After watching Republicans John McCain, J.D. Hayworth and Jim Deakin go after each other in tonight's GOP Senate debate, it's almost hard to believe they'll be back in the ring tomorrow here in Tucson. Remember, political junkies: The show airs at 7 p.m. on Channel 6, KUAT-TV.

Here are the GOP Senate Debate Drinking Game Rules for Saturday's debate:

• Every time that Hayworth mentions the word "amnesty," take a drink.

• Every time that McCain mentions the words "Huckster" or "earmarks," take a drink.

• Every time that Jim Deakin mentions the U.S. Constitution, take a drink.

Here's a release from Democrat Rodney Glassman, who is one of four Democrats who want a shot at McCain's seat, on the incumbent's performance:

U.S. Senator John McCain repeatedly said during a Republican primary debate tonight that facts are stubborn things.

Regrettably, he couldn't be more right.

Here are some stubborn facts:

Fact: John McCain once believed in sensible and workable immigration reform and now opposes it.

Fact: John McCain once favored deficit-bursting tax cuts on the rich and now opposes them.

Fact: John McCain suspended his presidential campaign to make sure the Toxic Asset Relief Program (TARP) was approved but now opposes it.

Fact: John McCain once called himself a maverick and now says he never was.

Fact: John McCain once presented himself as a statesman above politics and now

A Phoenix New Times blog post today finally answers this question: Why do bands play Tucson instead of Phoenix?

"Why is this cool band that I really love playing that bumblefuck shithole down South when they could play our sprawling metropolis of interconnected stripmalls?"

Read the shithead's comments here.

Ora Mae Harn, a life-long Republican and “First Lady of Marana,” endorsed Democrat Cheryl Cage over Republican Senator Al Melvin this week in the Legislative District 26 Senate race.

“I met with her and she seemed like a really warm, ambitious lady who maybe didn’t share all my philosophy or anything, but she seemed like she was willing to work,” says the 77-year-old former Marana mayor and council member.

Harn says this is the first time she has ever endorsed a Democrat over a Republican, but says it is not attack on Melvin.

“This is not really against Al (Melvin),” she says. “This is a young, energetic candidate... . I simply was impressed with Cheryl (Cage).”

Harn is the Marana historian and founder of the Marana Heritage Conservancy, whose career in politics and civics earned her a place in the upcoming Marana “Hall of Fame.”

Though parts of Marana are within LD26, most of the town is outside the district. The Ora Mae Harn Park, for example, is just west of I-10, the western boundary of LD26.

The week in review, courtesy of the Arizona Illustrated Roundtable gang.

Don't forget: Bill Buckmaster will be moderating the McCain-Hayworth-Deakin Senate debate from 7 to 8 p.m. tomorrow night on Channel 6. (Tonight's Phoenix debate can be seen here in Tucson on Channel 18.)

City Manager Mike Letcher stops by Arizona Illustrated's Friday Roundtable to talk about the downtown hotel plan, the upcoming sales-tax election and more.

How much has Gov. Jan Brewer's stock risen since she signed SB 1070? Public Policy Polling now includes Brewer in hypothetical match-ups against President Barack Obama:

With his approval numbers hitting new lows it's no surprise that Barack Obama's numbers in our monthly look ahead to the 2012 Presidential race are their worst ever this month. He trails Mitt Romney 46-43, Mike Huckabee 47-45, Newt Gingrich 46-45, and is even tied with Sarah Palin at 46. The only person tested he leads is Jan Brewer, who doesn't have particularly high name recognition on the national level at this point.

It's not that any of the Republican candidates are particularly well liked. Only Huckabee has positive favorability numbers at 37/28. Romney's at 32/33, Gingrich at 32/42, Palin at 37/52, and Brewer at 17/20. But with a majority of Americans now disapproving of Obama it's no surprise that a large chunk of them would replace him as President if they had that choice today.

There are two things driving these strong poll numbers for the Republican candidates. The first is a lead with independents in every match up. Romney leads 48-35 with them, Gingrich is up 50-39, Huckabee has a 46-40 advantage, Palin's up 47-42, and even Brewer has a 38-37 edge.

Read the whole thing here.

The Swell Season performs this Saturday at downtown's Rialto Theatre. Tickets are still available for what's sure to be one of the best shows of the year. Details here.

Birdemic is playing at the Loft Cinema tonight and tomorrow. Check it out if you're a fan of really, really bad movies. Details here.

Also opening this weekend: Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work, the Joan Rivers biopic. James DiGiovanna tells you why you should see it here:

Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work follows Ms. Rivers for one year of her fading career as she desperately clings to some hope of recognition, fame and happiness. It's a tale of someone who was once 10 steps from the top, and then fell down a few steps, and now can't get over it. It's the tale of a woman who says of a tribute to the late George Carlin, "It's important for me, because I'm included." It's the story of a woman who says, without irony, "I thank God every time I step into a limousine. Seriously, I stop, and I thank God." And she says this after riding in a limo, while wearing furs, as she went out to distribute meals to the less-fortunate. Like, what do you do when Joan Rivers shows up at your cramped apartment, carrying some microwaved turkey and grooming an enormous mink?

So this is the story of a woman who is not precisely likable, nor exactly self-aware about her self-involvement. But still, in 84 minutes, Rivers becomes, if not beloved, at least charmingly needy and sad.

Here’s the recent Clean Elections debate between the eight Democrats running in Legislative District 27, which stretches west from the University of Arizona to Three Points. Candidates include former state lawmakers John Kromko and Sally Ann Gonzales, and Sami Hamed, John Bernal, Dustin Cox, Bob Gilby, Macario Saldate and Eric Bustamante. (For more on Bustamante's legal troubles, check out Hank Stephenson's "Punches and Politics" here.)

The most interesting moment to us came about 27 minutes into the debate, as the candidates talked about SB 1070. While most of them decried Arizona's new immigration law, Kromko had a different take:

People have been asking for comprehensive reform for a long time, and the federal government, the Congress has given us nothing—absolutely nothing. So 1070 was the only way that many people felt they could turn. So here it is. OK, everybody that wants something else: Let’s see it. OK? Isn’t that a fair deal? We’ll have 1070 on the books, it puts a little pressure on you. Whatever it is you want, show it to us. I think the citizens of Arizona have a right to that, and that’s what we need to do. So I think it’s doing good in more ways than one.

Kromko got a round of applause from one audience member: Joe Sweeney, the self-admitted racist and perennial candidate who is seeking a chance to challenge Congressman Raul Grijalva again this year. A few years back, Kromko was awarded an honorary degree from Sweeney's Alexander Hamilton Evening Law School.

Music editor Steve Seigel tells us that Tucson's own Calexico, in collaboration with CASH Music, is offering a free download of a live show in Nuremberg that includes "Roka," "Crystal Frontier," "Man Made Lake" and seven other tracks. Get it yourself here.