John McCain Decimated by JD Hayworth in Second Senate Primary Debate

McCain calls Hayworth a "pig." He desperately defends his flip-flops and record of voting for the billion dollar pork TARP bailouts which included $150 billion in earmarks, co-sponsoring amnesty with Ted Kennedy and cap and trade legislation with Joe Lieberman, and voting against tax cuts twice. Hayworth easily proves that he is much more conservative than McCain on the very things McCain has been attacking him on - pork and earmarks.

In their second, and likely final, Senate primary debate, JD Hayworth again easily defeated John McCain. McCain avoided discussing real issues, where he has a record of flip-flopping in a massive election year race to the right, and instead attacked JD on non-substantive, odd areas. McCain's desperation came through the clearest towards the end of the debate, when he referred to JD as a pig. "One should never get in a wrestling match with a pig, you both get dirty and the pig likes it." There were audible gasps of surprise from the audience.

Some thought the remark was also a backhanded slap at Sarah Palin, who is rumored to have refused to campaign for McCain a second time this year. Palin was called a pig by Obama during the 2008 presidential campaign. She refused to return McCain's phone calls when he first tried to get her to campaign for him earlier this year against JD. They had not spoken in over a year, since the 2008 presidential campaign ended. In their last appearance together, she was prohibited from giving a concession speech. She wrote a book, Going Rogue, about the difficulties working with the McCain campaign. The title referred to the derogatory label McCain staffers gave her when she would speak to the media without their permission. When Palin finally agreed to campaign for McCain earlier this year, it was widely speculated that she did so unwillingly. Noticeably, she did not tweet about her two appearances in Arizona for McCain, although she tweeted about her appearance at Tea Party Express rally against Harry Reid in his hometown of Searchlight, Nevada, taking place at the same time.

The debate began with the moderator asking each candidate why they were the most conservative candidate. JD said that he was the most conservative because he has a lifetime rating from the American Conservative Union of 98% over his 12 years in Congress (about the same rating as the most conservative member of the Senate, Jim DeMint), an "A" rating from the NRA, and an endorsement by Gun Owners of America. Citizens Against Government Waste gives him a higher lifetime score than McCain. Unlike McCain, JD opposes amnesty and the billion dollar pork TARP bailouts which included $150 billion in earmarks. He opposed cap and trade legislation which McCain co-sponsored with Democrat Joe Lieberman. JD helped write the tax cuts that McCain voted against in 2001 and 2003. JD said McCain sounds more like John Kerry than John McCain (McCain once considered running on the Democrat ticket as Kerry's Vice-Presidential running mate).

McCain claimed he was the most conservative because Arizona Right to Life PAC endorsed him. It showed a little desperation that he mentioned that endorsement several times during the debates, considering it was illegitimately obtained. Most of Arizona Right to Life's leadership did not agree with the endorsement due to McCain's support of taxpayer-funded embryonic stem cell research and other positions he has taken. He touted his endorsement by the NRA, which was equally lacking in credibility. The NRA has said about McCain in the past,

McCain said he was endorsed by Citizens for Government Waste. Considering they gave JD a higher rating than McCain, one wonders if they too, like Arizona Right to Life, were unfairly strong-armed into endorsing him. McCain listed off some more endorsements by sheriffs and mayors. One mayor in that list told me he was strong-armed into endorsing him and has since switched his support to JD.

Next, McCain attacked JD for being a lobbyist. JD registered as a lobbyist after he left Congress to represent one client on one issue. Contrast that with McCain's troubling ties to lobbyists. McCain brought out his predictable attack on Hayworth for appearing in an infomercial advertising free government grants. McCain failed to point out that he had helped pass legislation putting those government grants into place, that his own website contains extensive information on how the public could apply for those grants, and that the owner of the company contributed $11,000 to McCain's campaign. JD admitted that he had made a mistake by appearing in the commercial, and said that at least he admits when he makes a mistake. McCain has never admitted it was a mistake that he voted for the billion dollar pork TARP bailouts, co-sponsored cap and trade, amnesty, and voted against tax cuts twice.

McCain claimed the difference between him and JD comes down to spending, and that JD defended pork barrel and earmark spending. McCain said he was proud to have stood up against pork barrel and earmark spending. JD called him out on that blatantly false statement, saying "facts are stubborn things." McCain voted for the billion dollar pork TARP bailouts which included $150 billion in earmarks. JD refuted McCain's television ads claiming that JD supported $70 billion in earmarks. All of the bills McCain referred to in his ads contained earmarks added by other members of Congress, not JD; JD simply voted for the bills which the earmarks had been attached to, like standard appropriations bills. Even so, $70 billion in earmarks isn't half as much as the $150 billion in earmarks McCain voted for in one of the pork TARP bailouts. McCain retorted and defended the earmarks, claiming they were not earmarks. McCain has also earmarked defense jobs for Arizona. McCain claimed that JD lost reelection to Congress in 2006 because of big spending, which made no sense considering the voters elected Democrat Harry Mitchell instead, who is a big-spending Democrat. JD noted that McCain lost his presidential bid for president twice, and said that if McCain had ran as aggressive of a campaign against Obama as he is against JD, he might have won the presidential election.

The second question of the debate asked the candidates whether it was possible to completely secure Arizona's border with Mexico. McCain denied that he had ever been for amnesty. He then launched into a tirade about how important it was to secure the border, in a speech that sounded like it came from the Minutemen. "The situation is dire...the federal government has not fulfilled its responsibilities to secure the border." McCain failed to mention that he was part of the federal government refusing to fix the border, because he was busy co-sponsoring amnesty legislation with Democrat Ted Kennedy. JD said that McCain tried to erase existing law with his amnesty bill. Whereas JD's Enforcement First bill he proposed while in Congress was very similar to Arizona's SB1070.

The third question was whether there should be comprehensive immigration reform, and if so, what it should include. McCain admitted he still supported comprehensive immigration reform (a synonym for amnesty) after securing the border. JD cited a Heritage Foundation study which found that McCain's amnesty bill would cost taxpayers $2.6 trillion. JD called McCain out on opposing market reforms for Medicare, prescription drug coverage for citizens, while supporting expanding Medicare and Social Security for illegal immigrants. McCain responded by dodging the assertion and launching into another Minuteman-sounding tirade about border security.

Next, the candidates were asked whether government had overstepped its bounds. JD expressed his concern about the growing federal bureaucracy. He said if elected he would introduce the Congressional Responsibility Act, which would mandate that every regulation proposed by Washington bureaucrats be brought to the Senate first for an up or down vote. He also would propose a Constitutional Citation Act, first proposed by Rep. John Shadegg as the Enumerated Powers Act, which would require all bills to cite the specific provision in the Constitution that gives Congress the power to act in that area.

McCain complained about bills further expanding the government's size, saying they are mortgaging our children's and grandchildren's future. He failed to mention that he was part of the problem. JD said McCain had no business lecturing us on fiscal responsibility. McCain voted for the billion dollar pork TARP bailouts with earmarks, which went to big Wall Street banks that were top contributors to his campaign. Those bailouts began to nationalize the banking and auto industries. McCain's only defense was to dodge the issue and attack JD again for appearing in an infomercial.

The fourth question asked candidates was what the most important economic stimulus would be to get the economy back on track. McCain bragged that he led the fight against Obamacare. It stood out, because it was the only thing McCain was able to point to where he actually did oppose the Democrats. He briefly mentioned the Tea Parties, which also stood out, since McCain has not shown up at a single Tea Party. Even his staff has been noticeably absent at Tea Party rallies like the Stand With Arizona rally this spring.

The fifth question asked was whether we need an exit strategy in Afghanistan. JD said we needed to define victory in Afghanistan as eradicating the Taliban. He disagreed with McCain on the use of enhanced interrogation of suspected terrorists, pointing out that there were four examples where enhanced interrogation resulted in foiling terrorist plots. JD said that McCain has been an Obama-enabler, by permitting Obama to close Gitmo and bring enemy combatants to American criminal courts instead of treating them as terrorists who should be adjudicated under military law.

The sixth question was how would the candidates ensure that everyone has healthcare. JD pointed out that we already have a program for the medically indigent. He supports health savings accounts. The problem is the redistribution of money that will occur under unaffordable Obamacare, and healthcare costs that will increase with McCain's amnesty plan for illegal immigrants. McCain could have stopped Obamacare from passing if he had stayed longer in Washington and demanded that the bill be read. McCain responded that he led the fight against Obamacare, and was proud of it, denying that he could have stopped it, "reading the bill would have just delayed the passage of it." JD retorted, "John has led in losing fights. We don't need a 'last line of defense,' we need a 'first line of advocacy for Arizona.'"

Lesser-known third candidate Jim Deakin, was clearly out of his league and made some bizarre statements. Most of his accusations against JD didn't ring true considering JD has one of the most conservative ratings in Congress. Deakin said both McCain and JD are the same when it comes to illegal immigration, and did not make border security an issue while in office. Considering JD was one of the biggest proponents in Congress regarding securing the border, and a sponsor of the Enforcement First legislation, Deakin's accusation came across as dishonest. Deakin even admitted that JD wrote a book about illegal immigration, Whatever it Takes. Then Deakin backpedaled on illegal immigration and said he supported "migration," referring to some kind of a guestworker program, and that we need to do something about the 12 million illegal immigrants here. Another out of place statement by Deakin was calling our U.S. troops' presence in Afghanistan "an abomination," sounding not like a conservative, but more like the dovish left. He accused the U.S. of imposing our will upon the Afghanistan people.

Deakin tried to morph himself into the "Tea Party candidate" after the Tea Parties emerged over a year ago, but has failed to make inroads. Most of the Tea Parties in Arizona capable of endorsing candidates have endorsed JD. Deakin has also tried to portray himself as the "constitutional candidate" but does not have enough of a grasp of the Constitution to speak about it accurately, occasionally making misstatements. He has incurred considerable resentment due to his attitude that he is entitled to enter politics with no experience and run for one of the highest offices in the country, without gaining any experience first in a lower office like state legislature. He is seen as a spoiler who is taking away votes from JD and handing the race over to McCain.

McCain blinked profusely during both debates. For someone who has appeared constantly on television, as one of the Senate's biggest showhorses, it was odd to see him blinking this much. There was some speculation by observers that it was body language reflective of lying.

The final question asked of the candidates was what they heard during the debate that bothered them the most. JD said it was McCain's untruthfulness. He cited a line from McCain's book where McCain said he chose to lie in order to win the presidential election (he still lost), and suggested that McCain is continuing a pattern of lying in order to win. McCain wrote in Worth the Fighting For, "I could tell from the desperate looks of my staff that we had an enormous problem. And that it could come down to lying or losing. I chose lying."

Overall, JD accomplished what he needed to accomplish in this debate: refute the accusations in the hundreds of television ads McCain has been running diverting the focus of the election from who has a better conservative record to a couple of red herring issues instead, like JD appearing in an infomercial. McCain came into the campaign with a leftover warchest of $5 million, including $1.1 million from convicted Ponzi criminal Scott Rothstein (which McCain has refused to return to the victims, unlike other politicians who received money from Rothstein). This overwhelming advantage hsa allowed McCain to steer the election issues away from his liberal flip-flopping record and put JD on the defensive. Now, with the facts out, the playing field should level out, since it is a conservative Tea Party revolt year, and the voters are turning against longtime incumbent big-spenders.

The morning talk show here in Phoenix said that both debates were even. (And JD used to work at their station) They said no winners on either night. They are both Conservatives who will not divulge their support until after the Primary.

Let's see if there's any movement in the polls. I have sent JD money but am holding off from sending any more because he looks like a lost cause. The “free money” informercial made me want to puke.

If JD doesn't show a major increase in the polls, I'll send my money to other conservatives.

When SP endorsed McLame I was disappointed but understood that an honorable person would be duty bound to endorse the man that launched her nationwide. But made it clear that conservatives should vote for JD...and that while I still support SP for president her endorsment meant liitle. Now I read she has refused to campaign for him a second time...I am very pleased with her decision...she has fulfilled her duty and can now stand on principle...good for her.

If you are refering to the Barry Young show with Corella Michella, they are in mccain’s back pocket. We were just discussing that on the AZ board. They won’t state their vote but we all hear them both slobbering all over mccain when he guests on their program.

It really was a good ol fashioned ass kicking...

How many voters saw it, and how many will really know about it?

If Juan McCain gets whupped in the forest and there is no one around to see it, did it really happen?

Just my thoughts. Anyone on the ground there that can say if these debates are going to pay off for JD come the primary? Or is McCain's periodic, temporary jailhouse religion going to fool the jury yet again?

Please don’t fire him in November. Fire him in August in the Primary. But if he wins the R Primary, be aware that whoever the Dem is in the contest, they will be MUCH WORSE than McCain. I am Conservative but I will never vote for a Dem again. No Matter who the R is, I will go that way.

Thanks for your service John, don't let the big doors hit you in the ass as you leave. For him to bring up the word “pig” in a debate shows how desperate he has become. I voted for him in 2008 because he was not Obama.

Have a nice retirement, Juan, you deserve it!

All JD’s supporters believe they are with McCain. All McCain's supporters believe they are with JD. I suspect they are with JD as they are good friends and used to work with him, but don't feel they should endorse either. That way they can endorse the R in November whichever one wins the Primary. I can tell you that my Liberal brother votes for McCain every time for his NRA rating. He votes Dem or moonbat Left except for McCain. I suspect that's why McCain is ahead in all the polls.

I like JD, but ah, he also “won” every debate with the Democrat who took his house seat. Debates only matter at the margins and McCain is way ahead. He’s been moved right by the mayhem on the border and the pinko in the White House and it’s going to save him.

Personally I don’t like either of them. They are both smarmy. And the JD supporters that call in to Barry and Michelle are nasty. No McCain supporters ever call in but I bet if they did they would be nasty, too.

It really was a good ol fashioned ass kicking...

Yes it was. And in my opinion McCain has never been good at debate. He is Senator for only one reason and that's because of the sacrifice he made as a sailor/airman during the Vietnam War and his imprisonment. Without that he never would have made it. He's been a lousy Senator from day one.

But will it matter? Have we reached something here, for lack of a better word, I'd call terminal stupidity? By that I mean that even if a candidate like Hayworth beats the crap out of McCain, the voters either will not listen or will just press the McCain button anyhow out of habit. It doesn't matter how bad Hayworth beats McCain. The voters are so stupid and foolish that they will persists in behavior that is counter to their interests.

I believe we are at that point and I think we should heed the words of that old curmudgeon H.L. Mencken when the said (paraphrasing) that no one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American Public.

From the write-up:

“McCain said he was endorsed by Citizens for Government Waste.”

Never look a gift horse in the mouth.

has anyone been follwoing the reuters polls?

republicans are being decimated.

The DC GOP is snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

Debates only matter at the margins and McCain is way ahead. He’s been moved right by the mayhem on the border and the pinko in the White House and it’s going to save him.

I agree. Debates are overrated. Most voters don't even watch and even if they did less than half could tell you who won the debate. A majority of people in this country vote for very frivolous reasons. I've seen it too many times.

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