In a very unfortunate turn of events, the Republican Party is seeing many of its members suddenly retire rather than seek reelection. Whether it’s due to poor reelection prospects, scandal, or simply a desire to move on, these sudden exits are coming fast and with little time for a proper replacement to get ready for the upcoming midterms.
While these vacancies are bad enough, as they put the GOP’s tenuous hold on its congressional majority in doubt, making the situation worse are poor candidates for replacement. With the disaster in Alabama still fresh in everyone’s minds, the last thing the party needs are more controversial candidates.
As reported at the New York Post, former Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio, famous for his harsh stance on illegal immigration in his jurisdiction, launched a Senate campaign to replace the retiring Jeff Flake Wednesday. Instead of talking about meaningful policy or issues, Arpaio renewed his conspiratorial claims that Obama wasn’t born in America, saying that if he’s elected, he’ll call on Congress to launch an investigation into the issue.
Talking to WABC radio hosts Rita Cosby and Curtis Sliwa about all the claims of Russian interference, Arpaio turned the talk to Obama, saying that his birth certificate “is a forgery,” and that the Russia issue pales in comparison to the former president’s birth country.
“They’re (Congress) too busy talking about Russia,” said Arpaio, who insisted he has proof that Obama wasn’t born in the United States. “We came up with some more, new information, not that we need it, but you’ll hear more about it.”
The 85-year-old Arpaio said he doesn’t care what people say about his claims, which have long been disproven.
“I’m not gonna back down on this. I don’t care if I lose elections or anything,” said Arpaio. “I’m going to tell you again that that document is a forgery.”
“I want to get it to Congress. I want to get it to Congress so they can pass some type of law, regulation, that when somebody runs for president, you oughta check their background, so this won’t happen again,” said Arpaio, who was voted out of office in 2016 after 24 years as sheriff.
Not that he had a chance in the first place, but after talking such nonsense, it would appear Arpaio’s Senate hopes have already been dashed. His ridiculous insistence on pushing the birther claim is absurd and completely disqualifying. He may not care what people think about his disproven beliefs, but he should care that any chance he had of winning has gone up in smoke.
Source: New York Post