phill4paul
11-07-2018, 06:34 PM
Libertarian Republicans excelled in the midterm elections
On Tuesday night, Democrats took the House and Republicans kept the Senate. Expect to hear opinions and analysis of what this might mean for President Trump and the 2020 election in the weeks and months to come.
But how did the small but enduring libertarian faction within the Republican Party do?
This is a question that goes beyond the conventional pro- or anti-Trump dichotomy that will obviously dominate the headlines. I often like to say that libertarians generally take the best of what Right and Left have to offer and eschew the worst of each pole.
uesday night was a good example.
The most high-profile libertarian Republican in Congress, Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, was not up for re-election. The next-most high-profile libertarian Republicans in Congress, Reps. Justin Amash of Michigan and Thomas Massie of Kentucky, both won re-election by double-digits.
Amash, who represents a purple district, has been openly critical of Trump, and his independent streak appeared to pay off for him Tuesday. Massie represents a deep-red district, hasn’t hesitated to criticize the president, yet simultaneously has been more sympathetic. Massie predictably defeated his Democratic opponent in a blowout.
Republican novice Denver Riggleman won his race for Virginia’s 5th Congressional District. “Riggleman, a newcomer to politics, ran a positive campaign based on libertarian ideas,” reported National Review's Jibran Khan.
But Khan also noted what the libertarian-leaning Riggleman was not: “His victory, which came on the heels of Corey Stewart’s failed run for the Senate, should be a message for the Virginia GOP. Stewart’s strategy, built on appealing to white nationalists, is morally bankrupt and has proven a complete political failure.”
“In contrast, Denver Riggleman proves that sticking to a positive, free-market message and engaging with the constituents’ needs is the path forward for the state party’s success,” Khan said.
The soundly defeated Corey Stewart represented not only some of the worst aspects of today’s Right in his racist appeal, however intentional or unintentional those appeals were, but his competitive GOP primary opponent Virginia House member Nick Freitas was a libertarian Republican endorsed by Sens. Rand Paul and Mike Lee of Utah. Freitas was more competitive in the primary against Stewart than most expected.
Even if he wouldn’t have beaten Democrat Tim Kaine, it is easy to see the libertarian Freitas having significantly more appeal to a larger swath of voters than Stewart. Hopefully this is a lesson Virginia Republicans remember.
A similar message was sent in South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District, where Republican Katie Arrington was defeated by Democrat Joe Cunningham. Arrington defeated incumbent Rep. Mark Sanford in the Republican primary by touting her pro-Trump credentials and painting Sanford, who had been critical of the president, as anti-Trump.
South Carolina’s 1st is my hometown district, where a Democrat hadn’t won in 40 years. Most observers and certainly my neighbors back home would agree that Sanford would have likely held on to that seat for Republicans. Arrington’s defeat shows that there are limits to merely hanging your hat on Trump, even in red South Carolina. It goes without saying that the libertarian Sanford would have had far more appeal.
Another libertarian victory of sorts actually came from the Democratic side, where Colorado’s Jared Polis became the first openly gay governor. Polis is the sole Democratic member of the House Liberty Caucus founded by Justin Amash. Other than Polis, it is comprised entirely of conservative and libertarian Republicans. This is not to say that the new Democratic governor will always act along liberty lines, but the one Democrat arguably most sympathetic to libertarian ideas and issues got a big win Tuesday.
The biggest losses for libertarian Republicans were the defeat of Rep. Dave Brat in Virginia’s 7th District, and Eric Brakey, with a failed Senate challenge to Maine’s incumbent Angus King, an independent who overwhelming votes with Democrats. Brat, also a member of the House Liberty Caucus, made waves when he defeated House Majority Leader Eric Cantor in 2014 — and his loss Tuesday was razor-thin. Brakey, a popular two-term Maine state senator, is only 30 years old, a thorough libertarian Republican in the mold of Rand Paul, and hopefully this won’t be the last we hear from him.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/libertarian-republicans-excelled-in-the-midterm-elections?fbclid=IwAR3oM-v5pTYOnYPe3PpdGuMu1mvpfQRuIl1d_N7itS33gWCnHFtZ9BrD Gws
On Tuesday night, Democrats took the House and Republicans kept the Senate. Expect to hear opinions and analysis of what this might mean for President Trump and the 2020 election in the weeks and months to come.
But how did the small but enduring libertarian faction within the Republican Party do?
This is a question that goes beyond the conventional pro- or anti-Trump dichotomy that will obviously dominate the headlines. I often like to say that libertarians generally take the best of what Right and Left have to offer and eschew the worst of each pole.
uesday night was a good example.
The most high-profile libertarian Republican in Congress, Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, was not up for re-election. The next-most high-profile libertarian Republicans in Congress, Reps. Justin Amash of Michigan and Thomas Massie of Kentucky, both won re-election by double-digits.
Amash, who represents a purple district, has been openly critical of Trump, and his independent streak appeared to pay off for him Tuesday. Massie represents a deep-red district, hasn’t hesitated to criticize the president, yet simultaneously has been more sympathetic. Massie predictably defeated his Democratic opponent in a blowout.
Republican novice Denver Riggleman won his race for Virginia’s 5th Congressional District. “Riggleman, a newcomer to politics, ran a positive campaign based on libertarian ideas,” reported National Review's Jibran Khan.
But Khan also noted what the libertarian-leaning Riggleman was not: “His victory, which came on the heels of Corey Stewart’s failed run for the Senate, should be a message for the Virginia GOP. Stewart’s strategy, built on appealing to white nationalists, is morally bankrupt and has proven a complete political failure.”
“In contrast, Denver Riggleman proves that sticking to a positive, free-market message and engaging with the constituents’ needs is the path forward for the state party’s success,” Khan said.
The soundly defeated Corey Stewart represented not only some of the worst aspects of today’s Right in his racist appeal, however intentional or unintentional those appeals were, but his competitive GOP primary opponent Virginia House member Nick Freitas was a libertarian Republican endorsed by Sens. Rand Paul and Mike Lee of Utah. Freitas was more competitive in the primary against Stewart than most expected.
Even if he wouldn’t have beaten Democrat Tim Kaine, it is easy to see the libertarian Freitas having significantly more appeal to a larger swath of voters than Stewart. Hopefully this is a lesson Virginia Republicans remember.
A similar message was sent in South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District, where Republican Katie Arrington was defeated by Democrat Joe Cunningham. Arrington defeated incumbent Rep. Mark Sanford in the Republican primary by touting her pro-Trump credentials and painting Sanford, who had been critical of the president, as anti-Trump.
South Carolina’s 1st is my hometown district, where a Democrat hadn’t won in 40 years. Most observers and certainly my neighbors back home would agree that Sanford would have likely held on to that seat for Republicans. Arrington’s defeat shows that there are limits to merely hanging your hat on Trump, even in red South Carolina. It goes without saying that the libertarian Sanford would have had far more appeal.
Another libertarian victory of sorts actually came from the Democratic side, where Colorado’s Jared Polis became the first openly gay governor. Polis is the sole Democratic member of the House Liberty Caucus founded by Justin Amash. Other than Polis, it is comprised entirely of conservative and libertarian Republicans. This is not to say that the new Democratic governor will always act along liberty lines, but the one Democrat arguably most sympathetic to libertarian ideas and issues got a big win Tuesday.
The biggest losses for libertarian Republicans were the defeat of Rep. Dave Brat in Virginia’s 7th District, and Eric Brakey, with a failed Senate challenge to Maine’s incumbent Angus King, an independent who overwhelming votes with Democrats. Brat, also a member of the House Liberty Caucus, made waves when he defeated House Majority Leader Eric Cantor in 2014 — and his loss Tuesday was razor-thin. Brakey, a popular two-term Maine state senator, is only 30 years old, a thorough libertarian Republican in the mold of Rand Paul, and hopefully this won’t be the last we hear from him.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/libertarian-republicans-excelled-in-the-midterm-elections?fbclid=IwAR3oM-v5pTYOnYPe3PpdGuMu1mvpfQRuIl1d_N7itS33gWCnHFtZ9BrD Gws