Hayworth v. McCain. Tea Party vs. Establishment. Palin vs. Palin.

I admit I like John McCain. I voted for McCain in the GA primary and for president.

He's a naval officer and a true American hero.  An honorable man who has been mostly conservative in his years in Washington.  He's been a tireless advocate against government waste and corruption in Washington.

But...he's been too willing to roll over and play nice with liberals, and his McCain-Feingold legislation was largely unconstitutional and simply an incumbent protection program.  It knee-capped freedom of speech, and should have been overturned long before specific provisions were ruled unconstitutional this year.

Furthermore, he fell into the Anthropogenic Global Warming lie, and, with Joe Lieberman, attempted to foist a cap and tax scheme on us to reduce greenhouse gases a few years ago. This was at the same time he was playing with Teddy Kennedy (and G.W. Bush) on immigration reform that would have led to a general amnesty.  Add to that his participation in the "gang of 14" and there's plenty to disagree with on McCain.

So, now we have J.D. Hayworth, who was defeated in 2006 for his House seat, mounting a primary challenge to McCain.  Hayworth is a High Point, NC native who attended NC State.  He was a sportscaster in Greenville SC, before moving to Phoenix to be a sports anchor there, before serving in the House from 94-06.  has been hosting a radio show since his defeat and is a favorite of the Tea Party movement. He's a rock-ribbed conservative and the kind of primary challenger we should seek out and support, if we're serious about removing some of the old timers in Washington.  As old timers go, McCain is one of the few who hasn't become a porkaholic, but I think his other transgressions make him a suitable target.  Plus, his age (73).  The Democrats are the party of old men and old ideas (Harry Reid, Jay Rockefeller, Ben Nelson, etc., ad nauseum).  The GOP needs an injection of new, young blood, who know how to articulate conservative positions.  Hayworth's lifetime ACU rating was 98, vs. McCain's 83.  There should be no doubt who the conservative is here.

Hayworth will be a provocateur, but, isn't that what we want from our Arizona senators?  He'll be pitted against another Tea Party movement darling, Sarah Palin, who has pledged to support McCain, for sentimental reasons.  For all you leftists and Palin haters, here's a chance to poke a finger in her eye and support my guy at the same time.

Drop a dime on Hayworth now.