Maybe we should call them Scarps

by David Safier

Daniel Scarpinato, previously of the Star and the AZ Capitol Times' Yellow Sheet, now has a job as Paton's attack dog. His missives arrive almost daily, tearing into Giffords, usually trying to maintain their balance on a tightrope hanging somewhere between partial truth from out-and-out howlers.

I won't repeat his claims — no reason to give them credence — but they go something like this:

In her three years in Congress, Gabrielle Giffords has insisted, every morning, on putting on her left shoe first. Some reports say she's reluctant to put on her right shoe at all. This should come as no surprise, as Giffords is always standing at Nancy Pelosi's left hand, ready to ram through . . .

And so on.

I'm coining a term for Daniel's  particular style of hard-hitting trivia: Scarps. As in, "Today's Scarp claims Giffords only chose to order a simple cup of coffee with her breakfast because the day before, Paton pointed out she is a Latte Liberal."

I read today's Scarp in Bodfield's Political Notebook. It has all the gravitas of the schoolyard taunt,  "I know you are but what am I?" And it's tossed, of all things, at Rodney Glassman and Pima Dem chair Jeff Rogers. I didn't know Paton was running against them.

In a direct tweet to Glassman, who is still exploring a run for U.S. Senate, Paton spokesman Daniel Scarpinato asked, "So when will you be abandoning your job? Make sure to let Jeff Rogers & state Dems know so they can write the press release."

Keep those Scarps coming, Daniel.