Stop us if you've heard this one before, but Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio says he's not ruling out running for the Senate seat getting vacated by retiring Senator Jon Kyl -- which, if history tells us anything, is complete bullshit just another one of the sheriff's feeble cries for attention.
In the past, Arpaio has claimed to be considering running for governor on several occasions, and has even entertained the notion of a run for the White House. Each time, he never actually ran -- but the news cameras were rolling when he'd announce his decision.When If Arpaio doesn't run for Senate, he says he still wants to have an influence in national Congressional races, which is why he set up "JoePAC," a national political action committee set up to raise money for Joe-approved political candidates across the country.
"It seems that not a day goes by that local and national
candidates for public office call the sheriff seeking his endorsement,"
says Chad Willems, the chairman of JoePAC. "The Sheriff
has actively campaigned across the country to support candidates and
causes. JoePAC will be just one more way they he can help elect good
people to office."
The sheriff has been crowing lately about how GOP presidential
candidates -- like Mitt Romney, Michele Bachmann, and Rick Perry -- have
been puckering up to his ass with hopes he'll endorse their
candidacies.
Like it or not, Arpaio's a pretty powerful guy.
There's some bad news for Scottsdale Lieutenant Mike Stauffer, Arpaio's opponent in next year's GOP primary for sheriff, too.
In the same announcement, Arpaio noted that he has a cool $6 million to
spend on his own upcoming re-election campaign.
When asked if that makes him at all nervous, Stauffer tells New Times "I don't think Arpaio's $6 million is news. Since Arpaio has lost touch with
reality and the voters, he must feel he needs the money to buy friends. I
have absolutely no concerns, as money doesn't buy what the voter does
in the booth. Additionally, much of the money he claims he has comes
from those outside Maricopa County. I'm confident the residents of
Maricopa County won't be making a fifth mistake."
Again, that $6 million will likely go towards the sheriff's upcoming re-election campaign...when he'll be 80 years old running
for a job that -- at the very least -- requires him to live for at least
four more years.
