Politicizing The Arpaio Pardon: Yawn

If they ever build that hall of fame for political movements that get zero traction, the Arpaio pardon will be inducted on the first ballot.

I am not an Arpaio fan. In my view he was abusive to inmates. He was also a skilled attention-seeker, a narcissist's narcissist. He made the news media his personal orchestra and they were all too happy to shower praise on the publicity whore. If we had a nickel for every chant of "The nation's toughest sheriff," we would have paid off the national debt a long time ago.

Despite our philosophical differences and my personal aversion to this inflated public figure, the fact remains that Arpaio was a dedicated public servant for over fifty years. The people of Maricopa County respected this man and elected him again and again. To his credit, Phoenix never became the next Detroit or Chicago. Given its location, Phoenix could have become the organized crime capital of Planet Earth. It could have become a colony of any or all of the Mexican cartels. Under Arpaio's reign--some would say a reign of terror--Phoenix maintained one of the lowest crime rates of any major US city.

Once more, the star of the show is the media establishment. They made Joe Arpaio. They destroyed Joe Arpaio. Sheriff Joe dared to challenge their precious Barack Obama and his merry men on issues ranging from THE ONE's documented birth to his absurd immigration policies. However you want to spin this story, it boils down to Arpaio refusing to kiss Obama's ring.

Once more, the fourth estate is aggrieved. How dare Trump pardon an 85 year old man who was prosecuted on ridiculous charges in an act of naked political partisanship. Arpaio's alleged crimes were bogus from day one. A mountain of horseshit.

Once more, the chronic malcontents remain chronic malcontents. The Paul Ryans remain spineless, craven eunuchs. Trump's base will solidify even more. Most of us get back to life and await Morning Joe and Nancy Pelosi and Wolf Cooper to take umbrage once more. We can hardly wait.

Congress Needs To Examine Barack Obama And The Eligibility Issue

There are two challenges to Barack Obama's eligiibility. One, that Obama was never a natural born citizen. Two, Obama might or might not have been a natural born citizen but that he lost his US citizenship when as a child he was legally adopted by a foreign national and by law he was required to reapply for US citizenship. Failure to apply for citizenship would mean that Barack Obama is an Indonesian national and an illegal immigrant. Should he apply for citizenship Barack Obama would not be a natural born citizen and thus, ineligible to be president. Of the two challenges, I believe the latter is the stronger. Through no fault of his own, the minor child Barry Soetoro became an Indonesian citizen and lost his US citizenship. Those are some stubborn facts that might be tough to wish away should they ever be held up to the light of reason. But there have been no serious challenges on these grounds. Instead, constitutionalists have challenged Obama's birth status. This might be a case of charging the cape instead of the matador. David Gregory and other Obots loved to bring up the birth challenges out of the blue to people like Michelle Bachmann and John Boehner who were not challenging Obama's birth status. Clearly, the loyalists had something up their sleeves. They would prefer to label all challengers "Birthers" and to shape the debate--such that it is--to revolve around birth certificates and such. Who knows how the Obamamedia would treat an Indonesian challenge. It should be noted that even the preferred Birther challenge was not met as smoothly as Team Obama would have liked. Grandstander Joe Arpaio not let the matter go. Nor would Orly Taitz nor the state of Alabama. Now, Lord Christopher Monckton is weighing in on the subject. Can Barry and Obamamedia run out the clock? The stakes are high. Should Obama be declared ineligible to serve as president, his every presidential action will be challenged. Every executive order and every piece of legislation and even two Supreme Court Justices will be challenged. I hope the two Obama nominees will have the decency to recuse themselves. Fat Chance. Come on Congress. Let's resolve the eligibility issue once and for all.

When Sheriff Joe Arpaio Becomes A Spokesman For The Tea Party, The Tea Party is Over.

Understand, I am fascinated by self-promoters. I begrudgingly respect a leg-spreading, husband-stealing, Dr. Laura Schlessinger who invented a persona of professional prude and retired in luxury. I am amazed that always flabby Richard Simmons could wear loose fitting clothes and ascend to the lofty status of fitness guru. I marvel at the nails-on-chalkboard delivery of Curtis Sliwa could somehow secure an annoyingly inarticulate man a cozy niche in the forgiving world of talk radio.

And as an avoidant personality, I am interested in professional narcissists in much the same way that an anorexic might find gluttons and gluttony intriguing. And yes, I respect Sheriff Joe Arpaio for the cheesy publicity stunts that have always garnered him the Sinclair treatment from the buffoons in both the mainstream and the conservative media. And yes, I am a hopeless opportunist wannabe who seethes with envy when I witness a carpetbagger extraordinaire work his magic. But there is nothing Tea Party about Joe Arpaio.

Joe Arpaio does not support, advocate for or advance the cause of fiscal conservatism. He is not a deregulator, a minarchist or a proponent of the "small is beautiful" school of governance. But in his unending quest for the spotlight, Sheriff Joe has crashed our party.

I was proud when a Wisconsin Tea Party group extended a "Not Welcome" mat to GOP hack Tommy Thompson. But you hammer one lump out of the carpet and it rises somewhere else. Some of us suspected that the Tea Party would eventually be co-opted by a smooth operator. But I did not think the hijacking would occur so soon and I did not think we would be so easily duped.

Frankly, I thought the Tea Party would meet its demise in the form of something other than a tired, tireless and tiresome publicity whore who will hog any spotlight at any cost and at any effort. Rest in peace Tea Party. You are in Sheriff Joe's custody now.