Karmic Update: Recall Campaign Against AZ Senate President Russell Pearce Gaining Steam

[Cross-posted at Crooks and Liars.]

You may remember how Russell Pearce, the Arizona Republican state Senate leader and architect of SB1070, went on Bill O'Reilly's show a couple of months ago and pushed hard for a recall campaign against Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik for daring to opine that extremist right-wing rhetoric played a role in the Gabrielle Giffords shooting. (An effort which, last we checked, was going nowhere fast.)

Well, karmic payback can be a rhymes-with-witch:

What may seem to some as an uphill battle is becoming close to a reality for a non-partisan political group as they gather signatures to recall Senate President Russell Pearce.

"I have no doubt we'll get enough signatures to force the recall campaign," said Chad Snow, chairman of Citizens for a Better Arizona.

The group has two thirds of the signatures needed to force a recall election on the senator they accuse of having an extreme agenda.

Now, there are lots of reasons to recall Russell Pearce along these lines (or better yet, never elect him in the first damned place).

There's the recent spate of Tentherism in which he seemingly urged people to declare themselves sovereign citizens.

Or the long-established record of playing footsie with the local neo-Nazis.

Or, if you like, he might be recalled for the corruption that's surfaced in Pearce's dealings and his intimate involvement in that monumentally embarrassing Fiesta Bowl scandal.

No, but what really has people torqued at Pearce is what you might expect from ultimately pragmatic voters: He has fiddled incessantly with his pet immigration fetish while Arizona has burned to a crisp economically. No wonder he's in trouble.

"We feel that Russell Pearce has completely thrown Arizona's economy under the bus so he could pursue one issue," said Snow.

That issue is immigration. Pearce sponsored the controversial SB1070 and even though the law has gained negative national attention, polls show an overwhelming amount of Arizonans support it.

But Snow told us Pearce has neglected what Arizonans really care about.

"He's done nothing for education, jobs or the economy. Instead he focuses on only immigration and gun control."

Then there have been stunts he's been involved in that have exposed the seamy underbelly of Pearce's fetish, like the racist letter read on the floor of the Senate (at Pearce's behest):

Citizens for a Better Arizona needs to collect over 7,700 signatures by May 31st to force a recall election, but Snow is confident they will get more, claiming the Senate President's actions are helping their efforts.

"He's had racist letters read on the Senate floor, he's been reported to have accepted thousands of dollars of gifts from the Fiesta Bowl that he didn't report as required by law. He feels he's above the law and doesn't represent the best interest of Arizona and he's unfit for public office," said Snow.

Oh, and let's not forget the Arizona Senate's latest achievement: A Birther bill that accepts the features of a presidential candidate's penis as evidence of his citizenship. The citizens of Mesa must be so proud.