Not much more than an hour after nutter Jared Loughner shot a Congresswoman in the head and killed several others, Sheriff Clarence Dupnik starting blaming the Tea Party and the right-wing for the killing. Some of the victims were not even pronounced dead yet and this law enforcement official sought not to stick to the facts or calm the public, but being the cycle of beating his political opponents over the head with the dead bodies. We expect such gutter-dwelling rhetoric from sites like the DemocraticUnderground or the DailyKos. When a law enforcement official does it moments after one of the worst attacks against a federal official in years, it speaks to the character (or lack thereof) of the person in question.
In the days following, Dupnik doubled-down on his rhetoric, naming Rush Limbaugh by name. The mainstream media piled on laying clear blame on the Tea Party, Sarah Palin and the Republican Party in general. It must be news to me, but I didn’t realize saying “cut taxes” meant “go shoot someone in the face.”
Sheriff Dupnik played a critical role in bringing an all-time low to American politics and drove a wedge deep between right and left. At a moment when we all should have come together as a country to denounce the attacks of a mentally ill individual (one whom, I might add, was known to be mentally ill by Sheriff Dupnik’s office and who was previously investigated for making threats on others by Sheriff Dupnik’s office), Dupnik stood center stage and began the national blamestorming discussion.
The fact that a politician does not even possess a residue of character isn’t surprising, unfortunately. However, for a law enforcement official to demonstrate such a lack of integrity is unacceptable. Calls for his resignation are completely appropriate, however, the citizens in Pima County have something else in mind: they have begun the process to recall the Sheriff.
Recall is the ability of voters to fire a public official when they cease to serve the public. Sheriff Dupnik’s behavior is an extreme example of why such a remedy is necessary. The man is out of control and has given up the trade of law enforcement for that of MSNBC commentator (perhaps he can take Olbermann’s place). His demonstrated lack of integrity has shattered the public trust and he can no longer effectively continue in his role.
Americans Against Immigration Amnesty has taken the lead in organizing the recall drive. I believe it is a splendid opportunity for the citizens of Pima County to take a stand against their law enforcement officials brazen antics in the wake of this tragedy. They are asking for volunteers and donations to gather 110,000 signatures in 120 days. Anyone can circulate petitions (per First Amendment) but only Pima County voters can sign. Having participated in signature drives previously, this is no small undertaking and if you are fed up with the left-wing blamestorming session, get in contact with Americans Against Immigration Amnesty and volunteer or donate to help out.