Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu scrambled Tuesday to distance himself from a "pro-White" radio show on which he recently appeared.
On July 10, Babeu was interviewed by James Edwards and Eddie Miller of the Tennessee-based program "The Political Cesspool."
Edwards describes the show's ideology as "paleoconservative," and he supports raising whites' fertility rates to boost their proportion of the world population.
In a statement issued late Monday night, sheriff's department spokesman Tim Gaffney apologized for the interview, saying he did not adequately vet the program and that Babeu knew nothing of the hosts' beliefs.
But host Edwards said Babeu and Gaffney were told of the show's approach.
"For him to act as though he had no idea of our ideology is a lie," he said Tuesday in a written statement.
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Babeu's scramble from white separatists was the latest for Arizona politicians who support SB 1070 and other hard-line border-security efforts.
Gov. Jan Brewer's staff is combing through contributions to the fund she established to defend the law, after a white-supremacist group said it made a donation. She promised to return money from racist groups or associated individuals, but the staff has found none so far among $1.3 million in donations.
State Sen. Russell Pearce, who authored SB 1070, apologized in 2006 after forwarding a white-supremacist e-mail.
Pearce, a Republican, and Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio have also been criticized for having appeared friendly with white supremacist JT Ready in public forums.
Babeu's appearance on The Political Cesspool was publicized Monday by Media Matters, a left-leaning news-analysis group that has reviewed Babeu's media appearances.
Gaffney said in his statement that he set the interview while "inundated with media requests." "I have weeded out most all requests from any outlets or groups that have any connection with possible hate groups," Gaffney wrote. "Unfortunately, last week it appears that I may have let one such interview take place."
Babeu, who has been featured in two ads for U.S. Sen. John McCain's re-election campaign, also appeared July 9 on "The Alex Jones Show," whose host is a renowned conspiracy theorist. He was scheduled to appear later on the "Free American Radio Show," hosted by Tucsonan Clay Douglas, but Gaffney canceled that interview out of concerns about prejudice.
In 2008, the Southern Poverty Law Center called The Political Cesspool "the primary radio nexus of hate in America."
As the hosts conversed during the July 10 show, waiting for Babeu to call in, co-host Miller said: "Of all the people we've interviewed on this radio show, I would say the only people that came close to getting me this excited was Dr. David Duke."
David Duke is a former Ku Klux Klan leader who ran for U.S. Senate in Louisiana.
During the interview, Babeu lambasted the Obama administration, lamented what he called the invasion of Arizona and solicited contributions to his re-election campaign.
In a written statement, Babeu said Tuesday: "I regret ever calling into this Tennessee radio show. I had no idea about the nature of this group. Personally and professionally I reject bigotry or hate in any form."
However, Edwards said Babeu should have known better: "Eddie Miller spoke with the Sheriff personally, a week in advance of the interview, during which it was made specifically clear (so there could be no 'confusion') the nature of our paleoconservative radio program."
Babeu critic Bill Richardson, a retired Mesa police officer who has been tracking the sheriff's career closely, doesn't buy the sheriff's explanation.
"He can claim ignorance; he can blame Gaffney, but the bottom line is that he is the sheriff," he said. "He has demonstrated to everybody that he is very smart and that he's very well studied."
However, Cochise County Sheriff Larry Dever defended Babeu.
"We get calls by the hundred, literally every day, from people all across the country," Dever said. "You do not always have time to explore what their agenda is. We are just answering questions they ask."
On StarNet: Find the SB 1070 lawsuits and other court filings at azstarnet.com/pdf
Contact reporter Tim Steller at tsteller@azstarnet.com or 807-8427.
