Sheriff Babeau has come out swinging in his quest at saving his congressional aspirations. He went on a national and local TV appearance blitz justifying his behavior. The sheriff is facing two problems, both of which are political problems -- "moral" and legal. Please follow me below the ribbon to get my read on how the Sheriff is doing on these fronts, along with video links of his star appearances.
The Sheriff argues that the whole thing is nothing more than vindictive action by a spurned lover:
“We've all had bad relationships. Do you think this is where this anger started?” I asked. “Absolutely,” Babeu responded. “There was a personal relationship… and he wanted, some form of revenge here."
Moreover, now that he has been forced to publicly admit his sexual orientation, he is playing himself as an honest hard working man who has been unfairly tarnished by his political opponents using Jose Orozco to bring him down.
"I'm a single man. I've never been married. I don't have a fake girlfriend. I was honest. I came out publicly and told the truth completely, and I want to be judged on my record of service, my love of my country, and the fact that my whole life of service, I am the same sheriff as I was last week," said Babeu to CNN.
Now the Sheriff does not mention his web pictures in any of his interviews. However, that is the most compelling component of the sheriff's "moral" problem. It was the same problem that Weiner had when his crotch showed up on the web. Weiner was not caught cheating on anyone either. Yet the embarrassment of showing off his sexual ego in such a compromising and public way was too much of a "moral" problem for Weiner to hang on. But Paul can certainly argue, which he has not yet, that Orozco had access to his personal computers and was responsible for surreptitiously posting his picture and personal information on the adam4adam gay cruising site, although the one shot of Paul showing off his tats and abs was clearly taken by him, and is the type of representations that are used in cruising sites such as adam4adam and craigslist. Finally, Paul himself admitted to meeting Jose on a gay dating site, and starting their relationship from that point. He's certainly been a patron of internet gay dating sites in the past. If the voters have any doubts that Paul himself posted those pictures on "that" site, he's got some mighty political problems, or else we'll see the most awesome display of IOKIYAR.
In any case, even giving Paul a pass on the "moral" issues, his much deeper risk is in confronting the legal issues -- that is the alleged threats of deportation. Now Paul has shrugged off this accusation in two ways:
1) Saying that he has no authority to deport anyone, and;
2) Pointing out that Jose was in the country legally and not subject to being deported anyway.
Jose buttresses his accusations of being threatened by Paul by showing his interviewers a saved text message, which shows:
Jose — who said he is in the country legally — told Marquez he felt “used” during the affair. Marquez then asked Jose, “Used. And then threatened?”
“Yes,” Jose said in the interview. “I got a text from him, directly, on my phone saying that I will never have business, that my family will be contacted.”
Let's start with Jose's deportability. He states that he possesses a 10 year multi-entry
tourist visa, and is in the country legally. Now, the fact that you possess a valid visa does not prevent your deportation. Anyone, except for citizens, may be deported for a variety of reasons. For example, if you are convicted of a felony or a misdemeanor involving moral turpitude, you can be deported even if you hold a valid
resident immigrant visa commonly known as a "green" card. Paul's spin that Jose was legally in the country does not in any way diminish Jose's fear of possible deportation.
Most importantly, Jose was not a resident immigrant. Rather, he was a tourist. Most tourists visit the US on a 6 month tourist visa that expires if you leave the country before the 6 months are up. Multi-entry 10 year tourist visas however, the type Jose admits he holds, allow the holder to visit the US on multiple occasions within its 10 year period. They are issued to foreigners who have occasion to visit the US with frequency, because of family, business, or other needs. It is still a tourist visa, however, and is not a license to reside in the US. in fact, you cannot physically stay within the US for longer than 6 months on any visit. Given the 3 year admitted length of the relationship, it is quite likely that Jose was indeed residing in the country illegally, and was at risk of deportation. Moreover, Jose's tourist visa also prohibits him from working in the US. In other words, Jose was conducting his business, under Paul's watchful gaze, just as illegally as if it was being done by any of the "illegals" he professes to hunt down. Indeed, it is very clear why Paul is so adamantly professing that Jose worked for his campaign as a volunteer. (Even if he is right, Jose was taking a potential wage position from an Arizonan it seems to me.)
Finally, the context in which Paul's text to Jose was sent must be examined in judging the most serious of these accusations -- that Paul used his badge to bully Jose. We know this was a long-term lover's break-up, and that participants in such break-ups often act in irrational ways when they find themselves in the middle of it. That's certainly the general understanding that Paul is using to defend himself from these accusations. Yet it is precisely because of the heated nature of estranged lovers in the midst of their estrangements that Jose's allegations of coercion ring true. Paul was not giving friendly advise to Jose when he pointed out that his business and family might suffer if he spoke out, as might be the case in counseling a young man over whether he should join a religious sect. Paul was personally involved in Jose's actions -- an involvement of the most intimate nature. In fact, Paul was in a unique position to, say, plant drugs on Jose or his family members and have them prosecuted and deported. Paul had a powerful motive for carrying out such threats, and Jose and his family members were at serious risk if he followed through. Most importantly, Paul, while not directly authorized to deport anyone, certainly was in a position to have it done. Indeed, Paul's hacking and impersonation accusations, by themselves, would have given rise not only for Jose to be arrested by Paul's deputies, but also, under Arizona's tender "immigration" laws, immediately be turned over to ICE. Regardless of whether Paul intended to follow through, it is easy to see why someone in Jose's position would have felt severely threatened by the text message -- which was most evidently its intent.
The politics? I'll leave you with the following quote from his base:
Peter LaBarbera, founder and president of Americans for Truth About Homosexuality, says conservatism does not mix with open homosexuality. "Homosexuality is a sin. It's nothing to be proud of. It's a problem," he tells OneNewsNow. "I would hope that he would not try to run as an openly [so-called] conservative ... homosexual Republican."
And LaBarbera says if there is one thing the liberal media loves to promote it is "gay" Republicans.
The video links of interviews:
http://www.abc15.com/...
http://www.azfamily.com/...
http://www.kvoa.com/...