Tea Party favorite visits Arizona this weekend
by Bob McClay/KTAR (April 1st, 2011 @ 11:28am)

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, a face of the Tea Party movement, will headline a Republican fund-raising event in Scottsdale Friday.

Bachmann's appearance at the Scottsdale Plaza Resort has the support of State Republican Chairman Tom Morrissey and Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

Arpaio likes Bachmann, who is thinking about running for president in 2012.

"I think she's got the guts to get out there, tell it like it is and, if she wants to run for president, that's good," said Arpaio.

But, while his name appears on invitations to the $250 per person VIP reception, the sheriff won't attend.

"I have an early flight to catch to Bakersfield to talk to a large group of Republican women," Arpaio said. "I can't renege on my promise, so i'll be heading back to California this weekend."

He said he endorsed the Bachmann event because the GOP asked him to and that his deputies will provide security.

Arpaio said he's fond of the Tea Party movement.

"I like the Tea Party because it ties in with my program here of volunteerism. All my posse members are volunteers, and I look at the Tea Party as volunteers on the street passing a message. That's what I like about the Tea Party."


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