Joe Arpaio Recall Still On, Despite Lack of Support from (Some) Deep-Pocket Democrats (w/Correction)
Why are some Democrats unwilling to aid the recall of this fool?
Please see correction below.
Respect Arizona, the group spearheading the recall of Sheriff Joe Arpaio, is suspending its paid signature-gathering campaign due to lacks of funds.
See also:
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Lilia Alvarez, Respect Arizona's campaign manager, explained that the group does not have the money to continue paying Sign Here Petitions for professional canvassers.
The volunteer campaign will continue, she said, and she claimed to believe that the recall will reach its goal of more than 335,000 valid signatures by May 30.
"People need to take this as a wake-up call," Alvarez told me, "and take responsibility for the effort in order to get this done."
Just two weeks ago, Respect Arizona announced that it had scored 150,000 signatures, 120,000 of them validated by Sign Here as being from qualified county electors.
Still, fundraising has been difficult.
Some potential donors have cited the threatened lawsuit from birther-lawyer Larry Klayman as a reason not to pony up the dough.
That's certainly a lame excuse from these would-be donors as Klayman would have to win an injunction from a judge in order to stop the recall. Given his lightweight legal arguments, that's unlikely to happen.
So what's really going on here? I asked Alvarez if deep-pocket Dems locally had been willing to give or raise money for the recall.
She reluctantly admitted that this has been a problem.
"There are a number of influential Democrats who have not been helpful," she said. "It's unbelievable, really, because this would help them, especially with the Latino vote."
Alvarez declined to name names. However, it's unsurprising that local weenie politicos would wimp out when it comes to taking on Arpaio.
They pulled the same act of cowardice in 2011 when it came to the successful recall of ex-state Senate President Russell Pearce.
Only after the recall was successful, and Pearce was defeated by fellow Republican Jerry Lewis, did certain Dems finally concede that, hey, this recall thing was a good idea.
I have heard that former Attorney General Terry Goddard refused to sign the Arpaio recall petition, and was one of many Dems who have not helped with fundraising.
Alvarez declined to comment. Goddard, who is said to be considering a run for AG again in 2014, has yet to return my call for comment. (***Please see correction below.***)
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