Arizona Under Fire: What you need to know about the Sheriff Joe Recall Effort

[Editor's note: Hey, look, it's a guest post! I've been a busy bee lately and haven't had as much time as I'd like to blog about all the intriguing things happening, so I've invited a few friends to do a little guest blogging here from time to time. So here's Amy Miller...enjoy! Also don't forget to follow my random mumblings on Twitter.]

I don't normally stick my nose into local or district races, mostly because it conflicts with my philosophy of letting the people choose their own. damn. representatives. That being said, I do believe that the people have a right to know who they're signing petitions against and voting for--especially when the Big Progressive Steamroller of Doom© is calling the shots.

Strategically bagging elections is sort of a thing with the left. What we saw in 2008, and again in 2012, is not a new thing. The plan they're working with now is a plan decades in the making, and the GOP has a long way to go if we expect to even attempt to catch up with the progressive freak parade. This plan--known as The Colorado Model (go read this article RIGHT NOW)--is fairly simple, and being deployed with panache all over the country:

Eric O’Keefe, chairman of the conservative Sam Adams Alliance in Chicago, says there are seven “capacities” that are required to drive a successful political strategy and keep it on offense: [1] the capacity to generate intellectual ammunition, [2] to pursue investigations, [3] to mobilize for elections, [4] to fight media bias, [5] to pursue strategic litigation, [6] to train new leaders, and [7] to sustain a presence in the new media. Colorado liberals have now created institutions that possess all seven capacities. By working together, they generate political noise and attract press coverage. Explains Caldara, “Build an echo chamber and the media laps it up.”

Sound familiar? It should. It's what shellacked you in the face in 2012. It's also what's currently threatening the political career of Maricopa County, Arizona's embattled Sheriff Joe Arpaio. The recall effort against Sheriff Joe Arpaio is rolling along under the banner of "Respect Arizona," a political recall committee registered with the Maricopa County Elections Office. Their only goal is to successfully recall Joe Arpaio and replace him with someone more attractive to the progressive palate. They've been up and running since about three weeks after Sheriff Arpaio was reelected with 53% of the vote. Arpaio was and remains the face of Arizona's controversial SB 1070 immigration bill, which is obviously convenient for the recall effort, considering significant portions of the bill were struck down by the Supreme Court last summer. At any rate, Respect Arizona is applying the Colorado Model to their recall effort and relying on emotional plays and token endorsements to whip up the base and create a progressive echo chamber that the GOP in Arizona is not prepared or equipped to deal with. They succeeded in Colorado. They tried and failed in Wisconsin with the Walker recall effort. Now, Arizona is in the crosshairs, and the left is well on their way to ousting a duly elected sheriff with no current basis for the recall. They want one more bite at the apple, and they're well on their way to getting it: as of Friday, April 5, the recall effort has over 120,000 paid petitioners on the ground, and have less than 100,000 signatures to go before the May 30th recall petition deadline. The recall effort against Joe Arpaio is just one part of a national strategy to overwhelm the system. The left is building a template to apply on a national level, and we're not prepared to handle it. LaborUnionReport over at RedState called it over a year ago:

On the Right, after nearly three years of being engaged in the battle to save America from tax and spend collectivists, there is still a large knowledge vacuum in the nature of the battle, the groups and strategies involved, as well as the tactics used. America is nearing the end of a century-old ideological war waged by Marxists of varying degree—an ideological war that will determine the future of America. Until such time as the Right understands that fact and begins to work together, any “victories” at the ballot box will be fleeting and, in the long run, futile.

This battle isn't just about Sheriff Joe, or Governor Walker, or whoever the left chooses as its next target. Whether or not you support these politicians, it's important for you to understand what's happening: these are a series of ideological attacks waged by progressives who do not like the outcomes of elections. They know they have a better chance of winning in the courts or on the rebound, and given the chance, they'll give it everything they've got.

  Amy Miller lives and works in Austin, Texas.

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