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%
Bookmark. Thanks.
Well, ManHunter, it was a good try. But it looks as though no one can talk about ‘why’ to vote for Hayworth, they just go back into the ‘I supported Sarah, but she’s lost my support’ mode. I wasn’t aware that she was running in this election.
Maybe you shoulda just talked about Hayworth in your opening. That ‘concern troll’ train is chugging.
‘Course you like Hayworth.
He bring home da’ pork!
Do some more research beyond illegal immigration.
Bringin’ home da’ pork is hardly conservative...
McCain-Feingold.
McCain-Kennedy.
McCain-Leiberman.
McCain gang of 14.
McCain gets an “F” in defense of Liberty.
He is no conservative.
Classy response from JD. Some here would do well to follow JD's example.
This should be about JD defeating McCain.
You know, what bugs me the most about McCain is his insane insistence of, “reaching across the aisle”, when there is no evidence the Dems have any intention of doing the same. He stabs conservative causes in the back over and over again, yet comes to us for $$ and votes by pretending he’s one of us.
I told his office this morning that McCain’s style of politics is out of date, and that he’s just too damn old. Really. Someone should take him aside and say, “This just isn’t a good idea.”
His re-election headquarters in Phoenix is 602-604-2010, if you feel inclined to call and give you opinion. I won’t be giving him a dime in either the primary or, God forbid, the general election.
McCain-Feingold.
McCain-Kennedy.
McCain-Leiberman.
McCain gang of 14.
McCain gets an “F” in defense of Liberty.
You are correct and that helps point out the 82% ACU rating isn’t worth using as a judgement of his conservatism. I didn’t list but there are several post scattered throughout the other threads that give numerous cites to show he’s much worse than a mere 18% less than a perfect 100.
Agreed - and therein lies the rub. This is a primary election and our opportunity to see a conservative in McCain’s seat (which would make two from Arizona, by the way). This is the point at which we should be having debates of this type. McCain’s ACU score looks OK to people unfamiliar with the rating system, but when compared to other Republican senators (except for Snowe, Collins, etc.), not that good at all.
His search made it possible for someone like me, who swore I'd never vote for McCain again, to not only check the box by his name (technically I voted for Palin), but also donate to their campaign rather than writing in someone else or my dog or staying home.
While Scott Brown has shown there may be others lurking in the wings, currently Palin is the only potential Republican Presidential candidate who truly excites a large number of voters. Can't have that. I've learned on threads like this one we'd better out do the demonrats and destroy her.
May it work as it has so far!
You are absolutely right viewed through FR lenses Moderates however are impressed by the media. Unfortunately we need them to win elections. I my self am a wild eyed conservative but until we can turn the moderates into conservative we have to live with them as they are.
What about when she supported Doug Hoffman or Michelle Bachmann? I admit that this is just speculation, but I think that Sarah supported McLame because he introduced her to the national scene when he made her his VP, so she feels indebted to him. Yes, it’s a mistake on her part, but she’s only human.
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