RSS Feed MenuNot content to lose a House seat for the Republican Party, J.D. Hayworth now wants to help us lose a Senate seat, too. In what is shaping up to be an embarrassing display of ritualistic cannibalism, talk radio is coalescing around Hayworth in his race against John McCain. The most noxious of the declarations of support for Hayworth came, predictably, from Mark Levin.
“This is a race about a conservative versus a phony,” said Levin. So far, so good: there is indeed a phony running against a conservative. Alas, Mr. Levin stumbles into confusion as he keeps speaking: “McCain is not a solid conservative. You want to send a signal that will be heard all over the world? Elect J.D. and defeat McCain.”
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?
McCain is not a “solid” conservative in the mold of Jim DeMint. To that extent, Mark Levin is right, I guess. But J.D. Hayworth is cynical to the core — not to mention a proven loser. We could indeed nominate J.D. Hayworth. And by doing so, we’d send a signal that would be heard all around the world, alright: that we as a party have utterly lost our minds.
J.D. Hayworth is an opportunist, not a conservative - E.D. Kain - American Tory - True/Slant // Feb 17, 2010 at 5:14 pm
[...] Knepper sums up why J.D. Hayworth would be a bad choice for Arizona, for the Tea Party movement, for the Republican [...]
franco 2 // Feb 17, 2010 at 5:17 pm
Yeah, there are a LOT of phony conservatives out there, and quite a high concentration writing here for Frum Forum. JD has one thing still going for him. He’s not John McCain. Republicans like McCain need to be dumped. Even a Democrat would be better.
So, Alex, if JD gets the nomination be my guest and vote Democrat. Really, kid, it isn’t the end of the world when the alternative is John McCain.
JonF // Feb 17, 2010 at 8:37 pm
Is DeMint a conservative? I think that does violence to language. The proper word for DeMint is “reactionary”
Carney // Feb 18, 2010 at 1:30 pm
McCain supports massive, uncontrolled illegal immigration. The prior amnesty in 1986 was sold to America together with a promise to finally secure our undefended southern border. The promise was never kept, and illegals flooded in. Thus, yet another amnesty would encourage still more illegal immigration. McCain knows this, and yet still stubbornly supports another amnesty. That alone rules him out in a Republican primary with even a halfway credible challenger who actually supports our remaining a sovereign nation in control of its own borders.
Newbigtech // Feb 19, 2010 at 9:36 am
JD Heyworth is a Constitutional conservative. He beats JUAN MCCAIN when it comes to protecting America and it’s borders.
McCain said he would give us a GD Border fence… look it up… after he proposed opening the borders to the U.S.
McCain is about as effective as Napolitano…. He has been spending money against Heyworth for the last 30 days, prior to Heyworths announcement….. Who’s afraid of who?
Heyworth is the next Junior Senator from Arizona….. A true Conservative with a voting record to match.
NEWBIGTECH
Won’t get Fooled again in 2010
JonF // Feb 19, 2010 at 8:21 pm
Re: McCain supports massive, uncontrolled illegal immigration.
Please document this. By that I mean, show where McCain has advocated repealing our inmmigration laws, disbanding the border patrol and dismatling all physical and legal barriers against immigration.