http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0410/35409.htmlFormer Rep. J.D. Hayworth (R-Ariz.) told POLITICO on Monday that Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is trying to “encourage amnesia” by claiming that he never considered himself to be a “maverick.”
Hayworth was responding to a quote in a Newsweek story in which McCain — who embraced the “maverick” label during his presidential run — said: “I never considered myself a maverick. ... I consider myself a person who serves the people of Arizona to the best of his abilities.”
In a telephone interview with POLITICO, Hayworth said that the four-term senator whom he is challenging in the Republican primary is “developing some instant revisionism.”
“It’s a word that has been expunged from his vocabulary,” Hayworth said. “If memory serves, his campaign plane was called ‘Maverick One,’ and, as I understand it, in national campaigns they spend a lot of time on that stuff.”
“If you’re scoring at home, how many reversals is this?” Hayworth added, running through what he sees as a litany of McCain position changes. “He’s moving away from legislative reversals into branding reversals. It’s the new John McCain, nonmaverick edition, for the Arizona Senate election.”
The former congressman — who lost his seat in 2006 to Democrat Harry Mitchell amid questions about his ties to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff — said that McCain is motivated to shed the maverick label because “he knows we’re gaining ground.”
“You’re seeing a lot of scrambling and a lot of position reversals and panicked and shrill attacks against me,” Hayworth said. “To the extent that he can encourage amnesia in the electorate, that’s what he’s aiming to do.”
Hayworth also took issue with a quote in the article from former GOP state Attorney General Grant Woods — a McCain supporter — who said of Hayworth, “Someone needs to drive a wooden stake through this guy’s heart.”
“This cavalier death threat that he issued is over the top,” Hayworth said.
“If Grant Woods had a shred of decency he would apologize for what amounts to a death threat,” he said. “For Mr. Woods to issue a death threat in a national magazine like Newsweek is way beyond the pale.”
Asked about the news Monday that McCain received the endorsement of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Hayworth said, “It doesn’t come as a surprise.”
Chamber President "Tom [Donohue] and the gang over there threw in their support to open borders a long time ago. That’s just what you see from the national establishment in Washington,” he said.
“John’s gonna have the Washington establishment; he’s the incumbent,” Hayworth added. “I’ll let him keep the Washington establishment.”
In response, McCain campaign spokesman Brian Rogers said: “It sounds like Mr. Hayworth is off his meds. His flailing attacks reflect the panic that’s taken over at Hayworth HQ."
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Topic: Hayworth ribs 'nonmaverick' McCain (Read 979 times)