You see, Sheriff Joe and I drove down to Tucson for a book signing at Barnes and Noble. A reporter from TheTucson Citizen was also on the scene, and wrote – let’s say scribbled – an article. As is Republic custom, the paper didn’t bother to send its own shrinking corps of reporters, it simply reprinted an article from another source. The Republic’s usual m.o. is to crib an article from a higher source – say, The New York Times – cut it down to a third of its original size, and replay it a couple of days late. At least this morning they had the story right away, though a little fact checking would have been nice, because they got it all wrong.

But even with the Republic, it’s not that simple, because if you’re randomly wrong, you’re boundto screw up in all sorts of ways, without favoring one way or another. And that’s not the case with the Republic, because when they get it wrong when   Sheriff Joe it’s always in a way that makes him look bad.

And understand this: I don't care if you're for or against the sheriff. That's not what this is about. This is about journalism.

So to the story, and we begin with the title: Arpaio's appearance at Tucson bookstore draws protesters. 

The story opened on a negative, and did not let up: About 100 protesters worked to disrupt Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's appearance Thursday at a midtown Tucson bookstore.

Arpaio co-hosted aradio show and then signed copies of his new book, Joe's Law: America's Toughest Sheriff Takes on Illegal Immigration, Drugs and Everything Else that Threatens America, at a Barnes & Noble Booksellers location.

Demonstrators outsidethe store challenged Arpaio because of his decision to crack down on illegal immigrants in the Phoenix area.

"He's a racist," said Carlos Parma, a 16-year-old Pueblo High School senior. "He discriminates against brown people."

The protesters marched in a circle while chanting. They also pummeled a piñata meant to resemble Arpaio.

Christina Moodie, 56, a retired Sun Tran driver, said she has long opposed Arpaio's get-tough, media-grabbing style and policies.

The Rev. John Fife, former pastor of the South Side Presbyterian Church and a longtime immigrant-rights advocate, called the demonstration a show of democracy.

"Our basic message is that our Hispanic community in Pima County is valued," Fife said.

Only then, with most of the article done, did the reporter and the paper bother to note that sheriff actually had something to say in response - though the paper didn’t deign to quote him, and even at this stage, took one more crack at him. And I cite: Arpaio's crackdown on illegal immigration, typically left to federal authorities, is about enforcing the law and not racism, the sheriff said.

The article dribbled off with more of a nod to the sheriff, though not completely.

Conservative radio host John Justice showed up to support Arpaio.

"He's such a symbol of people in Tucson, how they wish immigration was handled here,"Justice said. "He's enforcing the law."

Inside the bookstore and toward the end of the radio show, Arpaio was faced with protests and hecklers.

Fred Davis, a 65-year-old truck driver, stewed as he watched the protesters interrupt Arpaio.

"They're un-American, and they're rude," Davis said, holding a copy of Arpaio's book. "He's not racist. He's enforcing the law."

Arpaio shrugged off his critics.

"Every time they blast me, my polls go higher and higher and higher," he said.

And that was it, the whole piece. I reprinted the entire article, so on one could accuse me of unfairly picking the article apart. That’s their story. Now I’ll tell you what they left out. Quite simply: Perhaps there were 100 demonstrators, but they were more than overwhelmed by several hundred people who had come to support the sheriff. I know this, because I know that the store had 300 copies of Joe’s Law on hand, and we not only signed every copy in the store for people who waited on line, some more than 2 hours, but we signed a whole bunch of stickers for those who couldn’t get the book, but had to order it that night from B&N, so at least they had the autographed sticker to place in the book once it arrived.

I also know that before we had the signing session, we did a live radio show for an hour inside the store to a standing-room-only crowd. Every now and then, either three or four times in total, someone would shout out something obnoxious. Interestingly, it was rarely about immigration or any issue, but rather something both puerile and vile. One deep thinker shouted, “I’m going to piss on your grave!” before being escorted out.

As an aside, one thing I’ve noticed: Protestors in Arizona need to go to New York or Chicago or San Francisco – or anywhere, actually – to learn how to protest. I mean, they’re just weak.

Getting back to the main point, the article somehow missed that the radio show and the book signing were hugely successful. Well, we know that “somehow” is really “intentionally,” “resolutely,” “pointedly,” “with malice aforethought.”

But that’s the Republic: Wrong and proud of it.