Outspoken Tucson sheriff faces recall bid

Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik has never lost an election, but that was before his remarks assigning blame for the deadly Tucson, Ariz., shooting to political “vitriol” and calling Arizona “a mecca for prejudice and bigotry.”

Now it’s Sheriff Dupnik who finds himself on the public-opinion hot seat. A group opposed to illegal immigration has begun an effort to recall the sheriff in a special election. Meanwhile, a Pima County tea party group is planning on holding a “Dump Dupnik” rally next week outside his office.

“I haven’t been a fan of Dupnik’s for a long time, but this really was the straw that broke the camel’s back,” said Tom Rompel, co-owner of Black Weapons Armory in Tucson. “He’s law enforcement. We expect ‘the facts, ma’am,’ not his opinion. He leans far left, always has, and frankly, people have had enough.”

Not that the sheriff should worry about turning in his badge just yet. Sheriff Dupnik has won election eight times, and he’s a Democrat in a Democrat-majority county. While some constituents were appalled by his comments, others have applauded his forthright indictment of the state’s political climate.

Full Story Here:
Outspoken Tucson sheriff faces recall bid - Washington Times

I am hoping that the people of Pima County have the good sense to recall Sheriff Dipstick. If not, maybe they’ll have the whereto when elections roll around to NOT vote him back into office again.

But, as the story says, Sheriff Dipstick is a Democrat in a Democrat-majority county. Until Pima County voters, as a majority, see this left wing big-mouth for what he really is, there’s no hope.

“He is not afraid to call the bullies out on their part in this mess. Civility without hate speech is our mission!” says the page in its description paragraph.

Sheriff Dupnik’s comments came about an hour after the Jan. 8 shooting that left six dead and 13 wounded, including Democratic Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who had been greeting constituents outside a Safeway.

The ‘bullies’ you say? Sheriff Dipstick must not realize that Jared Loughner was one of his own, a delusional moonbat, an anarchist, moonbat libber that felt Rep. Giffords just wasn’t far enough to the left for his taste.

Conservatives have bristled at Sheriff Dupnik’s insinuation that Republicans and the tea party movement were somehow responsible for the rampage. The Pima County Tea Party Patriots plan to “indict” the sheriff at their rally for “politicizing the shootings, blaming free speech for the crime without evidence, failing to protect Giffords, failing to recuse himself from the investigation, and embarrassing the community in front of the nation,” according to the Arizona Daily Star.

I am one OF those Conservatives that has bristled.

Before the smoke had cleared, Sheriff Dipstick, The Daily Kos, Democratic Underground, HuffPo and every other left-wing rag was blaming the TEA Party, Palin, Hannity, Beck, Ted Nugent, the NRA, American gun owners and any other group of Conservatives and people on the right that they could think of.

They immediately jumped to a skewed conclusion that Loughner was a *tool of the angry right*. Those liberal groups are indeed WRONG in their assumption.

And then there’s this:

Sheriff Dupnik’s office issued a statement Wednesday saying he would have no further comment on the shooting.

Sheriff Dipstick should never have had a PUBLIC opinion on this to begin with. His job, and that of his agency, was to secure the scene, protect the evidence, investigate the event, build a case and make a report to *higher authority* so that a determination of charges could be ascertained.

Dan Baltes, executive director of Americans Against Immigration Amnesty, said he began looking into the recall effort after being deluged by phone calls and e-mails from the group’s members, including many in Arizona. The eight-month-old organization is based in Salt Lake City in neighboring Utah.

“I’ve gotten e-mails from people who support the sheriff, who support what he did, and who want me to keep my nose out of it,” Mr. Baltes said. “But for every one of those, I’m getting 50 saying ‘Thank you,’ and that’s from Republicans and Democrats alike.”

So, if there’s voters from BOTH parties calling at a rate of 50-1, indicating that Sheriff Dipstick needs to go, you would think it’s a done deal. Maybe that’s why Pima County has issued the *no further comment* statement. Maybe not…

“He’s never been in a close race. He wins by huge margins,” said Pima County Democratic Party Chairman Jeff Rogers. “He is widely respected and beloved public official. You want to run for office in this town, you want a picture of Clarence Dupnik standing next to you.”

So, in a *gun state*, in a state assumed to be a RED state, why are they facing these issues with removing Sheriff Dipstick you wonder? Read on…

“Tucson and Pima County are kind of like the Berkeley of Arizona,” Mr. Rogers said. “We held onto every congressional seat and legislative seat except one. Almost every elected city and county official is a Democrat.”

Oh, OK, NOW I understand.

Still, Sheriff Dupnik’s popularity took a hit months before the shooting when he came out against Senate Bill 1070, Arizona’s toughest-in-the-nation anti-illegal immigration bill. While it would be inaccurate to cast Sheriff Dupnik as soft on border security — he has called for public schools to check the immigration status of students — he faces inevitable comparisons to his stauncher neighbors, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio and Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu.

“People would love to have a Sheriff Arpaio or Sheriff Babeu,” Mr. Rompel said.

OK, Sheriff Dipstick *took a hit* over AZ 1070, was it a big enough *hit* to make him just go away?

I also have to ask, with all the BS about guns, violence, attitude and political correctness we’re hearing from ALL sides now, is *took a hit* really the right verbiage to use to describe what happened to Sheriff Dipstick in this situation?

Another factor is Sheriff Dupnik’s age — he’s now 75 — and it’s possible he may decide to call it a career before facing re-election in November 2012. But don’t count on it. “He’s very mentally and physically healthy, and he’s on his game,” said Mr. Rogers. “I expect he’s going to run again.”

Dems and RINOs are now fully aware that even if they don’t make it past a party primary, they can still get elected to office.

Oh? You think not? I have 5 words for you: Lisa Murkowski - write in vote.