J.D. Hayworth is an opportunist, not a conservative
Alex Knepper sums up why J.D. Hayworth would be a bad choice for Arizona, for the Tea Party movement, for the Republican party, and for America:
In case anyone has forgotten, J.D. Hayworth is the man who used his PAC money to pay his wife a six-figure sum, and was the top recipient of illicit loot from the corrupt lobbyist Jack Abramoff. He’s the man who broke his term-limits pledge as a congressman and actually had the gall to repeat the same pledge as he entered the Senate race. He appeals to birthers. He’s the man who promises to break with his party in the right way, unlike McCain — and yet he voted for the unsustainable Medicare, Pt. D expansion that McCain voted against. He’s the man who voted for the infamous pork-stuffed Highway Bill of 2005 — the bill containing the notorious Bridge to Nowhere. By Levin’s own standards, isn’t Hayworth a statist?
Hayworth was knee-deep in the Abramoff scandal which embroiled the Republican House leadership during the second Bush term. The fall from grace of lobbyist Jack Abramoff led a number of congress members to return hundreds of thousands of dollars to Native American tribes who had been essentially swindled by Abramoff and his cronies in Washington. The scandal led to the downfall of House majority leader Tom DeLay, who was a little too cozy with Abramoff for his own good. Some of the money Hayworth received from Abramoff went to pay his wife a six-figure income to head his political action committee.
Now Hayworth is threatening McCain, warning him that if he brings up the Abramoff scandal Hayworth will rehash the Keating Five controversy which almost ended McCain’s political career in the 1980’s. Since this was fairly well delved into in the 2008 campaign, I’m not sure McCain has much to lose from this bargain.
So far Hayworth has run an ugly campaign, lambasting McCain as a liberal and a fraud, and complaining that McCain is running a “scorched earth campaign” against him. Arizona voters need only scratch beneath the surface to see that the only person Hayworth would represent in the U.S. Senate would be himself. Whatever McCain’s flaws, he has served most of his career with honor.
Post Your Comment
You must be logged in to post a comment
T/S Members
Log in with your True/Slant account.
Actually, he’s neither. I’m not positive that J.D. Hayworth would know opportunity if it sat on his lap. I guess though, you could say Hayworth is an opportunistic weasel. Keep McCain and we won’t have to deal with his issues.
I hope fervently that McCain is ousted. He is, just as Hayworth says, a man who often runs under conservative cover but legislates as a liberal. I want him out of the Senate.
In response to another comment. See in context »Under no circumstances do I think Hayworth is the ideal candidate. However, he is the one challenging McCain, and it is time for McCain to retire. McCain cannot be trusted. Hayworth? I say give him a chance and see. If he turns out as much of a disappointment as McCain, he can be ousted next time. It is time for a change. McCain should not be rewarded for his betrayal of conservative principles.
[...] politician. If we’re going to be sticklers about these sorts of things, we can turn to Alex Knepper: In case anyone has forgotten, J.D. Hayworth is the man who used his PAC money to pay his wife a [...]
Hey Erik – what’s the deal with Alex Knepper? He seems like a very smart guy but very narrow. Just because he’s young or what? He’s been getting into it with me, assumes me to be a garden variety left-winger and all the usual silliness that I would expect someone as bright as him to avoid.
I’d say the young neocon thing is at the heart of it. He’s just an overly-self-assured youngster, wildly swinging at your boilerplate garden variety talking points (relativism, collectivism, etc.) He may yet grow out of it.
In response to another comment. See in context »got it.
In response to another comment. See in context »