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The Most Depressing Thing I Read Today

December 3, 2009, 2:06 pm

I hope JD is wrong:

Further complicating this picture is that Sheriff Joe Arpaio, despite erratic and confrontational conduct that has repeatedly put him at the wrong end of lawsuits and press coverage, is immensely popular with Maricopa County voters. In fact, recent polling suggests that the governor's office is his for the asking. He's a favorite for the Republican nod and an apparent shoe-in in the general election.

I was under the impression that the Repub's cut Arpaio loose in the last election, but I don't really follow the politics stuff much.  JD has an update on the latest Arpaio shenanigans, as does Radley Balko:

  • The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office announced on Tuesday that Stoddard would surrender to jail ahead of his midnight deadline to aplogize. But when Stoddard showed up, the jail refused to book him, citing a "clerical error." Stoddard insisted on spending the night in jail anyway.
  • Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio announced he has filed a federal lawsuit against the county and its judges, alleging a "widespread conspiracy" against Arpaio and his officers. Arpaio remarkably and apparently with no self-awareness whatsoever called the county a "good ole boys network," and commented that he had "never seen these kinds of things occur in the justice system." Arpaio also called Donahoe's contempt finding against Stoddard a "vendetta," and said, "For political reasons, [Stoddard's] been thrown to the wolves."
  • Yesterday, the day after Stoddard spent a night in jail, 19 sheriff's deputies scheduled to work security at the courthouse called in sick, throwing the day's court proceedings into disarray. The building also had to be evacuated after a phone-in bomb threat.
  • As crowds returned after the bomb threat was cleared, the law enforcement unions commenced with a conveniently-timed rally in front of the courthouse, calling Stoddard a "victim" and demanding that he be released from jail.

Wow, it sure is a real coincidence when a bomb threat against the public defenders (it was a public defender the deputy originally stole the document from) at the exact same moment the sheriff's were trying to disrupt the courthouse over a dispute involving the public defenders office.

Those who don't live here would be appalled and disgusted by how such a large segment of the local population absolutely revere this man.  He's like the right-wing Obama, living off a manufactured image.

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Category: Police and Prosecutorial Abuse
  • Judge Fredd

    That's absolutely disgusting.

  • Dr. T

    Phoenix's huge population of retirees (and other residents) will favor anyone who helps drive out Mexican immigrants. I'm a 54-year-old white male, but I'd rather live among the Mexican immigrants than the jerks who support Sheriff Asspaio.

  • mahtso

    The nasty and juvenile nature of Dr. T.’s comment says far more about him than the Sheriff.

    The Arizona Republic has reported that the human smuggling trade is a $1.6 to $1.8 billion per year business in Arizona. All that money must be laundered, and the illegal immigrants and the smugglers often engage in identity theft and other crimes. In my opinion, this is main reason that most people who support the Sheriff’s efforts with respect to illegal immigration do so.

    As to the frequent claims that the Sheriff engages in racial profiling: These claims have existed for years and public interest groups, and now the U.S. Justice Department, have been trying to gather evidence to show that the Sheriff does profile. If there was substantial evidence of profiling, common sense would say it would have been made public, so, apparently, there is none. If it is ever proven that the Sheriff is engaging in racial profiling, then I will be among those rooting for him to suffer the appropriate consequences.

  • http://blog.creativedestruction.com Sameer

    All of this bs with Arpaio is just a circus. Didn't we just hear that Arizona has run out of cash! That it has maxed out all its credit lines? Hello!? Watch the birdie while we steal you blind!

  • roger the shrubber

    as for "preferring to live among (illegal) mexican immigrants", you might wanna check with someone who's actually lived in/near a border city sometimes before saying things like that, dr. t. i'm one of those guys. if you'd rather live close to large illegal population, el paso always has plenty of homes for sale, at dirt cheap prices. of course, to succeed in business there, you *will* need to speak spanish fluently. your home *will* need burglar bars on every window. and you *will* need extra insurance on your cars, because when pablo the 'servicio particular' guy with the chihuahua plates on his grossly polluting old truck runs a red light and creams you, he *will* run back to juarez quick like a bunny, sticking you with the bill. i promise you, after your 4th wreck with a non-insurance-carrying illegal, or after your house has been burgled for the 8th time, and your christmas decorations get stolen every year, along with your dog and your car....you *will* be plenty sick of it. it's not just el paso, btw: EVERYONE who lives on/near the mexican border has stories like these to tell, and plenty of worse ones.

    arpaiao, who i admit is an out-of-control jackass thug with a badge, won and keeps winning elections because (evidently) he's the only guy out there who's willing to do something about the illegals. he seems to be the only elected official in the USA who understands that A)we DO NOT have some sort of moral obligation to allow unlimited immigration, because among other reasons, B)illegals mean an increase in crime and deterioration of schools and neighborhoods (ever lived next door to a 1500 sq. ft. 3/2 that had 5 families living in it? i'm pretty sure you would not enjoy that culturally enriching experience.) C)the illegals here got here because *they broke the law*, and most certainly deserve to be sent back.

    as much as i dislike arpaiao and his ever-more-caudillolike empire, he's going to keep winning elections until someone else comes along who will enforce immigration law without having to resort to becoming a tyrant to do it.

  • OBloodyhell

    > He’s like the right-wing Obama, living off a manufactured image.

    Demagogues have no party affiliations.

  • Max

    You have to understand that people like cowboys and hard-knocking characters. After all, Germany elected Hitler for exactly these reasons and there are a number of similar people, who have the image of being rugged and corny and REAL. They get elected though most of what they do is despicable and if those voters would ever experience it themselves, they would want those thugs hanged.
    But democracy is a popularity contest (especially, if there are just 2 parties) and so it is more about personality than objective and factual positions. So, I can understand why this nazi-type Sheriff is so popular with Republicans. When they see him, they probably think: Walker - Texas Ranger, rather than Sheriff of Nottingham ;)

  • Bill

    My only knowledge of this Sheriff is from Fox News and a little from the NET. I live in the southeast, so we here don't have the massive problem with "wet backs"( illeagal)primarly Hispanics who work here. The only thing they do that may be good is to make some immoral US Citizens wealthy.
    What else they accomplish is to keep wages low so that some lower class US citizens are better off being a welfare drag instead of working. Why lower class citizens put up with this it's hard to figure unless they have been brain washed to have not pride in work.
    The Sherrif is tough, but what he has to contend with I SUPPORT him ONE HUNDRED PERCENT. I just wish South
    Carolina had Government Officials who would refuse to look over all the illeagal non-citizens that are living here and sucking up the welfare money that is taxed from citizens.

  • mahtso

    "But democracy is a popularity contest (especially, if there are just 2 parties) and so it is more about personality than objective and factual positions. So, I can understand why this nazi-type Sheriff is so popular with Republicans. When they see him, they probably think: Walker – Texas Ranger, rather than Sheriff of Nottingham."

    I can't speak for Republicans, I do not know what "a hard knocking character" is, and I've never considered the Sheriff to be a cowboy, but in my opinion, people support the Sheriff (in part) because they do not believe what they read on blogs like this one or in the Newtimes. There are plenty of accusations about the Sheriff but little or no proof (that I have seen) in support of most of these accusations. As I wrote above, people have been trying to catch the Sheriff engaging in racial profiling for years, and comparing him to Hitler doesn't make it true that he is so.

    Leaving aside Bill's slur: when Arizona passed a law that allows for sanctions against employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants, one business owner publicly announced he was canceling plans to build a number of fast food restaurants because, he said, he could not make enough money if he had to pay the prevailing legal wage.

  • Bill

    In Reply to mahtso.

    Who should work in fast food places?
    The original group that worked in fast food was teenagers, part time, in high school or college. In other words, beginners in the work force. Now, there are loss of unskilled & semi-skilled jobs because this kind of work went to, primary China. The only low skilled jobs are in places like fast food restaurants and retail. A low skill adult needs enough pay to give them incentive to work, therefore wages must be close to welfare. Otherwise, why work? Only if the person has enough pride to not be on the dole.

    Our so-smart government decided that we could help China become rich enough so as to not start wars to get what they want. The "clever" politicians and their one world government "advisers" (puppet masters) decided to let China have our "low tech, low pay" labor intensive industries. A few were textile manufacturing, electronic components, toys, small appliances and on & on until now retail stores are mostly China Market.

    What has happened besides losing all of the manufacturing we have lost jobs that payed enough that workers could have a better living than mininum wage jobs provide, actually, acording were they lived, they could have a middle class life style. The loss of the manufacturers reduced the need for "feeder" companies which provided products and services to help the manufactures make product. The loss of these "low skilled jobs" has reduced knowledge to make things. Because of this we cannot compete aginst the foreign companies. We import a lot of low cost basically useless products and export good ideas and a lot of rapidly worth less dollars.

    So our collective lazyness we have let the left wing politicians and greedy elites put us in a position that anything we do is going to hurt a lot.