With the South Carolina GOP primary behind him, Sen. Lindsey Graham appears to be on a glide path to re-election. But as of July 4th, Graham will have one more hurdle to clear when Thomas Ravenel, a wealthy Charleston real estate developer and the former Republican state Treasurer, announces that he'll challenge Graham as an independent candidate on the November ballot.
Ravenel’s name won’t be new to most South Carolinians, nor some reality TV fans. He is the scion of the deeply rooted Ravenel political family, the face of a 2007 cocaine scandal that forced him from office, and, most recently, a cast member of Southern Charm, a reality show on Bravo TV that chronicled the alcohol-fueled lives of the single, social and well-connected in Charleston.
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Now that he has been “emancipated” from the party label, the more libertarian Ravenel gladly holds forth on just about any issue that comes up.
On federal spending he warns that the nation is headed for “a doomsday scenario.” “The federal government is making all these promises, but at some point, we’re not going to be able to fulfill those promises,” he says. "We're going to end up like dogs fighting for scraps."
He also speaks of the overarching need for Americans to reevaluate their relationship with their government, "We need to ask not what your government can do for you, but what you can do for yourself and where necessary, what you can do for others.”
On marriage equality, he says he’d rather see the government stay out of marriage altogether. “But if we’re going to have equal treatment under the law, if you’re going to give certain benefits to heterosexual couples that are married, likewise treatment must be given to those who are gay and married,” he said. “A lot of Republicans are intimidated by strident, hateful anti-gay rhetoric from religious right leaders. I’m not cowed by these people. I don’t have to be.”
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While immigration, marriage equality, and even drug legalization (which he supports) are growing in acceptance among young voters in particular, the largest gulf between Ravenel and his former party is on the role of the U.S. military around the globe. He warns that the U.S. has engaged in nation building, humanitarian missions, and picking winners and losers in countries where we have a track record of getting it wrong.
“I want a military that defends America, not a military that defends Germany or defends Japan,” he said. “The EU has a GDP bigger than America’s. I don’t blame them. Why spend any money on your own military when America’s got it covered?”
His liberty-laced, pro-Constitution approach sounds a lot like the Tea Party activists who railed against Graham and he says agrees in large part with the Tea Party, but not 100%. “We all want limited government. But there are a lot of different factions within the Tea Party movement.”
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http://www.thedailybeast.com/article...s-ravenel.html
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Originally Posted by TaftFan
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