Posted on 01/27/2010 5:11:42 AM PST by ManHunter
In jpl's original thread, there was a great deal of discussion about Sarah Palin and her endorsement of John McCain in the Arizona Republican senatorial primary, where he is opposed by J.D. Hayworth. Many of us are disappointed in Sarah, who stated unequivocally that she would work to elect conservatives to public office and I communicated my disappointment to SarahPac directly. Some of us understood Sarah's loyalty to McCain for selecting her as his running mate and some of us (myself included) think he canceled that debt when he declined to support her as she was/is barbecued by the media in the aftermath of the '08 election. Others, however, suggested that, rather than argue about what Sarah has done, we offer reasons to vote for J.D. Hayworth, which made a great deal of sense to me.
I am from Arizona and conservatives there have been frustrated by the Republican Party's repeated endorsement and financial support of "moderate" incumbents over frequently more popular conservatives - usually to the detriment of the party and the people of Arizona and the United States. Moreover, while serving in the Army, I was stationed in Alaska for 3 1/2 years and gained a real appreciation for the "no apologies/no regrets" libertarian brand of conservatism that is so widespread in Alaska (although I don't share all aspects of that philosophy) and I have followed politics there for 30 years. What Sarah is doing in Arizona is the approximate equivalent of what the NRC did to her in her run for governor in Alaska. Therefore, I took it as my mission to document at least some of the reasons to vote for JD Hayworth, as opposed to voting for John McCain or throwing Sarah under the bus. I met JD long before he was elected to the US House. I like him and he is a real conservative, but most of you don't know me, so my opinion of him carries little weight.
I went to the web site of the American Conservative Union (ACU), which compiles voting records and produces conservative ratings for all members of the House and Senate based on their annual and lifetime voting records. Following are the annual and lifetime conservative ratings for John McCain and J.D. Hayworth for each of the 10 years in which JD Hayworth served in the House. How better to evaluate which is the conservative?
2006 - McCain 65%, Hayworth 96%; 2005 - McCain 80%, Hayworth 100%; 2004 - McCain 72%, Hayworth 96%; 2003 - McCain 80%, Hayworth 88%; 2002 - McCain 78%, Hayworth 100%; 2001 - McCain 68%, Hayworth 100%; 2000 - McCain 81%, Hayworth 100%; 1999 - McCain 77%, Hayworth 100%; 1998 - McCain 68%, Hayworth 100%; 1997 - McCain 80%, Hayworth 96%; Lifetime - McCain 82.3%, Hayworth 97.6%
The best way to communicate with the RNC seems to be voting against their favorites, they certainly don’t listen to any other messages.
I”m actually surprised McCain scored as high as he did.
I’m afraid lost me as an ardent supporter on this one. Her brand is now tarnished.
But Sarah said McCain has changed his ways. Said (on Glenn Beck show FNC) he's not the same progressive he was when she ran with him back when she said he was a conservative in 2008. Could she be wrong??
People are too emotionally invested in Palin and I say that as a supporter.
That said.
SCREW McCAIN!
“Many of us are disappointed in Sarah, who stated unequivocally that she would work to elect conservatives to public office and I communicated my disappointment to SarahPac directly.”
For heaven’s sake,...she’s a politician who was put on the map by McCain, and because she was a class act is paying off the chit.
Donate to Hayworth, work for Hayworth and vote for Hayworth and leave the cannibalism to the liberals.
Sarah has a hall pass on this one.
Not when you consider that each vote carries equal weight. He can be 100% on a long line of lesser value issues then all it takes is his vote against on major issues to have the record as shown.
Lifetime - McCain 82.3%, Hayworth 97.6%
So 82.3% isn’t that bad is it? Sure 97.6% is better but is the 15% worth throwing someone under the bus that has vast amount of seniority/leverage built up on Capitol Hill?
Maybe a little more indepth analysis from other area would document your case better.
Now I’m not for McCain and didn’t support him when he ran against President Bush in 2000 nor in the Primary for 08 but did vote for him in the General.
To be honest, so was I. I’m not a “zero tolerance” conservative, but if you look at the conservatives who have ratings similar to JD’s, you’ll be impressed. A lifetime rating of 97.6% is higher than a lot of other, more widely recongized conservatives...
You, I and every other conservative at least remotely familiar with the issues know she is wrong on this one. let’s face it, she is not perfect and can err just as we all can do but the rubber meets the road in a week and a half when she delivers the keynote address at the TP Convention. I will give her through then to understand what that shakey feeking under her feet is not a common Alaska trembler.
Geez! Did I butcher that post or what? Time to take the glasses off and put in the contacts.
Exactly.
Though it goes counter to her conservative philosophy it actually makes sense for her. If she had supported Hayworth the media would have been all over her for being disloyal this way she gets credit for being loyal and can’t be accused of being a wild eyed conservative. This doesn’t matter to us here on FR but goes a long way with moderates.
They're still out there taking pot shots.
This wasn’t posted to throw Sarah under the bus; we need to call her on it and remind her of her commitment to work to elect CONSERVATIVES to public office.
Following is what I sent to her...
I’m confused. I thought you were about electing conservative candidates with conservative values to public office? Isn’t that what SarahPac is all about? If that is your position, as opposed to convenient, populist rhetoric, why on earth would you campaign for John McCain, a moderate at best?
Aside from the fact that McCain’s campaign staff clearly threw you under the bus after his dismal showing in the ‘08 election (entirely without McCain’s knowledge, I’m sure...), J.D. Hayworth - a bona fide conservative - is running against McCain in the Republican primary. Why aren’t you endorsing and campaigning for Hayworth? How is your endorsement of McCain any different than the Republican Party’s endorsement of your opponents in the Republican gubernatorial primary in Alaska and their failure to fully support you in the general election? This looks like a major flip-flop to me and makes you look like all the other party apparatchiks who make their decisions based on “what’s good for the party” (and their own personal power and influence) and not what’s good for the country.
In case you haven’t noticed, we, the American People, are paying attention again. I had great hopes for you, but now I’m having second thoughts and I assure you, I do not intend to let this matter lie; we will not be deceived again.
Palin has lost all credibility as a Conservative.
“I”m actually surprised McCain scored as high as he did.”
That’s true.
I say that a good bit of what McCain does to conservatives is “intangible”; leading the gang of 14, lukewarm pro-family positions and CFR come in under the radar.
Was shamnesty even voted on, or did it simply go down in flames??
Items like “undermining the Republic” or “usurping the Constitution” should carry more weight in such a survey. He was vigorously leading the charge on Amnesty!
McCain probably confuses those who are not politically active, polluting the conservative message, and he leads in the wrong direction, giving the enemies of our Constitution the clubs with which to beat us with.
Ya’ can’t really keep score of this stuff.
Well, being an old Navy man, McCain probably can read which way the wind is blowing fairly accurately. So, he has been tacking to starboard lately. The problem is though, once reelected he will go back to his old ways of compromising and cutting deals with the portsiders. If I lived in Arizona I would vote for J.D. for sure.
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