McCain Moves Back To The Right For Arizona Election

Why is McCain falling back on his "don't Ask, don't tell" words? Because he is up for reelection and now must appeal to the base - the right wing tea party Christians. It is the growing belief from the right that bipartisanship is not what Americans want, but good ol' boy conservatism instead. Restrict the homosexuals, embrace limited government interaction and promote free wheelin' business. Don't forget Christianity, too. McCain is facing an opponent in the Republican primary - J.D. Hayworth.

Hayworth seems like he would fit in with the tea party crowd, calling Clinton an "unprincipled philandering president" who had "the most corrupt administration in U.S. history," claiming he was "bankrolled by trial lawyers, radical homosexual rights groups, environmental extremists ... along with almost every other left-wing wacko group you can think of." He also believes that the 14th Amendment has been misinterpreted, and that children of illegal immigrants should not be granted citizenship status and supports the "Americanization" program Henry Ford advocated in an interview with the New York Times in 1914.

The ever-so-successful process that used to be called "Americanization" was a major movement in the early 1900s … Henry Ford, a leader in this movement, said, "These men of many nations must be taught American ways, the English language, and the right way to live." Talk like that today and our liberal elites will brand you a cultural imperialist, or worse. But if you ask me, Ford had a better idea.

Currently, McCain is ahead in the polls, leading former Congressman J.D. Hayworth by a 53% to 31% margin, but back in November, the two were almost even. McCain may have gotten a temporary boost from Sarah Palin, who has come on to campaign for her former running mate, which may boost his tea party credentials, but we'll see if this bump is like the one Sarah Palin gave him during the elections - superficial.

According to an article from CQ Politics, other issues that divide the Arizonan Republicans will be put on the back burner because of Arizona's dire financial worries, which is second to California, and in that area, "McCain is on much surer political footing when it comes to a debate on the economy and spending," but I think I may disagree with that. In my opinion, McCain is out of touch. Just think back to the presidential campaign, where McCain couldn't answer how many homes he had, called the economy "financially sound" in the midst of a crisis, and put his campaign on hold for a botched attempt to politicize the Wall Street bailout negotiations. McCain is already positioning himself as the fiscally conservative candidate, which Hayworth has already attacked with his spokesman, Jason Rose, stating that there is a "hypocrisy" in McCain showing off his conservative record even though he supported the bank and mortgage industry bailout in 2008.

According to the CQ article, the Republican establishment and donor base are sticking with McCain, quite possibly because he is a household name, being involved in two presidential elections in the last 10 years and recently having a namesake piece of legislation struck down by the Supreme Court. GOP lobbyist and donor Kevin DeMenna stated that "the donors nationally and certainly in Arizona are not going anywhere." This means that McCain's Arizona campaign is going to have money flooding in from around the nation, and I am sure that there will be an abundance of special interests trying to keep McCain in place, although considering the McCain-Feingold Act, Hayworth may be able to pick up a couple corporate sponsors himself.

I think this may be an interesting election to watch, more so then the ones Fox News proclaims to be the campaign to watch, only because a loss for long term senator like John McCain may seem like a rejection of the old Republican guard, and if McCain wins, one must take into consideration the votes lost to tea party groups that make up the conservative base, because that is surely where McCain will be heading when writing policy.