This page has been archived and commenting is disabled.
The Cantor-Slayer: Meet David Brat
The only thing that is more shocking than yesterday's stunning defeat of Republican Eric Cantor at the hand of a completely unknown tea-party candidate, David Brat - an outcome many have called the "biggest blow to the GOP establishment in years" and one which may be reverberating in equities today as "same as it ever was" politics was dealt a major blow - is just how unknown (and underfunded) David Brat is (and was).
So for all those curious to learn some more about this Cantor-slaying "David", here first, with no edits, is the information straight from the horse's mouth: his CV from Randolph-Macon College in Virginia.
More on his background from Politico
Brat, a Michigan native, is 49 years old. He’s spent the last 18 years working as an economics professor at Randolph Macon College, a school of around 1,200 students located in Ashland, Va. According to news reports, he also spent time working as an economist in the Army and at the accounting firm Arthur Andersen.
He earned his bachelors degree from Hope College, a small liberal arts college in Holland, Mich. He would go on to get a doctorate in economics from American University. Brat, who is Catholic, got his masters from Princeton Theological Seminiary, an institution that, according to its mission statement, “prepares women and men to serve Jesus Christ in ministries marked by faith, integrity, scholarship, competence, compassion, and joy, equipping them for leadership worldwide in congregations and the larger church, in classrooms and the academy, and in the public arena.”
Brat launched his campaign in January. Like many tea party-aligned candidates, he said he wanted to address the nation’s ballooning deficit and that he wanted to be Cantor’s “term limit.”
But, even for a conservative hopeful, he took on the Republican establishment in unusually harsh terms. Shortly after launching his campaign, according to an account in the Culpeper Star Exponent, Brat held an event in which he suggested that Washington politicians charged money to pass laws. He also said that, to get a seat on the House Ethics Committee, a member would have to pay $150,000.
“These days everything is for sale in D.C,” Brat said at the time, according to the paper.
Appearing on Fox News after the race was called, Brat disputed the characterization of the race as being simply a battle between the tea party and establishment. He said he had won support from Republicans across the board who were attracted to his espousal of fiscal conservatism and “faith in God.”
“The press is always out to have these exciting stories to sell papers, and people actually do care about policy,” he said. “I give 30-minute stump speeches on policy and the press made fun of me. …Well the American people are ready for serious issues.”
Brat’s top strategist for much of the race was John Pudner, who operates an Atlanta, Ga.-based political consulting firm, Concentric Direct. Pudner spent the first two months of the contest working for Brat directly, then split off in March to start a Brat-backing super PAC.
Speaking by phone Tuesday night, Pudner said he was in shock. There were times during the race when he felt hopeful, he said, but even Brat’s strongest supporters didn’t see this coming.
“I think we’re all waiting to wake up to see if this really happened,” he said.
On Fox News, Brat called his win a “miracle.”
“I think the people are just ready for some major changes in this country,” he said, “and I was blessed. It’s a miracle.”
And by way of the ABC, here once again, is his pre-election profile:
Brat, who admits that he has supported several Cantor candidacies over the years, says he mounted his improbable primary campaign because the House GOP's No. 2 leader has lost touch with his constituents, "veering from the Republican creed."
"Years ago he had a good conservative track record, but now he's veered off," Brat told ABC News during an interview on Capitol Hill. "If you go to Heritage and look at their score, I think he's at about a 53 right now. I mean, that's an F-minus."
Heritage Action's scorecard tracks Republican votes, co-sponsorships and other legislative activity to gauge how conservative members of Congress are performing. Cantor actually receives a 52 percent, which ranks seventh among eight Virginia House Republicans.
While a recent profile of the race in the Washington Post characterized Brat as "a potential threat," the quirky challenger knows he has a tough road to victory in the June 10 primary.
"Most of these [primary] races don't kick in until about 30 days prior," he said. "Now everyone's looking, what's the race? It's an open primary and it's just Eric and I on the ticket."
Brat, 49, isn't the first primary challenger Cantor has faced. The Richmond Republican smoked primary challenger Floyd Bayne in 2012 by nearly 60 percentage points before cruising to a 17-point victory in the general election.
But with low primary turnout (just 47,000 voters turned out in the primary two years ago) and anti-incumbency fervor at an all-time high, Cantor's team says they aren't overlooking Brat, although they "don't see him getting a great deal of traction."
"We're on the ground, running the campaign," Cantor campaign spokesman and senior strategist Ray Allen said in a phone interview. "We take every figure seriously and do our own due diligence. It is what it is."
Brat claims "the money is flowing in right now," expanding an underwhelming campaign war chest that he last reported contained just $40,000.
"The race was once viewed as a long-shot, [but] it's tightening now," Brat said. "We're well over double, triple what we had on the books just a month ago and so now we're getting the national attention I always hoped."
Brat complained that Cantor, 50, has a "crony-capitalist mentality" to take care of the corporate sector ahead of the interests of small businesses.
"On the conservative scorecard, on the free market votes, he's doing everything wrong," Brat said. "He's not following what folks in his district want him to do and it's hurting the country."
Allen described Brat as "a weird duck" and criticized him for serving on then-Democratic Gov. Tim Kaine's Joint Advisory Board of Economists.
"Eric Cantor is a conservative leader," Allen, who has advised Cantor's campaigns since 1991, said. "[Brat] doesn't like being called a liberal college professor, but that's what he is and what he's always been. Tea Party conservatives don't serve as an economic adviser to Tim Kaine."
Brat calls himself as a "free market guy," and says he wants to repeal the Affordable Care Act. He also pledged never to increase taxes and to stick to a five-year promise not to vote to increase the debt limit.
"This isn't a personal race. I'm not running against Eric," he stressed. "I'm just running on the founding principles that Adam Smith and free markets - they made us the greatest nation on the Earth. All right? It's no mystery. Our rights, tradition, along with free markets and the Judeo-Christian tradition all together made us the greatest nation on the face of the Earth. I think we're veering off course a little bit there and I want to get us back on that course that brought us to greatness."
If Brat ultimately wins the primary and is seated in the 114 th Congress, he would not commit his vote for speaker to House Speaker John Boehner, but offered his support to any contender who's "more free market and more fiscally responsible."
"I'd have to take a good look at what they're doing but I support people who follow the Republican creed, and so it doesn't look like the leadership is doing a good job on that right now," Brat said.
"They're not free market at all, right? They do not take free market seriously and they're off on fiscal responsibility."
»
- 22233 reads
- Printer-friendly version
- Send to friend
- advertisements -
Don't worry, he'll be a heroic warrior.....
....until they are able to bribe the horse
Hooray, finally, a politician who will save us from the other politicians!!
Anyone see anything wrong with depending on a new batch of politicians to save us from the preexisting crop of politicians?
If David Brat is serious about government reduction, after being elected he’ll eliminate his position then move on to his next win.
Sooo stupid believing 'my politician' will 'save us'.
I've thought of a way to make politicians more responsive to the people. Make 'em get as many more percentage points over 50% in the next election as years they have served. No frank term limits. Just an ever-steepening hill to climb.
The good ones stay for a while. The bad ones don't.
This reminds me of television from my childhood where you have Cantor led off the podium shouting:
"....and I would have made it too if it wasn't for that Brat!"
The Tea-Party, just another layer of delusion upon the delusion that is the "two-party" system. LOL
Chance favors the prepared mind.........Alexander the Great
Warmongering Creep Goes Down
Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr.
How fun to see Eric Cantor, de facto House Republican leader, defeated by a good margin in Virginia. Cantor spent more than $5 million, his econ professor opponent a tiny amount. There is also a personal angle for me: Cantor is a Ron Paul hater, and was his most bitter opponent in the House because Ron is a man of peace. Eric, I have a job idea for you: enlist in one of the armies you love so much.
6:32 am on June 11, 2014 Email Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr.
http://www.lewrockwell.com/lrc-blog/warmongering-creep-goes-down/
When You Have a Choice:
Vote neither Dem nor Repub
When no choice Don't vote Encumbent
The tea party will take over the republican party in 10 years followed by the old-line republican RINOs forming a "socialist-lite" me-too democratic party which will split the brain dead communist votes in the USA and usher in a new breath of freedom with tea party majorities everywhere!
Anyone???
The tea party will take over the republican party in 10 years followed by the old-line republican RINOs forming a "socialist-lite" me-too democratic party which will split the brain dead communist votes in the USA and usher in a new breath of freedom with tea party majorities everywhere!
Anyone???
The tea party will take over the republican party in 10 years followed by the old-line republican RINOs forming a "socialist-lite" me-too democratic party which will split the brain dead communist votes in the USA and usher in a new breath of freedom with tea party majorities everywhere!
Anyone???
The USSR fell after a total collapse and nobody believed in hope and change any more.
Can Brat snatch the ring from Sauron? Very doubtful
I would like to know if Brat favors Keynesian economics
This video doesn't work...even on YouTube
Pledge to not raise the debt celling? If we raise it, it'll kill us. If we don't raise it, it'll kill us. If Brat is not corrupt, just wait until K Street gets ahold of him.
Hahahahha, Tea idiots changed a sellout to a Jesus sellout, why was Cantor voted out? Probably because refused to give Kochs everything they wanted so here comes... "invisible hand is gods way of adjusting the markets" enjoy...
"On Fox News, Brat called his win a “miracle.”
“I think the people are just ready for some major changes in this country,” he said, “and I was blessed. It’s a miracle.”"
Winning a popularity contest among mouth-breathers isnt like turning water to wine, now theres a miracle.
This is going to be fun, US education system is soon teaching that the world is flat.
The Founders sold out to God and your dream candidate would be whom? It’s a little hard to take seriously a narrative concerning election politics when it’s based on atheism and/or an anti-Christian prejudice. Perhaps you would show us the Koch brothers’ contributions to Brat; his contributions were about $150,000 vs. $5,000,000 for Cantor.
So maybe we are talking “miracles.” At any rate, it’s a little hard to call David Brat a sellout to anybody.
And could I just speak personally here. If the Koch brothers will come up with enough contributions to rid the Congress of all the sellouts to the banking cartel, then I am a Koch brothers supporter.
Cruz is a Koch brother guy. I don´t think the Koches have much interest in doing away with the banking cartel.
You are probably right, AB.
As I said, I support the Kochs only “if the Koch brothers will come up with enough contributions to rid the Congress of all the sellouts to the banking cartel.” And, as you say, Cruz is a sellout.
As for Cruz being an “Israeli lackey,” I find in my search that Texe Marrs had this to say about Cruz and the Kochs…
Senator Ted Cruz—his real name is Rafael Cruz—from Texas is Congress’ new fake conservative. Let me give you the scoop on this deceiver:
In the first month after winning the election, Cruz flew to Israel twice to get instructions from his new masters. He and Senate Minority Leader, Mitch McConnell (R-KY), went together on one of the trips—an “unscheduled” event.
Cruz was heavily supported by the fake “Tea Party” set up by the billionaire Jews, the Koch brothers of New York.
Israeli clone Cruz already let everyone in Congress know he would be the southwest representative for the Israelis (Senator Marco Rubio of Florida is the southern representative). Like Rubio, Ted Cruz is 100% pro-immigration though he claims he’s for it only if we first fix border security (oh sure).
http://www.texemarrs.com/032013/ted_cruz.htm
Regarding the founding of the Tea Party movement, I support the view that it emerged from the "ashes" of Ron Paul's 2008 presidential primary campaign. Perhaps the Kochs became “involved” as a control measure, as in a takeover attempt.
No question that he is the establishment guy, using the same playbook as Obama: sell the party base what it wants to hear, then do the establishment bidding in office. He´ll line up all the big donors, have all the charismatic evangelical endorsements and "cruz" through to the nomination, winning the general election handily. Given Diane Sawyer´s rough treatment of Hillary yesterday, looks to me like the established media is already preparing to offer token resistance to his coronation, and the Dems are just deciding what sacrificial lamb to throw up.
Unless events dictate the course of events, the establishment has already decided who their next front-man is... Cruz.
You’re right, AB, and Sawyer was rough on Hillary; she nailed her on Benghazi.
Sawyer’s point being that should a candidate for president who’ll be handling the Benghazi incident be using a “sentence that begins from you, I should have.” Clinton at one point said, “I take responsibility but I was not making security decisions.”
Commented Erik Wemple in an article on WaPo, “For the record, possible-presidential-candidates-in-abeyance should never attach conjunctions to their declarations of responsibility-taking.”
This is highly significant; iow, they're going to say to Hillary, did you believe you did anything wrong? And when she says, No, they're going to wonder why she was Secretary of State instead of someone more qualified. If she says, Yes, they are going to ask what was it you did wrong and let's go into detail.
As for Rand Paul’s support for Israel, Justin Raimondo of Antiwar.com thinks Rand’s Israel support bill was a kind of trick because it actually costs Israel money and is not the sincere endorsement that it appears; hence, AIPAC’s opposition to it.
And it’s become clear, thanks to Ted Cruz’s comments, that Rand Paul will not be the Israeli representative that Jewish lobbyists had hoped for in that Ted Cruz proudly occupies that position -- a hot seat that, in my opinion, cost Romney the presidential election.
The great diplomatic challenge for the U.S. (a challenge of their own making, by the way) has been how to maintain a coalition of Israel and the Islamic governments-monarchies that the U.S. needs to sustain the petrodollar: Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, etc... . We can see clearly in the past few years that this coalition is coming unravelled. Obama and Hillary, especially, have been particularly inept at maintaining this coalition, which was the primary task that the establishment assigned them in foreign policy. Of course, the pursuit of neo-con, Brzezinskiesque attempts to eviscerate Russia by cutting her off from her allies and southern client-states (Syria being the most obvious example, but Iraq as well) have made this task increasingly difficult. Saudi Arabia et al have been very uncooperative as well insisting on rabid cultural expansion via their Wahhabism.
The breakdown of this coalition abroad will have serious implications for the global aristocracy and their governance of the American and European territories. It is increasingly difficult for the heavily Jewish financial elite and their sympathy for Israel to work with the energy aristocracy: the Cheneys, Bushes, et al. This was the great neo-con coalition, and despite all their best efforts to maintain their alliance, events are pulling them apart. Neither side is willing to admit that their needs are incompatible with the other, and this is why U.S. foreign policy is such a disaster.
The real question is how long can this international aristocracy maintain control of Europe. Russia is the source of much European energy and Jewish-Wall-Street finance is holding Europe together with greenbacks and credit to try to paper over the Germanic-Southern rift in Europe. As Russia works with China and Europe to move away from the Greenback, the whole ancien regime could fall. And who will suffer the worst of it... the U.S. first and foremost. After that... the Muslim fundamentalists and finally Israel and a Russian, Chinese, European global order could quickly force these nations under a new system... not quite the New World Order neo-cons had in mind.
Amen! Compelling insight.
Troll
Still happy with your 'Hope and Change'?
Isn't that special.
politics - same shit, different pile
I think it's interesting that the (right-wing "anarchist") Tea Party has picked up and carried the populist mantle, while the Dems who have traditionally been "for the little guy" are anything but. The Dems (and the Dem-light Repubs) of today are for big banks, multi national conglomerates, big labor, and the ever expanding nanny state. Fuck the Dems, and fuck the Repubs too. It doesn't surprise me one bit that a "political nobody" beat Cantor. Good riddance Eric. Now let's focus on removing Boner from office.
One slimeball gone many more to go.
Jesus! He's just another old time Calvinist...making apologies for the wealthy.
"This isn't a personal race. I'm not running against Eric. I'm just running on the founding principles [of] Adam Smith and free markets - they made us the greatest nation on the Earth…” – David Brat
Adam Smith was an advocate of self-interest in human affairs that produced the American economic miracle – for the butcher, the brewer, the baker…
Hans Sennholz, in an essay titled "In Search of Monetary Stability" (The Freeman, Feb. 1977), wrote, "Man's hope for this monetary stability is his quest for government to abstain from monetary depreciation ... The only stable money, in the long-run, is the money of the market: It is non-political money. Real stability comes with the removal of government control over money."
Smith’s invisible hand is the term economists use to describe the self-regulating nature of the marketplace:
· Christmas is a time when kids tell Santa what they want and adults pay for it. Deficits are when adults tell the government what they want and their kids pay for it."
· "It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker, that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own self-interest. We address ourselves, not to their humanity but to their self-love, and never talk to them of our own neccessities but of their advantages."
· "I cannot undertake to lay my finger on that article of the Constitution which granted a right to Congress of expending, on the objects of benevolence, the money of their constituents."
· "If all the economists were laid end to end, they'd never reach a conclusion."
· "The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public's money."
I have two rules for voting 1)never vote for a lawyer, 2) never vote for anyone who has spent more of their adult life playing politics than working an honest job.
...this gentleman knows the value of Good Buzzwords.
As an Elitist brought up in the Cradle of The Rich, Well Bred, and Privileged, he has little impetus to get down and dirty with the middle class and poor folk.
If everything is "for sale" in DC (hasn't it been that way now for well over 50 years?) ... he didn't say anything that made me think he would be any different, or any less "for sale".
Perhaps we would be a tad better off electing a few well educated but homeless folks from under our bridges.
We might get quite a fresh perspective from some of them.
http://www.businessinsider.com/dave-brat-minimum-wage-question-eric-cant... "Um, I don't have a well-crafted response on that one," Brat said.
Economist with no opinion on minmum wage? Hmmm...I think this guys "miracle" is about to turn into his worst nightmare.You can bet he has an answer.
He just doesn't want to give one with a rope hanging from the end that Dems can use to hang him from.
There's a big middle out there and a lot of them, unfortunately, exist solely on soundbites.
Here's alittle something regarding the 113th U.S. (Jan.3,2013/ Jan.3,2015) Congress, that seems (what's new[`s?]) to go 'MIA' and/or unnoticed by the MSM? I guess having a 'Snowden'd Effect', can create the aura of a Modern day 'Donner-Party cannibalism all you can eat, 'free-4-awe'?
It is the worst congress since 1974 {(Nixon resigns 8/8/74)(Watergate & Ellsberg's Vietnam expose *[Pentagon Papers June 13, 1971])} when data was first actually being collected... long before the 'Heritage Action Overview'?: the 93rd U.S. Congress (Jan.3, 1973/ Jan.3,1975).
But, I would be remiss not to mention the 'mother-of-all-fuck'd`up-congresses'! That was the 80th U.S. (Jan.3,1947 / Jan.3 1949) Congress. The so called infamous Harry Truman designated, useless... 'Do-Nothing-Congress'!
Ps. I'm wondering if RAND isn't behind the woodpile outback?
jmo
thankyou Tyler
Getting rid of incumbents is never a bad idea, especially in these days. But the right has an atrocious record of picking replacements, especially when they bring up these 'new faces'.
But, even as someone who you folks here at ZH would call 'liberal', I am waiting to make my judgement on this guy.
I haven't heard anything that screams out at me, except for the religious references...and the word 'Calvinist' does send up a red flag for me...not screaming, as of yet, but I'll be watching it for sure.
Cantor's loss does give me some happiness, as I strongly approve of sending that message to those who feel so comfortable in their high places. I know it has caused the establishment GOP some heart palpitations, and that party needs a strong kick in the ass.
But the Democrats also ought to be worried, and I hope to hell they ARE. Especially those who offer up Hillary as the only possible choice in 2016...*gack!*
Who knows? If the established powers really start to believe that 'the people' are gunning for incumbents, regardless of party affinity, then we might actually start to see things get done for a change. These jerks may start listening to their constituents instead of their party leaders.
What´s wrong with Calvinists?
The Calvinist mind-set believes that people get rich because they are morally superior, the wealth is the visible 'sign' of God's approval.
The question should be, "What's RIGHT with Calvinists?"
The answer, "Not much."
Sounds more like the "prosperity" Gospel of the charismatic churches. That said, I agree that there often can be an aura of snootiness in staunch Calvinists, given their heavy emphasis upon God´s "elect." Whatever the case may be, I think that Brat is probably a significant upgrade over Cantor if one wants forthright and honest politicians more interested in restoring entrepreneurial initiative than multi-national corporation profits.
That God rewards moral and fiscal rectitude.
Oh! The horror.
Might as well be a cannibal.
From the Book of Isaiah:
Judgment against Judah and Jerusalem
…10Say to the righteous that it will go well with them, For they will eat the fruit of their actions. 11Woe to the wicked! It will go badly with him, For what he deserves will be done to him.
Have you ever noticed that most atheists carry the biggest moralizing club and use it freely?
I wonder why that is?
Is it they think they derive their sense of ethics from 'enlightened reason' and yet their ancestors thousands of years ago did not ?
One can argue if the Book was divinely inspired, but there is no doubt it is a book written by men.
The reward is heavenly... not earthly. Who promises earthly things? God or Satan? If you are a Christian, you know the correct answer to this question. One need only look at the world of high finance and Wall Street to see how intimate the relation can be between evil and wealth.
They colloborate with Hobbists?
Thomas Hobbes was no Calvinist.
It's TIMBER for both the establishment repubs and their demo conspirators: This man's declarations suggest the reawakening T-Party may have found real Presidential Timber.
Brat is a RINO at best. More likely, given the light turnout, Democrat voters crossed the line to bump Cantor. Outcome will either the Democrat wins next November or the RINO does. It's nice to see Cantor go, though. Really nowhere to go but up, as far as I'm concerned.
So everybody wants to forget what the FedGov did to the indigenous. Well, why did the Indians lose, you gotta' ask yourself. At the time of "MANIFUCK DESTINY", the FedGov had supieror training, better weaponry and military tactics. Gues what my fellow Indians, the same things are true today. So don't worry about getting crucified AGAIN just like our red brothers were a couple of hundred years ago. The next group of slaves to come along will forget you as well.
Burma Shave
Like Russell Means said "Welcome to the reservation"
Do you deny me the entrance to heaven, I who have at last learned the mystery of myself - Egyptian Mystery School Legend
Yes, to jump over the bridge of Selfhood hoping to land on the ship leaving for paradise, is to fall and drown for sure in the cold, swirling, demon-infested depths of perplexity and insanity. Self-Realization is necessary before God-Realization was the motto of the Vedanta Masters and Brahmanic sages. Know Thyself, were the words at the Delphic Oracle in Greece. The temple of the living God is Within announced the Christian Christ. The message is simple: There is no enlightenment outside of your Self. Man is his own priest and woman her own priestess. The cardinal misconception, that we can receive our Satori and our bliss, from someone or something other than the Self has achieved more than a reinforcement of the master-slave dichotomy. Michael T.
When you know yourselves, then you will be known, and you will know that you are the sons of the living Father. But if you do not know yourselves, then you are in poverty, and you are poverty - (Gospel of Thomas)
He is happy as well as great who needs neither to obey nor to command in order to be something - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Didn't goethe lead the way for Hitler?
Myself wanted a sandwich so I made one and ate it.
Guess I'm there.
Pretty damn easy.
I like it.
people still think that te unitest states can be saved by democracy.
the problems democracy creates ( an illusion of leadership filled by an incompetenet person whose job is to provide cover for undemocratically operating bearacracies --namely cia, nsa, dod dhs and the 'civilian' bureaucracies.,
this problem cannot be solved with democracy. a military coup, junta, or other potential movements to END democracy are the only solution on a systemic level.
the BEST possible 'solution' is a leader who provides a full coup leadership while maintaining the illusion of democracy by invoking marshall law and emergency powers and just wiping their ass with the 50 state governors.
that kind of federalism, and the extreme violence on domestic soil that comes with it could be very intersting if paired with fake elections . you know, like putin, but uncle same style.
i would elect the joint chiefs of staff president. think about it. they would just take the fed by force if they didn't get pay raises. all hell would break lose and they then use their authority to do WHATEVER they want. this is the solution to democracy.
Master of Divinity, Princeton Theological Seminary
So, who rules: Masters of Divinity or Masters of the Universe?
Wikipedia on Dave Brat:
"That the Federal Government must preserve individual liberty by observing Constitutional limitations,"
and
"That peace is best preserved through a strong national defense,"
That's all I need to know. Just another hypocrite who wants to bankrupt the taxpayer and pour money into the pockets of military contractors. You can safely ignore the first quote... he doesn't really mean it.
All I notice is that he didn't say "a strong national offense" which is what we have gotten for a very long time.
Lets hear the guy out. He'll have plenty of time to make his case.
Something that stands out to me about Brat's win is the money. Cantor had all the money, the big donors, no doubt.
Yet Brat won with his little nickel and dime campaign.
I'll accept a few cycles of bad candidates if it breaks the fever of money in politics. Obviously TPTB are not going to do anything about it, and they'll appoint SC justices who will give us shit like Citizens United, etc.
Fine. Then let the people elect those with little money. Let the people reject candidates who have huge 'war chests'. And let the politicians get the message that taking all that big money is toxic to one's ambitions.
Tell the Supreme Court to eat shit, and take back this country.
Citizens United WAS unconstitutional. It favored one type of speech over another.
The concept of what rights a corporation has beyond the rights of the members that own it possess has never been properly addressed. It has been an assumption of rights since the early railroad corporations which has never been properly tested.
Blaming bad law for bad non-law is silly.
In fact, I would vote for a law that limits all political contributions to sentient voters only. $250.00 per person or whatever but individually, not through PACS, corps or unions.
Candidates want money? They gotta talk to us, not them. They can't spend a dime. They can tell you who would help them but it's ultimately your choice. Lobbyists now need to convince you who to back because they can't give a dime either.
So, who loses their free speech in this manner? No voter. Speech all you want up to the limit. To a Party or Candidate(s).
Corrupt Washington fixed. This shit ain't rocket science.
NSA already has your E-mail address on file. They don't have to spend a dime to cc everyone in the country or state.
The interpretations of the law that we've seen in recent years are completely bizarre. There have been situations where people have been forced to sell their homes at a loss to someone who wanted to profit, and were then held responsible for the difference they owed to their banks. Why? Because "it is legal"...wtf????
And how is K Street lobbying even LEGAL? It is BRIBERY, that is its official job duty, to BRIBE public officials with gobs of money to do what they want...But it is an OFFICIAL, ACCEPTED THING, is it not? These folks even have their own offices...it's not like they're hiding or anything.
So, corporations, with their billions in cash, are allowed to become "persons" and donate to their favorite candidates? Sure...perfectly legal. Because courts have said so, and our interpretation of law is so dependent on the narrowly-defined interpretations allowed by those courts. The notion that the laws original intent was being twisted by the fancy 'wordsmithing' of our judicial system has apparently never occurred to anyone.
The problem is our courts and their creative application of the laws meant to PROTECT us.
(Any time the strict interpretation of any law harms an innocent person, that law should be barred from being used in that case. NEW law must be drawn up if you intend to pursue the case. It can NEVER be argued that the laws original intent was to cause harm to the innocent, so the fact that it DOES is proof it isn't appropriate for that case.)
long time / first time.
figured I'd break my comment cherry by noting that I had not previously heard of Mr. Brat but spent some time after lunch reading the several NY Times articles on the defeat of Cantor as well as the comments - all of which are painting this as basically a beer hall putsch by the new new hitler.
I posted a comment to the effect that it seems impolite to invite Mr. Brat to be the new Hitler insofar as we have previously invited Mr. Putin to play the role, and he is not done yet... but at time of writing this... that has not been published.
Seriously though - the Left has got themselves quite in a lather over this guy. I'm not sure opposing business as usual open borders plus amnesty plus social welfare beneys makes one "far right". I think it makes one a moderate. I may be wrong, however.
p.s. happy to "shill" for anyone who'd actually be willing to pay someone to post comments on relatively small hit blogs like this.
I was going to say something about the clever tie in to the NY Times and Looney Tunes...
But I won't.
Your Scrooge McDuck coin is in the mail.
Time to go after Boehner, Ryan and the rest of the Karl Rove production company.
Ok, thank goodness and I believe in VA again. Had my doubts after the last election!!!! Get rid of the GOP estabilishment... Come on TEA PARTY!
Why would someone have/get 2 million dollars to get a $175K year job? Go away big money campaigns anyway.....
Ok, thank goodness and I believe in VA again. Had my doubts after the last election!!!! Get rid of the GOP estabilishment... Come on TEA PARTY!
Why would someone have/get 2 million dollars to get a $175K year job? Go away big money campaigns anyway.....
So they can do god's work. Finding surreptitious ways to take billions without anyone noticing.
Or they could just be men and women who are on the side of the Angels.
And chickens have lips.
Cantor was too happy to lose. This guy is not real, using the same tired lines. Looks like he major in Manipulation. A Tea Party plant? "The best way to control the opposition, is to lead it." This is not looking good. Call me skeptical, but I don't think this even requires research.
Praise Jesus, our Leader has arrived?
The Mouse that Roared.
You really can't say much other than that Cantor is gone. Not for sure. With only 16% or less voter turnout, one would hardly call it a mandate.
At best, this is Remarkable in that Cantor so turned off his base, or his base lost interest in him and didn't even bother to take the time to vote, for whatever reasons.
The other thing that pisses me off about his defeat is he was one of the only in CONgress to actively gather the republican forces to vote against the "Stimulus", which as we all know who have hung out on this blog, was and is a blatant lie. The only stimulating that's really gotten done is tickling Lord Blankfein, Jamie Dimon, GM, Joe Cassano and a buncha other crooked, corrupt, bent Oligarchs' asses with a feather.
For that alone he should be----- as nearly all republicans should be----- applauded for letting the quadrillion dollars CONgress, GEithner, Bernanke and J. Yell gave and still give, no questions asked, letting the outcome of that hang around the democrats' neck.
Fantastic: Economics and Divinity. I follow the same route.
I view this as a TARP Bailout - 99% of the people against. Congress did it anyway. Here, amnesty has really bad effects for 99% of the people particuarly African Americans and Union Workers - amnesty is Union busting. These are automatic Democrat voters. Opposing amnesty is a vote getting position for Republicans. The can even target traditional Democrat voters.
Dear American Voters,
would you do also something about McCain please?
This can mean only one thing. The state is completely broke. That is the only reason such on outsider gets in. The bankruptcy can be on his name.
Little green shoots for a populous-inspired 3rd party (really a 2nd party)
I'll believe this is a big deal when Democrat voters do the same to their own party.
Will there be another Macaca Moment?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=IraERQ9kB1o