Sheriff Joe Arpaio: "I Am Not Cyber Stalking John McCain's Daughter"

PHOENIX - Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio issued an official statement late Friday afternoon denying allegations by Meghan McCain, daughter of former presidential candidate John McCain, made on her blog earlier this week, claiming that Arpaio is cyber stalking her on Twitter.

McCain published an article on her blog on Monday complaining about "creepy" politicians cyber stalking her on Twitter. Her article starts off with,

Karl Rove follows me on Twitter. That's creepy....

I am now being followed by Karl Rove, and my local sheriff, and God knows how many other political pundits. We need to take Twitter back from the creepy people.

I hate to break it to McCain, but Karl Rove follows me on Twitter too, and in the scheme of things, I'm nobody. In fact, Rove follows 40,604 people on Twitter. I know he doesn't notice my Tweets, and I doubt he (or his ghost-Tweeter) pays much more attention to McCain's.

My local Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio (who, as the author of America's Toughest Sheriff, is notorious in his own right) recently sent me a Tweet about an answer I gave a fellow Twitter follower. He tried to tell me to go easy on them. It's really scary when the guy who houses his inmates in tents in the summer and whose most visible public-relations success involves pink underwear, boxers, and handcuffs tells you to tone it down.

The sheriff also inexplicably Tweeted me to say my mother owes him $10. Say what?

Again, I hate to break it to McCain, but @Joe_Arpaio isn't really Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Does Meghan McCain really think a man politically savvy enough to garner more popularity in Arizona than Obama would Twitter the daughter of a former presidential candidate to try to recoup $10?

I've been following @Joe_Arpaio for quite some time now, and no one who's read his feed could mistake him for a real sheriff. First, his name is listed as "Faux Joe Arpaio." Second, his Twitter feed reads more like a script from the Daily Show. Some recent Tweets include the following:

Radio Chatter: "Fifty bucks to the first guy to try to arrest Britney Spears tonight for indecent exposure."

Deputy Reprimand: Drivers of K9 Units with female dogs are no longer allowed to announce that they are "riding bitch."

Radio Chatter: "I'm pretty sure that sniffing cow manure daily is punishment for people who move to the buttcrack of Gilbert."

Whether I arrest them or they die the end result is less illegals on my streets.

The examples above are all from the last 48 hours and are a good representation of the daily Tweets of @Joe_Arpaio. He also Twittered this message to McCain after she posted her blog article:

I try to extend an olive branch in the form of casual conversation and this is how I'm treated? The acorn never falls far...

The real Sheriff Joe Arpaio says his identity was "hijacked" on Twitter and that he "wouldn't know a Twitter from a Twix."

Ironically, while Meghan McCain has no problem reporting false allegations against her local sheriff and Karl Rove for cyber stalking, she complains in the same article that the Huffington Post reported on one of her Tweets"

Who knows the next time The Huffington Post will have a slow news day and feel compelled to stick a headline next to a particularly unflattering photo of me? My Tweets are not sound bytes.

Of course, I recognize I'm choosing to Tweet, but seriously, can't journalists find something more important and useful to report?

After reading McCain's blog article, it appears this is a question that McCain, who aspires to be a journalist, should be asking herself.

Comments

[Plus15]

The writer of this column Dawn Teo seems rather confused and more then overly protective of Sheriff Arpaio in her convoluted take down of Meghan McCain.

[dcrinaz]

I'm glad you mentioned this. I have tried to post comments about Arpaio on her blog many times, but they never show up. My comments show up on other blogs, my language is the same. But every time I make some negative comment about Arpaio on her blog, nothing. If this gets posted, I'll be amazed.

Also Teo's comment about Arpaio's having "political savvy enough to garner more popularity in Arizona than Obama" is telling. Anyone who has lived in Arizona all their lives, and is a multi-generational Arizonan like I am can tell you it's easy for a politician to attain such popularity in Arizona, especially in Maricopa County. Remember this is the state that voted down MLK Day until an African-American boycott forced the majority of voters to change your mind. This is one of the few states specifically targeted in the Voting Rights Act for its suppression of minority votes. All you have to do to get such popularity is openly put down or persecute dark-skinned minorities and most of the white majority--enough to get you elected--will love you.

Arizona is the new Alabama.

[Json]

LOL. Meghan idea of twittering is similar to the GOP's idea of a "big tent". Theoretically everyone is welcome, but in reality they want to keep the "wrong" people out. ("creepy" people, gays, minorities...)

[oregonideas]

Hey, someone is really, really sick.......can you imagine anyone wanting people to believe that you are Joe Arapio!!!!!!!

[mudbones]

good point who would want to be associate with him.

[Prakosh]

WOW--the pot calling the kettle calling the pot calling the kettle calling the pot . . .and so it goes in celebrityville!

[i5kfun]

Wow, her meeting last year with Heidi Montag must have really taught her how to be a "celebrity" when you have never done anything in your life. Ever.

[katekid]

Free tip.
Research why this creep ended up in Arizona
aftrer he was run out of Massachusetts

[dadw5boys]

Of course the Sheriff would go after $10.00 from a wealthy person or a poor person.

Fame bring power and POWER MUST BE FEED !!!!!

Those whose life is using power for something or against someone need that rush it is addicting.

[bdaved]

And now you can read the article.

[oregonbird]

"I am a Republican! I cannot live with even a shred of dignity! There must be no doubt that I am without integrity! It's not just a hair color, it's a way of thoughting! I need more attention, Daddy!"

[weatherwaxx]

really.

[whitehawk]

Meghan does speak her mind, but anyone that picks a political party that their family is part of, really is not an intellect. I think she's more liberal than repub, but perhaps independent. The blogs in Arizona are typical right wing smear of Obama, so many of them in the south, but they are also to the point of 'dangerously' reckless with rhetoric as with many other web sites.

I don't understand her fear. She listened to Palin and her father incite so much hate toward Obama, how is she credible? Rove is everywhere, let's face it. His job was pure evil intended and it is now rearing it's ugly head. As a Fox commentator, he should be proud to be aligned with media dogpoo, it's almost like home.

[dynwitch]

He's not just a Fox "commentator"; he seems to be running the whole show now. Why else would the network have gone off the deep end of whackadoodle shortly after he started getting a paycheck from them? My bet is that Glen Beck was Rove's idea, that getting rid of Colms was Rove's idea, that the entire "we have to criticize Obama on everything" is Rove's idea. Just like Rove was pulling secret media levers behind the Bush white house doors, so also is he now doing the same thing at Fox. Rove's schizophrenic mind has become Fox's. No doubt about it.

[bdaved]

The blogs in Arizona?

[redsongia]

I usually enjoy Meghan's comments and blog posts, but she sounds a bit insane here.

If she doesn't want to be "followed" maybe she shouldn't Twitter. Yes Meghan, we can all follow you when you post on a public forum.

Now stop following me. You are creeping me out. Seriously.

[AndThenOneDay]

Why not?

[DiaLee]

I really enjoy hearing what Meghan McCain has to say. I enjoy her attitude. She seems to be saying to the right wing nuts that they really are nuts. It is extremely refreshing to see someone go off message from the rest of the automon crowd. I find it impressing. I am not a Republican, and my fondness of her openess will not convert me. I am just happy to see it. Others are of course welcome to disagree with me. This is just my opinion for what it is worth.

[weatherwaxx]

You're welcome to her.

[NotYouAgain]

What's with the photo, guys? We all would have recognized Meghan and Sheriff Joe has a pretty unforgettable mug to boot. So why put up a picture of John Boy?

[Dbos]

Sheriff Joe is more popular in Arizona than Obama . Says something about Arizona . Crazy about their guns ,crazy about any thing right wing . The main newspaper is so far right they think its o k t o
send young people to risk their lives in war but do not ask people,who have a lot of money ,to pay any more in taxes .

[noaxe397]

I've lived in Arizona for 20 years and in Sheriff Joe's county every day he has been the sheriff. While this story is probably correctly reported, it is actually worse here than you think. It is not so much that the state newspaper, The Arizona Republic, is far right (they did not endorse Arpaio last year for re-election,) it is that, in keeping with a dumbed-down, charter school lovin' state population, the newspaper is little more than a sports/entertainment publication with little real news. It's not its political leaninig, it's the paper's quality that is very bad.

PS: Please remember we did go for Clinton in 1996.

[AZ85283]

I live in AZ too and you have to wonder about people who don't want to pay taxes of anything; THEN think all education should be "nearly free", like who do they think is going to pay for it? It always someone else should pay but they got their hand out for services. This is the state that wanted it to be legal to bring guns into schools and bars -- and drive 100 miles an hr on freeways THEN scream like hell when they get hurt. This is also the state were every other ad is for lawyers advertising for clients claiming they might be able to get financial settles with phoney claims so they (the lawyers) could make money. This is a state were people cheered the killing of a speed light technician sitting in his car filling out paperwork. This is a state where ignorant is celebrated. The public schools are poor, the charters are worst and then wonder why the kids can't pass a basic test let along graduate from college. Remember this state has claims to all the rightwing nuts of this country.

[bdaved]

And that sums up the whole state, except you forgot cactuses. Texas has cowboys. Maine has lobsters. I'm a expert on states, too.

[jorge4u]

and Darell Issa follows me too... so what's the problem?