J.D. Hayworth, free-money-from-the-government pitchman

Dan Nowicki uncovers a 2007 infomercial that just-defeated former congressman J.D. Hayworth cut for the National Grants Conference, a flashy group that charges $1,000 or more to attend seminars on how to get your hands on government grants. It's... embarrassing.

Hayworth's campaign explains to Nowicki that his involvement with the group started and ended in 2007 -- a hint at just how bad this looks for a small government challenger to Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.). He's seen in the video adding credibility to the enterprise, framing it as a way to take power back from a rapacious federal government.

"This is something you should take advantage of," says Hayworth. "Why leave it to the big boys on Wall Street or even the business owners on Main Street? Bring it to your street, to your home. Come to one of the National Grants Conferences."

Side note: Matthew Lesko, whose exclamation mark-covered suits have made him the most recognizable figure in the free-money-from-the-government trade, is a libertarian who's mocked his own practice in a Reason.tv video making fun of the stimulus. That's after the jump.