Joe Arpaio Is Running For A Senate Seat In Arizona

Oh boy. Here we go.

Joe Arpaio is running for a Senate seat in Arizona. Yes– this is the same guy President Trump pardoned last year. (I’d just like to take this minute to remind the #resisters that Barack Obama released TOTAL TRAITOR “Chelsea” Manning. Gain a little perspective before you lose your mind.)

I am running for the U.S. Senate from the Great State of Arizona, for one unwavering reason: to support the agenda and policies of President Donald Trump in his mission to Make America Great Again. https://t.co/ANppBdDOtp

— Sheriff Joe Arpaio (@RealSheriffJoe) January 9, 2018

BREAKING: Joe Arpaio tells @NBCNews: "After talking with my wife, I've decided to announce my candidacy for the Republican nomination of the United States Senate seat, which is vacated by Senator Jeff Flake in Arizona."

— Peter Alexander (@PeterAlexander) January 9, 2018

Yep. He’s doing it for real.

“I have a lot to offer. I’m a big supporter of President Trump,” Arpaio said in an interview with the Washington Examiner. “I’m going to have to work hard; you don’t take anything for granted. But I would not being doing this if I thought that I could not win. I’m not here to get my name in the paper, I get that everyday, anyway.”

You KNOW the accusations of “racial-profiling” and “bigotry” are going to resurface, but he seems unconcerned.

“My mother and father came here from Italy, legally of course. I have a soft spot for the Mexican community having lived there,” he told the Washington Examiner. “I’m not going to get into my personal life, but I will say we have four grandkids and some have a different ethnic and racial background. I don’t say that. I don’t use my grandkids. So, I have a soft spot, but still, I’m going to do my job. You have to do it.”

“Being a U.S. senator is a little different than being the sheriff, because you can do a lot of things in the U.S. Senate, and I have many plans, believe me. It’s tough. It’s a tough decision. But, if you’re going to come across that border, you should be arrested and get the consequences of it,” he added.

Arpaio said he relishes the fight, whether from the Left or from supporters of McSally on the Right.

“I am outspoken. I’m looking forward to it. Let them come. They’ll have their political firing squads and bring tons of money here, because they don’t want to lose,” he said. “I just want to do everything I can to support our president.”

Arpaio said he expects Democrats to make an issue of the pardon. It was granted on Aug. 25, his wife’s 86th birthday. Arpaio noted that fact, and that he shares a birthday with Trump — June 14 — with a sense of satisfaction, as he did the periodic calls from the president to check in on his wife’s health.

The former sheriff said he has not personally discussed his Senate bid with Trump and emphasized that he didn’t ask for the pardon nor did he know that it was coming. But Arpaio did not apologize for it, calling his conviction part of a political witch hunt by former President Barack Obama and his first attorney general, Eric Holder.

I can’t get past his age. He’s 85, going on 86 in June. At that age, why wouldn’t you want to settle down and enjoy your family? I truly don’t understand that.

Whatever.

He also told the Examiner about his “far-out” idea for illegal immigration.

“I have a far-out plan, which may look stupid,” he said. “When they come to your attention that they’re here illegally, these young people, deport them back to Mexico — or whatever — and then try to put them on a fast track to come back into the United States legally with special permits. What’s wrong with that? They’d say they don’t know where their home country is, so let them go there and spend six months, because it might take that long to do paperwork to get them here legally and let them see their home country and see what it’s really like. They ought to be proud where they came from. I’m proud being an Italian American. I’m proud of Italy. I’m proud my father, mother came over, proud of it. So, you could kill two birds with one stone.”

“That would be no amnesty, everybody would be happy, you deport them and then let them come back with all their education here. I’m sure they could find a temporary job or help the foreign countries and build up relations and come back. That’s just a big picture that I have. People may say I’m crazy. What am I crazy about? It just makes sense.”

This AZ resident won’t be voting for you. I hope you lose. Bigly.

— Amber K (@RockiesBBallFan) January 9, 2018

This AZ resident will👍🏻

— Braden Herrmann (@BradenHerrmann) January 9, 2018

Lol criminals can't be senators

— Juan velasquez (@Juanvel64427318) January 9, 2018

Yet more embarrassment for Arizona

— sheila29292 (@sheila29292) January 9, 2018

#TheResistance is up to the task. Challenge accepted.

— Bluegazer (@cordsinknots) January 9, 2018

Why do I have the feeling this is going to be a Roy Moore-type situation all over again (controversy-wise)?

h/t Washington Examiner