Friday, January 22, 2010

J. D. Hayworth Enters Arizona Senate Race


Occasionally on my drive home, I've had the pleasure of listening to J. D. Hayworth broadcast here in Phoenix on KFYI.

Well, tonight I have learned this will no longer be the case, as J. D. has resigned his post as afternoon drive-time talker and has officially entered the race for The United States Senate.

John McCain is the incumbent in the race. In November, polling by Rasmussen Reports showed a near dead-heat between the two men, even before Hayworth officially entered the race. Since Sarah Palin announced her intent to campaign for McCain his lead has received a significant bump.

It will be very interesting to see what (if any) bump in polling this announcement brings for Hayworth.

McCain has plans to bring in national names such as Palin, Joe the Plumber, and Senator-Elect Scott Brown to stump for him. Hayworth stated on local radio yesterday that he is not intimidated by McCain's celebrity line-up. I believe Hayworth understands that being low-key and maintaining fiscal responsibility, as well as running a positive campaign, are going to be keys to victory.

As of about two weeks ago, McCain had already begun advertising against Hayworth, who at that time had not even announced his candidacy. He has two ads on his website (conveniently on the donation page) but he is not sharing on that page the one that I have heard this week, which has a woman with a dreadful voice complaining "J. D. Hayworth? That's not what Arizona needs!" To be fair, the commercial discusses Hayworth's spending, and Hayworth was no angel as a Congressman. However, he has had a few years now to regain his relationship with voters, and he seems to understand a different approach is needed this time around.

McCain has a proven record. First and foremost, he is a gentleman, and a genuine American hero. Had the 2008 election taken place during any other time in our nation's history, there is no doubt McCain would be president today.

He is currently behaving like a real Conservative, but we must remember his true record.

I will give him his spending record - he is a great fiscal hawk, with not one earmark over a long, long career.

However, he is clearly pro-amnesty, regardless of anything he says today. He never would have involved himself in the disastrous McCain-Kennedy bill in 2007 if he were serious about a secure border.

Regarding relations with other countries he is rather hawkish. Lest we forget, the George W. Bush "surge" in Iraq was a John McCain concept.

He was just this week embarrassed to some degree by the prudent decision by the Supreme Court, as they overturned much of his McCain-Feingold legislation. Interestingly enough, had that terrible infringement on our First Amendment never been written, he would have had a significant advantage in the 2008 election.

McCain is very strong with regards to the sanctity of life. He is also very friendly to businesses, and more often than not favors tax cuts to stimulate business growth. He is pro-death penalty, and against hate-crime laws. He believes schools should answer to parents and students, and believes it would be beneficial to shake up failed school bureaucracies with competition.

However, McCain is in favor of a "Cap and Trade" legislation which would be terrible for businesses and individuals. He stated on the record that he would have been in favor of closing the prison at Guantanamo Bay if elected president. He said he would have "bought up bad mortgages to help people stay in homes." He also was against drilling for oil in ANWAR province, even though the governor of Alaska and his running-mate Sarah Palin was very much in favor of the idea.

McCain's "On The Issues" page is available here
.

J. D. Hayworth has spent the last couple of years getting back in touch with the issues on the ground and reintroducing himself to the voters of Arizona. He is very personable, as is McCain. Naturally, Hayworth is going to run strongly on the idea that it is time for McCain to come home, and it is time for someone more in touch with life in Arizona to represent the state.

J. D. is very strong on the sanctity of life. In 2000 he supported a balanced budget Amendment, and in 1994 also favored a line-item veto. He is very in tune with the desire of Arizona residents to secure our southern border and deal with the illegal immigration issue in a way that does not give a free pass or easy access to those who entered America illegally. Hayworth is also very against the idea of closing Gitmo, and believes that enemy combatants need to be treated as such and dealt with by our military and intelligence agencies, not by our civilian court system.

Hayworth is very friendly to businesses and job growth, and is a tax cutter much like McCain. He is against "Cap and Trade," and believes strongly in individual responsibility. He would not have considered a mortgage bailout such as that proposed by McCain. I believe he is an "all of the above" person when it comes to energy, although I can't say for certain that he would be open to drilling in ANWAR.

J. D. Hayworth's "On The Issues" page is available here.

As a Congressman, Hayworth received a 100% rating in 2006 from The American Conservative Union. In 2008, John McCain received a score of 63, with a lifetime rating of 81.43 - which shows McCain was clearly willing to pander in an effort to be elected president.

For more information about this announcement by J. D. Hayworth and related stories, The Conservative Lady has an excellent post. She actually scooped me - in my home state - way to go TCL!!

Unless between today and November 2nd he shows me a reason I should not, I will be supporting J. D. Hayworth for Senator. While I respect John McCain's service to our nation, I believe it is time for Senator McCain to step aside, and J. D. Hayworth is the right person at the right time for this job.

19 comments:

The Conservative Lady said...

Hi Sol:
Thanks for the link.
This is a great post and I updated my post with a link back to yours. Now anyone interested in knowing a more about McCain & Hayworth can find out here at your blog.
Hope all is well with you.

Z said...

Great post....What Dems are running, Soloman? It IS sad that Palin and BROWN are supporting McC, but maybe they figure Hayworth hasn't a chance and it's so important that seat stays Republican....

Just a conservative girl said...

Sol:
I don't know a great deal about Hayworth, but he has got to be better.

I really do admire McCain, but it is time for him to go.

Another thing, with his wife making that ad about prop 8, should be the icing on the cake for Palin.

Soloman said...

TCL - thanks for the link-back.

All's well, thanks for asking. I had a tough time getting my writing groove back after Christmas, then I got the flu... but I'm back in stride.

Soloman said...

Z -

At the moment I don't know of any Dems who have committed. There's been a rumor about the mayor of Phoenix - he's an idiot. He'll try to play the blame Bush card, he's anti- Sheriff Joe Arapio in a major way...

We've taken a big influx of California liberals over the past few years, but we're still a Conservative stronghold.

Palin owes McCain a favor, I'm thinking.. I thought I heard her discuss it with Beck on the radio. Beck scolded her, rightfully so. Same goes for Brown - McCain gave him some advice and is going to try to take Brown under his wing and make him all "mavericky" and Brown will come campaign here for John.

It's important that J. D. wins this race - McCain is "more of the same" and we don't need it.

Soloman said...

JACG - the gay agenda thing won't make that big a difference here. We've got some California libs that have moved in, so McCain actually might gain from that... I honestly don't care about that issue personally, which is why I didn't discuss it in the post.

J. D. is a huge hawk on the border, and McAmnesty (as we call him here) was in bed with Teddy K. on that crap bill. That and the economy are important, and if there's one thing we learned during the presidential, it's that while McCain understands tax cuts, he can't discuss the economy to save his life.

J. D. (I think) is an excellent choice. I'm even okay with some earmarks, as long as we're fighting cap n' tax, balancing the budget, and securing the border. Those are his strong points.

Woodsterman (Odie) said...

Would have Sarah Palin openly supported McCain if Hayworth had announced earlier? I think not, even if they are fiends. I think it's time for RINOs like McCain to step down and stay with Newt on the sidelines.

Snarky Basterd said...

McCain is really a Democrat; we need J.D. in that seat.

tammy said...

I've been thinking along the same lines. Pretty sure I'll be supporting Hayworth this time around too, unless like you say, some reason comes out why we shouldn't.

Left Coast Rebel said...

You are much easier on McCain than I am, I just wrote on this too and linked you.

Thoughtfully Blended Hearts said...

Not being from your state, I don't know about your politics but here we refer to McCain to be "Liberal Lite"...

Kid said...

Yep, just off the top, McCain is favorable to subjects like national health care and globals warmings thingamabobers.
John, thank you for your service, and may those who tortured you and your mates go to hell, but you are pastel at a time in America when bold colors are needed.

Hopefully JD wins and performs, but I have to remember that before JD was a house member, he was a sports caster. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Sheriff Arpaio would get my vote actually for anything he ran for.

Soloman said...

Odie -

I don't know the absolute answer to your question, but I know that if she made a commitment and is honoring it, that in my mind weighs better than whom exactly gets her support. It tells me she's a person of her word, and that's everything today.

Soloman said...

Snarky B. -

If we had someone equal to McCain running here I'd support McCain, but J. D. is more Conservative to be sure, and given his time on radio here he's much more in touch with what is happening on the ground.

I'm supporting him, to be sure - like I said, unless he gives me reason not to...

Soloman said...

Tammy -
I don't know how much you've ever had a chance to listen to his show, but I heard enough over the past couple of years to know he gets it.

He's got that proven record we can investigate, as I linked. I'm good with him.

Soloman said...

Rebel -

As I commented over at your place, this piece was more "just the facts" with a little bit of personal insight.

I respect the hell out of McCain's service, and he's acting true right now - but that's political expediency in my opinion, and that's not what it takes.

Soloman said...

hearts -

I agree, McCain is definitely not as Conservative as we need representing Arizona.

He'd be a good Republican for the second Massachusetts seat.. maybe he can go run against Kerry! lol..

Soloman said...

All -

I mentioned in a reply comment to Z that I thought I heard something said by Palin in a discussion on Beck's radio show.

I checked and found out I was right. Here's the transcriptr in case you're interested.

To highlight, here's the relevant quote:

"GLENN: And B, you are known for bucking the system, but one of the biggest progressives out there is John McCain. And you are still supporting him and you are campaigning for him. I don't understand it.

SARAH PALIN: I am. I'm supporting him. I keep my word. John McCain is on fire to kill Obama's government takeover of healthcare and that's what I want to see. And his commitment and his leadership on national security to win the war on terror, that's what we need. And I'm going to support him. And he is a statesman, and I don't hesitate at all to say, no, we do need his leadership, especially on those two fronts: Government takeover of healthcare, he wants to kill it; national security, he gets it. He understands how to win."

So I'll say this - I get it, statesman. Fine.

He is tough on national security - but that's mostly the job of the POTUS, and John ain't that. Health care? J. D. would be better.

Most important words? "I keep my word." I think that says it all.

Soloman said...

Kid -

Keith Olbermann was a sports guy... but I won't hold that against Hayworth. He's got a proven record in The House. Spending is my only slight concern, but again... he's been on the ground the past couple of years in close touch with the people. He gets it, I believe.

And there are some strong rumors Joe will run for governor. I'm all in with that!!