Hayworth will win for this simple reason: This is a Tea Party revolt year, and Arizona's Republicans and Tea Partiers have had enough of McCain's support of this administration's bailouts and big-government policies.
The country is in the midst of a Tea Party revolt movement that began last spring and has not lost steam. The revolt began over the federal bailouts – and McCain, labeled "Obama-lite" as a result – voted for several of them. He voted for the $700 billion general TARP bailout, the $25 billion auto bailout, the first $85 billion AIG insurance bailout, and he proposed spending $300 billion on a mortgage entitlement bailout to buy out every bad mortgage in the country.
The current anti-big government, anti-spending uproar has already begun voting in new leadership promising smaller government. Governor Bob McDonnell's win in Virginia, Senator Scott Brown's win in Massachusetts, the defeat of liberal Republican Dede Scozzafava in New York, and the forced resignation of the Florida Republican State Party Chairman over his support for liberal Republican Governor Charlie Crist all evidence a backlash against big government politicians – including liberal Republicans. A new poll shows Tea Party Texas gubernatorial candidate Debra Medina trailing the more liberal Republican Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson by only four points. The Tea Party revolts that began last spring have not lost momentum as the federal government continues the bailouts and embarks on a massive takeover of the healthcare industry.
McCain's ratings from the American Conservative Union have gone progressively down over the years, dipping to an alltime low of just 63 last year. Even liberal-leaning Republican Senators Chuck Hagel, Lamar Alexander and Pete Domenici scored higher ratings than McCain last year. McCain's own pal Lindsey Graham, who has been censored multiple times by Republican Parties in South Carolina due to his liberal voting record, scored significantly higher than McCain with an 82. McCain's lifetime rating from the ACU falls in the most liberal quarter tier of Republican Senators. In contrast, J.D. Hayworth, the former Arizona Congressman who is challenging McCain in the Senate primary this year, has a lifetime rating from the ACU of 97. McCain is frantically running radio ads accusing Hayworth of being a liberal, but the ads aren't resonating coming from someone so much more liberal than Hayworth. The issues McCain has championed over the years are not conservative ones, he is most well-known for his work with Democrats on McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform, which greatly hurt one-issue organizations like Right to Life and the NRA, and McCain-Kennedy, which would liberalize illegal immigration.
If there is one thing McCain is consistent on, it is waffling back and forth on issues. He opposed tax cuts before he supported them, in the past criticizing Ronald Reagan's tax cuts. His ratings from anti-tax organizations range are fairly low for a Republican; Taxpayers for Common Sense has given him scores averaging around 50-60%. His support of government funding for embryonic stem cell research led Arizona Right to Life to endorse Huckabee over him in the presidential primary. Predictably, he is talking tough now against the bailouts and sounding conservative, due to it being an election year, as has been his pattern in the past.
Republican party loyalists in Arizona are tired of McCain's waffling and are putting forth a tremendous effort to remove him in the upcoming election. McCain has a reputation for bullying conservatives who oppose or disagree with him, squelching the opposition in order to continue getting reelected, and insiders say people have finally had enough. Arizona's Republicans are very conservative, as evidenced by the composition of the state legislature, which is one of the most conservative legislatures in the country. Republicans and Tea Partiers in Arizona are very concerned about illegal immigration, and McCain's failed bill with Ted Kennedy attempting to liberalize illegal immigration has riled them up. Both the current Maricopa County Republican Party Chairman and a former Chairman have been seen in public wearing buttons with McCain's name crossed out. The most popular conservative blog in Arizona, Sonoran Alliance, has generally opposed McCain. A Rasmussen poll from November taken of Republican voters found McCain virtually tied with Hayworth in a potential race. (A later Rasmussen poll in January found McCain ahead, but it was taken immediately after Sarah Palin announced she would campaign for McCain, and after an onslaught of nonstop radio ads from McCain viciously attacking Hayworth) A straw poll taken at the mandatory Maricopa County Republican meeting last month, which all registered Republican Precinct Committeemen must attend, found Hayworth beating McCain by 68% to 10.5%.
McCain's family is becoming more and more of a liability for him. His daughter Meghan McCain blasted the Tea Party movement and Sarah Palin on The View last week. Meghan is already known for bashing conservatives like Ann Coulter and Laura Ingraham. Both Meghan and Cindy McCain lent their faces and names to the No Hate campaign, which condemned conservatives who supported California's Prop. 8 banning gay marriage. McCain's brother Joe recently compared Tea Partiers to Nazis.
A few big names have lined up behind McCain, but it is even more significant who has not. Nationally renowned political commentator Mark Levin has endorsed Hayworth. Sheriff Joe Arpaio is actively raising money for Hayworth. As the most popular politician in Arizona, Arpaio's support will make a considerable difference. The most conservative Senator in the U.S. Senate, Jim DeMint, who is endorsing conservative candidates in contentious Senate primaries around the country, is noticeably staying out of the race. This speaks volumes, considering he has served with McCain in the Senate for years and no doubt is under tremendous pressure to endorse him. Dick Armey, whose FreedomWorks backed many of the Tea Parties, had to back off under pressure from angry Tea Partiers after he made a few statements supportive of McCain, issuing a clarification that he has not endorsed McCain.
J.D. Hayworth has long been a darling of the conservative right. He was elected to the House back in 1994 in the conservative revolution that swept Republicans back into power for the first time in 50 years. Just like that revolt, which was a reaction against the liberal policies of the newly-elected Clinton administration, there is a revolt occurring against the newly-elected liberal Obama administration. Hayworth is a natural candidate to lead that revolt again. Hayworth will win for this simple reason: This is a Tea Party revolt year, and Arizona's Republicans and Tea Partiers have had enough of McCain's support of this administration's bailouts and big-government policies.
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Rachel is a volunteer on the JD Hayworth Senate campaign
You never hear McCain talk about family values. Isn't he proud of his family?
McCain did the nation a great service by losing to obama. obama is the best thing that could have happened to our country. He, obama, has awakened the conservative movement and maybe now, we will sweep into D.C. with an overwhelming mandate and more importantly, rule like conservatives. As for McCain, he should retire or be defeated. We are sick of his style of politics, demo-lite.
McCain was a great hero.
He's an awful politician.
Hopefully he'll do the right thing and announce his 'retirement' like so many other loosers are doing.
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Senator McCain needs to retire. He's decided to join the "third way" globalist ideology and has betrayed the constitution and his voters in joining this elitist club.
Let us have a loyal American Senator serving Arizona. We need Senators who look out for the interest and constitutional independence of the American Nation and the State of Arizona. We are not the world. We are not even doing such a hot job of dealing with our own business and problems. The "world" mentality is overwhelming us.
I held my nose and voted for McCain because the alternative was worse and has proved it over the last 13 months. It is time to remove McCain so that he can go to his buddy in the White House for his payment.
McCain blew it in 2000 when he jettisoned his conservative principles on economics and ran to the left of George W. Bush in the primaries. After he lost, he had nowhere to go but the New York Times, where he was given a platform for attacking Bush for many years.
But when McCain became a serious presidential contender, the NYT banned him from its op-ed page and accused him of adultery. Once again he finds himself without a political home.
McCain's whining at the 2000 Bush campaign, and his sniping at Sarah Palin following the 2008 campaign, show that his instinct is to blame others for his own shortcomings. No doubt he will blame anyone but himself if he loses to Hayworth.
McCain needs to retire, JD all the way!
[...] http://www.intellectualconservative.com/2010/02/13/why-j-d-hayworth-will-beat-mccain-for-u-s-senate/ [...]
Is it true that Palin is campaigning for McCain??
Yes…but she promised him she would during the presidential campaign. She said in her book she stands by her promises. I respect her for that. As for John, shame on him. If he had any class he would let her out of her commitment…but he too puffed up like an old toad to take such a step. He is NO statesman.
I have no doubt that Sarah Palin is a clear-eyed conservative, and that all things being equal she'd rather not stump for John McCain. At the same time, she knows that she owes her national political "break out" to being selected as McCain's 2008 running mate. Nobody can fault the good governor for returning a favor, and as much as we conservatives hope Hayworth wins in November I think most people who support Sarah Palin will see her endorsement of McCain for what it is. Actually, I think it's pretty classy of her to do this, and it says to me that in spite of her meteoric rise to national prominence she hasn't forgotten how she got there. At her campaign stops, I think she'll be very gracious toward John McCain, but she'll do it without being critical of JD Hayworth. I guess we'll see if that prediction comes to pass.
Next time she'll be more careful of who she runs with. A good lesson learned by her with little downside.
[...] Alexander, who is blogging for GOPUSA at CPAC, has provided a great contrast between the two candidates The country is in the midst of a Tea Party revolt movement that began last spring and has not lost [...]
[...] talkshow host J.D. Hayworth. Rachel Alexander, who is blogging for GOPUSA at CPAC, has provided a great contrast between the two candidatesThe country is in the midst of a Tea Party revolt movement that began last spring and has not lost [...]
[...] Why JD Hayworth will beat McCain for US Senate [...]
[...] "It's a Tea Party revolt year, and taxpayers will …JD HAYWORTH V. MCCAIN NEWS [...]