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McCain Camp: ‘History Wasn’t The Only Class That Congressman Hayworth Failed’

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and former Rep. J.D. Hayworth (R-AZ).

The sparks are continuing to fly in the Arizona Republican Senate primary, in the wake of former Rep. J.D. Hayworth’s gaffe when he claimed that the United States didn’t formally declare war on Germany in World War II. Today, it’s all about insults — and fundraising — for Sen. John McCain.

Last night, the Hayworth campaign hit back at the McCain campaign for calling him “one of the dumbest members of Congress,” with a press release in which spokesman Mark Sanders said: “The real question is not who misspoke about an event nearly seventy years ago, but who has the faulty memory about events happening today.” Sanders then accused McCain of changing his positions on immigration and cap-and-trade.

We asked McCain spokesman Brian Rogers for comment on the “faulty memory” line, as well as the spelling error in the press release referring to the incumbent as “McCail.” Rogers responded: “Apparently history wasn’t the only class that Congressman Hayworth failed in middle school.”

In addition, the McCain campaign now has a fundraising e-mail. The e-mail, entitled “Playing loosely with the facts,” declares:

Unfortunately, instead of finding solutions to our state and nation’s many challenges, my primary opponent, former Congressman J.D. Hayworth, would rather spend his time misrepresenting both my record and now, history itself. Congressman Hayworth can’t seem to get his facts straight lately. Not only has he launched false attacks on me, but he recently erroneously stated the United States never declared war on Nazi Germany during World War II. We simply cannot afford to send someone to the U.S. Senate who plays loosely with the facts. The American people deserve better.

(Emphasis in the original.)

2010 elections, AZ-SEN, J.D. Hayworth, John McCain, Senate '10
Eric Kleefeld

Eric Kleefeld joined TPM as an intern for the final months of the 2006 midterm elections, and then kept showing up for work. His other interests include guitars, old comic books and the politics of various English-speaking countries.

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