Here are some excerpts from an excellent article by Sean Noble:
Rather than burying the lede any further, I’ll cut to the chase:
J.D. Hayworth is unworthy of holding the title “Senator.” Period. And especially when it would mean taking that title away from John McCain.
I know my position is going to surprise a lot of people. Particularly my friends who know how conservative/libertarian I am. I have ranted privately (and not so privately) about various positions and issues taken and championed by Sen. McCain over the years. I am a purest when it comes to the First Amendment, so I vigorously disagreed with McCain’s campaign finance bill.
I do not, in any way, believe that climate can be affected in any substantive way by human activity. So I have disagreed with him on climate and environment issues.
However, I am a hardcore fiscal conservative – and so is John McCain.
J.D. Hayworth is anything but. He championed the pork he brought back to his district. He got cozy with the power brokers of D.C. not only for his political gain, but for his personal gain, by raising money for his PAC which employed his wife.
I strongly oppose Indian gambling, not so much on moral grounds but on the inequality built into the system that has allowed small (and sometimes less than credible) tribes “game” the system enriching a very few, while the Native American population on the whole continues to exist in squalor. The federal government has a history of not fulfilling it’s treaty obligations and giving some tribes the “easy money” of gambling doesn’t do anything to fix the underlying system.
That all said, there was not a bigger booster for the few chosen tribes in Congress than J.D. Hayworth. I don’t mean booster in a complimentary way. In fact, he was Co-Chairman of the Indian
Gaming Caucus in Congress with none other than… (you’re going to LOVE this one)… Patrick Kennedy. Yes, Ted Kennedy’s son.
Sidebar – one day years and years ago I was walking in the basement hallways of the Capital building when I heard a strange sound – someone imitating an Indian war chant – I turned around and it was the then-Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, Bill Archer. When he was done with the chant, I realized what he was doing, because he was calling out to Hayworth and yelled, “There goes the Indian gambling lover.” Can you imagine how out of line your conduct would have to be to have the Chairman of your own committee mock you?
In fact, Hayworth used his position on Ways and Means to cut special deals for tribes (usually siding with the Democrats to get those done) and influence the executive branch to favor one tribe over another. That’s abuse of power.
And even though Hayworth touts his record as a tax-cutter, he authored the largest airline ticket tax in history and got it passed as an amendment to the 2001 tax bill with support from nearly every Democrat on the committee and only a handful of Republicans. Why the ticket tax?
His amendment killed a proposed tax on gambling proceeds on Indian Reservations. So, he passes legislation that gives preferential treatment to a small group of people and sticks it to the average traveler. Even gambling operations in Vegas and other states pay taxes.
Then there is the immigration issue. All that I will say about the issue is that McCain sees the issue similar to Ronald Reagan - America is the place of freedom, the shining city on a hill. Hayworth would just as soon put out the lights of the city and paint it in dull colors and make it as unattractive as possible. I do not, for a second, believe that he has a sincere bone in his body when he talks about legal immigration. If our forebears had his attitude, he wouldn’t even be here.
Does McCain deserve to be re-elected because he was a war hero and P.O.W.? Just that alone gives him more credibility to represent us in the Senate than Hayworth, but he has done much more to deserve my support. He not only led the charge against a government take-over of health care, he used his influence to help keep every single Republican together in opposition to the bill. And, he was helpful in the election of Republican Scott Brown to the bluest of all blue states, Massachusetts, in Ted Kennedy’s seat no less.
However, putting all the policy and politics aside, the main reason I support McCain over Hayworth is character.
McCain has character, and Hayworth is a character.
And an angry, bitter character at that. And, without going into specifics, Hayworth is the most selfish person I know – and given the number of politicians I know, that’s saying something. And, it turns out he’s a huckster to boot.
The bottom line is that McCain has done more to protect our freedom than even Hayworth could bloviate about… and that’s a lot. And for me, I follow Goldwater’s maxim, “are we maximizing freedom?” In this case, McCain exceeds Hayworth on the test of freedom. I’m voting for McCain.
Sean Noble is the former Chief-Of-Staff to Congressman John Shadegg (for 10 years) & currently runs his own company, Noble Associates, which provides political, public relations, and public affairs consulting services & is one of the top political consultants in the USA!
His place in the national arena, coupled with his unwavering dedication and attention to local politics, earned him the number 13 spot on PolitickerAZ’s 2008 Power List, where they noted, “When a Republican wants to run for Congress they call Noble.”
So, why pay attention to the random musings of Sean Noble? You’ll certainly be in good company.
Sean is husband to Julie Noble and father to Kinsey, Adam, Jenna, Kate, and Seth. In his spare time, when he can find any, he enjoys reading, movies, baseball, hunting, and fishing.
Visit his fantastic Blog "NOBLE THINKING"!
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