On the eve of the long awaited, much anticipated debates between the GOP candidates for US Senate, Arizona will be introduced to the third, virtually unknown candidate, Jim Deakin. This third candidate, with absolutely no political experience, no history of public volunteer service, or any activism in the Republican Party is poised to appear on the statewide stage, and hence a profile on the national stage as the country begins to focus on this race. With the televised debates on July 16th and 17th, this Senate race takes on national implications as the 2008 GOP candidate for President John McCain battles in the first truly competitive race he’s ever faced, NOT in a general election but in the Republican Primary on August 24th. Of course, the real challenge is not from this unknown political neophyte but the broadcaster turned Congressman and then KFYI afternoon talk show host, JD Hayworth.

          Much has been already written about this race, featuring the most Progressive Senator in the GOP, John McCain, author of the now discredited McCain-Feingold “Campaign Finance” law, two failed “Comprehensive Immigration Reform” legislative attempts, commonly known as “Amnesty”, AND co-sponsor of  last year’s “Cap & Trade” legislation with his good friend, Joe Lieberman; whose explosive temper and legislative bully tactics are legendary, as well as feared, in the halls of Congress.  Facing him is the solidly conservative six term Congressman JD Hayworth, who literally wrote the book on stopping illegal immigration, “Whatever It Takes”.  Recruited and endorsed by fellow conservatives and allies in the Illegal Immigration fight, Sheriff Joe Arpaio and Senators Russell Pearce and Ron Gould, Hayworth is no stranger to the vicious attacks he now experiences from the McCain Campaign.  Finally, the race comes into much sharper focus with the passage of Pearce’s SB1070 Bill that now is not only the focus in Arizona but Nationally with the protests and counter protests and the Justice Department’s recent lawsuit against the State of Arizona.  Clearly the battle lines are drawn and the stakes are extremely high.

          This brings us to this third candidate, Jim Deakin who barely qualified for the ballot with the lowest petition signature count of any statewide candidate; in spite of 16 months of campaigning throughout the state.  It’s understood that Jim would not even be in the debates were it not for McCain’s insistence that he be included.  In the first poll where Deakin is even listed, the June Rasmussen poll, Deakin garnered only 7% in that June poll.  One suspects that much of that support results from the extremely negative attack ads against Hayworth, so people who will NOT vote for McCain, perhaps chose Deakin because they were indeed influenced by the misleading ads from the McCain Campaign.  So while Deakin claims to be the “Tea Party Activist”, it’s quite understandable why McCain chooses to “Puff up” the Deakin Campaign.

          Speaking about the polls Jim Deakin recently spoke to a group of Republicans at an LD 6 meeting where he was asked about his claims over the previous months that he had 20% support regardless of the polling.  When asked how he came up with that number, Deakin declared that in addition to the 7% in the June Rasmussen poll, another poll had a combined 14% for “other/undecided”!  Say What?  How does he justify those numbers?  This is certainly ‘accounting’ that would make Bernie Madoff or Enron’s Ken Lay proud!  Here is the link to the You Tube video page where Jim ‘explains’ these numbers: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NRhOxVDuwk.

          Certainly, we would expect this type of ‘analysis’ from the McCain campaign.  After all, when running his infamous “Snakes in Guam” ad campaign, McCain conveniently forgot that he voted for the same bill.  But, I will give Jim the benefit of the doubt, after all when you don’t have the facts on your side, you’ve got to be creative! However, at this SAME meeting Jim accused JD of voting for Cap & Trade legislation in 2005!  Now that would be newsworthy if it were INDEED true!  Here is the link and the video, followed by the real explanation of this vote. It will show Jim to be either completely dishonest or incredibly incompetent, for his completely inaccurate ‘information’ regarding this bill HR 6, “The Energy Policy Act of 2005”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfmaMJCzrgQ.

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          Now, here’s the real story on this Section 752 of HR 6.  For years the EPA has instituted limits on pollution emissions from all sources.  These limits were restrictive and jobs killing regulations.  Indeed no one would argue with the need to control pollution, just the level of restrictions.  Due to technological improvements, “mobile pollution emitters” were maintaining standards well below their limits.  Businesses asked for and received permission to “trade” these credits to “stationary pollution emitters”.  Since all this was occurring at the regulatory level, Congress desired to be informed about what the EPA was indeed doing.  Is Jim correct in calling it a ‘pilot cap & trade’?  Technically yes.  Did THIS bill authorize or give legislative authority to the program? Not in the least!  Read the section for yourself: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/F?c109:6:./temp/~c109rf11gE:e756711:.  This Section 752 simply required the EPA to report to Congress about the program!  Simply put, this bill put the “light of Congress” on the program.  It was a “Sunshine” provision to require full disclosure to the already existing program.  While their may be problems with some provision in this bill, Section 752 is NOT one of them.  So ask yourself, “Is Jim dishonestly reporting or incompetently comprehending this bill?”  You decide.

          Lastly, Jim has a propensity of deliberately and falsely accusing JD’s campaign of doing ‘dirty tricks’; specifically Deakin accused JD’s of promoting a “Signature Withdrawal” campaign to recruit people to take their names off Jim Deakin’s petitions.  On April 7th, Jim’s Cochise County volunteer coordinator, Jesse Mathewson, also a blogger with the Examiner.com called the “Cochise County Libertarian Examiner”; wrote the following blog titled “Just another typical dirty Washington politician, JD Hayworth cannot play nice”.  Here’s the link: http://www.examiner.com/x-18115-Cochise-County-Libertarian-Examiner~y2010m4d7-Just-another-typical-dirty-Washington-politician-JD-Hayworth-cannot-play-nice.  This is a pretty serious charge, if it were true.  However, it’s not.

          Here are the facts: on April 5th, a former Deakin supporter wrote an e-mail to the campaign informing Jim of her intention to withdraw her signature from Jim’s petitions and encourage others to do so at the American Citizens United meeting on Wednesday the 7th.  The campaign responded to her e-mail.  Rob Haney, a notary, was recruited to notarize the forms for those who also decided to follow this lady’s example.  The meeting began at 6:30PM with discussion regarding this “Signature Withdrawal” program.  JD Hayworth was scheduled to speak, but had not yet arrived.  Other candidates then spoke, and JD, who arrived late, spoke sometime after 7:30.  The meeting ended around 8:30PM.  Yet, just six minutes later, Mathewson, writing from Cochise County describes what allegedly happened at this meeting, falsely attributing it to the Hayworth Campaign!  In his post Jesse claims that he read blogs and Tea Party discussions regarding about this meeting earlier that day. Now I’ve check all the Tea Party discussion groups, and there were NO discussions regarding this event, which hadn’t even taken place!  Yes, there was one blog describing the process on “Seeing Red AZ” blog website.  Yet, the Deakin campaign made a post accusing JD’s field director Shane Wikfors of writing the blog, yet HE doesn’t even write for that blog!  In further accusations Jim Deakin posts the on his Facebook page; and inserts Wikfors name into the byline.  The blog is still at the website on April 6th.  Shane Wikfors name is nowhere to be found.  The fact is Jim, through his surrogate dishonestly attibutes the actions of one disgruntled former supporter to JD and his campaign.  Sounds like John McCain to me.

          This is a very detailed explanation to be sure.  But it illustrates the point as to just how Jim Deakin will act to denigrate JD Hayworth.  Yet he goes even further; for on April 15th, at the Bullhead City Tea Party rally he states in front of a small group of supporters and one JD supporter, that HE had the video from the meeting SHOWING JD promoting this very campaign!  One week later, when this same supporter challenged Jim online, to either produce the video or resign; Jim ignored his request for THREE weeks!  And only then, he denied ever making that claim, accusing the supporter of lying!

          So one must ask if this is what you would expect out of one who claims to be a “Tea Party Activist”, yet admits he entered the race BEFORE the Tea Party movement began in earnest.  Or are these, and many more campaign faux paus, simply the bumbling efforts of a woefully unprepared and incompetent campaigner, to keep alive any glimmer of hope for his virtually impossible nomination?  Certainly John McCain has nothing to fear from Deakin, with his vast war chest, including over $20 Million left from his failed Presidential bid. Jim might shave off some of the conservative vote that would otherwise go to Hayworth.  Just how much, and whether it WILL work to keep McCain in office will be determined in the Primary election.  This much is certain to me: If John McCain, via his surrogates did not put Jim Deakin up to running for the US Senate in anticipation of a Hayworth run, it’s Only because even HE was not that astute!