McCAIN CAMPAIGN RELEASES NEW WEB VIDEO, “PART OF THE PROBLEM”

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Contact: Brian Rogers
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
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McCAIN CAMPAIGN RELEASES NEW WEB VIDEO, “PART OF THE PROBLEM”

Phoenix, AZ -- U.S. Senator John McCain’s re-election campaign today released a new web video, “Part of the Problem,” highlighting Congressman J.D. Hayworth’s record of voting for billions in wasteful earmarks during his 12 years in Washington. 






Earlier this month, with the defeat of Rep. Alan Mollohan in West Virginia and Sen. Bob Bennett in Utah, the American people sent Washington a powerful message: Stop the wasteful earmark spending!



This is a message that should make Congressman Hayworth very nervous.

During his 12 years in Washington, Congressman Hayworth was an “avid earmarker” who played the Washington pork game -- requesting his own earmarks and voting for everyone else’s -- a practice that has bloated our budget, bankrupted our children’s future and landed Members of Congress in jail for the corruption it breeds.

Congressman Hayworth was part of the problem in Washington, voting for billions of dollars in wasteful earmark spending that Sen. John McCain voted against.

Sen. McCain -- who has never requested an earmark -- has long been recognized as a leader in the fight to ban the wasteful, corrupt practice of pork barrel earmarking.
 




Watch the new web video here



McCain 2010 Communications Director Brian Rogers released the following statement upon release of the new web video: 



“During his 12 years in Congress, Congressman Hayworth was part of the problem in Washington, joining forces with a group of Republicans who got so caught up in the obscene game of
pork barrel earmarking that they threw their principles to the wind and tarnished the Republican Party’s reputation for fiscal conservatism. In his eagerness to secure re-election and please the Washington power-brokers, Congressman Hayworth put a rubber stamp on every bloated appropriations bill that came across his desk -- bills that contained billions in wasteful earmark spending.
 
“At the end of the day, Congressman Hayworth’s 12-year history of
voting for more and bigger government is why the people of Arizona will reject him in the August primary. Republicans want a Senator who will stand up to the big spenders in Washington, not join them. ” – McCain 2010 Communications Director Brian Rogers







FACT CHECK: VOTERS ARE REJECTING CANDIDATES LIKE J.D. HAYWORTH WHO ENGAGED IN THE PRACTICE OF PORK BARREL EARMARK SPENDING





Across The Country, Voters Are Rejecting Politicians Who Engage In The Practice Of Pork Barrel Earmarking:





The Hill: “Appropriators From Both Parties Have Become The Hunted, Losing Primary Races To Challengers More Hawkish About Reforming The Provisions Lawmakers Insert In Spending Bills To Steer Money To Specific Projects In Their Districts Or States.” (Walter Alarkon, “Voters Give Pork Pushers The Chop,” The Hill, 5/12/10)





“Sen. Bob Bennett (R-Utah) Was Ousted… By Two Earmark Hawks.” (Walter Alarkon, “Voters Give Pork Pushers The Chop,” The Hill, 5/12/10)





“And Rep. Alan Mollohan (D-W.Va.), The Chairman Of The House Appropriations Subcommittee On Commerce, Justice And Science, Lost To A Conservative Democrat Who Questioned The Propriety And Impact Of Mollohan’s Earmarks.” (Walter Alarkon, “Voters Give Pork Pushers The Chop,” The Hill, 5/12/10)





Congressman J.D. Hayworth Was An “Avid Earmarker” During His 12 Years In Washington:





Conservative Arizona Republic Columnist Robert Robb: “Hayworth Was An Avid Earmarker.”



“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.” (Robert Robb, Op-Ed, “Hayworth Wasn't A Fiscal Conservative Champ,” The Arizona Republic, 2/21/10)





Robb: “Hayworth Has Been Mostly A Go-Along Guy As Spending And Pork Exploded Under Republican Control Of Congress.”



“Hayworth has been mostly a go-along guy as spending and pork exploded under Republican control of Congress.” (Robert Robb, Op-Ed, “Thomas And Meth, Goddard And Ids, Mitchell And Debt,” The Arizona Republic, 10/29/06)





Hayworth Was “Willing To Play The Pork Game If The Price [Was] Right” Even Though Earmarks “Are Part Of What Spins Federal Spending Out Of Control.”



“The three [Flake, Shadegg and Franks] were among only 56 to oppose the legislative branch appropriation and among only eight to vote against the water projects appropriation. … J.D. Hayworth and Rick Renzi are proving willing to play the pork game if the price is right. They issued a joint press release saying they supported the legislative appropriation because it contained more money to fight wildfires, never mind that such non-germane riders are part of what spins federal spending out of control.” (Robert Robb, Op-Ed, “An Ear To The Political Ground...,” Arizona Republic, 10/22/03)





During His 2006 Campaign, Congressman Hayworth Offended Many Fiscal Conservatives By Attempting To Deflect From His Role In The Jack Abramoff Scandal By Bragging About Pork Barrel Projects He Brought To His District.



“A member of the powerful Ways and Means Committee, Mr. Hayworth has been on the defensive about both campaign contributions and his initially unreported use of sports skyboxes from disgraced Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff and his Indian tribal clients. To blunt such bad news, Mr. Hayworth boasts of the government funds that he has brought home, from a pedestrian bridge in Tempe to defense contracts for Arizona firms. Such claims win over some locals, but offend many fiscal conservatives.” (Jackie Calmes, “Republican Rebels Of '94 Now Face Their Own Revolt,” The Wall Street Journal, 11/3/06)





Congressman Hayworth Voted For The 2005 Transportation Bill, Which Contained A Record Number Of Earmarks:





The 2005 Transportation Funding Bill Contained A Record-Setting 6,371 Pork Barrel Projects, Totaling Over $24 Billion In Government Spending.



“Yesterday, Bush effectively signed a cease-fire -- critics called it more like a surrender -- in his war on pork. He signed into law a $286 billion transportation measure that contains a record 6,371 pet projects inserted by members of Congress from both parties. … ‘There are nearly 6,500 member-requested projects worth more than $24 billion, nearly nine percent of the total spending,’ executives from six taxpayer and conservative groups complained in a letter to Bush urging that he use his veto pen for the first time.” (Jonathan Weisman and Jim VandeHei, “Road Bill Reflects The Power Of Pork,” Washington Post, 8/11/05)





Senators McCain And Kyl Voted Against The Transportation Bill, But Congressman Hayworth Voted For It.



“Sens. John McCain and Jon Kyl along with Reps. Jeff Flake and John Shadegg, all Republicans, were four of just 12 members of Congress to vote against the transportation bill on July 29. … Arizona's six other members of Congress -- Republicans J.D. Hayworth, Rick Renzi, Trent Franks and Jim Kolbe, and Democrats Ed Pastor and Raul Grijalva -- did vote for the bill.” (Billy House, “Ariz. Ranks Last In Road 'Pork',” The Arizona Republic, 8/11/05)