How far right is J.D. Hayworth? If you ask him, about one click left of "birther."
The former Arizona congressman turned Rush Limbaugh clone appeared on Hardball with Chris Mathews last night, and when Mathews asked him if he was as far right as a "birther" -- sporting his most sinister smirk -- J.D. had this to say: "Well, gosh, we all had to bring our birth certificates to show we were who we said we were, and we were the age we said we were, to play football in youth sports. Shouldn't we know exactly that anyone who wants to run for public office is a natural-born citizen of the United States, and is who they say they are?"
Give it up, bub. The "birther" bit's played.
Hayworth is in the process of trying to appear as ultra-conservative as possible in his now-officially unofficial bid to unseat John McCain as the Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate in AZ.
He used his appearance to not only promote his right-wing conspiracy theory of choice but also to take a few shots at McCain, saying the aging senator is out of touch.
"While I think all of us think the world of John McCain ... he's just been in Washington too long," Hayworth says. "John is, quite candidly, a moderate, who describes himself as a maverick."
Despite his alignment with conspiracy theorists, Hayworth attempts to distance himself from McCain by claiming that he is a "consistent, common-sense conservative" and cites "differences of opinion" with the sitting senator.
"John McCain does not believe in enhanced interrogation techniques. Indeed, John McCain would confer upon enemy combatants the rights and privileges awarded by Geneva Convention signatories," Hayworth notes.
Hayworth, on the other hand, apparently wants to water-board the entire Middle East, claiming that water-boarding has prevented several 9/11-style attacks.
John McCain spent more than five years in the "Hanoi Hilton." We'll take his word over J.D.'s when it comes to "enhanced interrogation" any day of the week.
Check out the whole interview here.
