Arpaio doesn’t want your vote — just your money

Come on: You didn’t actually believe former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio was going to go away quietly. Or go away, at all. Did you? You couldn’t have. Not after all these years of him soliciting your attention with every manner of political stunt imaginable, and more than a few that no one but him could have imagined.

Pink underwear. Chain gangs. Green bologna sandwiches. And the less benign, less legal, immigration sweeps.

After 25 years of celebrity and notoriety — and, in some case, infamy — you could not have believed that Arpaio was going to go gently into that good night. Or any good night.

He was the earliest nationally known politician to back Donald Trump. If it weren’t for Arpaio’s impending criminal-contempt trial, he’d probably be working for the president in some capac-

ity.

He may do so afterward, depending on the trial’s outcome. He’ll grab some headlines during that trial, of course.

But he wants more. He’d always does. These days, Arpaio may no longer want your vote.

But he still wants your money.

The attention-seeking former lawman is now a treasure-seeking private citizen, hoping there are enough suckers out there to fill the vault at the newly formed “Joe Arpaio Action Fund,” a “dark money” non-profit organization of his very own.

According to the Internal Revenue Service, a fund like this is technically supposed to be a “social welfare” organization, but most of these outfits are political big spenders that can accept unlimited corporate and individual contributions and not disclose the donors.

They represent the kind of outside influencepeddlers in elections that Arpaio railed against during his recent losing campaign. Since he couldn’t beat ‘em, he decided to join ‘em.

Arpaio’s solicitation for his fund whines about his loss, saying in part, “I was defeated at the ballot box — all because of my unwavering support for enforcing illegal immigration laws — and being so outspoken about the federal government's failure to do their job.”

And, maybe, the millions of dollars in lawsuits over his department’s improper actions, and his own contempt indictment for ignoring a judge’s order.

“Obviously, I am not a billionaire who can write a personal check to buy elections across this country (like Soros!),” Arpaio says, “But what I can do is reach out to loyal supporters like you and ask for your help. Together we can build an organization that promotes a conservative agenda, helps conservative ideas become law and help those conservatives win office.”

The request went out on Arpaio’s extensive mailing list of previous donors.

He’s counting on the old axiom being wrong, and that you can fool all of the people all of the time.