Posted on 02/15/2010 12:32:01 PM PST by SandRat
Capitol Media Services photo by Howard Fischer
J.D. Hayworth gets the endorsement Monday of Chris Simcox, one of the founders of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps. Simcox shelved his own bid to oust incumbent John McCain in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate, a move that could give a boost to Hayworth. Behind them is Rob Haney, chairman of the Maricopa County Republican Party.
PHOENIX — With a blast at what he called John McCain's liberal leanings, former Congressman J.D. Hayworth launched his bid to oust the four-term incumbent in the Republican primary.
At an event outside his Phoenix headquarters Monday, Hayworth hurled broadsides at the senator, saying McCain is on the wrong side of all the issues important to GOP conservatives. That includes the incumbent's call to close the prison for enemy combatants at Guantanamo, his support for some sort of cap-and-trade system of cutting pollution, his vote for the Troubled Asset Relief Program to help bail out financial institutions and his efforts to limit campaign spending.
That's not all.
"Just like the liberals, John opposes waterboarding captured terrorists like the Christmas bomber,'' he said.
And if that weren't enough, he uttered the dreaded H-word.
"John's problem is not that he likes Hillary (Clinton),'' Hayworth said. "John's problem is he's like Hillary.''
His bid got an immediate boost Monday when Chris Simcox shelved his own Republican campaign against McCain to throw his support behind Hayworth. Simcox, a founder of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, said his supporters told him the move was necessary to have a united conservative front.
The race shapes up to be one of the most contested -- and potentially divisive -- intraparty campaigns in Arizona history.
McCain, hoping to shore up support for his nomination and election, set off this week on appearances around the state. That began Monday with a press conference in Tempe to announce his endorsement by 31 mayors from around the state. He also scheduled appearances this week in Thatcher, Flagstaff, Yuma, Phoenix, Tucson and Payson.
While McCain seeks bipartisan support, Hayworth pokes fun at the incumbent's working with Democrats. Instead, Hayworth, who served 12 years in Congress before being defeated in 2006 by Democrat Harry Mitchell, is making a clear bid for the backing of those who identify themselves as part of the Tea Party movement.
While that may work in a Republican party, it remains unclear how that plays out in a statewide general election.
In 2002 and again in 2006 Republicans chose those who identified themselves as conservatives to run for governor. Democrat Janet Napolitano won both times.
Those same years the Republican candidates for attorney general came from the GOP's conservative wing. The result was victories for Democrat Terry Goddard.
But Hayworth told Capitol Media Services he doesn't foresee his nomination as giving a political leg-up to Rodney Glassman, a Democratic city councilman from Tucson.
"This is an entirely different campaign and an entirely different year,'' he said. Hayworth said while his focus now is corralling Republican votes, "in the fullness of time we're reaching out to independents and to disaffected Democrats.''
He said the political climate has changed since then.
"The political wind is at our back,'' Hayworth said. "People recognize that the change they need is conservative change, not someone who's going to go there, as Mr. Glassman would, and be a rubber stamp for Barack Obama.''
Nor did he believe that a brutal primary battle would leave whoever survives too politically scarred to win in November. That's what happened in the 1970s when two GOP congressmen, John Conlan and Sam Steiger, battled it out, with Democrat Dennis DeConcini from Tucson snatching the seat in November.
"I believe that a good, old-fashioned primary is a good thing for the party,'' Hayworth said. "It will help both John and I prepare for the general.''
Hayworth was careful to thank McCain, a former prisoner of war, for his military service, and even admitted campaigning for the senator during his failed 2000 presidential bid.
"He still fights hard, all right," Hayworth said. "But too often, for the wrong causes.''
Take an up to date look.
You better have one helluva lot o makeup.
J.D. don’t be shy about mentioning McCain’s attack on the First Amendment and subsequent SCOTUS bitch slap.
This is about the 6th “Hayworth launches campaign” article posted in Breaking News in last 3 weeks.
Is abuse of FR.
She can stump for John, but if she attacks J.D. she can kiss her credibility and TeaParty support goodbye.
I wish JD full success, but I cannot imagine the Republican voters of AZ having the courage it would take to bring McPain home.
“Ugly old hag”
Ugly old Marxist laborite hag ;-)
Go JD!
“I wonder when the SEIU goons will start attacking JD’s rallies?”
NEVER!!!!
We would kick their a$$es from here to Hoboken, and they KNOW it.
almost 20,000 now
“This is about the 6th “Hayworth launches campaign” article posted in Breaking News in last 3 weeks.
Is abuse of FR.”
NO...McCain is an abuse of FR.
True. It was really an effort voting for McCain in '08, so I voted for Sarah.
She was his running mate, and couldn't have done anything else. To have rejected him and supported Hayworth would have been regarded as mean-spirited and petty.
Just made my donation to JD!
And 2 seats opened up today!
Money bomb is going on right now...
“Just made my donation to JD!”
Great. You may have been the one to put him over $20,000.
Total is now at $20,015.87.
Hopefully he's taking his nutty wife and daughter with him.
Well when I donated it was still at $17,000.Moving along nicely.
“On the plus side, his wife can look pretty good with enough makeup.”
A twenty footer?
“Well when I donated it was still at $17,000.Moving along nicely.”
I was hoping it would move faster, but I have to keep reminding myself that this is the first official day of the campaign—lots of time to go. But it is going to be important that J. D. raise a lot of money.
The pro-amnesty/RINO establishment will be throwing a lot of money at McLame.
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