It will be a while before the liberty movement can be close to claiming a majority in the Senate, however only a few more senators are needed in order to create a "third party" of sorts which the leadership of both the Democratic and Republican parties will have to respect if they want to get anything done.
I want to center in on three races in particular which the liberty movement needs to focus on. They are by no means the only Senate races of importance, but they do represent races which are foreseeably winnable, and they do feature outstanding candidates. Interestingly, all three border each other. They are the states of North Carolina, Georgia, and South Carolina. Below you will find their website, a summary of each race, as well as a video of one of their speeches.
North Carolina: Greg Brannon
The real race in North Carolina will be the Republican primary. Kay Hagan, the Democrat, barely won in 2008 on the coattails of Obama and the unpopularity of George Bush and Elizabeth Dole. North Carolina is trending Republican-Romney won in 2012 and in 2014, a midterm year, the turnout of Democratic minority voters is expected to drop sharply.
Many prominent North Carolinian politicians are surprisingly declining to enter the race, thus at this point it is a two man struggle. On the establishment side is State House Speaker Thom Tillis. Tillis is very unpopular on both sides of the isle, seen as a symbol of "good ole boy" corrupt politics. He is known for his support of expensive toll roads and ferry lanes, government-enforced utility monopolies, and his endorsements of former Democrats over Republicans, which are a few of the reasons he was censured by the Craven County GOP.
In short, Tillis is the John Boehner of North Carolina.
On the other hand, we have Dr. Greg Brannon. A pro-life OB/GYN by trade, he has delivered over 9,000 babies. He has been married for 25 years, and has 7 children, 3 of whom are adopted from China.
Greg is extremely active with Tea Party, Republican, and Liberty groups throughout the state. He created the organization Founders Truth, which emphasizes the need to return to our Constitution and follow the wisdom of the Founders. He is highly recommended by former State Rep. and Ron Paul supporter Glen Bradley.
On the issues of the importance like civil liberties, monetary policy, the Constitution, foreign policy, and fiscal conservatism, Greg is 100% rock solid.
But can a non-politician really win a Senate seat?
The answer in this case is yes. Being a non-politician is often a disadvantage, but is can be overcome. For example, look at Rand Paul and Mike Lee. There is strong evidence to believe Greg Brannon can replicate the model Paul and Lee used. First, he has actually out-polled Tillis in 2/3 of Public Policy Polling (PPP) polls taken. Second, he has the great gift of articulation and is being noticed by national organizations. Greg recently spoke at the RedState Gathering, and is scheduled to speak at Liberty Political Action Conference in September. The National Association for Gun Rights (NAGR) has proudly endorsed him. Third, absent more candidates, people will be forced to choose between him and Tillis, which is not a hard choice at all.
Rumors have been circulating that Rand Paul and Ted Cruz are considering endorsements if Brannon proves he can fund-raise sufficiently. If that occurs, this will create a domino effect and will lead to Brannon's victory.
Georgia: Paul Broun
Like the aforementioned race, the real battle will not be the general election, but the primary. The difference is that this is an open seat, due to the (arguably forced) retirement of Saxby Chambliss. Unlike North Carolina, Georgia has a plethora of candidates already in the race. Congressmen Paul Broun, Phil Gingrey, and Jack Kingston, former Secretary of State Karen Handel, and wealthy businessmen David Perdue (cousin of former governor Sonny) and Eugene Yu.
Nothing can yet be said in opposition to Perdue and Yu from a liberty perspective. They have no records, and few public statements. However, they have not indicated that they will be running as liberty candidates, so it is a safe projection to view them as standard Republicans for our purposes. Little is also known about Handel's views on national issues. She has gained statewide name recognition from her 2010 run for governor, and appears to be running on the "strong woman" platform. I have nothing against that per say, however it offers little appeal for those interested in the issues of the liberty movement.
Gingrey and Kingston, unlike the others, can be decisively labeled as agents for the establishment. They have 65% and 63% lifetime Freedom Index scores, respectively.
If Phil Gingrey wasn't a politician, he would be considered bipolar. My theory is that he predominantly speaks anti-establishment rhetoric in order to make more palatable pro-establishment talking points later. For example, earlier this year, he aligned himself with the most conservative of Republicans when he suggested Todd Akin was not completely wrong about rape. Later this year, he went on to suggest magazine restrictions for firearms should be considered. Rhetoric aside, he has made some bad votes, from voting against the Amash amendment to defund the NSA, to voting for the Cash For Clunkers program. Ever since Paul Broun entered the Senate race, Gingrey has markedly shifted right in his voting.
Jack Kingston, on the other hand, is openly running as the establishment candidate. A member of Congress since 1993, he is well entrenched in the power structure. He is going to raise a lot of money from his friends in Congress as well as corporations. A typical Bush Republican, he voted for No Child Left Behind, Medicare Part D, the Patriot Act, and many debt ceiling increases.
Paul Broun stands out in this race as the candidate the liberty movement should support. Many noticed his candidacy after Ron Paul (and Gun Owners of America) endorsed him. Incidentally, he is very proud of Paul's endorsement and claims that he and Paul were the only members of Congress who believed in the original intent of the Constitution when he entered Congress in 2007. Others have been following him for years and watching his votes, where he has shown himself to be a great Congressman. His lifetime Freedom Index score is an outstanding 90%. Additionally, he boasts lifetime scores of 98% from FreedomWorks and 99% from the Club For Growth, respectively. On fiscal issues, he can be counted on.
His understanding of the Constitution is especially impressive. He understands there are 18 enumerated powers of Congress. He understands the entire Bill of Rights. He understands what the commerce clause actually was intended to do-create a free trade zone. He understands only Congress may declare war, not the President. He also supports repealing the 16th and 17th amendments.
Since Ron Paul has left Congress, Paul Broun has become the member most critical of the Federal Reserve. In fact, he has introduced bills to abolish the Federal Reserve, audit the Federal Reserve, and to allow for currency competition. Those were originally Ron Paul's bills. Broun did reintroduce two other Ron Paul bills this session: one to abolish the U.N., and the Sanctity of Life Act.
Broun's positions on civil liberties are great as well. He has introduced a bill to end the TSA. He votes against Patriot Act renewals and has stated he would have voted against the original bill. He is strongly opposed to indefinite detention and extra-judicial killing (often associated with drones). He even testified to Congress on those matters. Broun is, of course, also opposed to the recent NSA spying scandal.
Polls have shown Broun is a frontrunner. The key to victory is dividing the establishment vote. If that happens, Broun will win the race.
South Carolina: Lee Bright
This race, of course, is all about primary challenging Senator Lindsey Graham. Graham, with perhaps the exception of John McCain, is the worst Republican in the Senate. He is also in direct and vocal opposition to the growth of the liberty movement within the GOP.
Recently, Graham and McCain blasted Rand Paul's amendment to cut off foreign aid to Egypt, only to go to Egypt and embarrassingly concede that Rand was right all along. This comes after they have urged for war in Syria on the side of Al-Qaeda, and after Graham has called for a predetermined future invasion of Iran regardless of what the situation may be in the future. Graham was also one of the cheerleaders for invading Iraq, occupying Iraq and Afghanistan forever, and implementing an illegal no-fly zone over Libya. This kind of reckless foreign policy is dangerous not only to our security and financial stability, but also our civil liberties.
Senator Graham has been one of the strongest advocates of NSA data mining, indefinite detention, illegal targeting killings, and the Patriot Act. He has no problem with giving up phone records to the government, no problem with the government defining who constitutes a journalist, no problem in general with eliminating civil liberties based on his opinion. He also has no objection to ceding sovereignty to the U.N.
Lindsey Graham is hardly better on other matters either. He voted for TARP, supported nationalizing banks, supported Cap and Trade, opposed making the 2003 income tax cuts permanent, supported the internet sales tax, supported massive and destructive immigration proposals, voted to allow debate on gun control, voted for No Child Left Behind, and voted for liberal court justices.
Of course, nobody in the liberty movement is a stranger to Lindsey Graham. There is an opportunity not only to remove Graham, but also replace him with someone completely opposite.
State Senator Lee Bright represents that person. Bright endorsed Ron Paul in the 2012 primaries and is vocal on social media about the liberty movement. He has a lifetime 100% voting record from the South Carolina Club For Growth, and has spearheaded multiple nullification efforts in the legislature. There is no doubt about his sincerity as a pure liberty candidate.
Two other people are also running to beat Graham: Nancy Mace and Richard Cash. Both are good candidates. Mace is actually very liberty minded as well, but we need to unite the strongest and purest candidate, and that is Lee Bright.
Several PACs are interested in getting involved in the race, including FreedomWorks, Liberty For All, The Club For Growth, and a new PAC specifically to challenge Graham called Carolina Conservatives United. Republicans all across the country are pining to replace Lindsey Graham, and Bright can make it happen.
Spread the word about these races, and become as involved as you can. Battles such as these are central to taking back our country.
Great article. Thanks for writing it! Georgia requires 50% of the vote to win. So with so many serious candidates it will assuredly be a runoff. So Broun needs to be in the top 2 and then defeat whichever establishment candidate in the run off. Governor Deal is trying to move up the election to early spring so the run-off will not be in the summer where low turnout would help an anti-establishment candidate.
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