Recalled state Senate President Russell Pearce is one of those guys who can lie and then believe his lie, almost immediately after he's said it.
Problem is, he's a really bad liar. In fact, his lies remind me of that quote from the Old Testament, "Be sure your sin will find you out."
And like a boomerang, they always do, particularly in Pearce's case.
See also: -Protesters Still Demanding Russell Pearce Be Fired in Second Week of Demonstrations
Take his excuse from the podcast of his September 20th show on talk radio station KKNT 960 AM, wherein he tries to spin his way out of the words that forced his resignation from the First Vice Chair position at the Arizona GOP:
This part comes around 6 minutes into the podcast:
There's been a lot of controversy over a rant that I read September 6. Not my words. At first, they continue to use terms that weren't even in the rant. Sterilization. Wasn't even there. It was never mentioned. It was not the issue. This was a rant from a what is called wonderwoman. Been around for years. While reading it, I paused a couple of times, and said, with my editorial comments, and said, "But let me continue to read." It was clear I was reading a rant. Now I apologize for not making it more clear, apparently, to folks. I do apologize for that.
Regarding Pearce's contention that he never used the word "sterilization." That is true, but he did use the term, "tubal ligations," which is practically the same thing.
I quote, from the website for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services:
What is female sterilization?Female sterilization permanently prevents women from becoming pregnant. There are different medical procedures to achieve this goal, but they all work by blocking the fallopian tubes (tubes that lead from the ovaries of females into the uterus) so that sperm cannot meet with and fertilize an egg.
Since these methods cannot be undone, they are only recommended for women who are sure they never want to have a baby or who do not want to have more children.
Surgical sterilization: The fallopian tubes are cut, sealed, or tied. With this method, very tiny cuts (called incisions) are made in the abdomen or belly. This is also known as having "tubes tied" or tubal ligation. Surgical sterilization works to prevent pregnancy right away.
What about Pearce's contention that he "paused a couple of times with my editorial comments and said, `But let me continue to read'"?
This is not true.
Pearce owned the words in question, never indicating that he was quoting someone else's words, never stating, "But let me continue to read."
Listen to the offending segment in question. Do you hear Pearce saying, "But let me continue to read"?
The podcast of Pearce's now-infamous September 6 show has since been taken down from KKNT's site. I have a recording of the entire podcast, but, thankfully, the offending segment has been posted as a YouTube clip by the Raw Story.
Anyone can listen to it and hear for themselves that Pearce never indicated he was reading someone else's "rant."
But in the interest of the historical record, I have transcribed the entire YouTube clip below.
I've marked as bold the segment where Pearce evidently is reading from a letter, which was first published in the Waco Tribune on November 18, 2010.
BTW, when Pearce mentions, "Eric," he is referring to the caller who asked him the question that got him rolling to begin with.
Did you see the headlines couple of days ago? Berkeley, California, which is known for being Berkeley, California, has decided that if you're poor, they'll give you your marijuana. You just show up to City Hall to get your stash. So if you make $32,000 or less, you get free marijuana at City Hall. Medical marijuana, of course. Of course, it's just all for medical purposes. Uh, you mean, I mean, boy, I mean, I can't wait for that earthquake and that vault, fault, to take place in California. I can't wait to have shoreline in Arizona, uh, California is [unintelligible]. Jerry Brown, who is inviting them into his state, while there's destroying, like I mentioned earlier, 92 million Americans not in the work force. 24 million jobs taken by illegal aliens, or aliens, those born by parents not U.S. citizens. Neither parent being U.S. citizens [unintelligible]. That doesn't even include the under the table. That doesn't include the workforce that is not declared to being recognized. So that number is absolutely much higher. You have 20 million Americans that are still looking for jobs that are either unemployed or underemployed. But you've got 92 million that are removed, not even in the workforce, because we allow them to sit at home and collect a welfare check. Government subsidized housing. WIC. AHCCCS, free medical. I mean, we have grown like I said earlier to this huge socialist state. And the fact that we don't enforce our laws, Eric, I, you know, that really opens up a Pandora's box when you talk about how bad it is and the damage it does when our government won't go in and remove people that it did [unintelligible] illegal. Allow illegal aliens to march in the street, like they did, just before I passed SB 1070, and 100,000 of them marched in Phoenix with their signs, "Si, se puede," ah, "Today we march, tomorrow we vote," ah. I mean, what we're doing to this country is absolutely unbelievable. The lawlessness. You know, and again, Eric, if you put me in charge, things would change. First of all, I'm not sure I'd even allow food stamps to take place, but I'd certainly get rid of the Lone Star cards. No cash for Ding-Dongs or Ho-Hos. You'd only get money for a 50 pound bag of rice and beans, blocks of cheese and powdered milk, all the powdered milk you can haul away. If you want a steak or frozen pizza then you have to get a job. You put me in charge of Medicaid, the first thing I'd do is get [female recipients] Norplant, birth control implants, or tubal ligations, then we'll test recipients for drugs and alcohol, and if you want to [reproduce] or continue to use drugs or alcohol, then get a job. Put me in charge of government housing, ever live on a military barracks? You'll maintain your property in a clean, in good state of repair. Your home will be subject to inspection at any time. Possessions will be inventoried. If you want a Plasma TV or an Xbox 360, then get a job. You know, I could go on and on. You know, we just, are out of control. And I know there's people out there, that need help. And my heart goes out to them, too. But you know what? That should never be a government role. That's a role for family, church and community. Where we hold people accountable. We help them get a job. We work with them every day. Work with their substance abuse problems. But we don't subsidize it, promote it, condone it, as we're doing today.
Interestingly, Pearce's explanation of this passage to Rachel Alexander's IC Arizona blog is slightly different.
In that Q & A, he maintains that he never said anything on air to indicate he was reading someone else's rant.
Q. Explain again why you did not make it clear it was a rant?A. Simply, I moved on too quickly. I have one hour for the radio show, and it never seems to be enough time to get through all of what needs to be discussed. I simply realized after it was too late that I had neglected to mention it as a "rant" from a lady in Texas. As I ended the show, I asked Ashley who takes the callers for me, if I had failed to mention the author of the rant. She indicated I had.
Now we come to Pearce's employer, Maricopa County Treasurer Hos Hoskins.
In responding to a recent e-mail from a constituent, Hoskins laid Pearce's stupidity at my doorstep. Channel 12's Brahm Resnik posted the give and take in his blog yesterday.
Here is an excerpt:
In this blog the FB provided a "quote" from something Russell Pearce said on his talk radio show, and is highlighted in the attached blog excerpt. Mr. Pearce was, in fact, quoting from an email sent to him by someone using the name "WaderWoman. A copy of that email (which has been on the internet for several years) is attached and, as you can see, the highlighted portion closely matches what is in the FB's blog. However, the FB presented it in such a way that it would lead you to believe that Mr. Pearce was stating his opinion instead of quoting from something that has been around for years. While it appears that it was sent by a woman, it was written by a man. You can find more at: fact-check-rant-welfare-abuse-hits-home-internet-admirers.
Funny, now I'm responsible for Pearce being a plagiarist? Who knew I had such power?
I suspect Pearce agrees with the segment he read. But after being pilloried by all and sundry, he feels obliged to say that he does not agree with forced sterilization for poor women.
As I've pointed out in a previous post, Pearce has used similar excuses in the past when caught circulating racist or anti-Semitic rants via e-mail. It's one of his go-to excuses when he screws up in this fashion.
I'm pretty bored with all this, but Pearce and his tribe continue to prevaricate, spin, and squirm, so I felt the need to write this post.
I mean, if Pearce really believes that he did nothing wrong, why did he fall on his sword? For the good of the AZ GOP? That's a laugh.
He fell on his sword because he knows he's guilty, and his excuses didn't wash with his fellow Republicans, who denounced him rather than defend such garbage on the campaign trail.
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