton “proved it”… with a falsified DD214 service record rife with fuckups like, per local outlet the Mountain Daily Star, “The altered DD-214 Slaton provided states he was awarded the Vietnam Service Medal. This medal was awarded from July 4, 1965, through March 28, 1973. Slaton enlisted in the Army on June 29, 1973 according to the official NARA DD-214. He was not on active duty when this medal was awarded, so it’s impossible for him to have earned it. This medal does not appear in the awards section of Slaton’s official 201 service record.” Ruh-roh.
They also pointed out that, while Blackman was Swift Boating Slaton (except real), he changed his website from “retired US Army” to “Veteran of the Army,” because there’s no way to be retired without having served at least four years while Slaton only did three. Also ruh-roh.
Unrelated to the misrepresentations of his Army service, but still funny and a pattern of cuntishness: Slaton owes the Navajo County Arizona GOP like $855 in attorney’s fees after he was removed as chairman in November 2017, sued, and the case was tossed. It’s not clear what the fight was over.
Anyway, real shocker that a guy who owns a fucking Trump store would lie about ever having set foot in Vietnam and claimed to be a combat veteran when he was a helicopter mechanic stationed in Korea that probably got kicked out early for some disciplinary infraction like drugs or whatever.
Blackman lashed out, and correctly so, at Finchem and Rogers for backing the piece of shit.
Slaton came in third in the July 30th primary, taking 9,292 votes to Blackman’s 18,058 and another Black man, David Marshall, at 16,333. Arizona state legislative districts have one state senator and two representatives, with Blackman and Marshall defeating the two Dems easily in November.
Resuming his career in office and obviously still having a bad taste in his mouth from having to deal with Slaton, Blackman got to work on a Stolen Valor act, HB2030, reading:
A person commits impersonating a veteran of the United States Armed Forces if the person knowingly pretends to be a veteran and engages in any of the following conduct with the intent to induce another to submit to the person’s pretended official authority or to rely on the person’s pretended official acts:
1. Impersonating a veteran of the United States Armed Forces to obtain employment or government contracts, to secure votes, campaign contributions or political advantages, or to claim veteran benefits such as health care, education, or disability compensation.
2. Wearing, displaying, or claiming entitlement to any award in any branch of the United States Armed Forces, including the following:
(a) Medal of Honor.
(b) Distinguished Service Cross.
(c) Distinguished Service Medal.
(d) Silver Star Medal.
(e) Legion of Merit.
(f) Distinguished Flying Cross.
(g) Bronze Star Medal.
(h) Purple Heart.
(i) Meritorious Silver Medal.
(j) Commendation Medal.
(k) Achievement Medal.3. Falsifying or altering military documents, including any certificates of release or discharge from active duty, or personnel files.
4. Falsely wearing, for personal benefit, any combat-related or special skills badges and tabs not lawfully earned through military service.
Most of this bill’s probably unconstitutional as, in US v Alvarez, the Supreme Court has already ruled that it’s protected to speech to falsify military service. The part about criminalizing lying about service in order to obtain a job or other benefits does however seem like it would’ve floated though.
That’s all academic though because, even though HB2030 passed the Arizona House unanimously earlier this month, the QAnon freak Wendy Rogers – one of the US Air Force’s first female pilots who served for 20 years – chair of the state Senate Judiciary and Elections Committee, refused to allow for a hearing and thus a vote on the bill, letting it expire on Friday’s deadline for consideration.
Why? Hear it from Wendy:
Senate Judiciary & Elections Committee Chair Wendy Rogers is setting the record straight on why HB 2030, dubbed the “stolen valor bill” and sponsored by Representative Walt Blackman, did not advance through the committee.
“As a Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Air Force, I served my country proudly for two decades. I’m a fifth-generation military officer and one of the first 100 women pilots in the Air Force, earning my wings at Arizona’s Williams Air Force Base. As a career veteran, I am a strong advocate at the Capitol for the men and women who’ve selflessly served and sacrificed in the United States military,” said Chairwoman Rogers.
“Rep Blackman refused to work with my staff on HB 2030. I take this seriously, but have concerns Rep Blackman ran this legislation to hamstring political opponents, rather than hold accountable those who engage in this type of fraud,” said Chairwoman Rogers. “This bill would weaponize state government against federally regulated veterans who are already subject to the Stolen Valor Act of 2013. State government does not have access to records, including off the books combat operations.”
“After the bill was transmitted to the Senate for consideration, I asked Senate staff to reach out to Rep Blackman’s staff requesting we amend the bill to mirror federal law, so there would be no conflicts or confusion in tackling these crimes. I was informed he was not willing to compromise. I again directed Senate staff to let his staff know that I was including the bill on Wednesday’s Senate Judiciary & Elections Committee agenda in case he had a change of heart. Neither Rep Blackman nor his staff communicated that he was willing to work on an amendment with me,” said Chairwoman Rogers. “Instead, he continues a smear campaign, omitting the fact that a repeated good faith effort was made to work with him on this legislation. Sadly, it appears Rep Blackman let a personal vendetta get in the way of honestly fighting for combat veterans.”
Lol. Love how this freak, who repeatedly called for summary executions of those she believed stole the 2020 election from her Orange Allah is suddenly all about due process. Also note the “off the books combat operations,” apparently now the the go-to for MAGA candidates caught lying about their service record, and the “personal vendetta” that somehow makes Blackman wrong to want to punish twats like Slaton. Two things can be true at the same time, while Rogers’s bullshit excuses make it appear true that she’s trying to protect Slaton for some reason.
Let’s be clear. If a Democratic Senator was using their power to block Stolen Valor legislation the GOP would be losing its mind. For some reason @WendyRogersAZ is given a pass? Is she protecting a friend? How can Republicans claim to be pro-veteran and allow to
Block this? https://t.co/KH5LZCn9Es— Ruben Gallego (@RubenGallego) March 28, 2025
Republican state Senator Shawna Bolick apparently worked some kind of cheat code to revive HB2030 this week, sending it back to the state House for a re-vote. It’s not clear if it then bypasses Rogers’s committee, though the blowback she’s getting over this could make that moot.
It is entirely untrue that access to records is restricted. Under the Freedom of Information Act, any individual may request and obtain records. For nearly two decades, I have successfully acquired records on numerous individuals through this legal avenue. The notion of… pic.twitter.com/WG5yw0lXU4
— Stolen Valor (@StolenValor1) March 27, 2025
In conclusion, it’s not like you needed any reminder of how fucked up and dark Republican politics are in Arizona – books could be written about 2022 alone. But this episode, in which a Black man who once said “there’s a bright side to Slavery,” comes out looking like the good guy should say a lot about how little has changed and almost certainly won’t there anytime soon.