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.