Dr. Kelli Ward — the front-running primary challenger to Sen. John McCain — joined host Sean Hannity on his SiriusXM radio program to discuss President Obama’s State of the Union address and last week’s GOP debate.
“I’m so disappointed in John McCain and his attacks,” Hannity commented to listeners. “I think it’s getting near time that John McCain retire. He’s part of the problem at this point, he’s part of the weakness in the Republican party.”
“Thirty-three years in Washington is a long time,” Ward chimed in.
Left-wing political commentator and radio host Rick Ungar joined Hannity and Ward as they discussed the troubles of 2016 Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s campaign, including the rise of Bernie Sanders and impending troubles from the FBI investigation into her email scandal.
Hannity moved on to his disappointment with the weak Republican response to President Barack Obama’s policies: “They have been weak and timid and feckless in their response to Obama and the Democrats advancing their agenda. And they won’t use their constitutional authority, the power of the purse for example. What would make you different if you take John McCain’s seat?”
Ward agreed “100 per cent” with Hannity’s statement. She said:
I don’t think that the GOP in Washington D.C. has been doing their job. They have not been the checks and balances that the Constitution requires on this President, who is somewhat out of control. And so we need to have people who go to Washington D.C. who have a backbone, who understand their constitutional duties.
Hannity responded, “I think Dr. Ward has a good shot of knocking off McCain.”
Ungar warned Ward to be cautious about her words, because she would need Senate election money for her run against McCain.
Ward replied, “In my first quarter out I was able to raise more money my first time out than any insurgent candidate for the United States Senate other than Senator Ted Cruz over the last four cycles.”
Ungar tried to suggest the money came from only small donors. Ward responded that she has received funds from small dollar donors, but also noted she has received some money from big dollar donors. Of the small dollar donors she said, “They’re angry, they’re upset, they’re disappointed, they’re disgusted with what’s happening in Washington, with the career politicians, the elite media trying to lead us down the wrong path.”
Ungar asked how long Ward has been in Washington. “I haven’t been in Washington,” she replied, to which Hannity responded, “That’s the point,” and Ungar responded, “Ohhhhh.”
Ward said she has proven her ability to retain her conservative backbone. She referred to her time as an Arizona State Senator, at times standing up to her own party and to two different Republican governors.
“The people that are in Washington have stacked the deck against the people of the United States,” Ward went on to say.
Ward told Hannity that she is a family physician. “My whole adult life has been being a problem solver. Taking complex issues, breaking it down into pieces that are able to be digested and understood, and then putting it before people so that we have good outcomes. And that’s how I’ve legislated in Arizona and that’s how I plan to legislate in Washington D.C.”
“In this environment, I think anything’s possible.” Hannity said. “Why did John McCain go after people like Ted Cruz? Ted Cruz was following up on a promise that every other congressman and senator made, which was that they were going to stop Obamacare.” Hannity noted that Cruz was the only one willing to use the power of the purse.
Hannity reminded listeners of when McCain called Cruz a “whackobird” for standing on principle. “The establishment doesn’t like Ted Cruz because he fought and made them look bad. And they did look bad, and John McCain looked bad.”
Hannity, Ward, and Ungar took to discussing the Iranian Revolutionary Guard capture of American military servicemen that Obama failed to mention in last week’s State of the Union address.
Ward commented, “Iran wants to flex its muscles in the face of the Iran deal that was a bad deal to start with.”
Rick Ungar is host of the SiriusXM POTUS radio program Steele&Ungar and a political contributor at Forbes.com.
Follow Michelle Moons on Twitter @MichelleDiana
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