Hayworth: On second thought, sorry about those “free money” ads
posted at 10:12 am on June 25, 2010 by Ed Morrissey
Old and busted: “Caveat emptor.” New hotness: “I regret my association with this firm.” Perhaps J. D. Hayworth can be forgiven in thinking that his Mathew Lesko turn, sans freaky suit, would be a minor tempest in a teapot for a run at John McCain’s Senate seat from the right, but this is the wrong election for the idea that a conservative would celebrate — and profit from — massive amounts of federal government grants:
Reeling from a storm of national criticism, U.S. Senate challenger J.D. Hayworth on Thursday issued a written apology for his involvement in a 2007 infomercial promoting “free” government grant seminars that consumer advocates have slammed as a rip-off.
The apology came days after the GOP candidate’s initial response to the furor, which was that the infomercial simply was a broadcasting job and that viewers should have taken a “buyer beware” approach to its claims. …
“I believed . . . this to be a reputable firm, but I did not completely check out the organization,” said Hayworth, a former six-term congressman and radio talk-show host running against Sen. John McCain in the Aug. 24 primary.
“As a former broadcaster, I would often make ads for clients, but I regret my association with this firm.”
On Monday, the day the infomercial became an issue in the Senate race, Hayworth did not sound so repentant.
“I always say about any product or service, one of the staples I learned growing up is ‘caveat emptor’ – ‘buyer beware,’ ” Hayworth said in a webcast titled “Round Table Politics.”
The problem for Hayworth is twofold, which he seems to have belatedly realized. First is the idea of promoting “free money” in an era where that concept has entirely died, thanks to massive budget deficits and economic hardship. That certainly doesn’t sound conservative, which makes Hayworth look like someone willing to sell out his principles for a quick buck.
The second is related to that point, as Hayworth fronted for a firm that defrauded its customers and couldn’t even bother to apologize for using the trust he had built with Arizonans to unwittingly help them do it. No one can make TV commercials plugging the virtues of a firm and entirely escape scrutiny if the company is exposed as a fraud, even when they’re not running for public office. Celebrities have been sued for that in the past. Issuing a “caveat emptor” sounds a lot like “Let them eat cake” in that context.
A new poll out from Magellan, via RCP, suggests that Hayworth may have apologized a little too late. In an automated survey of over 1100 likely Republican primary voters, John McCain leads Hayworth by 23 points, 52/29. Seniors represent almost half of the voters in the primary, and McCain has a 32-point advantage among that demo. Hayworth does best with men between 18-54, but even there he trails by 3. McCain’s favorables are 60/37 for a +23; Hayworth has a 38/50 for a -12.
This poll could be an outlier; Rasmussen’s poll prior to the “free money” issue had McCain up by eleven points, not 23. This poll was taken the day after the scandal broke, too, and prior to this apology and after Hayward’s caveat emptor remark. It is, however, an unusually large sample by a well-established polling firm. It indicates that Hayworth may have waited too long to show remorse over his connection to National Grants Conferences.
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It always troubled me about his first wife, but ya know, here’s a guy that spent years being tortured at the hands of those lovely Vietnamese hosts of his at the Hanoi Hilton.
No way that didn’t effect him, especially when he first got home. You know it was tough on absolutely everyone involved, but man, you gotta give him a pass. I don’t think I would have been worth killing had I endured what John did.
On the other hand, he’s got a good family now, and things seem to be cool. It is what it is.
gary4205 on June 25, 2010 at 7:45 PM
John McCain is vastly the superior candidate. Sarah Palin, Scott Brown and all the Arizona officials elected to national office do very much know what they are doing in supporting John McCain.
Worried about the deficit spending we are doing and the national debt we are racking up? You should be. John McCain, throughout his career, has been a fiscal conservative who has gotten into heated argument over his opposition to earmarked and out of control federal spending. McCain voted against Obama’s deficit spending budgets, denouncing them as “generational theft,” a phrase picked up by Sean Hannity. John McCain also voted against all the Obama bailout bills. J.D. can’t compare on this critical subject; he had his pork barrel spending moments in the Congress.
Worried about ObamaCare and socialized medicine? You should be. John McCain had the most free market approach to health care in 2008 of all the candidates and had always been adamantly opposed to national health care. The GOP National Platform in 2008 was excellent on health care because it adopted the McCain platform on the subject. McCain has strenuously opposed ObamaCare and was accused by the New York Times of throwing bombs on the subject. J.D. can’t compare on this critical subject.
Worried about bailouts? You should be. McCain voted AGAINST every Obama bailout bill and even voted against the second release of TARP monies when Bush was still President in late 2008. J.D. was on the sidelines on these issues because he lost his last race for Congress to a Democrat in an overwhelmingly Republican congressional district that should have been a safe seat even in bad year for the GOP.
Worried about the kind of people in the Obama Administration and nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court? You should be. McCain voted AGAINST the confirmations of tax cheat Geithner, radical pro-abortion advocate Sibellius, leftist attorney Kagan and transnational advocate Koh to their respective positions in the Obama Administration. McCain voted AGAINST the confirmation of Sotomayer to the U.S. Supreme Court. Again, J.D. was on the sidelines on these issues because he lost his last race for Congress.
Worried about foreign policy, military matters and national security because of Obama’s appeasement mentality, lack of experience and naivete? You should be. Few people have the experience and knowledge concerning foreign policy, military matters and national security that John McCain has. He was right about the Iraq War when even many Republicans went wobbly and fought off Democrat led efforts to cut off funding our troops in the field in Iraq. McCain was right to attack Obama for dithering about committing to General McChrystal’s plan for Afghanistan and for not supporting the Iranian dissidents. McCain could be right because he knows his stuff when it comes to Commander in Chief decisions. J.D. can’t compare on this critical subject.
Worried about the lack of real patriotism and the kind of example being set by people in the Obama Administration? You should be. McCain was a combat naval aviator during the Vietnam War who braved one of the toughest air defenses in history over North Vietnam and served as a P.O.W. for over 5 years in a North Vietnamese prison where he was subjected to real torture. He is the grandson of the Admiral McCain who was Bull Halsey’s right hand man during World War II and the son of the Admiral McCain who was CincPac during the Vietnam War when John McCain, the combat aviator, was a P.O.W. in North Vietnam. John McCain’s 2008 campaign theme of “Country First” reflected a family tradition of military service that has continued with one son who is a Marine who has served several tours of duty in Iraq and another son who is a Naval Academy graduate and serves in the Navy. John McCain’s discussion of serving with a servant’s heart was and is genuine. J.D. can’t compare on this critical subject. No one really can.
Phil Byler on June 25, 2010 at 8:20 PM
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