Joe Arpaio's Newspaper of Choice: The National Enquirer

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio is quite vocal about his disdain for local news outlets -- New Times in particular -- and now we know why; the sheriff prefers to get his news from publications like the National Enquirer and Globe.

Dan Nowicki, the Arizona Republic's national political reporter, recently took the bait and penned an article lending credibility to Arpaio's claims that just about every GOP presidential candidate is jockeying for his endorsement.

During the interview, the subject of Arpaio's landing himself on the cover of Globe for his ridiculous pledge to investigate President Barcack Obama's "fake birth certificate" came up.

From the Republic:

Arpaio said he doesn't mind appearing in publications such as the Globe or the National Enquirer.

"In fact, those are the magazines that do the best journalistic stories," Arpaio said. "More accurate than anybody else. You laugh at that, but I've dealt with the National Enquirer and their stories are always right down the line, believe it or not."

Yes, the 79-year-old leader of one of the largest law enforcement agencies in the country prefers to get his news from supermarket tabloids that specialize in rumors and sex scandals.

Arpaio's opponent in next year's GOP primary for sheriff, Scottsdale Lieutenant Mike Stauffer, finds the sheriff's publication of choice about as unsettling as we do.

Stauffer recently posted the following on his Facebook page:

Read to the end of this article to see where Arpaio finds inspiration. While I enjoy the storytelling and folklore contained in these publications, I do not base my perception of reality or investigations on what I read in them. Arpaio should spend time investigating the 500+ sex crimes he never worked on, clearing the 70,000 warrants from the courts, etc., rather than letting the supermarket tabloids dictate priorities.

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