By now most of you have heard the bad news that John McCain won the Arizona Republican primary for Senator.
Over the past year or so I have attended many Republican events and Tea Party rallies. At every single one of them there was a theme that resounded louder than any other: DUMP McCain and ELECT Hayworth. McCain’s support for ”Comprehensive Immigration Control” (amnesty) was always one of the top issues that prompted the anti-McCain backlash. I even heard Senator McCain get booed twice at major Republican party events. Everywhere in Arizona there was a ”vote the bums out” attitude towards incumbents and much of that was directed towards McCain.
So, the results are in: McCain (56%) trounced Hayworth (32%) by almost a 2 to 1 margin. Huh??? How did dat happen?
Allow me a few speculations about the cause of this debacle:
It was a humiliating day for the Arizona Tea Party. JD Hayworth was the overwhelming popular choice of the Arizona Tea Party even though Sarah Palin endorsed McCain. Nobody did more to support the Tea Party than JD but the favor wasn’t returned when it counted at the ballot box. Hayworth wasn’t the only friend of the Tea Party that got pummeled either — Jeff Smith was trounced by amnesty friendly Jeff Flake.
One thing for sure is that the Tea Party wasn't able to get voters to the polls. The low turnout should have made it much easier for the Tea Party to influence the results but that just didn't happen. Hayworth was correct in theory but of course we all know the saying about getting what you asked for:
I think the low turnout will translate to conservative votes and translate to a shocking upset.
It gets worse! Hayworth continued:
I think what you are seeing is a shift in the electorate. I think the motivated voters are conservatives, are these awakened Americans, are these tea party members, and I think that's why we're going to pull the upset.
There were a few good results as far as immigration is concerned but it’s not clear if the Tea Party played any role in the results. Perhaps the best indicator that sometimes immigration is an all important issue is that Bill Montgomery won for Republican County Attorney by beating the pants off the anti Sheriff Joe Arpaio candidate Rick Romley. Governor Jan Brewer won the Republican nomination with 81% of the votes despite the Tea Party’s initial opposition over her support of massive tax increases, but they joined Brewer’s side when she decided to support SB 1070. Jesse Kelley won the Republican nomination to oppose Democrat Gabrielle Giffords in Tucson. A few other Republicans running for the house that are tough on illegal immigration won including Trent Franks who will face John Thrasher. David Schweikert won and now will try to unseat Democrat Harry Mitchell. Ironically it was Harry Mitchell that defeated JD Hayworth for the House seat. There is a cliffhanger that won't be bad for immigration either way: the race for GOP Attorney General between Tom Horne and Andrew Thomas is still too close to call.
Sorry to sound so partisan but in Arizona there is no such thing as a Democrat that makes sense on immigration. That’s why it’s so vital to make sure that good Republicans win in the primary.
In the Democratic primary for the Senate Rodney Britz Glassman won for the privilege of running against McCain. Many people are wondering who Rodney Glassman is and are surprised to learn that he is the son of a mega-million dollar farming dynasty in Fresno, California.
There are many interesting things about the Britz family but the most fascinating one concerning the election is that they helped to fund McCain’s presidential bid in 2008. The Britz family are just as much neo-con as limousine liberal and surely they will feel no pain if McCain wins.
David Britz, Political Campaign Contributions — 2008 Election Cycle
12/12/2008, $333, JOHN MCCAIN 2008 INC.
12/02/2008, $333, MCCAIN VICTORY CALIFORNIA - Republican
03/26/2007, $1000, NATIONAL REPUBLICAN CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE -
I thought I better throw this one in before haughty Californians start asking how Arizonans could be so stupid:
Contributions to Schwarzenegger - 2006, Californians For Contributions
$2000 from Britz Fertilizer to Californians for Schwarzenegger in 2006
Under the sordid circumstances almost everyone will wonder which candidate is worse so I went to the Rodney Glassman website to find the answer.
Washington and John McCain have failed us. For 28 years, McCain has taken all sides of the immigration debate while the problems have only gotten worse. In the meantime, Arizonans have been searching for answers. SB1070 is not the answer; it is a rash attempt to score political points.
Those who are in our country illegally must be held accountable for breaking the law, but it would cost billions of taxpayer dollars to arrest or deport them all. We need a realistic solution so that those who work hard, pay back taxes, and contribute to society pay a fine and get in the back of the line to become U.S. citizens. Those who otherwise do not obey our laws should be deported immediately.
We all know how bad McCain is on amnesty, and we noticed the obvious flip flop when McCain decided to support SB 1070 only when he realized to oppose it would be political suicide in a Republican primary (Glassman was right about scoring political points). Unless McCain flip flops on SB 1070 to counter Glassman I will give him 1 thumb up, 1 down, and Glassman one thumb down and a middle finger. Therefore McCain wins by one digit!
Since the open border lobbies and the Britz family win no matter what happens in the 2010 Arizona election, the only remaining question is how much allowance money the Britz family will give Rodney to play politics. Arizona Democrats have complained that Rodney was a cheapskate because he was only willing to spend $500,000 to win the primary. Democrats feel that Glassman should be willing to spend more money especially if he is serious about beating McCain, but the question they should be asking is whether Glassman is serious about running a campaign.
