Senator John McCain Attacks Republican Opponent in Senate Race for Being Extremist

"I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice! And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue!"
-- U.S. Senator Barry Goldwater, Acceptance Speech at the 1964 Republican Presidential Convention

U.S. Senator John McCain of Arizona, who is locked in a tough reelection campaign due to a stiff challenge from former U.S. Congressman J.D. Hayworth, attacked his opponent for not repudiating Americans for Legal Immigration (ALIPAC) head Willian Gheen, whom McCain has castigated as an extremist. McCain is incensed that Gheen has attacked his good friend, fellow U.S. Senator U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), over Graham's support for a moderate, bipartisan approach to immigration reform.

Once himself a proponent of a an immigration policy that would provide amnesty for illegal aliens, the 2008 Republican Presidential candidate has had to tack starboard on the subject in the 2010 race for the Republican Senate nomination. Anti-illegal immigration sentiment is intense in the Grand Canyon State and led to the passage of the controversial "Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act."

No Barney Frank

ALIPAC leader William Gheen charged that Lindsey Graham's immigration policies were a direct result of his being a closeted homosexual and thus open to blackmail from Democrats. Speaking at a Tea Party rally in Greenville, South Carolina in April 2010, Gheen told the crowd that homosexuality is "a secret that Lindsey Graham has."

He went on to say, "I hope this secret isn't being used as leverage over Senator Graham, so today I think Senator Graham, you need to come forward and tell people about your alternative lifestyle and your homosexuality."

In a further kick-in-the-pants to South Carolina's senior senator, he compared him unfavorably to gay Congressman Barney Frank of Massachusetts, a bug-a-boo of conservatives and bigots (and a damn Yankee to boot!).

"Barney Frank is more honest and brave than you," Gheen said.

Gheen and ALIPAC then issued a press release reiterating their charges that the allegedly closeted homosexual Senator was a victim of political blackmail.

Lindsey Graham had repeatedly denied he is gay, most recently in a New York Times profile.

Illegal Immigration

John McCain is a conservative Republican who proved himself a maverick in his 27 years in Congress as he wasn't afraid to work across the aisle with Democrats. He was first elected to the Senate in 1986, inheriting the seat of conservative warhorse Barry Goldwater, the 1964 GOP Presidential candidate and then-doyenne of the conservative movement.

One of those issues in which he crossed the aisle was on creating an amnesty program for illegal immigrants now in the United States that would open up a pathway towards citizenship. It is a policy originally proposed by former President George W. Bush, a darling of conservatives and even reactionaries. However, compassion for illegals is unpopular now in Arizona and it may endanger McCain's political future.

J.D. Hayworth in Congress opposed Bush 43's proposed temporary worker program for illegal aliens and was a proponent of a crackdown on illegal immigrants. At the time, he charged that Bush was too close to agribusiness and thus supported amnesty for illegals to keep agribusiness supplied with cheap labor from Mexico and other Latin American countries.

Hayworth and Joseph J. Eule, his Congressional chief of staff, wrote a book about illegal immigration in which they claimed that the 14th Amendment to the Constitution did not convey citizenship onto the children of illegal immigrants, a dubious position legally. The book, Whatever It Takes: Illegal Immigration, Border Security, and the War on Terror, was printed in 2006 by the right-wing press Regnery Publishing.

Tight Race

According to the Rasmussen Reports polling, in the race for the Arizona Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate, McCain has "boosted" his lead over J.D. Hayworth from 47% to 42% in mid-April to 47% to 36% in late June, with Tea Party activist Jim Deakin coming in at 7%. In January, McCain had been leading by Hayworth by a margin of 53% to 36% before Arizona's anti-illegal immigrant bill was signed into law. He is now below 50% and remains vulnerable. This is his fourth re-election campaign for the U.S. Senate.

After Gheen's egregious attack on Lindsey Graham, McCain went on the attack. His office issued a statement denouncing J.D. Hayworth.

"It's unfortunate that Congressman Hayworth's fetish with the extreme fringe continues," the statement read . "Is Congressman Hayworth really so desperate to show any support for his candidacy that he would continue to embrace the support of a group that's been linked to white supremacists, neo-Nazis and anti-Semites - even after his spokesman 'strongly repudiated' ALIPAC's President?"

The statement went on to say, "From his close embrace of Mr. Gheen and ALIPAC, to peddling conspiracy theories about the President's birth certificate and man-horse marriage, Congressman Hayworth has made clear that he feels most comfortable on the extreme fringe."

"The Consistent Conservative"

J.D. Hayworth bills himself as "The Consistent Conservative" on his campaign site. The Web site features a slug line declaring, "McCain's lack of respect for conservatives illustrates why we need J.D. Hayworth in U.S. Senate."

The 52-year-old Hayworth, who represented Arizona's Fifth and Sixth Congressional Districts from 1995 through 2007, was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1994. That was the year of the "Contract with America" conservative Republican victory engineered by Newt Gingrich. In that election, the dyed-in-the-wool conservative Hayworth beat incumbent Democratic Congressman Karan English in the 6th Congressional District.

Redistricting put him in the 5th for 2002. The 5th district is north-west of Phoenix and includes many Phoenix suburbanites and Scottsdale. These voters were not as sympathetic to Hayworth's brand of hard-right conservatism. In 2008, John McCain barely beat Barack Obama in the 5th, racking up 52% of the vote to Obama's 47%.

Hayworth himself lost his bid for reelection in 2006 to now-incumbent Harry Mitchell, who was re-elected in 2008. Hayworth chose not to run in that contest. He had lost momentum when he originally had decided to run for governor against incumbent Janet Napolitano, a Democrat who has a more compassionate stance in immigration. He deiced not to take on the popular governor, who was relected. He turned his focus on getting reelected to the House, but some prominent Republicans had endorsed Mitchell in his absence.

Janet Napolitano is now President Barack Obama's Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, and as such, is responsible for enforcing immigration laws. Her successor as governor, the Republican Jan Brewer, signed Arizona's tough anti-illegal immigration act into law. The Grand Canyon State is now being sued over the law by the U.S. Justice Department.

A former TV broadcaster before winning elective office, Hayworth had hosted a conservative radio talk show before quitting station KFYI-Phoenix to take on John McCain in what was then seen as a quixotic effort to unseat the long-time incumbent. However, the race became volatile when the issue of a crackdown on illegal immigrants heated up, putting John McCain on the wrong side of the fence.

Sources:

ABC News, McCain Jabs Hayworth Over Ties to Gay Baiting ALIPAC Group

Huffington Post, Lindsey Graham Gay? Conservative Group ALIPAC Demands Senator 'Admit Homosexuality'

New York Magazine, Senator Lindsey Graham Ain't Gay

Rasmussen Reports,Election 2010: Arizona Republican Primary for Senate;Arizona GOP Primary for Senate: McCain 47%, Hayworth 36%, Deakin 7%

Salon.com, Right-wing group calls Lindsey Graham gay again