Jesse Kelly, ALIPAC and John McCain’s flip-flop

by David Safier

A week ago I posted about the endorsement of Jesse Kelly by ALIPAC (Americans for Legal Immigration PAC). I quoted McCain's comment about the pac way back during the primary when J.D. Hayworth got its endorsement:

In a March statement, McCain spokesman Brian Rogers said the group "is backed by white supremacists, neo-Nazis and anti-Semites."

Then I quoted a statement from a DCCC press release:

In his questionnaire seeking ALIPAC’s endorsement this year, Kelly signed a pledge that he would use “the full power of my office, including impeachment if necessary” to force the President to bow to the group’s radical demands.

You can find Kelly's impeachment pledge to ALIPAC on the questionnaire he returned to the group.

The Star didn't think this story was worth writing about. The most recent reference to ALIPAC I could find on the Star website is a July 15, 2010 story about the McCain/Hayworth/Deakin primary.

But KGUN has picked it up. It's worth a look. My favorite line in the story is when McCain — remember him? The guy who condemned Hayworth for accepting ALIPAC's endorsement? — said this when asked "whether he felt the same way about ALIPAC's endorsement of Kelly as he had about its endorsement of Hayworth."

In response, McCain pointed out that a group's endorsement of a candidate does not necessarily mean the candidate endorses the group.  "A lot of people support me that I don't agree with," McCain said.  "And just because they support me doesn't mean anything about my views."

Such a reasonable man hypocrite. As the Star said in yesterday's incredibly weak endorsement of McCain (if you read the whole endorsement, you'll be amazed for how little praise it gives to the man it suggests we vote for),

We believe much of [McCain's] recent political rhetoric is merely that: rhetoric motivated by challenges from the right.

His opponent, Rodney Glassman, a Tucson Democrat, is correct to criticize McCain for his inconsistent, often shallow, attention to Arizona issues.

The end of the video where Kelly refuses to answer the reporter's question is fun to watch as well. Kelly has no idea what to say.

(If you have trouble loading the video, you can watch it here.)