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Posts Tagged ‘Dave Brat’

7th District Candidates Address Gun Control, Other Issues at Goochland Forum

Posted in gun rights, Politics, tagged , , , , , , on October 24, 2014| Leave a Comment »

The Richmond Times Dispatch has this story on Thursday’s 7th District Congressional candidate forum sponsored by the Goochland Chamber of Commerce.  Republican Dave Brat, Democrat Jack Trammell and Libertarian James Carr were all in attendance.  The RTD noted it is the only time the three candidates have been, or will be, on stage together this election and they covered a number of issues, including gun control.

Brat, Carr and Trammell were also in unison about their support of Second Amendment rights, but shared different ideas about the federal government’s role in enforcing these rights.

“I don’t think it’s the government’s job to manage rights; rights are endowed by our creator and it’s the government’s role to protect them,” Brat said.

Trammell, a gun owner and hunter, said background checks still play an appropriate role in the way the Second Amendment is managed, noting that mental health is an underlying issue.

Carr said he is against additional regulations of gun ownership. “The issue is not instituting more background checks but enforcing the laws that we have now,” he said.

It’s interesting that the RTD noted Trammell said he supported the Second Amendment yet he did not return his NRA Candidate Questionnaire as he has a “?” as a rating for this election.NRAPVF2014

Dave Brat is the NRA-PVF endorsed candidate and deserves the support of all gun owners in the 7th District.

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After Primary Victory Brat Focuses on Economy

Posted in Politics, tagged , , , on June 17, 2014| Leave a Comment »

The Washington Post reports today that Dave Brat is focused on the economy after his stunning upset of Representative Eric Cantor last Tuesday.  He also is keeping the media at arm’s length:

Despite staging the biggest political upset in recent memory, Brat has remained completely out of sight since his victory party, while Cantor went on ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday.

Probably not a bad idea and not really all that unusual really.  Brat was not expected to win.  He took down Goliath and the national media wants to talk to him, and likely try to show he is not ready for the national stage.  Here’s a news flash – Brat isn’t running for the “national stage.”  He is running to be the congressman for the 7th Congressional District.  Apparently a lot of people wanted Cantor to be the 7th District congressman and when he ascended to the national stage they thought he lost touch with the people back home.  I don’t necessarily agree with that assessment but that seems to be what caused a lot of former Cantor supporters into Brat supporters this primary season.

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Brat Gets Boost from Laura Ingraham

Posted in Politics, tagged , , , on June 4, 2014| Leave a Comment »

The Richmond Times Dispatch (RTD) reports that national radio talk show personality Laura Ingraham was in town last night to give a boost to Dave Brat’s long shot campaign to oust House Majority Leader Eric Cantor.  While Brat’s supporters are posting on Facebook and telling anyone who will listen that Cantor’s barrage of direct mail is an indication that his internal polling is not going so well, the odds still favor a Cantor win over the badly underfunded Brat.  The question is whether it will be a resounding victory or less than stellar.  Observers may view a victory where Cantor secures less than 60% a blow to his standing as next in line to be Speaker of the House.

The Times article noted that some attending the event last night were meeting Brat for the first time, an indication that his campaign may be getting more attention, but will it be to little to late?

Brat gave his stump speech, telling the members of the audience, many of whom indicated they were seeing him for the first time, that he is running because Washington is broken.

The reporter reached out to Cantor’s campaign consultant who dismissed the event as another indication that the Brat campaign is being run out of Washington.  Ingraham broadcasts her program from Washington, DC.  I guess Brat could make the same charge about Cantor since Representative Paul Ryan was the featured speaker at the annual Cantor Campaign Breakfast this year.

It’s comment’s like the one made by Cantor’s consultant that probably prompted the RTD to run this editorial last Sunday.

Cantor has been endorsed by the NRA and has a strong voting record in support of our rights in both the Virginia General Assembly and the House of Representatives.  The 7th District GOP Primary is June 10th.

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NRA-PVF Updates 7th District Challenger Rating

Posted in gun rights, Politics, tagged , , , on June 3, 2014| Leave a Comment »

The NRA Political Victory Fund (PVF) has posted an update to the candidate rating for 7th District GOP challenger Dave Brat.  Last week the web site noted  a “?” by Brat’s name, indicating that he had not returned his candidate questionnaire.  The campaign challenged that assessment, even to the point of a Brat supporter contacting this EVC.  That individual was directed to have the candidate or his campaign to call NRA Federal Affairs.  Apparently that occurred as today, the NRA-PVF web site now indicates that Brat has an “AQ” rating, meaning the candidate’s responses to the NRA-PVF Candidate Questionnaire indicates he is a strong supporter of the 2nd Amendment but does not have a voting record on Second Amendment issues.  The GOP Primary is June 10th.

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Has Dave Brat Changed His Stripes?

Posted in Politics, tagged , , , , , on May 27, 2014| 2 Comments »

We are just a couple weeks away from the 7th Congressional District Republican Primary and if you are like me, you can’t wait for this to end.  On the way to Lake Anna yesterday to spend Memorial Day with friends, you couldn’t miss all of the Tea Party homemade billboards along Rt. 33, some trashing Congressman Eric Cantor and some singing the praises of Randolph Macon Econ Professor and challenger Dave Brat.  Cantor’s campaign has painted Brat as a “liberal professor” that advised tax raising former governor and now U.S. Senator Tim Kaine.  Brat and his supporters (some of whom have been strong supporters of Cantor in the past) have cried foul.  There may be some hyperbole in that claim but Brian Kirwin has a post over at Bearing Drift that indicates the label “liberal college professor” may be on target, or at least may have been about nine years ago.

Now, Brat would not be the first person to change his views over time. But, his writings from 2005 does make one wonder just how thoroughly the Tea Party folks vetted their challenger or if it was simply “anybody but Cantor.”  And, those writings might explain why Tim Kaine chose Brat for his economic team.

Note: As of today, the NRA Political Victory Fund web site has not posted ratings for the June 10th Primary, but in 2012, Cantor earned the NRA-PVF highest rating of “A+”.  He has done nothing in the last two years that would indicate he will get a lower rating this year.

 

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New PAC Attacks Cantor

Posted in gun rights, Politics, tagged , , , , , on April 4, 2014| 2 Comments »

I was out running errands during lunch and heard an anti-Eric Cantor ad on WRVA during Rush Limbaugh.

The ad is paid for by Virginia Vision Action PAC and attacks Cantor for going to Florida this weekend to appear at a fund raiser for The Republican Main Street Partnership PAC, a newly formed “Super PAC” thats aim is to support incumbents or other “mainstream” candidates being opposed by Tea Party aligned candidates. Cantor was originally scheduled to appear with Speaker of the House John Boehner but Boehner backed out at the last-minute.   At the end of the ad, it encourages people to vote for Dave Brat for Congress, a Randolph Macon College economics professor who is challenging Cantor in the June 10th,  7th District Republican Primary.

Brat is likely going to need the help of outside groups because as of the end of April, Cantor had $1.5 million in the bank.  A quick check of the FEC only shows Brat’s candidate filing and no April Quarterly fundraising report.  It doesn’t hurt to have this ad running on the 50,000 watt blow torch WRVA, the largest and most listened to talk station in the 7th Congressional District.  WRVA airs Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity in addition to Michael Savage.  It is the 7th District’s conservative voice on radio.

NRAPVF endorsements have not been posted for the 7th District primary yet but it’s a safe bet that Cantor will get the endorsement because he has a long record of supporting the rights of Virginia gun owners.  NRA has an incumbent-friendly policy that dictates support for pro-gun incumbents seeking re-election regardless of party.  Cantor received an “A+” rating from the NRA Political Victory Fund in 2012 and has done nothing to change that rating in the last two years.  NRA is a single issue organization so no matter what one’s gripes are with Cantor’s voting record on other issues, he is good on guns.

As an aside, while I may not be completely happy with all of Cantor’s votes of late, to call him a RINO is not accurate either.  John McCain is a RINO.  Chuck Hagel is a RINO.  Eric Cantor is no RINO.

You can hear the ad below.

 

 

 

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