Sheriff Joe Arpaio Headlines 'Stand With Arizona' Rally in Tempe

Last Saturday, conservatives countered the day's big reconquista march with an evening rally in support of SB 1070 at Tempe's Diablo Stadium: "Stand With Arizona."

I got back to my hotel around 3:00pm, showered, and uploaded my photos from the morning's shoot. Naturally, I had Mexican food for dinner (from Chipotle, which was overpriced) and then headed over to Diablo. It's a beautiful stadium. The Los Angeles Angels hold spring training there. Here's the scene right at 6:00pm, with crowd estimates at over 5,000 for the whole night:

Griff Jenkins of Fox News was covering the event. A fun guy (and no, I wasn't interviewed, LOL!):

Arizona State Representative Debbie Lesko, a co-sponsor of Senate Bill 1070, was thrilled to meet Griff Jenkins:

Patriots were out in full force:

A policeman spoke to this fellow (obscured) with the sign on the left. Not sure why. The guy's wife, in the white t-shirt at the man's right, was unhappy and animated --- and the guy didn't raise the sign again. Can't see the whole thing but perhaps someone complained about political incorrectness? Hard to believe though. Looks like "Send Illegal Immigrants Back to ..." Mexico? Of course, no one complained about the extremist signs of the anarchists, indigenous supremacists, and socialists in downtown Phoenix earlier (indeed, the media was eating that stuff up):

No Mexican flags at the Tempe rally, thank goodness:

Frankly, I was tired from my morning coverage downtown. I decided to just kick back in the stands and enjoy the show, taking in the calm, patriotic atmosphere. Some families took off early, perhaps too tired to stick around for the headliner, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Sometime after 9:00pm, Sheriff Arpaio arrives with his entourage. Down at the third-base dugout, the press swarmed for interviews and photos:

I moved down onto the playing field. Arpaio's a local rock star. He lingered along the fenced enclosure for a half-hour or so, greeting supporters and signing autographs before taking the stage:

I said hello, shook his hand, and thanked him myself. Here at Arpaio's right is L.A. activist Ted Hayes:

Just behind Arpaio here is retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Albert Rodríguez, the founder of "You Don't Speak for Me!", an anti-amnesty Hispanic-American interest group.

Here's Gina Loudon, founder of the St. Louis Tea Party and creator of the BUYcott campaign. She gave a rousing address, firing up the crowd in support of Arizona and SB 1070:

When the New York Times ran its story on both events on Saturday night, reporter Randal Archibold, filing from Phoenix, misidentified Gina Loudon as "Tina Loudon." To top it off, Archibold implies that SB 1070 backers are racist:

At the rally in favor of the law, which began with the pledge of allegiance and the national anthem, any mention of Mexico or supporters of the law brought lusty boos — a video clip of President Felipe Calderón of Mexico especially fired up the crowd, which was mostly white and middle-aged or older. Placards like “Illegals out of the U.S.A.” were typical, though speaker after speaker ridiculed the idea that the crowd was racist ...

The later rally, at sundown, was organized by Tea Party groups from St. Louis and Dallas who said they decided to take the lead and support the state against a wave of boycotts protesting the law, some by cities like San Francisco and Seattle.

“We are doing this to crush any boycott against the free market,” said Tina Loudon, a Tea Party member from St. Louis who helped organize the rally. “Arizona has a sovereign right to enforce immigration laws on the books.”

Here's a much better broadcast at FOX-10 Phoenix:

Loudon's own report is here: "Arizona BUYcott!"

Sheriff Arpaio took the stage sometime close to 10:00pm. He was introduced by former "Incredible Hulk" star Lou Ferrigno and his wife Carla:

Arpaio gave a wonderful speech. He's totally no-nonsense:

I got a kick when he waved to the crowd as if to say goodbye, and then continued on for a few minutes:

You can see what I mean at about 8:00 minutes at the clip:

The rest of the evening's videos are available on YouTube. One of the most memorable speeches was from Ted Hayes, pictured above with Sheriff Arpaio. Plus, more pictures at BulletPeople Blog, as well as Barbara Espinosa and Robert Stacy McCain.

And worth another look is the Stand With Arizona promotional video:

RELATED: From the Quinnipiac University National Poll, " More U.S. Voters Want Arizona-Like Immigration Law." (Via Memeorandum.)