John McCain cruises to victory in Ariz. primary

[mike r]

Source: USA Today

Sen. John McCain slid to an easy victory over former congressman J.D. Hayworth in Arizona's Republican Senate primary election, overcoming early predictions that Hayworth represented the biggest threat to his reelection in years.

McCain, who has served in the Senate since 1987 and who was the 2008 GOP presidential nominee, seemed vulnerable early on as a handful of longtime incumbents, including Utah Republican Sen. Robert Bennett, were tossed out of office. Hayworth, a former conservative radio host and six-term congressman, tried to tap into that anti-incumbent angst and questioned McCain's conservative credentials.

But McCain fought back – hard. The one-time "maverick" moved to the right on political touchy subjects such as immigration and gays in the military. He spent more than $21 million on the race and launched a particularly damaging series of ads that showed Hayworth hawking "free" federal grants in a 2007 infomercial.

USA TODAY's 2010 election map shows the race as "solid Republican," which means the big question for McCain at this point is how he will position himself for a fifth term – as a maverick who is willing to cross party lines or as a stalwart conservative and critic of his former rival, President Obama.

Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/communities/onpolitics/Index

[Marie Marie]

1. Going back to Maverick in 3 -2-1...

[NC_Nurse]

2. I doubt he was ever seriously at risk of losing. The MSM is so full of shit.

Trying to up their ratings with all the horse race bullshit. This anti- incumbent mood they've been harping on is not as big a deal as they said it would be.

[xultar]

3. They needed a horse race $$$$$$$

[Downwinder]

5. Well they got the tail end of a horse.

[Jefferson23]

4. I was so hoping he would lose. n/t

[Bobbieo]

8. If he lost, I don't think you quite understand who would be taking his place..

Believe me, and I'm an Arizonan, McCain is the lesser of two evils!!!

[Downwinder]

9. Now Foghorn can go make ads for Roni Deutch. n/t

[Jefferson23]

25. I understand very well who would take his place. The MSM

has given McCain a pass for so many issues and they will continue to let him walk out of this one too unscathed. That he embraced Palin
to win this is just one disgusting display of their approach to covering McCain. Now that he has won the primary I don't expect him to be anything less than what he is a complete hypocrite.

That you imagine he will be the lesser of two evils, I respectfully disagree..what holds him back now? He will move forward with less
obnoxious rhetoric if he wins, but just watch him during these final months to come against the Democrat.

If Hayworth had won, the press has no love affair with the man, they would slaughter him as they love a good salacious story. This puts
Hayworths crazy bullshit at the forefront, which would only help the Democrat.

I do not hold your confidence that McCain is the lesser of two evils, since running for president his thirst for power is insatiable
and he has proven to have lost all principles as well.

[SargeUNN]

29. No you don't understand

You have to be aware of who J.D. Hayworth is and what he stands for. He is a favorite with the Neo-Nazi and White Supremist, an Arpaio pal and one of the biggest crooks you could ask for. Meanwhile the Republican Party in Arizona has been taken over by the extreme side of the party which includes Arpaio. Arpaio won a major victory last night when a candidate who depended on Arpaio to get him votes defeated Rick Romley who has been a stopper in the past of many of Arpaio's heavy handed methods, yet even with so many now knowing Arpaio is a crook they still turned out for him. So if you think Hayworth is a better choice you couldn't be any more wrong if you tried in a state that is controlled by the extremist and a weak Democratic Party.

[Jefferson23]

31. I do understand who Hayworth is, and what he stands for. What

I don't agree with is how Arizona plans to be rid of this influence in their Senators. If you think McCain is going to revert
back to some form of normalcy, I believe you'll be disappointed. If Hayworth won he would not have the protection of the MSM as
McCain has and will continue to have now that he has won the primary. McCain's reputation gives him more credibility while he
defends the same racist bullshit that Hayworth passes as governoring in your state..the thin veil needs to be taken off.

[SargeUNN]

32. well

I live here and have for a few years so think what you want but remember we who live here are more aware of what goes on in this state because we have to deal with it daily.

[Jefferson23]

33. I haven't questioned what goes on in your state, I question the means

that could have rid Arizona of another Republican in the Senate.

[hfojvt]

6. what is it that journalists have against numbers

you know "with 77% of the precincts counted, McCain is leading by 48,722 to 18,494" or numbers to that effect, whatever they are.

[seattleblue]

7. Right now there is 20% of the vote counted.

McCain is leading 205,000 with Hayworth 104,000. http://www.azcentral.com/elections/

[hfojvt]

10. thank you

but there are still 1.2 million votes to be counted. Dang that is a lot of votes. To think our Senate candidate in Kansas got about 24,000 votes for her victory. Is Democratic turnout much lower in every state or just the red ones?

[lunasun]

11. Does anyone really care about this old ass or the creepy state he represents????

[Echotrail]

14. Yeah, Lonestarnot is from Arizona!

There has to be others.

[newspeak]

26. ahh, for the good old days

when the john birch society was thought of as nutty extremists believing in a commie behind every tree and Carl Hayden, democrat was Senator.

[PavePusher]

34. Way to go, broadbrushing the entire state like that.

Bigotry is classy, ain't it.

[onehandle]

12. John McCain. Firmly cemented into the history books as a fake.

Thank you for your service to the country, but you are still a two... three... four... multi-faced fake.

You and your media creation, the grifter.

[Echotrail]

13. I'd hardly call it a "cruise" since he had to spend $21 million on a primary!

That's a pretty expensive primary for an old timer.

[rpannier]

15. You mean the Tea Party candidate didn't win???

Another used up and discarded bag

[Divine Discontent]

19. McCain's got some power in DC, that's hard to give up for any state. Plus, he did his best to sound

as bigoted as he could the past few months.

[rpannier]

20. Yes, that is true

But we were assured by the media that the Tea Baggers were all fired up and that they had fallen behind candidates like Hayworth and so McCain would be in trouble.
I guess the definition of trouble is, Landslide Victory

[Divine Discontent]

22. it is interesting his opp. didn't do better w/all that teabag support, perhaps, unlike

other states where the teabagger's have won a few races, this was the GOP's presidential candidate just a while back, so I'm sure lots of GOPers have a sense of keeping him in b/c of the cruel way Obama thumped on him. lol.

[laconicsax]

16. I never thought I'd view a McCain win as a good thing.

I guess my loathing of Hayworth is that much more than my loathing of McCain.

[rpannier]

17. Mc Cains is better than

9/11 Ghouliani
Hayworth
Palin and
Salmonella

[wisteria]

18. He sold himself out to win. n/t

[palotin]

21. No Surprise

McCain has countless millions to pump into it and Hayworth was (and is) a congenital idiot. Not that the Tea Baggers aren't in general. But Hayworth looks like a complete buffoon.

[pampango]

23. J.D. Hayworth Election Night Fiesta Turns to I-Hate-John-McCain-Apalooza as J.D. Concedes

http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/valleyfever/2010/08/jd_hayworth_election_night_fie.php



The ballroom was suspiciously quiet for supporters of a guy who claimed he was about to pull out the biggest political upset in history. There were only about 80 people hovering around bar tables covered in Hayworth campaign buttons. The music was turned down low if there was any playing at all.

A little after 9 p.m., the mug of the man Hayworth supporters loath, McCain, was being broadcast on two large screens at either end of the room. As McCain took to the mic to give his victory speech the room turned sour. "No way!" a woman shrieked before a "rhino" chant -- followed promptly by a "liar" chant -- took shape. The woman next to us called McCain a "loser," a "mafioso," and a "disgrace," all in one breath.

An older woman noticed our camera and asked what news outlet we were with. We told her New Times and were instantly taught an impromptu lesson in journalism 101. "You guys hate Joe Arpaio," she scolded. She went on to chastise us over how we covered the race and told us even though Hayworth lost she wouldn't be voting for McCain in the general election.

The anti-McCain sentiment didn't end there. Everyone we asked -- all, we assume, were uber-conservatives -- said they wouldn't vote for McCain in November.
------------------------------------------------
Five Lamest Campaign Ads of Arizona's 2010 Primary

http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/valleyfever/2010/08/five_lamest_campaign_ads_of_th.php

We would argue that all political ads are awful but this primary season has been exceptional in the degree to which the ads completely sucked.

1) The Danged Fence:

First of all, McCain is walking along the border with the sheriff of a county that doesn't even border Mexico. That aside, McCain says "danged" -- a word that should only be used by hillbillies and preachers. And then there's the cheese-tastic conclusion: "Senator, you're one of us." Get a room, you two.

2) Barack Obama is the Worst President in History:

Say what you want about Barack Obama but if it weren't for McCain's "danged" fence, this would be the worst campaign ad in history. It doesn't even make sense -- it's just random statements thrown together as Quayle practices his best tough-guy face.

3) Pam Gorman's Sarah Palin Impression:

Leave it to Pam Gorman to use an ad that looks like it was shot in 1976 to make Arizonans look like gun-toting, hillbilly maniacs. We get it -- she wants to be Arizona's version of the take-no-prisoners, kinda-sorta-hot, Republican bitch made famous by Sarah Palin. As (ahem) charming as that can be, we're over it.

5) Joe Arpaio's 2010 Re-election Ad:

The ad itself isn't lame, it's more the idea: a public official using his position to go after his political opponents under the guise of a campaign ad for an election that's two years away. Uber-lame (and possibly criminal).

[felinetta]

24. Screw you McCain. I despised Hayworth, but McCain is demonic. That

opportunist tried to get Palin as VP. You're a bully and a
punk. You were born bitter and remain so.
And you get to go back to your cushie gov't job. You big ugly
phony.

[newspeak]

27. well, actually he doesn't yet.

He still has to face a democratic contender.

[ProudDad]

28. Unfortunately, the Democrat who won

is basically a born-rich empty suit...

Born on third base and thinks he hit a triple...

ANY of the other three Dems would have been better than Rodney (some of us here call him Jethro -- a statement about his "intellectual gifts")...

If Glassman got to Washington (now a hugely dim possibility -- I don't think even his rich family can match mcshame's fund raising juggernaut), he'd just sit on the Ag. Committee and shovel more pork at his family in Fresno.

Around here, when he was on the City Council (a couple of months ago) he was well known as a back-stabber, kiss up - kick down sort who triangulated like crazy. Worst of the lot!

As usual, money triumphs over good candidates in the Dem primary too.

--------------------------

"One thing is clear about Glassman, he’s not like any other Democrat I know.

"I heard about his pro-business stance, his work with Republican developers, his sole vote to try to kill Access Tucson, and more. Some of my female friends would tell me about how aggressively Rodney would hit on them and how he doesn’t like hearing “no.”

"Some of his past classmates would tell me about the things he would do in class that were inappropriate, and the things he would say. I have already documented some of his homophobic and sexist remarks.

"There are a whole bunch of other stupid things that he said. But I didn’t have time to verify them all, and I’m already being accused of lying on the things I have published.

"But there’s one thing that really got to me.

"Keep in mind that I left the Glassman campaign behind when SB1070 was passed, and Glassman refused to stand up strong against it. I wondered why on earth would he be so weak on such a divisive issue?

"My readers should already know how outspoken I am on SB1070 and HB2281 and every other injustice taking place. Then I met someone that worked on Glassman-Britz farms. I was surprised to find out that Rodney Glassman made his millions of dollars off the backs of migrant laborers making poverty wages. I was surprised to find out that Glassman was a Fresno grape farmer and pesticide producer.

"This was exactly what Cesar Chavez fasted against.

"Pesticides being sprayed on farmworkers… Chavez fasted 36 days against this. Guess who made the pesticides, and guess who is a Fresno grape farmer?

"Now it became personal for me. Now I knew someone directly affected by the Glassman-Britz agribusiness and petrochemical operations."

http://tucsoncitizen.com/three-sonorans/2010/08/17/the-glassman-conspiracy-three-sonorans-final-post-on-rodney/

[xxqqqzme]

30. He should have retired while he had some dignity left -

very little I know. Now we all get to watch senility take over his feeble brain. I think he is picking up speed on that down hill drive.

[Vidar]

35. He's a hypocritical ass, but still better than the alternative.

[asksam]

36. Once Again AZ is willing to elect a confessed war criminal...

... who, with no shame, publicly admitted on 60 Minutes that he was a war criminal who bombed innocent women and children.

I don't know what's more pathetic... that the people of AZ vote him into office or that the ReThugs are willing to have such a person in their party.

[TEXASYANKEE]

37. Wait a minute ...

What happened to Anti-Incumbent Fervor???