Ron Paul-Endorsed Mike Lee wins Utah Republican Senate Primary!!

[bobbyw24]

In one of the closest, and most contested, primary elections in recent memory. Mike Lee edged out Tim Bridgewater for the Republican Senate nomination in Utah.

The two men were in a primary runoff after unseating Bob Bennett in the Utah Republican Primary Caucus.

Mike Lee was supported by Senator Jim DeMint, Freedomworks PAC, The Tea Party Express, Mark Levin, Congressman Tom McClintock, Congressman Ron Paul and Red State’s Erick Erickson - among others.

Mike Lee was the Constitutional Lawyer who pulled his support from the strictly conservative, Barry Goldwater faction of the Republican Party. This victory, along with Rand Paul, Sharron Angle and Marco Rubio, quite clearly represents a snapshot of the state of the Republican Party - there is a new game in town.

Right now though, Mike Lee seems to be the best positioned to win in November and become the TEA Party champion that Dick Armey, Jim DeMint, Ron Paul and Tom McClintock want to put in Washington. Other TEA Party candidates may have a tougher road to November: Rand Paul needs to shake the perception of extreme views from his record, Rubio may have to contend with a Democratic Charlie Crist, and Sharron Angle has to beat Harry Reid.

Either way, the TEA Party Movement just showed their teeth and took a chunk out of the establishment.

http://www.unitedliberty.org/articles/6173-tea-party-champion-mike-lee-wins-republican-senate-primary

[Romulus]

Ron Paul needs to start endorsing more liberty candidates.

[Carole]

Good except I believe Rubio is a complete RINO.

[speciallyblend]

does Ron Paul endorse ron paul republicans who run for county seat:)??? We have Ron Paul running in lake county colorado aka Kevin Cannell;)

[speciallyblend]

Good except I believe Rubio is a complete RINO.

the best thing you can do with florida is get a map and cut it off the map;)

[Brett85]

Good except I believe Rubio is a complete RINO.

Rubio is more of a mainstream conservative. He shouldn't really be mentioned with Rand, Mike Lee, or Sharon Angle. He doesn't seem to be somebody who wants to greatly reduce the size of the federal government.

[cindy25]

Rubio not entirely mainstream, he is against the AZ immigration law

[malkusm]

For those who have concerns about Mike Lee's foreign policy: Note that he changed his position two months ago after being beaten over the head with statements he made regarding Afghanistan.

"America should not subject our young men and women to danger if the purpose is simply nation building, if we're there for the purpose of bringing Meals on Wheels to foreign governments or building self-esteem in foreign governments. That's why we're there." -Mike Lee

Result:

http://www.examiner.com/x-34713-Salt-Lake-County-Elections-2010-Examiner~y2010m4d20-Bennett-to-Mike-Lee-Answer-the-questions-on-Afghanistan


“Unfortunately, rather than answering fundamental questions about his position on Afghanistan and other foreign policy matters, Mike Lee claims to have been taken out of context,” said Bennett. “The troubling comments and quotes called into question by so many, including some of Utah’s distinguished war veterans, are not fabricated; they are Mike Lee’s own words.”

Bennett called on Mike Lee to answer the following questions to clarify foreign policy positions:


1. When it comes to Afghanistan, do you agree with the position of General McChrystal, commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, that we should make sure that al Qaeda does not use Afghanistan as a base for terrorist operations against the United States again or do you agree with Ron Paul and leftist groups like Moveon.org that say we should get out now?

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700025074/Sen-Bob-Bennett-attacks-Mike-Lee-Lee-says-it-shows-Bennett-is-vulnerable.html


Former Sen. Jake Garn, R-Utah, a retired brigadier general in the Utah Air National Guard, said wars in Korea and Vietnam offered lessons for involvement in Afghanistan now that Lee has not learned.

He said America pulled out too soon from those two countries. "We shouldn't have a nuclear threat from North Korea. Vietnam should not all be communist. We have hindsight to prove that we've got to stay firm in Afghanistan and not make the same mistakes we did in all those other wars."

Jill Stevens, a former Miss Utah who served in Afghanistan in the Utah National Guard, said, "I know we are making a difference in Afghanistan. It is not just military strikes. This nation needs to be rebuilt so they can survive on their own."


This was two months ago.

Folks, if we want people who can win election, we're going to have to accept some flip-flopping and pandering like Rand and Mike Lee have done. The best we can do is to vet these candidates (the way that I've done in this post by searching for his pre-controversy statements, and the way that Ron Paul did before he endorsed Lee), and hold them accountable once they take office.

[MRoCkEd]

^ +1

Mike Lee was accused of being an isolationist.

[ninepointfive]

verrrry niiice

http://www.digital-tv.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/borat-high-five.jpg