Orange County Teabagger, Gun Nut & Candidate For Sheriff Bill Hunt In Court Today

It would be hard for Orange County to elect a worse sheriff than Mike Carona... but they're trying

Former Orange County Sheriff (formerly, courtesy of Larry King known as "America's Sheriff") is out on bail awaiting, appeal but is likely to spend quite a few years of his 66 month sentence on corruption charges behind bars. He' no longer being considered the Republican heir apparent to Arnold Schwarzenegger and the same GOP politicians who were boosting him as the next governor just a year ago now claim to not know who he is (or was). He was replaced as the OC's sheriff by Sandra Hutchens on June 10 last year. Right now she's in an electoral battle with a crazed teabagging gun nut, Bill Hunt. Hunt fancies himself the Orange County Joe Arpaio. Until now his campaign has primarily been one big happy tea party with emphasis on getting more guns into the hands of everyone, an issue he and Sheriff Hutchens don't see eye to eye on.

I said "until now" because today it was slime v slime in Orange County as Mike Carona and Bill Hunt came face to face in court. Hunt is suing Carona-- and Orange County-- in federal court for unlawful political retaliation. Hunt ran against Carona in 2006, campaigned against Carona's corruption, lost and was demoted after the election.

The jury trial will center on this question: Did Carona have the right to demote Hunt, who was then the chief of police services in San Clemente?

Hunt alleges his criticism of Carona was protected under the First Amendment.

The county argues that Hunt's criticism was not protected speech because Hunt, as a member of Carona's executive team who was running for office, could be subject to termination.

Norman Watkins, the county's lawyer, said Hunt "led a dissident office faction which stridently attacked" Carona's administration, according to a recent filing in the case.

"By his own admission, Hunt leveled a series of heated attacks on the sitting sheriff prior to his transfer-- questioning the incumbent's competence, integrity and priorities,'' Watkins wrote. "The Sheriff's Department thereafter fractured into antagonistic factions and the resulting infighting carried the potential to disrupt the Department's ability to effectively function into the indefinite future."

"Given Hunt's openly hostile conduct, and the requirements of the San Clemente Chief's position, even the most naïve politician would have protected his agenda by removing Hunt from this sensitive command position,'' Watkins also wrote.

Maybe Hunt, an open Ron Paul backer, can be Schwarzenegger's heir. Here he is at a recent tea party in San Juan Capistrano: