McCain Camp Denounces Opponent for Alliances

A spokesman for John McCain ripped into his Senate primary campaign opponent for his relationship with a Tea Party member who called for Sen. Lindsey Graham to "come out of the log cabin closet."

J.D. Hayworth, who is branding himself as "The Consistent Conservative" in the primary contest for McCain's long-held seat, is also a supporter of the Americans for Legal Immigration Political Action Committee. ALIPAC's William Gheen targeted Graham, who is working on moderate immigration reform, at a rally on Saturday. Gheen said Graham needed to come out because "as our U.S. senator, I need to figure out why you're trying to sell out your own countrymen, and I need to make sure your being gay isn't it."

Brian Rogers, speaking for McCain, called Hayworth's alliance with ALIPAC and Gheen "unfortunate" and added that the former congressman has a "fetish with the extreme fringe," according to the Huffington Post.

Rogers added, "From his close embrace of Mr. Gheen and ALIPAC to peddling conspiracy theories about the president's birth certificate and man-horse marriage, Congressman Hayworth has made clear that he feels most comfortable on the extreme fringe."

Hayworth's campaign then said that the candidate "strongly repudiates [Gheen's] comments. We are happy to have the support of all voters in Arizona who understand the need to end this crisis of illegal immigration."