Arpaio Defends Cain’s ‘Electric Fence’
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Sheriff Joe Arpaio made it clear at a Phoenix press conference today that he was not officially endorsing anyone yet in the GOP presidential race, but took a moment to defend Herman Cain’s controversial “electric fence” comment.
At a stop last Saturday in Cookeville, Tennessee, along his Memphis to Nashville bus tour, Cain had explained how he would secure the U.S. border by building an electrified fence along the southern border of the country.
“I got an electric fence; it doesn’t kill people,” Arpaio said Monday at the press conference.
Arpaio, the Sheriff of Maricopa County, Arizona added that most of the GOP hopefuls had already reached out to have a meeting with him.
As for Cain, he said the two didn’t really talk. The last time he really spoke with Cain, he said, was three months ago in Vegas.
“I was impressed with him and I’m still impressed with him,” said Arpaio.
“I’ll tell you one thing that stands out with me, he’s sort of unconventional. I like to call myself controversial.” Arpaio, best known for his outspoken comments on illegal immigration and his harsh law enforcement tactics in the state of Arizona, said of Cain.
“I think that’s refreshing. The way things are going in this country, that’s why the people like him and support him, he’s a new fresh face and he’s telling it like it is. So I kind of respect people who are not typical politicians,” he said.
He also added that Cain defended his “electric fence” comment as a mere joke.
“He said it was a joke. And all I can tell you, I take controversy too. I have an electric fence around the tent jail. I have illegal immigrants there, I have illegals on the chain gang. So nobody goes after me. So why are they worried about him making a comment during a campaign, speaking from then heart. It just shows he’s frustrated with the government and he told a joke, I guess,” Arpaio said.
Arpaio added he’s had Perry and Romney call him but still hasn’t endorsed anyone.
“They come to me, I don’t call them,” he said.
Right outside the building where Cain and Arpaio held their press conference, a group of “Occupy Phoenix” protestors had set up camp. A few confronted the Sheriff on immigration when he exited the building. The Sheriff was unfazed, admitting he’d had more people protesting against him in the past.
As for the protestors, the group consider themselves “the 99%,” and have been camped out in Cesar Chavez Square in downtown Phoenix since Saturday in solidarity with the Occupy Wall Street protesters. While their numbers do not match what has been seen in downtown New York, the protestors say they share the same message and have set up makeshift tents and stockpiles of food.
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Cain another flip flopper. From what I read Mr. Cain is in the pocket of the Koch Brothers and his so called economist is involved with the Crossroads for America …a hugh Koch Bros. organization. Do we want these people to have a direct line to the president? NO. It is no wonder Cain does not have an office or group working for him…everything is supplied by the Koch Bros. They have been trying for years to get to the White House but in the past others have been too smart to allow this. They will if they get in control any measures that would harm their business interests and be able to control Mr. Cain. What I really want to know from Mr. Cain is what does he mean when he says …we will pay taxes on any new things we buy but no taxes on used things. How often do we buy used things? And…does that mean we have to buy reconditioned t.v.’s or refrigerators, stoves, clothes, day old bread to avoid paying tax? This is a question I would ask had I the chance to interview him. By the way, the guy who planned his so called economic plan works for Wells Fargo and is a member of Crossroads for America and is the one who sponsored him to the Koch Bros. Is anyone worried about this?
Posted by: talmag | October 18, 2011, 9:00 am 9:00 am
According to you every republican is in the pocket of the Koch brothers, yet you have no proof of anything, but there is proof that Pres.Obama is in the pockets of Soros, Immelt anf the Unions.
Posted by: Lizzie | October 18, 2011, 10:35 am 10:35 am
You tell him Liz! I get so tired of having every liberal accuse Republicans of wrong doings and vice versa. It is politics people and most are as crooked as a pit full of snakes!
If we could just find one honest and truthful politician , he would likely be made king of the world! I must say that I do like some of Herman Cain’s ideas, which is more than I can say for most. As an independent, I can wait until the last minute to decide just who to vote against.
Posted by: Pete Greyghost | October 18, 2011, 11:07 am 11:07 am
Forget the 8 billion dollar, 2000 mile fence, it won’t stop anyone. We are treating the symptoms not the problem. Employers that hire illegal immigrants need to be penalized significantly, not given a slap on the risk.
Use the eight billion dollars to build more prisons. Give a mandatory 3 year sentence for possession and a mandatory 10 year sentence for distribution. The cartels will be out of business in a year. The problem is the rampant drug use in our country, not Mexico.
Posted by: tmferretti | October 18, 2011, 11:14 am 11:14 am
My guess is that the chicken hawks piling on here are good Christians too – maybe they should read Matthew 25 and know that the man they worship, their god, was an illegal alien too…
Posted by: gs | October 18, 2011, 11:23 am 11:23 am
GREYGHOST
Oh I see, when the republicans accuse the president of not being a citizen, not being a Christian, on and on, it doesn’t count. The republicans lost the election 2 years ago when Mitch McConnell stood on the Senate floor and said that the only goal of the republican party was to defeat this president, not one republican stood and said that it wasn’t true, their goal was to do what was best for our country. Americans blame the republicans who got us into this mess and are doing absolutly nothing to help get us out of it.
In this economy the president should be way down losing badly but the republicans seem to find the one way out of thousands to lose.
Posted by: tmferretti | October 18, 2011, 11:45 am 11:45 am
Well according to the latest USA Today Poll, if the election was held today Cain would beat Obama, no problem! – Could that be the reason the left wing liberals are desperately trying to label Cain as a Tea Party racist??? Its truly laughable how far the left will go to save Obama! – The American people, even most Latino Americans want the border secured and the flow of illegal alien invaders stopped before the are able to sneak into the country! If the illegal alien invaders are stopped at the border, the fence will pay for it self in one or two years, well worth the money spent!!!
Posted by: RadioMan77 | October 18, 2011, 1:14 pm 1:14 pm
When I see Arpaio and Cain together, it reminds me of Bevis and Butthead. Lol!
Posted by: Jessica | October 18, 2011, 5:36 pm 5:36 pm
An electric fence would not solve anything > but if you tell the american people ifyou hire an illegal you will no longer be allowed to own a buisness here and if you rent or sell to one we will seize all your property > things might change > YA
THINK ,,,,
Posted by: Just me | October 20, 2011, 12:23 am 12:23 am
And if you rent a place to an illegal that is treson and harboring an illegal punishable by 25 years of hard labor in a federal pen
Posted by: Just me | October 20, 2011, 12:29 am 12:29 am