Campaign Evaluation: Bryan Smith (U.S. House, ID-2)

[Bryan]

This thread is intended to be a collection point of the strong pros and cons of any potential liberty candidate / campaign that is being discussed / promoted on the forum. You are welcome to post both positive and not-so-positive attributes about the candidate as they related to their position on supporting liberty as well as issues relating to their campaign. The most important information may be aggregated in this top post for easy reference.

Candidate Name: Bryan Smith
Office Sought: U.S. House
Website: https://bryansmithforcongress.com/
Social Media:
https://www.facebook.com/bryansmithforcongress
https://twitter.com/BryanSmithID2
http://www.youtube.com/bryansmithID2
http://instagram.com/bryansmithforcongress#

Candidate Profile: On the Issues
Civil Liberties: [Rating TBD]
Constitutional Issues: [Rating TBD]
Economic Issues: [Rating TBD]
Foreign Policy: [Rating TBD]
Social Issues: [Rating TBD]
Overall Issues Rating: [Rating TBD]

Race Profile: Competition & Demographics
State: Idaho
District: 2nd
Incumbent: Mike Simpson
htxp://www.simpsonforcongress.com
Other Primary Candidates:
Non-Incumbent Candidates from Other Parties:
Relevant poll numbers: None.
Overall Race Profile Rating: [Rating TBD]

Miscellaneous Pros/Cons
Key strong points:

Unknown points for further research:

Possible weak points:

Possible deal breakers:

Overall Rating:

[Brian4Liberty]

From his website:



On the Issues


Taxes

I will not support ANY tax increase as a member of Congress and would not have supported the fiscal cliff deal passed by Congress this year that raised our taxes by $600 billion. I believe taxes are already too high. I support lowering taxes on families, individuals and job creators.
Spending

The recent growth of spending in the Federal budget is unacceptable. It threatens our national security, and our children’s and grandchildren’s futures. I support spending caps that limit Congress’s ability to spend taxpayer dollars. I oppose making taxpayers pay for wasteful pork projects and special-interest giveaways to political cronies.
The National Debt

I oppose increasing the debt limit without implementing substantial spending cuts. For too long, we have mortgaged our future by increasing the debt limit to pay for bail outs, government-run health care, the failed stimulus, and a host of other wasteful programs.
Protecting the Second Amendment

I strongly believe the Second Amendment guarantees our right to bear arms for sport and protection and will work to protect this vital right.
Pro-Life

As a member of the U.S. Congress I will provide a voice to the voiceless and fight to protect unborn children.
Energy

It is essential for the prosperity of our nation that we become energy independent. I strongly support nuclear energy. Our country needs a reliable, base load source of energy, and nuclear energy satisfies this need.

I support the use of other energy sources such as natural gas, hydro, oil and coal. Our nation is blessed with an abundance of these kinds of energy resources. I oppose government policy that seeks to overregulate the coal and natural gas industries out of business. The federal government needs to make energy resources available on federal land.

Our country needs a comprehensive energy policy that promotes domestic nuclear power, coal, natural gas and oil exploration. Wind and solar are not reliable base load energy sources.

Read Bryan’s Op-Ed on his view of the future of nuclear energy in the United States.
Immigration

We are a nation of immigrants and should welcome those who want to work hard and live the American Dream. We must do so in a manner consistent with respect for the rule of law and our tradition of legal fairness. The first step to a sound immigration policy is to secure our borders. It is critical to our country’s security that we know who is entering our country; as long as the border is not secure, we will not be able to achieve this goal.

We need to remove incentives for people to come here illegally. People here illegally should not be receiving benefits from our federal or state governments.

Immigrants should be given a chance to live the American Dream. But that does not mean people who break the law and come here illegally should be rewarded with amnesty. Amnesty is a policy that is unfair to those who come to this country legally and play by the rules.

[Brian4Liberty]

Endorsements from FreedomWorks and Club for Growth:

http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/house-races/324305-freedomworks-endorses-boehner-allys-primary-opponent


"Bryan Smith is a strong fiscal conservative with close ties to the grassroots all across his district. He is not a career politician," FreedomWorks President Matt Kibbe says in the endorsement. "Smith will be a roadblock for either party that tries to continue to spend us into a more debt. Idahoans need a strong voice in Congress, and Bryan Smith is their man."

FreedomWorks is the second major group to lend Smith their support — the deep-pocketed Club for Growth is also backing him.