More Republican BS: Talk of Bipartisan Progress Fading in Arizona

From [HERE]

PHOENIX — As the days pass since the Tucson shooting spree, all that talk of bipartisan handholding, toning down the decibel level and working shoulder-to-shoulder for the betterment of the voters is losing some of its edge here as Arizona appears to be slipping back into its old ways.

Outside the Pima County Sheriff’s Department on Friday afternoon, deputies investigating the Jan. 8 shootings will have to pass by demonstrators organized by the Pima County Tea Party Patriots calling for the ouster of Sheriff Clarence Dupnik at what is being billed as the “Dump Dupnik 2012 Rally.” Mr. Dupnik’s remarks to the news media shortly after the shootings, suggesting that overheated political language might have contributed to the rampage, infuriated conservatives, who have identified him as a top target for defeat in 2012, if they cannot recall him first.

“We’ll be respectful, as we always are,” said Ally Miller, a protest organizer. “We are exercising the First Amendment, which we have the right to. We are nonviolent. We are civil.”

Meanwhile, in Phoenix, Republicans introduced controversial legislation on Thursday to restrict citizenship for the children of illegal immigrants, which Andrei Cherny, the newly elected chairman of the Arizona Democratic Party, called “a direct assault on the very idea of America.”

Days before, Republicans introduced a bill requiring future presidential candidates to verify their place of birth before they can appear on the Arizona ballot, a measure that stems from lingering doubts among some “birthers” about President Obama’s citizenship.

Kyrsten Sinema, a Democratic state senator who opposes both those measures, said she had had better success since the shootings dealing with Republican leaders on procedural matters, like allowing Democrats adequate time to speak out against things they find outrageous. But she said the Tucson tragedy had not caused Republicans to forge a common agenda with Democrats.

“Their opinion is, ‘We don’t really need you guys because we have plenty of votes on our own,’ ” she said.

John Kavanagh, a Republican in the Arizona House, said he did not really see the need for a new political climate.

“We’ve always been civil here, and I think reports of legislative incivility are greatly exaggerated,” Mr. Kavanagh said.

As for the controversial citizenship bills, both of which Mr. Kavanagh has co-sponsored, he said: “There’s a big difference between civil discourse and no discourse. And a lot of the people preaching civil discourse are really trying to twist it and say don’t even discuss this bill.”

In the nearly three weeks since the shooting, one southern Phoenix legislative district has seen philosophical differences within the Republican Party dissolve into threats, resignations and a request for a restraining order.

Anthony Miller, chairman of the Republican Party in the Ahwatukee neighborhood, recently resigned his post because, he said, the behind-the-scenes battling between different factions had grown entirely too bitter and personal.

“I got some e-mails and text messages that I didn’t feel comfortable with and my family didn’t feel comfortable with,” Mr. Miller said. “The shooting made clear to me that things can go too far. My father once told me, ‘If you see trouble on one side of the street, cross over to the other side.’ That’s what I did. I didn’t want to risk it.”

Resigning with Mr. Miller were two other local Republicans, including Sophia Johnson, the committee secretary, who went to court on Tuesday to seek a restraining order against a member of the Tea Party who sent an e-mail that Ms. Johnson considered threatening. A judge declined to issue such an order but did read the e-mail to the activist who sent it and ask if it was appropriate.

It was shortly after the shooting, which left six dead and 13 injured, including Representative Gabrielle Giffords, that Mr. Dupnik said the political vitriol in the country was a contributing factor in the attack. “The anger, the hatred, the bigotry that goes on in this country is getting to be outrageous,” he said. “And, unfortunately, Arizona I think has become sort of the capital. We have become the Mecca for prejudice and bigotry.”

Anger over his remarks grew when Mr. Dupnik, who considers Ms. Giffords a friend, began naming names of some he considered culpable, including the radio commentator Rush Limbaugh and the Nevada Tea Party candidate Sharron Angle. An activist from Utah, Dan Baltes, arrived in Tucson on Thursday to start a recall campaign against the sheriff. “It is not antithetical to harmony,” he said, making a local gunshop his first stop to drop off recall petitions.

Greg Harris, executive director of the Pima County Republican Party, distanced his party from the recall attempt, although he said Republicans had just posted a Web site, aimed at using Mr. Dupnik’s comments after the shooting to raise money to vote him out of office.

“He didn’t really blame the killer, he blamed political rhetoric,” Mr. Harris said.

Mr. Dupnik, a Democrat who has been elected seven times as sheriff, has not provided any evidence that the Tucson shooting has any link to politics besides the fact that the troubled suspect, Jared L. Loughner, seemed to hold a grudge against Ms. Giffords going back several years. After initially standing by his comments, Mr. Dupnik signaled some regret on Sunday at a 5-K race to raise money for victims.

“We were overwhelmed with shock and sorrow, then some of us, like me, got angry and said some things that maybe could have been said better,” he told the crowd.