Parraz skewers Kunasek like an Easter lamb
All I've got to say is, "Wow." Check out this YouTube video from Santiago James Chavez of Citizens for a Better Arizona's Randy Parraz going mano-a-mano today with Maricopa County Supervisor Andrew Kunasek. This, over a proposal to accept donations to pay for Sheriff Joe Arpaio's laughable "birther" investigation.
Arpaio has claimed heretofore that this idiotic probe into President Obama's birth certificate by the sheriff's so-called "cold-case posse" will cost the county nada.
But when Joe dispatched a deputy to Hawaii recently as part of this Keystone Kops caper, the bill came to $10,000. So the MCSO is looking to accept contributions to help pick up the tab.
The exchange begins after Parraz reads a resolution opposing the idea, then hands it out to the supervisors. Kunasek apparently mumbles something about Parraz being against donations, which draws lightning bolts Parraz.
"Yes we are against donations," Parraz blasts back. "We don't want to privatize the sheriff's office. We all pay our public dollars to hold them accountable. So, what, someone else goes in, say they give him $10,000, they can go investigate their own personal agenda? This is about holding public officials accountable with our taxpayer dollars.
"No, he can no longer advance on our dime -- it's our money -- and pay for someone to go to Hawaii, who he says did literally nothing, and come back and say, `Reimburse me on the backside. Someone bail me out and give me my money so I can pay for this'...Kunasek, you should know better than that."
Kunasek and Parraz continue to spar, with Kunasek asking Parraz if he thinks politicians should dictate "what crimes law enforcement should investigate or not investigate." Parraz isn't having it.
"The budget dictates priorities," Parraz responds. "So by you staying silent on this, you're saying it's OK for our tax dollars...to send a deputy to do nothing to go to Hawaii on a birther investigation. That's absurd. And how you cannot make that connection is beyond all of us. So you have another question?"
Amazingly, Kunasek goes back for more, offering some pedantic quote about "self-righteousness" walling people off from the realization that "they are often just acting like clowns."
Before Kunasek can even direct the comment to Parraz, Parraz interrupts him, saying, "So how's that working for you?...You fit that bill just well, Mr. Kunasek."
Endgame? The Board of Supervisors rejected the proffered funds in a 2-2 split vote.
Keep in mind, such back-and-forths are rare at the BOS, as commenters have a limited amount of time to make statements. But Kunasek unwisely sought to engage Parraz in public debate and paid the price.
As Sean Connery's character in the big screen version of The Untouchables liked to say, "Here endeth the lesson."