Bradley in DC
07-23-2007, 07:04 AM
http://www.opinionjournal.com/diary/?id=110010370
Dr. Broun Goes to Washington
A conservative Republican wins a stunning upset in a Georgia House race.
Monday, July 23, 2007 12:01 a.m. EDT
Special elections to fill vacant House seats are usually fought over local concerns, but often they have national overtones. The stunning result of a Georgia race last week is a case in point.
Because no Democrat finished among the top two candidates in last month's primary, the runoff pitted two Republicans against each other to succeed Rep. Charlie Norwood, who died in February. Poorly funded physician Paul Broun Jr. scored a shocking 50.4% victory over former state Sen. Jim Whitehead, the establishment's consensus favorite. Columnist Robert Novak says Dr. Broun's victory has "terrified those incumbent Republican House members who had thought themselves safe for re-election in 2008" primaries. The pro-free market Club for Growth, which helped knock off at least one pro-spending GOP House incumbent in a 2006 primary, should feel encouraged by Dr. Broun's victory.
In last month's primary, Mr. Whitehead won 44% of the vote, to just 21% for Dr. Broun. But the front-runner made stumble after stumble, allowing the 61-year-old Dr. Broun to assemble a coalition that included not only conservative Republicans but liberal Democrats from his hometown of Athens. Mr. Whitehead told a crowd in his own hometown of Augusta that he would focus mainly on that city's concerns as congressman, and he refused to attend campaign events in Athens. Worse, he jokingly suggested that liberals at the University of Georgia ought to be bombed.
As a result, Dr. Broun won 90% of the vote in the county that includes Athens, including the votes of some Democrats who fondly recalled his late father, who served as a Democrat in the state Senate from Athens for 38 years. Many voters were impressed that he appears to be the only physician in the state whose practice consists entirely of house calls.
But Dr. Broun won for other reasons too. Phil Kent, a former editorial page editor of the Augusta Chronicle, told me that the upset victory by a candidate as conservative as Dr. Braun should be taken as "a wake-up call" by the party's establishment.
Dr. Braun agrees. "The race boiled down to someone who represented the status quo versus someone who wanted to vote for change," he told me. He prevailed by using direct mail and telephone messages to go over the heads of party leaders with a pledge that, once in Congress, he would apply a four-way test before voting on any bill: Is it constitutional and a proper function of government? Is it morally correct? Is it something we really need? Is it something we can afford? He has said that, like libertarian congressman and fellow physician Ron Paul of Texas, he will always carry a pocket copy of the Constitution with him and consult it before voting. In an effort to limit pork-barrel "earmark" projects, he says he will even apply that standard to requests for federal funds made by local officials in his district.
He capped off that legislative commitment by offering strong support for efforts to overturn the Supreme Court's 2005 Kelo eminent domain decision that upheld the power of local officials to seize private property for private uses. He also strongly endorsed the abolition of the IRS and the replacement of the income tax with a national sales tax.
But he believes the issue voters were most angry about is excessive federal spending in Washington. He often closed campaign speeches by saying: "Today's federal government is too big, too powerful, and too expensive because it is doing things beyond the scope of what our Founders envisioned the national government should be doing. This is foolish and it is dangerous."
Dr. Broun will now go to Washington to work with members of Congress, many of whom he will no doubt view as indeed foolish and/or dangerous. The conventional wisdom in Washington is that someone in Congress who votes against federal spending that isn't in accord with the original conception of the Constitution will have trouble getting re-elected. But Rep. Paul, who has made his votes against almost every federal program a centerpiece of his insurgent GOP presidential campaign, says he finds that he gains more votes from people impressed with his consistency than he loses from those upset that he isn't a passenger on the federal gravy train.
While Dr. Paul isn't about to win any GOP primaries this year, he is in solid political shape back home. He has won election six times from his Texas district since 1996. Dr. Broun could have similar electoral success if he sticks by the principles that got him elected and patiently explains to voters his reasons for doing so.
Dr. Broun Goes to Washington
A conservative Republican wins a stunning upset in a Georgia House race.
Monday, July 23, 2007 12:01 a.m. EDT
Special elections to fill vacant House seats are usually fought over local concerns, but often they have national overtones. The stunning result of a Georgia race last week is a case in point.
Because no Democrat finished among the top two candidates in last month's primary, the runoff pitted two Republicans against each other to succeed Rep. Charlie Norwood, who died in February. Poorly funded physician Paul Broun Jr. scored a shocking 50.4% victory over former state Sen. Jim Whitehead, the establishment's consensus favorite. Columnist Robert Novak says Dr. Broun's victory has "terrified those incumbent Republican House members who had thought themselves safe for re-election in 2008" primaries. The pro-free market Club for Growth, which helped knock off at least one pro-spending GOP House incumbent in a 2006 primary, should feel encouraged by Dr. Broun's victory.
In last month's primary, Mr. Whitehead won 44% of the vote, to just 21% for Dr. Broun. But the front-runner made stumble after stumble, allowing the 61-year-old Dr. Broun to assemble a coalition that included not only conservative Republicans but liberal Democrats from his hometown of Athens. Mr. Whitehead told a crowd in his own hometown of Augusta that he would focus mainly on that city's concerns as congressman, and he refused to attend campaign events in Athens. Worse, he jokingly suggested that liberals at the University of Georgia ought to be bombed.
As a result, Dr. Broun won 90% of the vote in the county that includes Athens, including the votes of some Democrats who fondly recalled his late father, who served as a Democrat in the state Senate from Athens for 38 years. Many voters were impressed that he appears to be the only physician in the state whose practice consists entirely of house calls.
But Dr. Broun won for other reasons too. Phil Kent, a former editorial page editor of the Augusta Chronicle, told me that the upset victory by a candidate as conservative as Dr. Braun should be taken as "a wake-up call" by the party's establishment.
Dr. Braun agrees. "The race boiled down to someone who represented the status quo versus someone who wanted to vote for change," he told me. He prevailed by using direct mail and telephone messages to go over the heads of party leaders with a pledge that, once in Congress, he would apply a four-way test before voting on any bill: Is it constitutional and a proper function of government? Is it morally correct? Is it something we really need? Is it something we can afford? He has said that, like libertarian congressman and fellow physician Ron Paul of Texas, he will always carry a pocket copy of the Constitution with him and consult it before voting. In an effort to limit pork-barrel "earmark" projects, he says he will even apply that standard to requests for federal funds made by local officials in his district.
He capped off that legislative commitment by offering strong support for efforts to overturn the Supreme Court's 2005 Kelo eminent domain decision that upheld the power of local officials to seize private property for private uses. He also strongly endorsed the abolition of the IRS and the replacement of the income tax with a national sales tax.
But he believes the issue voters were most angry about is excessive federal spending in Washington. He often closed campaign speeches by saying: "Today's federal government is too big, too powerful, and too expensive because it is doing things beyond the scope of what our Founders envisioned the national government should be doing. This is foolish and it is dangerous."
Dr. Broun will now go to Washington to work with members of Congress, many of whom he will no doubt view as indeed foolish and/or dangerous. The conventional wisdom in Washington is that someone in Congress who votes against federal spending that isn't in accord with the original conception of the Constitution will have trouble getting re-elected. But Rep. Paul, who has made his votes against almost every federal program a centerpiece of his insurgent GOP presidential campaign, says he finds that he gains more votes from people impressed with his consistency than he loses from those upset that he isn't a passenger on the federal gravy train.
While Dr. Paul isn't about to win any GOP primaries this year, he is in solid political shape back home. He has won election six times from his Texas district since 1996. Dr. Broun could have similar electoral success if he sticks by the principles that got him elected and patiently explains to voters his reasons for doing so.