Moron Of The Week: AZ’s Sheriff Paul Babeu

For being a living contradiction and for believing that he could get away with secretly fucking around with his allegedly illegal Mexican immigrant boyfriend and be only the second most racist and extremely vocal anti-immigration activists, at the same time.

Karma is a bitch, right?

CNN: Ex-Boyfriend Of Arizona Sheriff Babeu Speaks Out

Tweet Of The Week: Dan Savage On Sheriff Paul Babeu

ARIZONA: Sheriff Paul Babeu’s Press Conference 

ARIZONA: Anti-Immigrant Sheriff Accused Of Threatening To Deport His Boyfriend

Joe.My.God. reports:

Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu is considered Arizona’s second-most virulently anti-immigrant law enforcement officer after Maricopa County’s infamous Sheriff Joe Arpaio. That’s why jaws are dropping over a claim that not only is Babeu gay, but that he once threatened to deport his Mexican boyfriend. That’s probably gonna cause a wee bit of trouble for Babeu’s run for Congress.

The Phoenix New Times reports:

The 34-year-old from central Mexico charges that the sheriff’s lawyer warned against mentioning the affair with Babeu. DeRose said gossip about Babeu would focus attention on Jose, attention that could result in his deportation, Jose says. Melissa Weiss-Riner, Jose’s attorney, confirms her client’s account. She says she spoke directly to the sheriff’s lawyer, DeRose, about the Babeu camp’s threats that Jose could be deported if he “revealed the relationship.” She says DeRose falsely claimed that Jose’s visa had expired. “Jose came to our firm because he felt he was being intimidated, and he was in fear for his life,” Weiss-Riner says. “He wanted his legal rights protected.”

It’s a long story complicated with confidentiality agreements, internet tomfoolery, and Babue’s alleged Adam4Adam profile. Read the entire article. You may recognize Paul Babue from his occasional appearances on Fox News and from his role in John McCain’s “Complete The Danged Fence” commercial.

UPDATE: Babeu has come out.

Arizona GOP congressional candidate Paul Babeu acknowledged Saturday he is gay but forcefully denied charges he threatened an ex-lover with deportation after their relationship soured. “All of the allegations are false except one, I am gay,” Babeu said. The nationally renown Pinal County Sheriff called a news conference to address the explosive story by The Phoenix New Times that he pressured a man only identified as “Jose” into signing an agreement to conceal their relationship or face deportation. The piece, posted late Friday, also includes text messages Babeu exchanged with the man and pictures he posted on online gay websites. Babeu repeatedly sidestepped questions about his personal life but acknowledged a relationship with the man in question. “What I do in my personal life and private life is my business,” he said.

After coming out, Babeu stepped down as Arizon co-chair of the Romney campaign, but says he will still pursue a seat in Congress. Have we had an open homocon in Congress yet?

RELATED: Joe Jervis reports that the openly gay politician that pretends to run for Gabriele Giffords’ House seat has a blurry past that could get in the way in his way to run for the US House of representatives:

Last month I blogged the news that openly gay Arizona state Rep. Matt Heinz (D) had announced his plan to run for the U.S. House seat vacated by Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. He may have some trouble coming, as buried in the Phoenix New Times expose’ of Sheriff Paul Babeu is a little tidbit that some voters may have a problem with.

Openly gay Tucson state Representative Matt Heinz was one of two Democratic lawmakers who broke ranks with the party in March 2011 and voted to give Babeu $5 million to combat border violence. Other lawmakers opposed the measure, in part, because Babeu’s county is at least 70 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border. The measure finally was pared down to $1.7 million and passed by the Legislature. About a week after Heinz’s nod to Babeu, the sheriff spent the night at Heinz’s home, text messages that Jose shared with New Times show. “I’m at Mat Heinz and his boyfriend for dinner & ice cream … we are going out to bar and … to their house. [Am] staying over,” Babeu texted to Jose at 1:04 a.m. last April 2.

We have no way of knowing what “staying over” actually means here, but you can bet that Babeu will be accused of fucking his way to that $1.7M grant. Would a heterosexual sheriff be allowed sleepover socialization with politicians who wield monetary influence over their agency? Of course he would. What a mess.