Archive for June, 2010
I have heretofore refrained from spending much time thinking, talking, blogging or otherwise about the primary between Senator John McCain and former sportscaster, former Congressman, former radio host J.D. Hayworth.
However, as we are getting closer to the election and the rhetoric is heating up, I am compelled to weigh in and offer my perspective as someone who has worked fairly closely with both of these men for more than 15 years.
Let’s start with some of the rhetoric that the average voter doesn’t see coming from the daily press releases churned out by the Hayworth campaign. I am on Hayworth’s press release list, I suppose because I blog.
Before a few weeks ago I generally deleted the emails without reading them (like most political emails lately). However, lately the emails have projected a different tone. Was it sharper messaging? Was it more focused? Actually, no. It was growing desperation. Here is a sample (my commentary in bold italics):
McCAIN FEELING HEAT FROM HAYWORTH, JUMPS ON THE ANTI-OBAMACARE TRAIN LATE AND AMONG THE LAST
This headline is so absurd that it barely warrants a response. McCain was on the anti-ObamaCare train while Hayworth was still on the radio whining about losing to Harry Mitchell.
Phoenix, AZ (June 2) - The spokesman for U.S. Senate Candidate J.D. Hayworth (R-AZ) said his candidate was pleased McCain took Hayworth’s advice and finally signed up against ObamaCare.
“He’s just a day late and a dollar short,” said spokesman Mark Sanders. “While his colleagues began signing Sen. Jim DeMint’s measure to repeal ObamaCare on March 23rd, McCain waited until April 20th to join.
Speaking of a day late and a dollar short, did it really take the Hayworth campaign from April 20th until June 2nd to notice that McCain had signed onto DeMint’s bill? The timing of when McCain joined as a cosponsor is immaterial to his position on repealing ObamaCare, and having served in Congress, Hayworth knows this, which makes this comment ridiculous and petty.
“And that was after Hayworth challenged him to do so on APRIL 9th, according to a news release issued that day by Hayworth’s campaign,” Sanders said.
He also noted that McCain was one of the last Senators to sign on as co-sponsors on April 20th.
“Like with most every issue in this campaign, McCain wants it both ways - he wants to be for ObamaCare and then against it, he wants to support amnesty for illegal aliens and then wants to complete the danged fence, he wants to oppose tax cuts and now wants them extended,” Sanders said.
Frankly, asserting that McCain ever wanted to be for ObamaCare is such a blatant lie it should disqualify Hayworth from even being in this race. If he is so blind to facts, how can we trust him to be a Senator?
Was Hayworth just not paying attention when McCain was offering multiple amendments to try to stop ObamaCare? Did he not listen to multiple floor speeches McCain made against the bill? Did he fail to even check the Congressional record and see that McCain voted against every amendment and procedural motion – and final passage – of ObamaCare when it went through the Senate?
Rather than burying the lede any further, I’ll cut to the chase: J.D. Hayworth is unworthy of holding the title “Senator.” Period. And especially when it would mean taking that title away from John McCain.
I know my position is going to surprise a lot of people. Particularly my friends who know how conservative/libertarian I am. I have ranted privately (and not so privately) about various positions and issues taken and championed by Sen. McCain over the years. I am a purest when it comes to the First Amendment, so I vigorously disagreed with McCain’s campaign finance bill.
I do not, in any way, believe that climate can be affected in any substantive way by human activity. So I have disagreed with him on climate and environment issues.
However, I am a hardcore fiscal conservative – and so is John McCain.
J.D. Hayworth is anything but. He championed the pork he brought back to his district. He got cozy with the power brokers of D.C. not only for his political gain, but for his personal gain, by raising money for his PAC which employed his wife.
I strongly oppose Indian gambling, not so much on moral grounds but on the inequality built into the system that has allowed small (and sometimes less than credible) tribes “game” the system enriching a very few, while the Native American population on the whole continues to exist in squalor. The federal government has a history of not fulfilling it’s treaty obligations and giving some tribes the “easy money” of gambling doesn’t do anything to fix the underlying system.
That all said, there was not a bigger booster for the few chosen tribes in Congress than J.D. Hayworth. I don’t mean booster in a complimentary way. In fact, he was Co-Chairman of the Indian Gaming Caucus in Congress with none other than… (you’re going to LOVE this one)… Patrick Kennedy. Yes, Ted Kennedy’s son.
Sidebar – one day years and years ago I was walking in the basement hallways of the Capital building when I heard a strange sound – someone imitating an Indian war chant – I turned around and it was the then-Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, Bill Archer. When he was done with the chant, I realized what he was doing, because he was calling out to Hayworth and yelled, “There goes the Indian gambling lover.” Can you imagine how out of line your conduct would have to be to have the Chairman of your own committee mock you?
In fact, Hayworth used his position on Ways and Means to cut special deals for tribes (usually siding with the Democrats to get those done) and influence the executive branch to favor one tribe over another. That’s abuse of power.
And even though Hayworth touts his record as a tax-cutter, he authored the largest airline ticket tax in history and got it passed as an amendment to the 2001 tax bill with support from nearly every Democrat on the committee and only a handful of Republicans. Why the ticket tax? His amendment killed a proposed tax on gambling proceeds on Indian Reservations. So, he passes legislation that gives preferential treatment to a small group of people and sticks it to the average traveler. Even gambling operations in Vegas and other states pay taxes.
Then there is the immigration issue. All that I will say about the issue is that McCain sees the issue similar to Ronald Reagan - America is the place of freedom, the shining city on a hill. Hayworth would just as soon put out the lights of the city and paint it in dull colors and make it as unattractive as possible. I do not, for a second, believe that he has a sincere bone in his body when he talks about legal immigration. If our forebears had his attitude, he wouldn’t even be here.
Does McCain deserve to be re-elected because he was a war hero and P.O.W.? Just that alone gives him more credibility to represent us in the Senate than Hayworth, but he has done much more to deserve my support. He not only led the charge against a government take-over of health care, he used his influence to help keep every single Republican together in opposition to the bill. And, he was helpful in the election of Republican Scott Brown to the bluest of all blue states, Massachusetts, in Ted Kennedy’s seat no less.
However, putting all the policy and politics aside, the main reason I support McCain over Hayworth is character. McCain has character, and Hayworth is a character. And an angry, bitter character at that. And, without going into specifics, Hayworth is the most selfish person I know – and given the number of politicians I know, that’s saying something. And, it turns out he’s a huckster to boot.
The bottom line is that McCain has done more to protect our freedom than even Hayworth could bloviate about… and that’s a lot. And for me, I follow Goldwater’s maxim, “are we maximizing freedom?” In this case, McCain exceeds Hayworth on the test of freedom. I’m voting for McCain.
This is one of the most outrageous examples of abuse of power I have ever witnessed. And people wonder why I doubt whether Democrats have any regard for the First Amendment?
This guy (Rep. Bob Etheridge - D-NC) needs to be thrown out of office, like yesterday…
This week I learned that there is a website called PostSecret.com which publishes anonymous postcards sent in from people. (As you might imagine, some are not family-friendly rated). I find the concept a little bit random, but I’m sure sociologist and psychologist have a field day with this kind of thing.
Last Sunday this postcard was posted on the website. Within hours of that postcard showing up on the website someone created a facebook group to try to persuade the writer not to commit suicide.
Here is the story as it continues to unfold…
This postcard was sent into PostSecret. It reads:
I have lived in San Francisco since I was young. I am illegal. I am not wanted here. I don’t belong anywhere. This summer I plan to jump off the Golden Gate.
A group has been created to support the person who wrote this card and help him/her realize that his/her life is still worth living. http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=119460778095373
A loving member of the PostSecret community wrote an email saying “On Sunday the 13th at noon I plan on printing up all the caring comments from facebook, taking them to the Golden Gate Bridge and taping them up all along the walkway.” I feel that this is a wonderful idea and decided to try and get others to join in bringing in both comments printed out from the Facebook group and their own original comments to tape up on the Golden Gate Bridge. Also, it would be great if any photographers out there could bring cameras to take photos and upload them to the site. I am hoping that this will help the writer of the postcard understand that it doesn’t matter who you are or what others say, but where you feel at home that determines where you belong.
Please feel free to invite as many people as you want/can. The more support the better. Remember: there is always hope!
**UPDATE** Hey everybody! So, Shuai Chen (who has been MORE than helpful in organizing this event) has created a “Please Don’t Jump” page on CafePress.com. All of the proceeds will go to Hopeline. If you would like to order anything for Sunday, please visit http://shops.cafepress.com/Pleasedontjump
*** Press Release ***
San Francisco, CA (June 12, 2010)
48,000 Members of the PostSecret and Facebook communities will join together on at noon on Sunday, June 13 at the Golden Gate Bridge in reaction to an anonymous postcard secret regarding suicide.
Last Sunday, a postcard was published on the PostSecret website from an illegal immigrant in San Francisco contemplating suicide by jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge. Within four days, more than 48,000 people joined a Facebook group created in hopes of reaching out to the sender of the card, as well as others contemplating suicide.
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=119460778095373&v=wall
One member of the group wrote, On Sunday the 13th at noon I plan on printing up all the caring comments from Facebook, taking them to the Golden Gate Bridge and taping them up all along the walkway. In response, California resident Lindsey Salazar (schnazzleberry@yahoo.com) invited the public to assemble this Sunday in support of the postcard sender.
The event has already received responses from over 900 people who plan to attend. Guests are requested to help post comments, bring chalk, signs, cameras and their stories.
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=134344396576414#wall_posts
“Last week the postcard grabbed my heart”, said Frank Warren, (frank@postsecret.com) creator of PostSecret, while reflecting on the public reactions to the postcard. “I have been very inspired by how it’s resonated with tens of thousands of other people rallying to keep one person from jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge. In two days, this secret generated the most e-mails in my inbox. In addition, over 48,000 people on Facebook have expressed their hopes and concerns. What an amazing combination of technology and compassion! It gives me great hope for the future of the web and the world.”
About PostSecret:
PostSecret is an ongoing community art project, created by Frank Warren of Germantown, MD, where people mail in secrets anonymously on one side of a postcard. The blog updates weekly with new submissions from all over the world.
Contact: Lindsey Salazar (schnazzleberry@yahoo.com)
It’s inspiring to see total strangers rally to show one person that his or her life has value and they can find a place to belong.
It is all very… human.
The American people can’t say that they weren’t warned about the misinformation that Obama and the Democrats continued to push during the debate over their health care bill.
One warning was that the bill would essentially lead to a government take-over of health care because the government would force employers to change coverage plans they currently provide to their employees.
Obama and the Democrats knew that if the American people thought the government could force coverage changes, they would oppose the bill even more. That is why one of the most repeated claims by Obama was the line, “if you like your current coverage, you can keep it.”
Well, now Obama’s own administration is projecting that a majority of workers will have a change in coverage within the next three years.
This is just one of the big lies about the health care bill that will be exposed in the months and years to come.
It would be useful for us to remember this pattern in future debates - if something is being repeated so often, it must be a lie.
OK, because I’m a political hack, you probably thought this post was about the rash of primary elections happening throughout the country.
Wrong.
This Tuesday was super because it featured the season finale of Glee.
As a friend of mine tweeted, “Quote of the night, “Who cares about politics?! Primaries??! We’re talking GLEE here!” Totally agree.
All I can say is that with the twists and turns, the surprises and showmanship, this ranks up there as one of the best season finales EVER. In fact, I felt like it was a series finale.
It had everything – the heartless protagonist does the right thing; the good guys don’t really win, but then they do; the baby is born and ends up with the person who values her the most; Olivia Newton John is not nearly as nice as I had thought; and Josh Grobin is a bit of a whiney wimp. And we are coming back for more! Wow.
I worry that the writers have outdone themselves. I really don’t know how they can replicate the first season, but I am anxious to find out.
Yep, I was a show choir geek in high school… and darn proud of it! Jjust call me a Gleek.
The Supreme Court ruled, at least temporarily, that so-called “Clean Elections” candidates will not receive matching funds if their opponent spends more than the Clean Election candidate receives in taxpayer-funded campaign cash.
This could be a huge blow to a number of candidates this year. For example, Buz Mills, a Republican candidate for Governor, has spent $2.3 million so far on his campaign. Under the matching scheme, his primary opponents, primarily Governor Jan Brewer and State Treasurer Dean Martin would have received $2.1 million each in taxpayer money – which is three times the base amount of $707,000.
The Supreme Court halted matching funds until it decides whether it will hear an underlying case in which the 9th Circuit upheld matching funds. My guess is that the Supreme Court is going to hear this case, and matching funds is going to be a thing of the past. And, that will likely mean the end of the whole craziness called Clean Elections. To which I will happily say, good riddance!
It still mystifies me how defenders of Clean Elections so blatantly ignore First Amendment rights. Political speech (which means money) is second only to religion in the enumeration of First Amendment rights. Thankfully, the Supreme Court has been restoring the original intent of the Founders in recent years.
Major kudos go to Clint Bolick at the Goldwater Institute for being a pit bull in this case. This is a guy who loves freedom and has the tenacity and guts to take on major opposition to do the right thing. Keep fighting… in the defense of liberty.
UPDATE
I just read a press release from the Goldwater Institute that named Nick Dranias as the lead attorney on the case. Well done, Nick. For more on the case go here.
