In a Sunday morning appearance on Face the Nation, Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-AZ) took issue with Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik, who criticized Arizona hours after the Giffords shooting.
“I didn’t really think that that had any part in a law enforcement briefing,” Kyl said.
In a candid moment at a press conference on Saturday, Dupnik said his state had become ground zero for the sort of political rhetoric that foments violence.
“When you look at unbalanced people, how they respond to the vitriol that comes out of certain mouths about tearing down the government. The anger, the hatred, the bigotry that goes on in this country is getting to be outrageous,” Dupnik said. “And unfortunately, Arizona I think has become sort of the capital. We have become the mecca for prejudice and bigotry.”
With that remark, ironically, Dupnik has become the target of just the sort of rhetoric he was decrying.
Brian Beutler
Brian Beutler is TPM's senior congressional reporter. Since 2009, he's led coverage of health care reform, Wall Street reform, taxes, the GOP budget, the government shutdown fight, and the debt limit fight. He can be reached at brian@talkingpointsmemo.com.
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