J.D. Hayworth's 'free money' infomercial

last updated 8 January 2015

Is there such a thing as "free money"? There just might be, if a 2007 infomercial starring Arizona senatorial candidate J.D. Hayworth is to be believed. The former congressman, challenging Sen. John McCain from the right in Arizona's GOP primary, appeared in a talk show-style ad format and testified to the veracity of "scam" claims made by National Grants Conferences, a company purporting to teach people the secrets of getting oodles of no-strings-attached grant money from the government. While Hayworth's campaign claims he was ignorant of the company's history, commentators are wondering how the revelation will affect his standing among voters. "He’ll dip a few points in the polls and almost certainly lose to McCain in August," says Allahpundit in Hot Air, "but reports of his political death are... greatly exaggerated." Hayworth is "basically advocating pork barrel welfare," says E.D. Kain in True/Slant. For a candidate that's supposed to take a hard stand "against government spending," that's pretty much a disaster. Watch Hayworth's infomercial pitch below: