March 16, 2010 Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, in Phoenix Tuesday to promote a bestselling new book, is predicting anti-Washington "tea party" activists will come to appreciate Sen. John McCain's contribution to fiscal conservatism.
"The people who really want to see government brought under control are going to recognize there's no more consistent advocate for reining in federal spending and ending earmarks and excess than John McCain," Romney told AZ/DC in an interview.
Romney, who was one of McCain's fiercest rivals in the 2008 Republican presidential primaries and is now a leading GOP 2012 prospect, in February formally endorsed McCain's re-election.
McCain, a four-term Arizona Republican, is facing a primary challenge from former Arizona Congressman J.D. Hayworth, who has been aggressively courting tea party support. Earlier this month, organizers of four Arizona tea party groups jointly announced that they would not be endorsing in the GOP Senate race. However, Hayworth has picked up support from many tea-party activists in Arizona and nationally who have voiced their opposition to McCain.
"I welcome the energy and passion of people who may have been part of the silent majority and who are now speaking out," Romney said generally of the populist movement. "So I think the tea party sentiment is healthy for our democracy. And, of course, it's not a monolithic entity. It represents a lot of people from both political parties and some independents as well."
Hayworth's campaign also includes some former Arizona supporters of Romney's 2008 presidental bid, most notably Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Arpaio was Romney's honorary Arizona campaign chairman and now is a strong backer of Hayworth. Romney said he and McCain "became friends" following McCain's victory in the primaries and acknowledged that "not all the people who supported me will follow my own endorsement of Senator McCain. Obviously, each person will make up their own mind as they feel best."
"But these are very unusual times in the country, and the country benefits from John McCain's experience, his stature and his clout in the United States Senate," Romney told AZ/DC. "He is one of the most powerful forces opposing 'Obamacare' and the big-government approach of the (President Barack) Obama administration. You
want there to be some Republican lions in the Senate, and John McCain is one of those."
Romney is the author of "No Apology: The Case for American Greatness". His national book tour schedule included a book-signing event Tuesday evening at the Borders bookstore at Biltmore Fashion Park in central Phoenix.
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