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Topic: GOP House Majority Leader Eric Cantor Goes Down Hard Tonight!! (Read 2477 times)

legendary
Activity: 3752
Merit: 1217
i can't listen to you say this and not think that you are seriously living in a republican bubble. if they didn't have anything against hispanics, then i'd think the party would be much more diverse than 90% caucasian.

http://www.gallup.com/poll/160373/democrats-racially-diverse-republicans-mostly-white.aspx

oh and despite what you say, 1% of asians are republican and 2% are democrats.

The US-born Hispanics are more likely to support the GOP, when compared to the foreign-born generation. But still, the support for GOP among them will be less than 25-30%. The GOP needs to attract more support from the Asians and Hispanics.
sr. member
Activity: 434
Merit: 250
and i don't know what kind of latinos you're familiar with, but most do not support the GOP because the GOP is completely against them. maybe you know cubans?

The GOP is not against the Latinos as a race. The tea party and Libertarian segments of the GOP are against those Hispanics who have entered the US illegally. But they are not against those who have migrated legally, such as the vast majority of the Cubans.

i can't listen to you say this and not think that you are seriously living in a republican bubble. if they didn't have anything against hispanics, then i'd think the party would be much more diverse than 90% caucasian.

http://www.gallup.com/poll/160373/democrats-racially-diverse-republicans-mostly-white.aspx

oh and despite what you say, 1% of asians are republican and 2% are democrats.
legendary
Activity: 3752
Merit: 1217
and i don't know what kind of latinos you're familiar with, but most do not support the GOP because the GOP is completely against them. maybe you know cubans?

The GOP is not against the Latinos as a race. The tea party and Libertarian segments of the GOP are against those Hispanics who have entered the US illegally. But they are not against those who have migrated legally, such as the vast majority of the Cubans.
sr. member
Activity: 434
Merit: 250
saw last night on john oliver that he was the GOP's biggest proponent of immigration reform - so basically, at least for the next 2 years, don't expect to see any improvements on that front.

it was kind of funny on his show last night. republicans don't want immigration reform because most of the latinos that come in know that the GOP isn't looking out for their interests.

Many of the Latinos and Asians I know seem to have a propensity toward being on the right-wing side of the equation....

I suspect that they being on the right-wing side of you, puts them on the left of all in the universe except for one.

Smiley

Slight overstatement perhaps.  Certainly it is more correct in a population drawn from this forum.  But I'll certainly not argue with the basic suggestion.

My sense in the above statement is that such people have some desire to prove that they are 'good Americans'.  Since right-wingers tend to make more of a show of wrapping themselves in the flag, it's natural that they would be the pole to which those who desire to 'prove themselves' would gravitate.  Also, immigrants from certain zones are more likely to be drawn from the right wing of their native country so they have the basic neural wiring for right wing thought patterns.  Just my hypothesis.



you think being republican is more synonymous with "being american"? and i don't know what kind of latinos you're familiar with, but most do not support the GOP because the GOP is completely against them. maybe you know cubans?
legendary
Activity: 4690
Merit: 1276
saw last night on john oliver that he was the GOP's biggest proponent of immigration reform - so basically, at least for the next 2 years, don't expect to see any improvements on that front.

it was kind of funny on his show last night. republicans don't want immigration reform because most of the latinos that come in know that the GOP isn't looking out for their interests.

Many of the Latinos and Asians I know seem to have a propensity toward being on the right-wing side of the equation....

I suspect that they being on the right-wing side of you, puts them on the left of all in the universe except for one.

Smiley

Slight overstatement perhaps.  Certainly it is more correct in a population drawn from this forum.  But I'll certainly not argue with the basic suggestion.

My sense in the above statement is that such people have some desire to prove that they are 'good Americans'.  Since right-wingers tend to make more of a show of wrapping themselves in the flag, it's natural that they would be the pole to which those who desire to 'prove themselves' would gravitate.  Also, immigrants from certain zones are more likely to be drawn from the right wing of their native country so they have the basic neural wiring for right wing thought patterns.  Just my hypothesis.

legendary
Activity: 2912
Merit: 1386
saw last night on john oliver that he was the GOP's biggest proponent of immigration reform - so basically, at least for the next 2 years, don't expect to see any improvements on that front.

it was kind of funny on his show last night. republicans don't want immigration reform because most of the latinos that come in know that the GOP isn't looking out for their interests.

Many of the Latinos and Asians I know seem to have a propensity toward being on the right-wing side of the equation....

I suspect that they being on the right-wing side of you, puts them on the left of all in the universe except for one.

Smiley
legendary
Activity: 3752
Merit: 1217
Many of the Latinos and Asians I know seem to have a propensity toward being on the right-wing side of the equation. 

The Latinos and Asians are not homogeneous groups. Groups such as Cubans and Argentines are included within the Latinos, although they tend to support the GOP. Similarly, the Vietnamese and the Koreans do vote for GOP in good numbers.
sr. member
Activity: 434
Merit: 250
ha, so apparently cantor was supplanted not because the tea party is so great, or some sort of revolution.. but instead, it's possible that a faction of the republican party, a xenophobic one, wanted to stop him from introducing immigration reform.
legendary
Activity: 4690
Merit: 1276
saw last night on john oliver that he was the GOP's biggest proponent of immigration reform - so basically, at least for the next 2 years, don't expect to see any improvements on that front.

it was kind of funny on his show last night. republicans don't want immigration reform because most of the latinos that come in know that the GOP isn't looking out for their interests.

Many of the Latinos and Asians I know seem to have a propensity toward being on the right-wing side of the equation.  Of course if one is completely clear that they expect said Latino or Asian to be a good bullet-stopper, toilet scrubber, or code monkey and not much more then it detracts from their reliability as a person who votes correctly.

legendary
Activity: 1568
Merit: 1001
saw last night on john oliver that he was the GOP's biggest proponent of immigration reform - so basically, at least for the next 2 years, don't expect to see any improvements on that front.

it was kind of funny on his show last night. republicans don't want immigration reform because most of the latinos that come in know that the GOP isn't looking out for their interests.
For me, I'm an open borders person as long as there isn't a welfare state. Until then, we can't take the world's poor w/ no questions asked. I like what Rand Paul proposes which is securing the border first, then make alterations to the visa and future citizen statuses in a more orderly manner. Also, getting him elected to the Presidency would allow the country to cut spending across the board w/ a meat hook and get us back on firmer footing. Social security and medicare need to be dealt w/ so then the present gens can opt out and move on.
sr. member
Activity: 434
Merit: 250
saw last night on john oliver that he was the GOP's biggest proponent of immigration reform - so basically, at least for the next 2 years, don't expect to see any improvements on that front.

it was kind of funny on his show last night. republicans don't want immigration reform because most of the latinos that come in know that the GOP isn't looking out for their interests.
legendary
Activity: 1568
Merit: 1001
The Real Story of Eric Cantor’s Downfall
Quote
Helpful guide for people who actually get paid to write things for a living but still haven’t the foggiest clue what went down in the 7th District this past week.

This is not the story of how Dave Brat won – this is the story of how Eric Cantor lost. Additional storylines relating to this race are not fully articulated here.

Miscellaneous preliminaries
8/20/2013 Obama Economy Claims Latest Victim: Boyd Marcus who was apparently the brains of the outfit, the remaining half of which managed Cantor’s historic defeat
9/5/2013 How Virginia Congressmen will vote on Syria Cantor out of touch, playing ball with Obama – business as usual
The Establishment Strikes Back – Slating in Virginia Beach
Escalating contention dating back years between grassroots Republicans and the party establishment came to a head in early March of this year. Establishment allies deployed a shocking and repulsive new-old tactic called “slating” to maintain their loosening control over the party. Then the fun began…
The more current listings of his downfall are at the link and it shows what a perfect storm can be had when you get a lot of people in party positions riled up w/ hubris.
http://thebullelephant.com/real-story-eric-cantors-downfall/
legendary
Activity: 4690
Merit: 1276

Quote
Cantor has long been railing against the Tea Party and other advocates of spending cuts as “isolationists” for believing the US could only afford a finite number of wars.
http://news.antiwar.com/2014/06/11/rep-cantors-defeat-a-blow-to-runaway-military-spending/
In case few are familiar w/ the above site, ya gotta keep tabs on it as it's the heavy weight site for real analyzing of foreign policy from a non-interventionist viewpoint.

Just for the record (from the house progressive here), Antiwar is one of my long term go-to sites for a lot of news.  I lend financial support to them from time to time (especially since they take Bitcoin) and almost no others that I can think of.  Not only do they do a good job at what they do but they also put Libertarians in a good light.  Were it not for them, I would be even more anti-Libertarian than I am.

Not totally off-topic, I've been reading more about Cantor's loss and the various theories.  Especially the 'anti-semitic' slant which there seems to be some reticence to even mention.  It's discussed most forthrightly in Israeli media.

Excessive support for the state of Israel is certainly a problem for me and is something which would factor significantly into my vote.  I am quite sure that this is not 'anti-semitic' insofar as it's a result of 'hatred of Jews' because quite simply I don't.  I dislike many of the actions of the state of Israel and I dis-like the ways that supporters of the state manipulate our politics, policies, and society, and I see these things as damaging to our country.  That's all.  For whatever reason or set of reasons, it seems that Israel towers above all other nations in terms of being able to marshal OUR politicians to a near fanatic support of THEIR objectives.  If any other nation did so on this level I'd be suspicious and negative about them just as I am about Israel in this way.

Anyway, I would not rule out the possibility that many other voters on all sides of the spectrum feel as I do and will vote on it.  And this very well may have been a factor in Cantor's downfall.  I hope this is the case and I hope the trend continues.

I can imagine it putting many groups into panic mode, and in my research on the topic that seems to be the case.  Several stories have lamented the fact that Cantor was rounding up Jr. Republicans and sending the to Israel, and now he's gone so who's going to be doing that?  Hopefully no one!  They are supposed to be U.S. politicians beholden to the need of U.S. citizens.  The program itself strikes me as highly problematic, and again, I would feel the same if some it happened systematically with respect to any country.

legendary
Activity: 4690
Merit: 1276

This is not exactly the list I saw, but since we are talking politics it might be useful to know how this progressive thinks.


As for Brat, when I look down his list of policy positions I personally am against almost every frickin one of them.  But as long as he means what he says and executes on it in terms of fighting crony capitalism, I'm delighted to see him in the federal govt.  Seems to me that 'tea party' folks at least as prone than anyone to get sucked in to the game.  OTOH, I know nothing about Amash positions other than that he is on the right side of the domestic spying issue and fighting the good fight.  Even if he is wrong on everything else, his activities in this one area are worth it to me.


Dude, here's Brat's Issues section
Quote
Issues

Obamacare
Obamacare has proven to be an economically disastrous law and an unconstitutional power grab by our Federal Government. The government cannot and should not be permitted to run and regulate nearly 20% of our nation’s economy. We must restore the relationship between doctor and patient. We must restore the relationship between price and service in medicine or we will continue on the Road to Serfdom. I support a plan to defund the law and replace it with free-market solutions that lower costs, improve quality, and increase access to care.
I want full single payer and no private insurance companies which I see as parasitic and harmful since they make a profit by charging more for less.  A public option would be better than nothing which is what Obamacare is.
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Fiscal Responsibility
Our national debt has skyrocketed, reaching over $17 trillion dollars.  What our leaders in Washington fail to mention is the $127 Trillion dollars in unfunded liabilities (see U.S. Debt Clock). This lack of leadership on both sides of the aisle threatens our nation’s stability and long term growth and forces an undue burden on our children and grandchildren. We must balance the federal budget by reducing spending.  I will support a balanced budget amendment which will force Congress to reign in the out of control federal spending and to restore confidence in the American economy.
Fiat systems dig a hole until it collapses.  Not sustainable.  Trying to make is sustainable is pissing into the wind.  Get worthwhile shit (e.g., enduring infrastructure and general quality of life) out of the system then try to make the re-set as painless as possible for normal people.
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Immigration
When addressing the issue of immigration, we must start by securing our border.  An open border is both a national security threat and an economic threat that our country cannot ignore. I reject any proposal that grants amnesty and undermines the fundamental rule of law. Adding millions of workers to the labor market will force wages to fall and jobs to be lost. I support proposals that will secure our border, enforce our current laws, and restore an orderly and fair process to allow law abiding individuals to work towards becoming citizens of this great nation.
I think we should make a decent place to live where people wish to come, then raid the rest of the world for tallant.  Basically incorporate them into the gene pool.  Decent work ethics and the like only last a few generations before regression to the mean takes it's toll, so it should be an ongoing process.
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Term Limits
I am a strong proponent of term limits for members of Congress. Career politicians and special moneyed interests have corrupted our democratic system.  I pledge to support and submit legislation that enforces term limits. Ideally, Congressional term limits would be for 12 years total, across both The House and The Senate. Thus, I pledge to term limit myself to 12 years in Congress.
I would like to see dedicated career politicians and pay them well, but also see them with no real privacy and very limited ability to capitalize on their authorities.  Term limits just provides a revolving door for crony capatilism to thrive.
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2nd Amendment
I will oppose any efforts to undermine or limit the Constitutional right to bear arms.

I am a strong supporter of gun rights. The right to keep and bear arms is a fundamental right enshrined in the constitution for a reason - it provides the people with the ultimate guarantee of sovereignty. I will oppose any back door attempts to confiscate guns or create a national gun registry. All too frequently the knee jerk reaction to tragedies by the media and chattering class is to move to restrict our rights. In Congress, I will be a steady and firm supporter of our 2nd amendment rights at all times - not just when it is convenient. Our founding documents make it clear that our inalienable rights come from God and that the job of the government is to ensure and protect those God given rights. I intend to keep it that way.
Agree.
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Education
As an economist and educator for eighteen years, I understand the value of a good education. This is why I oppose top down approaches by the Federal Government such as Common Core and No Child Left Behind. I will support efforts to place Virginia’s teachers, parents, and local officials, who best understand the needs of the community, in control of our education system.
I think our education system problems are due in large part to the attitudes that most people have about knowlege and education.  Priorities and expectations.  I think private schools mostly provoke a stratification of society.  I believe that our school systems should put people in tracks sooner.  By 6th grade it is easy enough to see who is and is not going to become a rocket scientist.
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National Security/Foreign Policy
Ronald Reagan said it best: “Peace through strength.” A strong military is essential to the success of our nation.  We must secure our borders, support the Armed Forces, both at home and abroad, and maintain a strong national defense in order to secure our country’s future.  In addition, I support a full investigation into the Benghazi attacks.
We've got nukes so we are strong enough to defend our borders.  More strength than that tempts us to do bad things and is a wast of money.  Benghazi is just a foot in the door for impeachement, but nobody has the balls to follow through and it is more and more pointless.
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Federal Reserve
I support a full audit of the Federal Reserve System.
Presumably as a step toward killing it.  If so, I agree (with the caveat that it should be part of a controlled demo and reset of our monetary system.)
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Energy
I support a broad-spectrum energy approach that relies on the free market.  The private sector must be set free to invest in natural gas, wind, solar, oil, nuclear, and other forms of energy as we move forward.  Ending our reliance on foreign oil and moving toward energy independence is vital to the future welfare of America.
Most of these guys want to sell the natural resource that should belong to all of us to their corporate sponsers to privatize the profits and socialize the losses.  If Brat does not, and if he treats the countries natural resources as an asset which belongs to all of us, I'll agree with him.  When people say 'free market' they usually don't mean that.
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10th Amendment
The federal government has grown far too large. Our Founders envisioned a nation in which the federal government’s powers were explicitly listed and limited. I fully support the Constitution and enforcing the 10th Amendment and getting the government out of the way of economic growth.  I will work to bring power back to the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Usually code for de-regulating which usually leads to disaster for all but a handful of corporate types.  I see plenty of areas where the Federal govt is most well situated to provide regulation and oversight.  As long as it is not under a system of crony capitalism I've got no real problem with it.
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Individual Freedoms
The federal government’s abuse of our freedoms has spun out of control. Whether it is the NSA violating our 4th Amendment Rights by collecting phone records, the IRS violating our 1st Amendment rights by targeting conservative organizations, or President Obama violating our 5th Amendment rights with the indefinite detention of American citizens, our freedoms have been under attack and they must be restored.
Agree.
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Uphold Human Life
Human life is sacred, as proclaimed by our founding documents, and I will always support laws that protect life. Our fundamental rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness precede the existence of government and come from God, the Author of Nature. These core constitutional rights have been usurped by the Judicial and Executive Branches and must be returned to the people and their representatives.
Major Fail.  I'm s staunch supporter of separation of church and state.  I'm also an athiest and have no interest whatsoever in having anyone's religion rammed down my throat.  Or even influencing me in any tangible way good or bad.
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There's nothing there that I disagree w/. If we had more of these kinds of republicans in Congress and in the Big House, America would have a very different reputation than it does now. He'll be real tight w/ Amash on damn near every issue. I can't overstate how great of a win this was but now we gotta double down for the General election. Ya can't just be pro-freedom on one good issue to be acceptable or better for America. The message this sent was deafening and embarrassing to those that have been ripping us off for decades all the while campaigning like conservatives. I'm happy some of the people in the GOP are starting to see through this.
legendary
Activity: 1568
Merit: 1001
Rep. Cantor’s Defeat a Blow to Runaway Military Spending
Quote
House Majority Leader Rep. Eric Cantor (R – VA) lost his primary challenge to relative unknown David Brat, who ran against him on surveillance issues. The real loser may have been the military industrial complex, who had no better friend in the Congressional leadership.

There are a lot of hawks out there, but there were few as outspokenly supportive of deficit-pumping military overspending than the outgoing majority leader, and that had a lot of fiscal conservatives hoping to challenge him for the position. Now, they won’t have to.

Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R – TX) is one potential new leader in the post-Cantor era, and he and others bring more interest in sequestration and keeping spending under control, something that won’t sit well with the outgoing leadership, or the lobbyists behind them.

Cantor has long been railing against the Tea Party and other advocates of spending cuts as “isolationists” for believing the US could only afford a finite number of wars.
http://news.antiwar.com/2014/06/11/rep-cantors-defeat-a-blow-to-runaway-military-spending/
In case few are familiar w/ the above site, ya gotta keep tabs on it as it's the heavy weight site for real analyzing of foreign policy from a non-interventionist viewpoint.
legendary
Activity: 1568
Merit: 1001


As for Brat, when I look down his list of policy positions I personally am against almost every frickin one of them.  But as long as he means what he says and executes on it in terms of fighting crony capitalism, I'm delighted to see him in the federal govt.  Seems to me that 'tea party' folks at least as prone than anyone to get sucked in to the game.  OTOH, I know nothing about Amash positions other than that he is on the right side of the domestic spying issue and fighting the good fight.  Even if he is wrong on everything else, his activities in this one area are worth it to me.


Dude, here's Brat's Issues section
Quote
Issues

snip

i do think it's promising. he was asked whether he thought a minimum wage increase was a good idea or not, and he made an honest statement: he doesn't know whether it's good or bad.

problem is, he's going to be a minority in the house. he'll have to win public support, or by his next election cycle, he's going to be booted.
An honest statement doesn't necessarily mean he doesn't have an educated opinion a touchy issue lately that he's not going to get into the weeds on. Likely, he's measuring his statements on sideshow issues that the media is tossing out in hopes of demagoguing or giving the democrat a leg up on. The guy is an austrian economics professor so I can guarantee you he ain't for a min wage at all.

Assuming he gets elected in a republican district, he's already made a name for himself and he'll be straight going forward. Remember, he'll always be known as the dragon slayer.
sr. member
Activity: 434
Merit: 250


As for Brat, when I look down his list of policy positions I personally am against almost every frickin one of them.  But as long as he means what he says and executes on it in terms of fighting crony capitalism, I'm delighted to see him in the federal govt.  Seems to me that 'tea party' folks at least as prone than anyone to get sucked in to the game.  OTOH, I know nothing about Amash positions other than that he is on the right side of the domestic spying issue and fighting the good fight.  Even if he is wrong on everything else, his activities in this one area are worth it to me.


Dude, here's Brat's Issues section
Quote
Issues

Obamacare
Obamacare has proven to be an economically disastrous law and an unconstitutional power grab by our Federal Government. The government cannot and should not be permitted to run and regulate nearly 20% of our nation’s economy. We must restore the relationship between doctor and patient. We must restore the relationship between price and service in medicine or we will continue on the Road to Serfdom. I support a plan to defund the law and replace it with free-market solutions that lower costs, improve quality, and increase access to care.

Fiscal Responsibility
Our national debt has skyrocketed, reaching over $17 trillion dollars.  What our leaders in Washington fail to mention is the $127 Trillion dollars in unfunded liabilities (see U.S. Debt Clock). This lack of leadership on both sides of the aisle threatens our nation’s stability and long term growth and forces an undue burden on our children and grandchildren. We must balance the federal budget by reducing spending.  I will support a balanced budget amendment which will force Congress to reign in the out of control federal spending and to restore confidence in the American economy.

Immigration
When addressing the issue of immigration, we must start by securing our border.  An open border is both a national security threat and an economic threat that our country cannot ignore. I reject any proposal that grants amnesty and undermines the fundamental rule of law. Adding millions of workers to the labor market will force wages to fall and jobs to be lost. I support proposals that will secure our border, enforce our current laws, and restore an orderly and fair process to allow law abiding individuals to work towards becoming citizens of this great nation.

Term Limits
I am a strong proponent of term limits for members of Congress. Career politicians and special moneyed interests have corrupted our democratic system.  I pledge to support and submit legislation that enforces term limits. Ideally, Congressional term limits would be for 12 years total, across both The House and The Senate. Thus, I pledge to term limit myself to 12 years in Congress.

2nd Amendment
I will oppose any efforts to undermine or limit the Constitutional right to bear arms.

I am a strong supporter of gun rights. The right to keep and bear arms is a fundamental right enshrined in the constitution for a reason - it provides the people with the ultimate guarantee of sovereignty. I will oppose any back door attempts to confiscate guns or create a national gun registry. All too frequently the knee jerk reaction to tragedies by the media and chattering class is to move to restrict our rights. In Congress, I will be a steady and firm supporter of our 2nd amendment rights at all times - not just when it is convenient. Our founding documents make it clear that our inalienable rights come from God and that the job of the government is to ensure and protect those God given rights. I intend to keep it that way.

Education
As an economist and educator for eighteen years, I understand the value of a good education. This is why I oppose top down approaches by the Federal Government such as Common Core and No Child Left Behind. I will support efforts to place Virginia’s teachers, parents, and local officials, who best understand the needs of the community, in control of our education system.

National Security/Foreign Policy
Ronald Reagan said it best: “Peace through strength.” A strong military is essential to the success of our nation.  We must secure our borders, support the Armed Forces, both at home and abroad, and maintain a strong national defense in order to secure our country’s future.  In addition, I support a full investigation into the Benghazi attacks.

Federal Reserve
I support a full audit of the Federal Reserve System.

Energy
I support a broad-spectrum energy approach that relies on the free market.  The private sector must be set free to invest in natural gas, wind, solar, oil, nuclear, and other forms of energy as we move forward.  Ending our reliance on foreign oil and moving toward energy independence is vital to the future welfare of America.

10th Amendment
The federal government has grown far too large. Our Founders envisioned a nation in which the federal government’s powers were explicitly listed and limited. I fully support the Constitution and enforcing the 10th Amendment and getting the government out of the way of economic growth.  I will work to bring power back to the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Individual Freedoms
The federal government’s abuse of our freedoms has spun out of control. Whether it is the NSA violating our 4th Amendment Rights by collecting phone records, the IRS violating our 1st Amendment rights by targeting conservative organizations, or President Obama violating our 5th Amendment rights with the indefinite detention of American citizens, our freedoms have been under attack and they must be restored.

Uphold Human Life
Human life is sacred, as proclaimed by our founding documents, and I will always support laws that protect life. Our fundamental rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness precede the existence of government and come from God, the Author of Nature. These core constitutional rights have been usurped by the Judicial and Executive Branches and must be returned to the people and their representatives.
There's nothing there that I disagree w/. If we had more of these kinds of republicans in Congress and in the Big House, America would have a very different reputation than it does now. He'll be real tight w/ Amash on damn near every issue. I can't overstate how great of a win this was but now we gotta double down for the General election. Ya can't just be pro-freedom on one good issue to be acceptable or better for America. The message this sent was deafening and embarrassing to those that have been ripping us off for decades all the while campaigning like conservatives. I'm happy some of the people in the GOP are starting to see through this.

i do think it's promising. he was asked whether he thought a minimum wage increase was a good idea or not, and he made an honest statement: he doesn't know whether it's good or bad.

problem is, he's going to be a minority in the house. he'll have to win public support, or by his next election cycle, he's going to be booted.
legendary
Activity: 1568
Merit: 1001


As for Brat, when I look down his list of policy positions I personally am against almost every frickin one of them.  But as long as he means what he says and executes on it in terms of fighting crony capitalism, I'm delighted to see him in the federal govt.  Seems to me that 'tea party' folks at least as prone than anyone to get sucked in to the game.  OTOH, I know nothing about Amash positions other than that he is on the right side of the domestic spying issue and fighting the good fight.  Even if he is wrong on everything else, his activities in this one area are worth it to me.


Dude, here's Brat's Issues section
Quote
Issues

Obamacare
Obamacare has proven to be an economically disastrous law and an unconstitutional power grab by our Federal Government. The government cannot and should not be permitted to run and regulate nearly 20% of our nation’s economy. We must restore the relationship between doctor and patient. We must restore the relationship between price and service in medicine or we will continue on the Road to Serfdom. I support a plan to defund the law and replace it with free-market solutions that lower costs, improve quality, and increase access to care.

Fiscal Responsibility
Our national debt has skyrocketed, reaching over $17 trillion dollars.  What our leaders in Washington fail to mention is the $127 Trillion dollars in unfunded liabilities (see U.S. Debt Clock). This lack of leadership on both sides of the aisle threatens our nation’s stability and long term growth and forces an undue burden on our children and grandchildren. We must balance the federal budget by reducing spending.  I will support a balanced budget amendment which will force Congress to reign in the out of control federal spending and to restore confidence in the American economy.

Immigration
When addressing the issue of immigration, we must start by securing our border.  An open border is both a national security threat and an economic threat that our country cannot ignore. I reject any proposal that grants amnesty and undermines the fundamental rule of law. Adding millions of workers to the labor market will force wages to fall and jobs to be lost. I support proposals that will secure our border, enforce our current laws, and restore an orderly and fair process to allow law abiding individuals to work towards becoming citizens of this great nation.

Term Limits
I am a strong proponent of term limits for members of Congress. Career politicians and special moneyed interests have corrupted our democratic system.  I pledge to support and submit legislation that enforces term limits. Ideally, Congressional term limits would be for 12 years total, across both The House and The Senate. Thus, I pledge to term limit myself to 12 years in Congress.

2nd Amendment
I will oppose any efforts to undermine or limit the Constitutional right to bear arms.

I am a strong supporter of gun rights. The right to keep and bear arms is a fundamental right enshrined in the constitution for a reason - it provides the people with the ultimate guarantee of sovereignty. I will oppose any back door attempts to confiscate guns or create a national gun registry. All too frequently the knee jerk reaction to tragedies by the media and chattering class is to move to restrict our rights. In Congress, I will be a steady and firm supporter of our 2nd amendment rights at all times - not just when it is convenient. Our founding documents make it clear that our inalienable rights come from God and that the job of the government is to ensure and protect those God given rights. I intend to keep it that way.

Education
As an economist and educator for eighteen years, I understand the value of a good education. This is why I oppose top down approaches by the Federal Government such as Common Core and No Child Left Behind. I will support efforts to place Virginia’s teachers, parents, and local officials, who best understand the needs of the community, in control of our education system.

National Security/Foreign Policy
Ronald Reagan said it best: “Peace through strength.” A strong military is essential to the success of our nation.  We must secure our borders, support the Armed Forces, both at home and abroad, and maintain a strong national defense in order to secure our country’s future.  In addition, I support a full investigation into the Benghazi attacks.

Federal Reserve
I support a full audit of the Federal Reserve System.

Energy
I support a broad-spectrum energy approach that relies on the free market.  The private sector must be set free to invest in natural gas, wind, solar, oil, nuclear, and other forms of energy as we move forward.  Ending our reliance on foreign oil and moving toward energy independence is vital to the future welfare of America.

10th Amendment
The federal government has grown far too large. Our Founders envisioned a nation in which the federal government’s powers were explicitly listed and limited. I fully support the Constitution and enforcing the 10th Amendment and getting the government out of the way of economic growth.  I will work to bring power back to the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Individual Freedoms
The federal government’s abuse of our freedoms has spun out of control. Whether it is the NSA violating our 4th Amendment Rights by collecting phone records, the IRS violating our 1st Amendment rights by targeting conservative organizations, or President Obama violating our 5th Amendment rights with the indefinite detention of American citizens, our freedoms have been under attack and they must be restored.

Uphold Human Life
Human life is sacred, as proclaimed by our founding documents, and I will always support laws that protect life. Our fundamental rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness precede the existence of government and come from God, the Author of Nature. These core constitutional rights have been usurped by the Judicial and Executive Branches and must be returned to the people and their representatives.
There's nothing there that I disagree w/. If we had more of these kinds of republicans in Congress and in the Big House, America would have a very different reputation than it does now. He'll be real tight w/ Amash on damn near every issue. I can't overstate how great of a win this was but now we gotta double down for the General election. Ya can't just be pro-freedom on one good issue to be acceptable or better for America. The message this sent was deafening and embarrassing to those that have been ripping us off for decades all the while campaigning like conservatives. I'm happy some of the people in the GOP are starting to see through this.
sr. member
Activity: 434
Merit: 250
^ yeah, i'm hoping there are some people in washington who are fed up with money in politics. there is absolutely no reason why a presidential hopeful has to start their campaign literally 2 years before the damn elections.. that just means they have to make more promises to the large corporations.

another reason why i hate republicans: they are largely responsible for this new era of injecting money into politics. see "citizens united."

i think campaign finance reform + stopping the gerrymandering would go a long way in fixing our problems.. but they have too much of a stronghold at this point. and i'm sure there are people here who would be against it, but i kinda wish that the presidential campaigns were federally funded, and each candidate gets the same amount of money so we have a level playing field. it would probably do a lot to help the middle class, since we wouldn't have presidential hopefuls selling themselves to wallstreet, bankers, and large corporations.
legendary
Activity: 4690
Merit: 1276

Cenk did a pretty good analysis about this and made a convincing case that the 'immigration reform' excuse for Cantor's ass-whoopin does NOT hold a lot of water.

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vkIm7EZcxs

I'd say that there is little light between Brat and Warren on their (current and stated) attitudes about how money and politics work in our current system, and THAT is why both are successful.  And more importantly, why those who can make a convincing argument that they hold the same attitudes will be successful going forward.

I don't see much mention of the parallels between the Cantor and Lieberman experiences and comparing the two.  If Cantor tries to stick around through some mechanism (and especially if he succeeds which is likely) then I don't think it will be possible to avoid comparing him to Lieberman.  Lieberman was already a pretty loathsome creature in the eyes of progressives before he lost the primary, but his true colors really went on display in a major way when he served as an Independent.

As for Brat, when I look down his list of policy positions I personally am against almost every frickin one of them.  But as long as he means what he says and executes on it in terms of fighting crony capitalism, I'm delighted to see him in the federal govt.  Seems to me that 'tea party' folks at least as prone than anyone to get sucked in to the game.  OTOH, I know nothing about Amash positions other than that he is on the right side of the domestic spying issue and fighting the good fight.  Even if he is wrong on everything else, his activities in this one area are worth it to me.

It is a VERY positive trend that the plebs on both sides are really getting fed up with money in politics.  Both sides need to be on the lookout for astroturf which, I suspect, will be the main way that the establishment will respond to this threat.

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