J.D. Hayworth Picks Up Support From Gun Owners, Tea Parties, and Law Enforcement

Congressman J.D. Haywoth is picking up some hefty endorsements.

The Phoenix Law Enforcement Association that has to deal with the consequences of John McCain’s derelection of his sworn Constitutional Duty on the issue of immigration has endorsed J.D. Hayworth for United States Senate:

PHOENIX, Ariz. February 22, 2010. The organization representing the officers of the largest law enforcement agency in Arizona announced their support of JD Hayworth today in his bid to unseat Senator John McCain. The Phoenix Law Enforcement Association (PLEA) also announced today that they are making the maximum contribution allowed by law to Hayworth’s campaign.

 

“We are proud to stand behind JD. He stood behind our officers during his time in Congress and during his time as a broadcaster,” said Mark Spencer, President of PLEA. PLEA represents more than 2500 sworn officers of the Phoenix Police Department.  “We look forward to his continued community service through his support of front-line public safety personnel.”

Gun Owners of America has come on board:

John McCain may pretend to be pro-gun (especially in election years) but he has plunged his dagger deep into the backs of gun rights supporters. He may fancy himself as a “maverick” in shining armor, riding to rescue the American people, but all the while he has trampled the Bill of Rights underfoot.

Thankfully, this year gun owners have a choice. Former Rep. J.D. Hayworth, who was “A” rated by Gun Owners of America in his twelve years in the House of Representatives, is challenging McCain in the 2010 Republican primary.

J.D. respects the Constitution and understands that the Second Amendment was put there by the Founding Fathers to always ensure that the people would have the means to preserve their liberty.

During his time in the Congress, J.D. Hayworth did not vote one way in election years and another way when in nonelection years. J.D. consistently supported the Second Amendment, and that is just the type of leadership gun owners in Arizona will vote for in November.

 

The Tax Day Tea Party Organization  headed by Eric Odoom, who helped organized 2007 Conservative Leadership Conference, has worked for the Sam Adams Alliance, and has toured America with the American Liberty Tour is in with J.D. Hayworth:

Last week we posted a poll for our readers that asked a simple question.

Would you support J.D. Hayworth in his run against John McCain in 2010?

The results? Out of about 3,500 votes, 79% of you said you would indeed support Hayworth in his challenge to John McCain for the Arizona Senate Seat.

As I told our committee on our conference call with J.D. Hayworth this week, the overwhelming amount of emails coming in support of J.D. Hayworth makes this feel like the special election in MA for Scott Brown that took place earlier this year.

In that particular scenario, Scott Brown was the underdog just six weeks before the election. In fact, at the time, he trailed by 30 points! But once the movement unified and rallied behind him, he was able to overcome the special interest and big money behind progressive candidate Martha Coakley.

It is the opinion of our committee that John McCain has become a problem for our movement. His progressive positions in the Senate have been damaging to our efforts, and in many cases he appears to position himself against what we as a movement stand for.

Erika Franzi, organizer for the Asheville Tea Party sent us the following statement.

“John McCain, the man who was once the ‘maverick,’ is now the personification of the mushy-middle, establishment Republican. His memorable bipartisan efforts, including Campaign Finance Reform, Climate Stewardship, Amnesty, and TARP, demonstrate his lack of regard for the constitutional limitations of the federal government. Senator John McCain is not a liberty candidate. Asheville Tea Party supports J.D. Hayworth’s bid to replace Senator John McCain as the GOP candidate for Arizona Senate.”

Erika hit the nail on the head with her statement, and our committee fully agreed that it’s time to oppose John McCain in a public manner.

Many, MANY tea party organizers responded to our email earlier today asking about their thoughts on the matter. Those in support of Hayworth include Jason Carey (Tea Party Organizer – Sag Harbor, NY), Erika Franzi (Asheville Tea Party), Marlene Bonilla (Tea Party Organizer in Kansas), Jennifer West (9/12 Organizer from Hattiesburg), Laura Boatright (California based Tea Party Organizer), Allen Coniglio (Buffalo, NY Tea Party Organizer), Diane Benjamin (Illinois based Tea Party Organizer), Ralph Reagan (North Carolina based Tea Party Organizer), Joni Schmidt (Texas based Tea Party Organizer), and many others.

Arizona Tea Party Organizers like Easton Kelsey and Keith Sipmann have also thrown their support behind J.D. Hayworth, and other Arizona organizers are getting involved as well.

Liberty First PAC, including its projects TaxDayTeaParty.com, The Patriot Caucus and The American Liberty Alliance will all now fully support Hayworth and strongly oppose John McCain.

And so it begins: The formation of an opposition to Prince John. I’ll be watching for more from Congressman J.D. Hayworth.