Why is the Dem Party still kissing his butt?
Oh, great. Just last week Respect Arizona, the group organizing the recall of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, announced that they had already collected 150,000 signatures, of the 335,000 necessary to force an election, with more than two months to go before the May 30 deadline.
The Arpaiobots are indeed worried, and they should be. They tried to recruit a "shadow army" to intimidate petition signers, they threatened a lawsuit that clearly will be tossed out of court, and they've even introduced a bill in the legislature that'll change the constitution to save Arpaio. One reason they're worried is that many observers believe Joe Arpaio will lose a recall election if it comes to that. Sure, he just won in November, but in that national race he benefitted from GOP coattails that won't be there in a one-on-one contest.
Further, an Arizona Capitol Times analysis after the November election showed that Arpaio lost by a large margin in Phoenix and most urban centers, and he is rapidly losing support in traditional GOP suburban areas like Scottsdale.
Arpaio didn’t carry areas where Republicans outnumber Democrats in Ahwatukee, Tempe, Chandler, west Mesa, Paradise Valley, northeast Phoenix, south Scottsdale and some isolated precincts in Glendale and Peoria.
If it weren't for Sun City and other retirement dysoptias, places full of white 60-somethings from frigid states who want to rid Arizona of brown people, Arpaio would not come close to winning an election.
With the recall gaining momentum, despite little if any support from the Democratic establishment, the news today that Respect Arizona is out of cash is very troubling. Recalls take money, especially if you're going to hire paid canvassers who know what they're doing—who, for instance, verify the signatures they collect. Respect Arizona had hired the professional outfit "Sign Here Petitions" to carry out the recall, and by all indications they've done a good job.
Except they have to be paid, something Respect Arizona can no longer do, according to a story in today's New Times:
Lilia Alvarez, Respect Arizona's campaign manager, explained that the group does not have the money to continue paying Sign Here Petitions for professional canvassers.
The volunteer campaign will continue, she said, and she claimed to believe that the recall will reach its goal of more than 335,000 valid signatures by May 30.
"People need to take this as a wake-up call," Alvarez told me, "and take responsibility for the effort in order to get this done."
In the article Stephen Lemons says the usual deep-pocketed Democrats have not stepped up to help Respect Arizona. And similar to the successful 2011 recall of Sen. Russell Pearce, the Democratic Party is AWOL. Ack! Evidently, some wimps are scared off by the threatened lawsuit, while others simply don't want to challenge Arpaio. Both positions are bogus: the lawsuit is based on a false reading of the Arizona Constitution, and Arpaio simply does not carry the clout he used to—when journalists, politicians and Joe Public lined up to kiss his sagging patootie. Those days are over: remember, he spent nearly $8 million in November to defeat Paul Penzone, who had just $520,000, and Arpaio
still only received 51 percent of the vote!
Is it any wonder Dems here can't even field a candidate to defeat an airhead like Jan Brewer, who makes Chatty Cathy look like a Mensa candidate? Is it any wonder the Arizona legislature is full of birthers, climate change deniers, anti-UN nutballs, women haters, LGBT bashers and SB 1070 fire-eaters. C'mon Dems, quit shooting yourself in the foot!
PLEASE: If you can drop some spare change, or if you're in Maricopa County and can organize a recall signing party, visit Respect Arizona. Let's get this done!