On Sunday I noticed that new Maricopa County Sheriff Paul Penzone participated in Phoenix’s annual Pride Parade, not something former Sheriff Joe Arpaio ever did. Usually he’d show up at the St. Patrick’s Day Parade or Columbus Day Parade in a friggin’ tank or something. To show us how tough he is.
I didn’t see Arpaio at the Pride Parade dressed in a rainbow outfit, but we could see him soon dressed in prisoner’s garb, if the 84-year-old coot is convicted in the criminal contempt trial that begins later this month. The likelihood of that just increased, as Arpaio’s attorney has stepped down.
Just three weeks from former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's criminal contempt trial, lead defense attorney Mel McDonald has asked to withdraw from the case.
The article doesn’t explain why McDonald withdrew, only that his decision is “mandatory” under an ethical rule. But this wouldn’t be the first time an attorney has quit defending this bigoted, immoral con-man. In 2015, as Arpaio’s civil contempt trial was starting, his attorney quit on the very first day, and the sheriff was eventually found guilty of disobeying court orders to stop racial profiling.
The trial that begins in a few weeks is a continuation of the civil contempt verdict, and if the judge finds Arpaio guilty of willfully violating the court orders, rather than just being a jackass administrator, his butt could end up in the clinker for six months.
After 24 years in office, where he cost residents of Maricopa County a couple hundred million dollars in lawsuits and misspent funds, Joe Arpaio remains convinced that he is relevant. He believes the only reason he lost to Paul Penzone last November by double digits is because George Soros gave a ton of cash to his opponent—not because he was a convicted criminal with a 38 percent approval rating.
It’s true that Soros spent $2 million on ads to take down the unethical and ineffective lawman, but Arpaio had a giant war chest full of donations from bigoted bozos nationwide, and he spent nearly $12 million on the campaign, only to lose 55-44. Still, Arpaio will keep playing the Soros card, just as he played the “illegal immigrant” and “birther” cards long after they were proven bogus.
Lacking an official, elected office from which he can continue to spew his racist venom, while making $100,000 a year, Arpaio has launched a new nonprofit organization, the “Sheriff Joe Arpaio Action Fund” to counter Soros’s money, he said in an email to supporters:
“Obviously, I am not a billionaire who can write a personal check to buy elections across this country (like Soros!),” the email read. “But what I can do is reach out to loyal supporters like you and ask for your help. Together we can build an organization that promotes a conservative agenda, helps conservative ideas become law and help those conservatives win office.”
Yes, suckers, we can spend ten times as much money on our hateful, nativist propaganda and still lose!
Nowhere in Arpaio’s email, nor in his interviews with the press, does he say exactly what this new group will do—just send the notorious grifter cash, please! Arpaio’s cronies say the organization will focus on the policies the sheriff has always advanced: “immigration enforcement, Second Amendment rights, strengthening the economy and job creation.” Yes, Arpaio certainly did a lot during his tenure to create jobs—for lawyers.
In the old westerns, the sheriff rode off into the sunset. Just do so, already.