The Unstable Sheriff of Pima County, AZ

Jim Geraghty in his Morning Jolt email takes on Sheriff Clarence Dupnik (pronounced "Dumbsh....") who has managed both to neglect his duties AND try and dismantle the First Amendment:

Say this for Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik. He may have dropped the ball on numerous red flags and other signs of a potential threat from the Tucson gunman, and he certainly didn't bother to assign any deputies or other police personnel to the "Congress on Your Corner" event that turned into a massacre, despite his apparent belief that his state and the community he serves "have become the Mecca of prejudice and bigotry."

 But when it comes to policing our airwaves, he's on the case!

 ABC News: "The Arizona sheriff investigating the Tucson shooting that left U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords critically wounded had harsh words today for those engaging in political rhetoric, calling conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh 'irresponsible' for continuing the vitriol. 'The kind of rhetoric that flows from people like Rush Limbaugh, in my judgment he is irresponsible, uses partial information, sometimes wrong information,' Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik said today. '[Limbaugh] attacks people, angers them against government, angers them against elected officials and that kind of behavior in my opinion is not without consequences.' Limbaugh today railed against the media and Dupnik for trying to draw a link between the heated political climate and the shooting rampage, calling the sheriff a 'fool.' But Dupnik stood by his assertions. 'The vitriol affects the [unstable] personality that we are talking about,' he said. 'You can say, "Oh no, it doesn't," but my opinion is that it does.'"

 Hey, thanks for your opinion, Clouseau. Dare you interrupt your rewriting of the Constitution and self-appointed duties as National Political Discourse Referee for a little bit of actual police work?

There's much more in his Morning Jolt email which you can subcribe to here.

This Sheriff has a major CYA effort going on here because his department hasn't done the job they should have done with this guy back when it was obvious he was unstable and a potential threat. Trying to blame talk radio or forces other than the twisted mind of a nut is simply dishonest, and it's clear the Sheriff wants to direct attention away from the people who might have been able to see something like this coming...had they been doing their jobs.  This Sheriff is a political hack and not a terribly deep thinker.

Michelle Malkin sums up the whole effort to demonize free speech this way:

"The new liberal mantra: Guns don't kill people. Adjectives do."