United Liberty
Big Government Republican
Another conservative plea to libertarians falls flat
Wed, 10/10/2012 - 11:16am | posted by Brian Lehman
In what is becoming its very own genre of blog post, another conservative voice has come out with a plea for libertarians to support Mitt Romney. To those of us who were not born last week, this all seems quite humorous as most of the time libertarians are treated as irrelevant. In this election, though, things have gotten tight and our votes count as much as those of the most hardcore Republicans.
As I wrote here two weeks ago, Republicans have a long way to go before they can make a truly credible case to libertarians. For one thing, they need to understand that most libertarians do not see themselves in the same way as conservatives and liberals. For the most part, both of these groups line up pretty well with a major party. Sure, conservatives will say they want the GOP to be more right-leaning, and liberals will say they want the Democrat Party to veer more progressive, but they are both going to vote for their respective parties in the end. Libertarians, though, mesh with elements of both parties - and find plenty to dislike about both as well.
It’s clear to me that the writer of the post, Mr. Brady Cremeens, didn’t read that post, and doesn’t understand the first thing about libertarians. His entire piece is premised upon the idea that libertarians are just another element of the Right that simply needs to be brought back into the fold. In Cremeens’ world, we really are just “conservatives who smoke pot” as the saying goes. With his initial premise being flawed, then, it does not bode well for the rest of what he says. If he does not understand where libertarians are coming from, how can he possibly make a convincing case?
Big Government Republicans Love Lindsey Graham
Fri, 05/10/2013 - 12:00pm | posted by Jason Pye
In response to our post yesterday about FreedomWorks targeting Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), we just received this e-mail:
Are you guys nuts???? We should have 55 Rep Senators right now and you are spending money going after our SC senator. Start going after the Dems and leave the Rep senators alone. Get some good candidates in Iowa, Montana, Georgia and other states we can win. How in the world can you spend 5 cents going after Graham when we cant even get candidates in these states we can win. The focus should be on a majority senate.
You guys have gone off the rails. You keep it up and your boy Obama will have his 60 senators and god help us. Me and a lot of other people are going to get very vocal about this. Stay the hell out of SC and leave our Senator alone.
The problem with the Republican Party are politicians like Lindsey Graham. They are why we can’t have nice things. Now, you may be fine with big government Republicans who have contributed substantially towards the debt explosion over the last two administrations. But Lindsey Graham isn’t just South Carolina’s problem. Every single time he votes for more spending and more government involvement in our lives, as he’s done so many times before; he becomes the rest of the country’s problem.
FreedomWorks Fires a Warning Shot at Lindsey Graham
Thu, 05/09/2013 - 11:12am | posted by Jason Pye
Just a few weeks ago, it looked like Mark Sanford was headed to defeat in South Carolina’s First Congressional District. He had made a notable misstep, which caused the National Republican Campaign Committee to pull resources from the race. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) and FreedomWorks, a grassroots-driven organization, stepped into fill the void, with the former providing vocal support and the latter activists to educate voters in the district.
Sanford wound up defeating his Democratic opponent by a healthy margin, providing Paul, who is thought to be candidate for the GOP’s presidential nomination in 2016, and FreedomWorks with notch on their belt against the Republican political establishment.
Fresh off this victory, FreedomWorks has now set its sights on another South Carolina race that could shake-up the Republican Party.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) has long been a thorn in the side of fiscal conservatives. He was once thought to be untouchable, but recent polls have showed his numbers falling among Republicans.
Electable fiscal conservative needed in West Virginia
Mon, 01/14/2013 - 1:20pm | posted by Jason Pye
Republicans got a gift on Friday when Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), who has been in Washington since 1985, announced that he would not seek another term in 2014:
Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV, the five-term Democrat from West Virginia, opening up a potential seat for Republicans to grab in the next round of Congressional contests.
“As I approach 50 years of public service in West Virginia, I’ve decided that 2014 will be the right moment for me to find new ways to fight for the causes I believe in and to spend more time with my incredible family,” Rockefeller said in a statement.
“Championing those most in need has been my life’s calling, and I will never stop fighting to make a difference for the people who mean so much to me,” he continued.
First elected in 1984, Rockefeller is the chairman of the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, and also holds a seat on the select intelligence, taxation, and veterans’ affairs panels.
Republicans haven’t had a lot of luck in federal elections West Virginia, presidential races notwithstanding. Democrats have held both of the Senate seats since 1959, though Republican candidates haven’t been that great. While Rep. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), who has already declared her candidacy, hopes to turn the tide, she may face stiff primary competition and opposition from grassroots organizations.
For example, the Club for Growth slammed Capito in November after she announced her candidacy, noting that she “has a long record of support of bailouts, pork, and bigger government.”
Rick Santorum knocks Goldwater view of limited government
Tue, 03/20/2012 - 2:10pm | posted by Jason Pye
We’ve constantly pointed out that Rick Santorum isn’t a friend to Tea Party voters and advocates of limited government. Unfortunately, the dislike for Mitt Romney has led many conservatives to vote for the former Pennsylvania Senator.
Santorum’s record doesn’t quite stand up to scrutiny. As we’ve noted before, he’s voted to expand entitlements, backed earmarks, and cast votes for bloated budgets. Despite this, he still claims to be a fiscal conservative and worthy of Tea Party support. If you’re not going to believe those of us that has been calling Santorum out for what he really is, another big government Republican, just listen to him in his own words.
In an interview in 2008, Santorum said, “Republicans, to our credit, have morphed away form the Goldwater idea that government just needs to be small”:
