Posted on 02/10/2014 7:18:10 AM PST by xzins
Once thought of as a possibly more conservative alternative to establishment Republican Speaker John Boehner, establishment Republican House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (VA-7) long ago proved he is fully invested in Boehners lobbyist-driven legislative agenda.
The Murray-Ryan budget and Amnesty for illegal aliens are just the latest in a long list of betrayals conservatives have suffered at the hands of Eric Cantor.
From breaking the spending caps in the sequester, to voting for the Wall Street bailout through the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), when faced with a choice between business -as -usual and fighting for limited- government constitutional conservative principles, Cantor always sides with Big Business, Big Government and the Capitol Hill establishment.
Due to the fact Cantor occupies the number two leadership position in the House Republican Conference and can use that position to use the legal extortion Capitol Hill politics have become to raise a vast campaign war chest, it has been long-assumed (especially by the Republican elite) that his position is unassailable.
Enter Dave Brat, chairman of the department of economics and business at Randolph-Macon College, whom Amanda Chase, Cantors former political director, told National Review Online is probably the first time that Eric has had a credible opponent with a comparable education and background.
He had two CRs at the end, one in favor of the shutdown and one opposed to the shutdown at the same time, Brat told National Review Onlines Betsy Woodruff. And thats fairly symbolic of unprincipled leadership. I mean, thats not a leadership position, where youre on Side A and Side B at the same time and youve got your finger up in the air, checking which way the wind is blowing.
In addition to chairing the colleges economics department Brat also heads Randolph-Macons BB&T Moral Foundations of Capitalism program. The funding for the program came from John Allison, the former CEO of BB&T (a financial-services company) who now heads the Cato Institute.
According to reporting by Woodruff, Brat and Allison share an affinity for Ayn Rand: Allison is a major supporter of the Ayn Rand Institute, and Brat co-authored a paper titled An Analysis of the Moral Foundations in Ayn Rand. Brat says that while he isnt a Randian, he has been influenced by Atlas Shrugged and appreciates Rands case for human freedom and free markets.
While we like Dave Brats intellectual background (got a business degree from Hope College in Holland, Michigan, then went to Princeton seminary) and especially the way his religious background informs his views on economics: Ive always found it amazing how we have the grand swath of the Judeo-Christian tradition, and we lost moral arguments on (fiscal-policy issues) the major issue of our day, he told NROs Woodruff, Dave Brat isnt some egghead professor hes the candidate of the grassroots limited government constitutional conservatives and Tea Party movement activists.
Its a big decision to fire your congressman and replace him with somebody else, Larry Nordvig, head of the Richmond Tea Party told NRO, but I think people are tired of hearing the rhetoric and seeing the opposite of what theyre looking for in a conservative leader.
We couldnt have put it better Larry.
As we keep reminding ourselves and our friends and readers: It's the Primaries, stupid!
Eric Cantor long ago abandoned whatever principles he may have had when first elected and, we should emphasize, any pretense of serving in Congress to advance conservative governance. Eric Cantor is all about maintaining the power of the Republican establishment and that is indeed the opposite of what we are looking for in a conservative leader.
The Virginia Republican primary election is June 10, 2014. To learn more about Dave Brat or volunteer or contribute to his campaign go to www.davebratforcongress.com or contact:
Friends of Dave Brat P.O. Box 5094 Glen Allen, VA 23058-5094 Phone: 804-496-8214 Email: campaign@davebratforcongress.com
Excellente!
Thanks. I changed the amount and it worked fine.
It is VA, and there are only 400,000 or so conservatives left there, and the number is shrinking fast.
I wonder just how many disabled veterans even know of Ryan or his treachery.
If they are in any of the veteran or active duty organizations, then they’ve heard about Ryan’s treachery.
WI has a late primary, September; so someone could run against Ryan, but they are probably afraid to do so considering his popularity there.
I just signed a petition to put Mr. Brat on the ballot.
The 7th District is solidly conservative. These small districts are where conservative votes count.
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