Sunday, February 21, 2010
From the political notebook:
* In his effort to upend John McCain in a Republican primary, J.D. Hayworth is obviously trying to tap into the energy in the tea party movement and depict himself as its champion.
It's an incongruous fit and claim.
To the extent the tea party represents new energy it is the increased activism of fiscal conservatives, concerned about an overreaching federal government and the sorry state of its finances.
Overreaching and fiscal indiscipline actually began in the Bush administration. There were two votes that were acid tests for true fiscal conservatism during that period.
The first was President George W. Bush's No Child Left Behind Act, which was the largest expansion of the role of the federal government in local education since Jimmy Carter. True fiscal conservatives believe that the role of the federal government in education should be eliminated, not substantially increased.
The second was Bush's Medicare prescription drug benefit, the largest expansion of the entitlement state since LBJ.
As a congressman, Hayworth flunked both tests. He voted for both No Child Left Behind and the Medicare prescription drug benefit.
He was hardly alone. The overwhelming majority of Republicans in Congress voted for both programs. It was the beginning of Republicans losing their claim to be the party of fiscal discipline.
But not all Republicans went along, and not all Republicans in the Arizona delegation. Jeff Flake and John Shadegg voted against both measures. McCain voted against the prescription drug benefit.
And then there is the matter of earmarks. Flake has correctly called them the gateway drug for runaway spending. They drive true fiscal conservatives nuts, since they mostly fund local projects that are none of the rightful business of the federal government.
As a congressman, Hayworth was an avid earmarker.
Hayworth is defending himself against the porker charge by citing ranking by Citizens Against Government Waste in which he scored a single percentage point better than McCain.
A more revealing measure is the ranking of the National Taxpayers Union, which evaluates all votes that affect fiscal policy.
Hayworth had a decent record, with an average score of 70 percent during his years in Congress. He regularly got A and B grades from NTU.
But not a stellar record and less than McCain's 77 percent, Shadegg's 78 percent, Jon Kyl's 85 percent – and light years behind Flake's 91 percent.
Hayworth stood up to the Bush administration on immigration and trade with China.
But on spending, he was a party guy – getting ahead by going along and playing the game.
4 comments:
I'm definitely voting for McCain! He's been standing up for fiscal responsibility for the past 24 years - and is continuing to. He's the only way our country will get back on track!
This is not the time to have a politican, 'going along' to further his own career. We have watched McCain fight against Obama's mounting deficit problem, we have watched McCain fight against the initial disgusting attemts at Healthcare reform, and he continues to fight hard for our Nation's security. We need McCain in office!
As if JD the moral corrupt man has anything to offer AZ or the US. He failed already when he had the chance, no second chances when you have the reputation he has, he is in way too deep in legal bills from Abramoff, expressed himself against ethics on his radio show, parties a little too much and shows very little intelligence. NO way would I vote for that guy
Without Sen. John McCain in the US Senate, ObamaCare would be the law of the land today. Thank God for Sen. John McCain!
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