Matters Of Opinion

Hayworth or McCain? An Analysis

JD Hayworth, the conservative talk show host and political television talking head, is running against John McCain in the Republican primary in Arizona, as most of you know.

Hayworth was in the House of Representatives for a time and served on the Ways and Means committee,  and was instremental in the Bush tax cuts. He’s undoubtedly an earnest believer in conservative principles, and at times I think one could say an ideologue.

Currrentley, he is far behind in the polls, partly, I think, because of McCain’s over all popularity with Republicans and moderates alike, the fact that McCain was the past presidential contender for the R’s, and because McCain has been there so long and has worked hard in the Senate.

Whatever ones opinion about McCain (and I have had several pieces that have been critical of him, and several that have been very kind to him), he has served his country dilligently for decades. He has literally given up the proper use of his body for this country, and does, I believe, truly work across the aisle to craft (what he thinks to be, at least) good, bipartisan legislation. I admire McCain, and after recently reading his book about his grandfathers, fathers, and his own Navy career, including his capture and torture, I respect him even more. Sure, there have been bills that he has crafted that I have not been a fan of, a good number of them, actually, but at the end of the day, he does what he thinks is best for the country and isn’t afraid to challenge the party when he thinks it needs challenged.

So, which is it? Hayworth or McCain?

Not only because I think McCain WILL win, but also because I think he deserves to, I choose McCain. Do I think that Hayworth will probably craft and sign on to more conservative legislation than McCain? Yes. I think that Hayworth can and should be in Congress, just not in McCain’s seat, at least not yet. There is going to be a huge uptick of Republican representatives in the House, and the way that the trends are going, as far as those winning the primaries, most of them will be very conservative/libertarian leaning R’s. While that’s good, there IS a need for some moderate voices to keep them from over working the good footing that they will have. It’s pointless to take the House and maybe the Senate, cram through the most extremely conservative legislation that is possible, and then lose the House in two years time, having everything turned back. After all, that’s one of the biggest follies of the Democrats this year. They are trying to push through as much as possible, and have pissed off a lot of I’s and moderates in the process. That’s why we aren’t seeing a lot more extreme liberal legislation: I have no doubt in my mind that liberal leadership is having everyone slow it down a few notches to help stave off casualties.

There is a place for moderates in the party, and while McCain may sometimes be moderate almost to a fault, what better moderate than a war hero who was the last presidential contender to help rope in the further right aspects of the party? Think big picture here. It does us no good to be extreme and get all we’ve ever wanted legislation-wise only to have it blow up in our faces and lose us seats. That’s a major reason I consider myself a conservative anyways. I don’t believe that major, sweeping reforms are always necessary, going either way, and that it’s best to move slow, see what works and what doesn’t, and proceed with caution. After all, the tortoise beats the hare, right? Shouldn’t an elephant move slower than the jackass?