Rep. J.D. Hayworth (R-Ariz.) is a very conservative lawmaker from a reliably Republican district in a consistently “red” state. And after yesterday’s results, even Hayworth doesn’t want to be seen with Bush in his home district.
You may know J.D. Hayworth as the Arizona Republican caught up in Jack Abramoff’s mess, as a member of the ultra-conservative RSC (“Wingnut Caucus”), or as the guy who tried to spin David Kay’s testimony as an exoneration of the Bush Administration. Now we can know him for this:
IMUS: Would you just answer my question, would you like [President Bush] to come to Arizona and cut campaign commercials and run them on those TV stations everywhere?
REP. HAYWORTH: In a word, no. At this time.
IMUS: That’s being honest. J.D. Hayworth here on the “Imus in the morning” program.
To appreciate the humor, you have to actually hear Hayworth say it. Shadow TV has a clip. Pay particular attention to the speed with which Hayworth dismisses the idea, as if one would have to be crazy to seek Bush’s support.
I imagine this will be coming up more and more. A month ago Rep. Shelly Moore Capito (R-W. Va.) suggested she wouldn’t run for the Senate in part because she couldn’t count on Bush to be a campaign asset.
“In 2002, when I ran for my second term, the president came in and gave me a 5 [percentage] point bump up in the polls,” Capito said. “Whether he has the ability to bump someone up at this point is a valid question.”
That was in early October; things have only gotten worse since.
If Bush looks like a lame duck, and quacks like a lame duck…