Another anti-Arpaio editorial. The newspaper titles it, Make Joe do it.
The thrust is that as Sheriff Joe Arpaio concentrates on neighborhood crime sweeps, warrants are going unserved. The daily’s spin machine would make one think murderers are roaming the streets as he directs his efforts to rounding up innocents whose only crime is criminally entering our country.
The editorial writer is so committed to heaping on the sheriff, that former county attorney Rick Romley has been hauled out of the political graveyard to help make their case.
A couple of pertinent details are missing:
1. Oddly omitted is the fact that during his years in office, Romley carried a grudge against the sheriff that essentially disabled interaction between the two enforcement agencies. Under County Attorney Andrew Thomas, they now work amicably. For Romley to say the number of outstanding warrants has escalated over the past years begs the question of what was happening during his intractable 16-year tenure. Thomas has been in office less than four years.
2. It is also worth noting that police agencies don’t routinely make active searches for people who have outstanding warrants. Often the warrants are issued for such minor infractions as not showing up for a traffic ticket. Warrants are frequently discovered when the suspect is stopped for another reason and once their identification is run, the warrant shows up as outstanding.
Chicanery, trickery and deception appear to be the order of the day in Republicland.
May 8, 2008 at 1:20 am
Say what you will about the AZ Republic, the publishers and editors over the last 20+ years have never let the facts get in the way of whatever it is they do.
May 8, 2008 at 7:03 am
Truth takes a back seat to their agenda. And do they ever have an agenda these days! The Republic wants nothing more than to oust Arpaio and replace him with political opportunist and switch-hitter, newly minted democrat Dan Saban.
May 8, 2008 at 7:56 am
Not to worry. Arpaio will win reelection by a wide margin. The most recent polling indicates his popularity among the citizenry is sky high. The Republic is losing readers at breakneck speed. No contest.
May 8, 2008 at 9:02 am
Rick Romley? How does he differ from any Democrat. He’s endorsed them when there were reputable Republicans running, he does Gordon’s bidding and is so hungry for publicity now that he’s out of office that his tongue is hanging out of his mouth.
He’s a liability for any candidate. Dan Saban now has Romley and the Republic hanging around his neck—insuring his defeat.
It’s interesting that Romley is always ready to interject himself into any issue. Can you imagine if his predecessor had done that to him? He needs to take up fishing. We’re tired of him.
May 8, 2008 at 11:13 am
The high levels of venom Romley directed at the sheriff told me all I needed to know about him. He was probably angry that Arpaio was getting more press than he was.