Former Cong J.D. Hayworth (Abramhoff fame) Uses Obama Memo to Trash Senator McCain Plus Lobbying and Earmarks

We have been posting pro-McCain items on our sister site, Voices from the Heartland, because we have felt from Day One that Senator McCain is the best of the two candidates and needs reelected to continue the fight against pork and earmarks with Senator Coburn (R-OK). We have also known for years that Hayworth while in the US House never met pork or earmarks that he didn't like plus he was also up to his neck with the Abramhoff scandal which helped get him defeated in his House race in 2006.

We made the decision since J. D. Hayworth is acting more and more like a Democrat now with his use of an Obama Memo verbatim against McCain, that he crossed the line and belongs with the Democrats who are For Sale on this site not with the Republicans we spotlight on Voices for election.

This first item makes us wonder about the credibility of the Hayworth staff:

JD staffer Shane Wikfors (DSW) posts this memo at Sonoran Alliance but refuses to allow comments as Shane points to thepage.time.com. He chose a 2008 verbatim memo from Obama. These are not Mark Halperin's words at all which he wants people to believe. Once you read it, you realize all Halperin did was put up the Obama memo with no comments allowed

Let's get this straight -- we now have a staffer for Hayworth, Shane Wikfors, who refuses to accept comments on a story that he declares that Mark Halperin wrote but it was written by the Obama camp during the campaign -- Obama Camp Memo on Alleged McCain Ties to Fannie, Freddie. Why would Hayworth put any stock in anything put together by the Obama Camp who was trashing McCain with lies and innuendoes all during the general election in 2008? Something about Obama talking about McCain ties to AIG makes this memo meaningless yet Hayworth wants people to believe every word of an Obama Memo? Very glad we are not as naive as he thinks we are.

This second item with Hayworth, the lobbyist, has us scratching our head. We decided to do some research on this lobbying group he formed as well as on his only client we can find and what we found makes no sense.

First we decided to look into this 'Wealth Transfer Group' that hired Hayworth for less than $5,000 according to his form he filed for 2008 income and stated this group was terminated on 04/21/2009. Trust us this group would not hire anyone for less than $5,000 with these comments on their website:

The Wealth Transfer Group, Inc. serves only an elite clientele with estates exceeding $10,000,000. Our approach is long term. Because we believe in careful and comprehensive planning, we take the time to understand what you want to accomplish. Only then can we guide you step by step through the process of making informed, integrated decisions.

Is this another Abramoff deal that Hayworth knows nothing about even though he is listed as the President of Great 48th Group? We find the lobbying form for the Great 48th Group for The Wealth Transfer Group but no website with a list of clients. Lobbyist who want to make money legally lists their clients so they can get more clients but not this time.

This smells big time -- getting paid less than $5,000 for lobbying for a group who only takes clients worth over $10,000,000? Two and two do not add up to four in this instance once again with JD Hayworth. Has he answered the questions put to him by the McCain campaign (see questions below) about this lobbying? Not that we know of but we will keep an eye out for the answers from Hayworth so we can report them. Will he ever answer them? We have our serious doubts.

Some questions the campaign put to JD recently in a press release about this situation:

Congressman Hayworth claims he registered as a lobbyist to help out an unnamed “hometown friend.” Who is this friend, and when and how was Congressman Hayworth approached to do this lobbying? What is Congressman Hayworth’s current relationship with this “hometown friend?”

Exactly what was Congressman Hayworth asked to accomplish for Wealth Transfer Group.

Which of Congressman Hayworth’s former House colleagues, and/or his colleagues' offices and Committees did he lobby, and what did he ask them to do on his client’s behalf?

What if any actions did he take on behalf of Wealth Transfer Group?

What was the result of Congressman Hayworth’s lobbying efforts, and where does the issue stand today?

Did Wealth Transfer Group pay Hayworth for anything other than his lobbying activities? Was Congressman Hayworth given any other asset or monetary reimbursement for doing this work, including any "success fees"?

On his lobbying registration forms, Hayworth identifies himself as president of The Great 48th Group, a company he formed in 2007 -- a year before he registered to lobby. Who were The Great 48th Group’s other clients, what did they pay Hayworth to do, what actions did he take on their behalf, and how much did they compensate him for his work? Did Congressman Hayworth do any “consulting work” for this or any other clients that did not trigger the lobbying registration that Hayworth filed?

Did Hayworth lobby or consult either for or against any legislation currently pending in Congress? If so, what is his position on that legislation?

Now we get to our favorite subject - Earmarks

We found these articles very interesting on Earmarks:

A good earmark is hard to find

Sen. McCain, Rep. Flake Introduce Bill to Allow Taxpayers to Voluntarily Help Pay Down the Federal Debt

McCain-Flake plan would let taxpayers set aside funds to end debt

Not much to say here beyond what is said in these articles except to say Senator McCain and Congressman Flake are continuing as a team to fight earmarks whereas JD, by his voting record, is a lover of porkbarrel spending and earmarks. See http://realjdhayworth.com/earmarks/ for the truth about Hayworth and pork/earmarks.