Clarke Needs To Return Award

Last year, Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke was named "Sheriff of the Year" by the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association (CSPOA), an extreme right-wing collection of nut jobs.  Among some of the questionable things that have come from the CSPOA was their stands that the federal government was a bigger threat than terrorists and that they wanted to nullify any federal laws with which they didn't agree.

When confronted by Dan Bice of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on their level of nuttiness, Clarke said he was proud of the award:

"I am extremely proud and humbled at the same time for this recognition by an association of my peers," Clarke said in a statement.

Then he added: "Have you ever been recognized by an association of writers as Journalist of the Year? If you ever are, and I read about it, I will congratulate you, not try to poop on your recognition."

The CSPOA are again in the news for taking their nuttiness to a new level, wanting to take Utah back from the homosexuals:

On Saturday, the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association (CSPOA) organized what it called an “uprising” in Utah to protest a federal court’s decision that struck down the state’s ban on same-sex marriage.

U.S. District Judge Robert Shelby struck down the ban, then upheld his ruling three days later, leading Utah conservatives to take extreme measures to oppose it.

The CSPOA’s “uprising” consisted of a meeting in which a standing-room only crowd of same-sex marriage opponents watched PowerPoint presentations about the federal government overstepping its authority. Organizers and speakers claim that Governor Gary Herbert has failed the people of Utah, and that it is up to the sheriff’s to “take back” the state from “the homosexuals.”

Former Graham County, Arizona Sheriff Richard Mack said that “[t]he people of Utah have rights, too, not just the homosexuals. The homosexuals are shoving their agenda down our throats.”

Now that the CSPOA has crossed the line and is espousing blatant bigotry, it's time for Clarke to denounce the group and return the award that these crackpots gave him.  Unless, that is, he feels that he is somehow being honored by having his name tied to a group of homophobic goofs.  If Clarke doesn't return his award, we can only presume that he agrees with the homophobic stance of this group, making him unfit for office.

Now, I really don't expect Clarke to suddenly change course and do the right thing by returning the award and distancing himself from these reprobates.  After all, we are talking about a guy that is willing to bend the law enough to keep Fran McLaughlin, one of Scott Walker's former staffers who did politicking on county time, as his mouthpiece.

What I do expect is for people to get fed up with Clarke and his crazy antics and his bigoted friends and ousting him by voting for Chris Moews.  It's time for Milwaukee County to stand up for itself and get rid of this sideshow clown that we have for a sheriff now.