Earlier today, Senators John McCain and Jon Kyl released a 10-point plan to combat crime along the U.S./Mexico border, which -- among other things -- includes hiring 3,000 more Customs and Border Protection agents for Arizona, building new fences along the state's southern border, and increasing aerial surveillance.
McCain's opponent in the GOP primary for Senate, former Congressman J.D. Hayworth, feels that McCain is just another Johnny-come-lately in the fight to secure the border and calls McCain's plan an "election year gimmick."
A few months ago, Hayworth barged into McCain's campaign headquarters, with the media in tote, to challenge McCain to a series of debates -- on a day he knew McCain wouldn't even be there -- so he may want to be a little more careful in his use of the word "gimmick."
"Five years ago, I introduced the 'Enforcement First Act' in the U.S. House of Representatives," Hayworth says. "Had McCain supported my efforts in 2005 to secure the U.S. border, rather than stubbornly support amnesty, we would not be trying to apply
quick fixes today."
Hayworth even got his pal, Minutemen Civil Defense Corps co-founder Chris Simcox, to bash McCain's efforts.
"McCain is trying to hood-wink the voters, ignore his own record, and if re-elected return to his pattern of putting Washington first and Arizona second," Simcox says.
With all the McCain bashing Hayworth is doing over "The Maverick's" plan to secure the border, he must have a much better plan of his own, right? Well, we have no idea -- we contacted Hayworth's campaign to find out if Hayworth had a specific plan of his own, and his campaign spokesman, Mark Sanders, didn't get back to us (which is getting to be a refrain).
The McCain campaign doesn't seem to be sweatin' J.D.'s comments too much, though.
"It's unfortunate that while Senator McCain works with [Cochise County] Sheriff [Larry] Dever, [Pinal County] Sheriff [Paul] Babeu, and Senator Kyl to truly secure our border, Congressman Hayworth is trying to politicize the issue," McCain spokesman Brian Rogers tells New Times.
