As you almost certainly know by now, David Brat, a political novice who ran to the right of incumbent, and House Majority Leader, Eric Cantor, has – stunningly – upset Cantor in yesterday\’s Republican primary and will be the party\’s nominee for the seat Cantor has held these past 14 years.
Before going on, I would like to debunk a bunch of what has been said/written about this upset:
-It did not happen because the weather was bad so only the hardline “believers” turned out. The weather was rainy, but far from bad enough to have that kind of effect.
-It did not happen because of atypically low turnout. There were 65,000 voters in this primary….and in 2012, a presidential year, there were only 47,000 primary votes.
-It did not happen because Cantor is Jewish – arguably the most ridiculous insinuation of them all. He was just as Jewish in every other election year, wasn\’t he?
-And it did not happen – as Democrats will be screaming from the rooftops – because the tea party is resurgent. Tea party – backed candidates have lost and won a number of major races around the country this primary season; there is no pattern at all.
If you want to understand David Brat\’s upset of Eric Cantor, think of the man himself.
Cantor, though a strong majority of his total votes have been on the conservative side, has been seen more and more as a “RINO” (Republican In Name Only) who is perfectly willing to fold to President Obama and Democrats on the major issues, such as the deficit spending and amnesty for illegal aliens. (In this regard, the fact that, just in the past few days, conservative media are full of stories about the unprecedented influx of illegals pouring through our borders, courtesy of the Obama administration\’s decision to ignore our laws, might well have been the straw that broke the camel\’s back).
And Republican discontent with Eric Cantor is no one-time phenomenon either: in 2012, Cantor, whose district is pretty solidly Republican, won with less than 60% of the vote; the worst showing he ever had in a general election. Why would it be surprising, therefore, that his continuation of the policies noted above would cause a continuation of voter erosion among Republicans as well?
Then there is the issue – maybe the most important one of all – that Cantor comes across as a beltway insider, worried more about his status in Washington DC than the needs and concerns of his constituents in Virginia\’s 7th district. While David Brat pounded the pavement of Virginia 7, Cantor ran a TV campaign and barely showed up there. In fact just days ago, instead of trying to reconnect with Republican voters he was at a major fundraiser in DC.
And who is David Brat? He is a plain-speaking, very articulate, conservative Republican who embodies the fiscal and immigration policies Republicans find most lacking in Cantor.
Brat is also a highly educated man (American University, Princeton) and a committed Christian, whose belief in personal freedom has caused him to attack both parties for intolerance. Read this tiny little segment from his 2011 essay “God and Advanced Mammon – Can Theological Types Handle Usury and Capitalism?” and see for yourself:
CanChristians force others to follow their ethical teachings on socialissues? Note that consistency is lacking on all sides of this issue.The political Right likes to champion individual rights andindividual liberty, but it has also worked to enforce morality inrelation to abortion, gambling, and homosexuality. The Left likes tothink of itself as the bulwark of progressive liberal individualism,and yet it seeks to progressively coerce others to fund every socialprogram under the sun via majority rule. Houston, we have a problem.Coercion is on the rise. What is the root word for liberalism?(Answer: Liberty)
That passage not only makes all the sense in the world, but establishes David Brat as a conservative with a social conscience who understands that the word freedom really does have meaning – and that neither party has a monopoly on intolerance.
Put another way, David Brat – though certainly to the right of Eric Cantor – is no hardline right-winger. He is perfectly willing to let other people lead their own lives – even if their orientations and choices do not coincide with his.
If these are the principles he adheres to in the general campaign, I would expect him to sail to victory in November.
And if he does, maybe the Republicans who write the party platform ought to take notice of his social positions and adjust that platform accordingly.
