http://news.yahoo.com/former-ariz-gop-congressman-sheriff-arpaio-major-embarrassment-174907414.html Former Ariz. GOP congressman: Sheriff Arpaio âa major embarrassment to our stateâ The Daily CallerBy Steven Nelson - The Daily Caller Former Arizona Republican Rep. Jim Kolbe is fed up with Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaioâs participation in the so-called âbirtherâ movement, and with his claims that President Obamaâs birth certificate is a forgery. According to Kolbe, who served as a congressman from 1985 to 2007, âIt would be easy to dismiss Sheriff Arpaio as a clown or buffoon, but his policies and actions have become a major embarrassment to our state.â On Thursday Arpaio held a press conference in Phoenix to announce the results of an investigation conducted by a five-member âcold case posseâ that he had appointed to probe conspiracy theories about Obamaâs birth. At the press conference, Arpaio said there was âprobable causeâ to suspect forgery, and said that the âperpetratorsâ of two alleged felonies â forgery and fraud â must be âbrought to justice.â He also said that he wouldnât be dropping the investigation. The 79-year-old sheriff, who is the chief law enforcement officer in the 4 million-person county, âhas polarized people over race and immigration instead of seeking to find responsible solutions to difficult problems,â said Kolbe. âHe has embroiled Maricopa County taxpayers in costly litigation and lawsuits,â said the former congressman, and âhe has brought down Justice Department investigations into the operations of his sheriffâs department.â The Justice Department announced in December that it had documented mistreatment of Hispanic prison inmates in the county and found that hundreds of cases of alleged sexual assaults hadnât been investigated. Arpaio has also been a figure of praise and scorn for forcing male prisoners to wear pink underwear, and for reinstating chain gangs. Arpaio characterized the civil rights complaints as political persecution by the Obama administration, and questioned the credibility of his accusers since many were former inmates. (SEE ALSO: Sheriff Arpaio: Obama birth certificate forged, âperpetratorsâ must be âbrought to justiceâ) Kolbe told TheDC that Arpaioâs allegations about Obamaâs birth certificate âputs him firmly on the side of a group that is short of one percent of all Americans who, despite the irrefutable evidence to the contrary, continue to believe President Obama was not born in the United States.â The eleven-term former congressman suggested that âSheriff Arpaio needs to drop these crackpot ideas and tend to the business of cleaning up his own department.â
There is little doubt the sheriff has gotten a little too full of himself. Just another nobody grasping at his 15 minutes and like most people, screwing it up royally.
Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio is an elected official. If Arizona wanted him out of office I suppose they would vote him out but instead they keep reelecting him with overwhelming majority. I know that must chap liberal's asses but there it is. Democracy at work. Liberals don't attack the message, they attack the messenger.
In this case, the messenger is the message, reichtard. Birtherism has been laid to rest but like creationists still tilting at evolution, there will still be birther idiots a hundred years from now. Did you even read the article? Kolbe is no liberal and he says Arpaio is costing his beloved state dearly. Evidently you never engage in anything but knee-jerk anti-liberalism.