Apart from national security and the courts, the most pressing issue is the budget. Which substantial spending cuts will you propose? And will you commit to reversing the growth of the national government, not merely slowing it?

As opposed to a futile and destructive run against McCain that, if you should succeed, could lose us the general election and even if it didn’t would beclow the whole Republican party for the same reason Lieberman’s defeat beclowned the Democratic party.

That’s my opinion. Take it for what it’s worth.

I am not from Arizonia, but, I would be thrilled to see McCain retired from his position as “aggitator to the conservatives.” Good luck with your race.

You forgot the Gang of 14. Watch out. All of the venom and unrelenting campaign attacks that McCain refused to unleash on Obama will come your way. McCain becomes a different person when he is running in Republican primaries.

A devastating litany of reasons why conservatives should dump McCain. I’d forgotten many of these and some I didn’t know, but how any Republican, much less any conservative, can look at that record and still prefer McCain is beyond me. If Hayworth can get the money he needs to get out his message, he can win.

Which is to say that should Mr Hayworth not be able to win the Republican Primary, my donations will go to Mr McCain.
But my available donations during the primary will NOT go to McCain.
The seat must remain in Republican hands, even if only as a place holder for a full time Conservative.
Not one who adopts the mantle when it’s convenient.

And your post here is the precise reason you may get within 35 points of McCain. I’ll vote for you in the primary, but your campaign is a complete waste of precious resources that could be used to win three Arizona House seats, and you will accomplish exactly nothing in the process.

You’re jousting at windmills for the following reasons.

• You don’t bother to lay out your platform.
• McCain has $5MM in the bank, you’re $100+ in the hole.
• McCain has powerful and very well known endorsements, you don’t.
• The folks in your former Congressional District have absolutely no use for you.
• You’ll lose in Southern Arizona (primarily Tucson) by at least a 70% margin.
• Your old FoxNews appearances and your talk radio sound bites will murder you.
• You’ve never been able to engage your brain before running your mouth.

As far as donating to your campaign, I would ask all Redstaters to remember that resources are limited and in lieu of following your heart and hoping for a change in the Arizona Senate seat, make a donation that will really make a difference by donating to a conservative House candidate who can win an will make a difference in Washington. JD served in the House from 1994 through 2006 and never made anything but noise. I would happily support either John Shadegg or Jeff Flake and either of them would have an excellent shot at taking down McCain. JD’s campaign will be nothing more than an expensive, high-profile joke.

Oh, and for the record, I’ve expanded on all of the above points and the historical and demographic reasons why McCain will crush JD in a bunch of other posts and diaries. I’ll address them at length one at a time if I have to I just didn’t want to write a book here. And, again for the record, John McCain is a man who hung his honor and his sense of duty in his closet when he hung up his Navy uniforms and they haven’t seen the light of day since. We simply don’t have have a candidate in Arizona who can get within 30 points of him in the primary (unless somebody can convince Shadegg to run).

and someone who has listened fairly regularly to your radio show, & potential voter for you have but one question.

You have pointed out above that you supported and campaigned for McCain in 2008, yet every point you call out as not in line with conservative principals were done before the 2008 election. And yet, knowing these policies are against your now core beliefs you still choose to support the bid.

As seen by the great post by Brian Faughnan your track record is essentially synonymous to that of Sen. McCain.

What do you plan to do to 1) assure the voters that you do indeed plan to act in a “more conservative” mode?

I will not vote for McCain no matter what so the ball is in your court to prove why I should vote for you.

Erick of Red State recently wrote an article attacking Indiana republicans for supporting Dan Coates because Coates retired some years ago.

Like you, Coates continues to serve conservatism. In fact, Coates went on to work under the Bush administration.

As a fellow “re-tread”, would you agree with me that politicians who have left office for a time are no less competent to serve their country than liberal democrats?

Thank you, and I wish you luck in your campaign.

This post does a great job of expressing why McCain is a bad candidate, and why conservatives shouldn’t toss a penny his way. What it doesn’t do, is express why you are a good candidate, or how you can win in a hostile primary against a very well-established incumbent. As a Tucson resident, I can tell you that nothing you can do will persuade Tucson primary voters to vote for you. Phoenix will have depressed conservative turnout as a result of your bombastic and theatrical political performances there, and will go for McCain. If you can’t win either, you can’t win in AZ. To that end, I encourage RSers to donate to the cash-starved AZ House races (AZ-01, AZ-05, AZ-08), which all have good conservative candidates running, and in which their money will have impact. Again, thanks for posting, but no thanks.

I have yet to meet a conservative recruited from the grass roots conservative Tea Party/9.12/WeSurroundThem/Second Amendment/Anti-Shamnesty/etc. groups into the Arizona Republican Party precinct committeemen ranks who will vote for John McCain in the primary.

Not only will they not vote for McCain in the primary, many have said they will not vote for McCain in the general election. They are steamed.

And they are thrilled that J.D. will be running against McCain.

Thank you.
ColdWarrior
No More Scozzafavas!

I have read your entire piece. Some of your points are well taken, others are not. I have heard you on the radio. As a registered voter in the State of Arizona, and after due consideration, I will be voting in the primary for Senator John McCain.

I think it takes courage to run and I hope you keep things respectful and on the issues instead of personalities. Pat Toomey went against the party to challenge Specter and finally forced him to show his colors while keeping his basic happy warrior attitude. Toomey has done PA a great service and whatever the outcome I hope AZ +US are better off for your efforts.

John McCain has had a very good innings as they say in the game of cricket. As JD mentions, he is on the wrong side on most of the issues with his constituents. Global Warming, GTMO, Taxes, McCain Feingold and Free speech. In my opinion JD will be a better representative and Senator form Arizona.

This is a worthwhile effort.
The reactions above vary based on whether one is a conservative or an establishment Republican.
Wishing you success against the establishment!

Hi JD - I’m in Phoenix frequently on business and always make it a point to listen to your afternoon radio show. You’ve an uphill battle against McCain, but I wish you well. No better time to challenge an incumbent from either party.

The John McCain of 2000 was considerably more liberal than the John McCain of 2008 — and more liberal still than the John McCain of 2010.

It makes no sense, intellectually, to challenge him now.

But if you think the tea-party tide will be strong enough this year, more power to you, I guess.

When JD was part of congress, he was the reason that it started to sink, and the reason? His values and spending – regret it all you want. Look at the facts. McCain has yet to be known for standing up for anything he doesn’t believe in fully. Which is pretty much why over seventy percent of the primary gop voters supported mccain – a man who stands by his TRUE conservative values.

Cold Warrior is dead on about the PC’s going against McCain. At the Pinal GOP meeting McCain got 2, just 2, signatures on his petition to qualify for the primary. At a training session last Saturday with ~20 Pinal PC’s none were supporting McCain. They were split between Jim Deakin and JD. McCain has pissed off the party’s grassroots, the PC’s that do GOTV, that do the door knocking, the phone calls, the recommendations to their neighbors on who to vote for. McCain is going to have to spend money like a drunken fool to offset the grassroots that will be working against him and grassroots beats money. Ask Hillary how she did in caucus primaries against Obama where his grassroots did GOTV for him. Off year primaries are low turnout, party core elections where turnout is king. That is the party’s conservative base and McCain is on their crap list.

Everyone is focusing on JD. There is only one person who has qualified for the primary and that is Jim Deakin. Jim is a rock solid conservative small businessman and has long ties to the Tea Party movement. So don’t focus on JD as the only conservative option.

McCain is petrified. He knows that the party base is had it with his 6 months of running as a conservative and 5-1/2 years of legislating as a RINO. If McCain felt safe he would not have:

1 – Tried to take control of the AZ GOP’s 2010 election funding with his ill fated “Victory Arizona Plan” that was voted down.
2 – Used shills, such as Yuma GOP Chairman Phil Townsend, to make false accusations of FEC filing and accounting irregularities against AZ GOP chairman Randy Pullen and Treasurer Tim Lee to try and take control of the state party.
3 - Started a massive ad campaign against an undeclared candidate.

Is JD the one to take McCain out? Unknown. Is McCain is serious trouble? Up to his neck and sinking fast.

Mr. Hayworth,

Maybe you’ve heard of a publication called the Wall Street Journal. It lays out a pretty bad picture of you as the sort of big spending Republican that got Republicans thrown out of office.

“The outspoken former congressman may have talked a good game when he was in the House. But when it came to federal spending he — more than Mr. McCain — was an “enabler” of questionable budget items. It was Mr. Hayworth, not Mr. McCain, who voted for a 2003 prescription drug benefit that added enormously to the nation’s future liabilities. It was Mr. Hayworth who voted for bloated farm and highway bills, while Mr. McCain opposed them. It was Mr. Hayworth who was a consistent seeker and supporter of pork-barrel Congressional earmarks. Mr. McCain, on the other hand, never requested earmarks in appropriations bills and often led a crusade against those he felt were improperly slipped into bills.”

So here’s the thing, you claim to be a conservative, yet your record as one of the “Spending like Drunken Sailors” Republican is not a good one. Why should people beleive you’ve seen the light on spending now based on your very recent record on spending?

by responding with 5’s to a comment of mine? lol….

This has nothing to do with McCain PERSONALLY either… It is all about the opportunity to demonstrate (to other Conservatives outside the party we keep asking to come inside the party and help us keep the Party “Conservative”) we recognize that people who claim “see, look, no difference in the Parties” while they are pointing at John McCain… and it is all about NOT having him around, in any way, shape, or form, to be part of the Leadership (even if it is only as an “elder-statesmen” because even if he were denied “official” Party Leadership, the MSM would be following him around still touting him as the GOP Leadership)… Removing him helps us to have better leverage over other RINOs we will need to keep around in order to have the Majority count numbers. Do others really not believe that the other folks in the GOP we often complain about out of frustration and would “prefer to have someone more Conservative” in that post (recognizing, their State may not afford/allow it) will be more open to our influence rather than; being emboldened, encouraged, cover provided for; by the Lead/Chief Maverick for them to continue to cross over and be MAVERICK/BI-PARTISAN as he?!?!

McCain stands as the glowing example, mostly (not entirely, he is certainly right on some issues, but it is again the PERCEPTION if nothing else) of the wrong-headed-ness and direction of the GOP that we are eliminating. NOT McCain on a PERSONAL level…. It has been, and will always remain, about the strategy moving forward to/for the best interest of the Country and Party - long term, not just the most immediate need (as I and others have been trying to discuss)!!! And we’lll have some differences of opinions over that along the way, no need for them to go to the Personal level. As, again, it is NOT Personal against McCain, it is all the question about not letting him hang around longer to continue to dissapoint us and feed those other anti-Republican and/or anti-Conservative rhetoric/narratives (especially, MSM spin of them).

TEApeaters need to join with us and the importance of the Precinct (Committee members) Project - actually fighting for Conservatism, rather than just talking about it and them working to get the GOP more Conservative rather than set the entire country up for another (SOME TEApeaters, 3rd Party mistake - alot of TEApeaters fail to recognize (prepare to repeat) History…) FAILure that gets more Democrats/Liberals/Progressives elected. Had some of them joined us over the last few years, who knows, we may have been able to avoid the DoDo … er… DeDe/Hoffman… fiasco.

Make McCain spend his money elsewhere other than getting to go around the country making mini-mes. We already are stuck with one RINO in Mass, probably another one in Kirk in IL. The only thing worse than McCain is his minions of younger McCains carrying out his mission o fundermining the conservative movement after he retires to be replaced by Meghan ::pauses to vomit::. Look, I get what you are saying, and I understand don’t throw good money after bad. But this is like making the Democrats spend money in their own turf-the more money McCain spends to defend himself, the less money he uses going around the country for the Fiornas, and more importantly, for the Charlie Crists of the world. Because you know he’ll throw all his weight behind keeping our conservative shining star out of the Senate and his RINOs in power. NO point in having a majority with no huevos.

but my feeble mind kept losing it.

Thank you.
ColdWarrior
No More Scozzafavas!

This guy was tortured and denied medical care in way that has affected him every day since. I just got back from Iraq 4 months ago. I had a good buddy over there with me. One time we happened to talk about what we would do if our position ever happened to be (unlikely) overrun. We both said we would save a last round/grenade for ourselves rather than be tortured to death on video by the Taliban. So, I am not for reading them their rights but seriously has anyone in here ever been subjected to what they even allow like having your arms wrenched up behind you? It sucks. We need to kill those we can but treat those we catch as well as we treat child murderers here in the states ok? The solution is that we should take fewer prisoners, just like the British general in WW2 who told his troops he didn’t “want to see any SS prisoners”. We in the U.S. need to go the pharmacological route rather than the 12th century. It’s been 50 years since sodium pentothal I am sure we can do better.