Christie goes after Rand Paul’s soft stance on terrorism

By Lynn R. Mitchell

Chris Christie speaks the truth (see reporter Daniel Straus’ Chris Christie rips Rand Paul on Patriot Act). Rand Paul may have been elected as a Republican but he is a Libertarian especially when it comes to national security.

Referring to Paul’s filibuster on the floor of Congress that allowed parts of the Patriot Act to expire, Christie said:

“These types of actions, I’m telling you from experience, are shortsighted. And these same people who give these long speeches up on Capitol Hill if, God forbid, there is some kind of other attack in this country, will be the first ones to [drag] the CIA director and the FBI director up to Capitol Hill, put them under oath and excoriate them for not connecting the dots and not preventing the attacks,” Christie said.

True. It happened after 9/11. The Patriot Act was put into place after the devastatingly tragic terrorist attacks that took place on September 11, 2001, as radical Muslims attacked New York City’s Twin Towers, Arlington’s Pentagon, and caused the airplane crash in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, of United Flight 93 that was thought to be headed to the U.S. Capitol or the White House.

Christie added, “This is about life and death for our country, and I stand for keeping America safe and making America strong and not giving political speeches on the floor of the Senate to raise money for a political campaign.”

Chris Christie gets it. Never forget.

Wake up, GOP!

By Lynn R. Mitchell

I am a Republican, not a Libertarian, something I’ve noted even before Libertarians began their stealth takeover of the Republican Party. Like a wolf in sheep’s clothing, they joined GOP ranks and took over leadership positions because, unable to make anything of their own Libertarian Party, they chose a hostile takeover of the GOP, harnessing tea party voters while purging long-time GOP volunteers and leaders, all part of the reason for a string of losses that have occurred in recent years.

Keep in mind that my number one issue is national security. Without it, nothing else is possible in America. The terrorist attacks of 9/11 were not some bad dream but a reality that killed more people than the surprise Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. You can kiss a strong national defense good-bye if Libertarians are in charge.

Wake up, GOP!

The Republican Security Council’s exposé on Libertarian Matt Kibbe of the Libertarian FreedomWorks group is a must-read for all Republicans. If you didn’t know what was going on before, this will open your eyes. Kibbe opposed and would not endorse the 2012 GOP candidate Mitt Romney. He and his group of Libertarians undermine Republicans instead of going after Democrats. He had a falling-out with Senator Dick Armey who worked closely beside him before realizing Kibbe was undermining the GOP.

Del. Dickie Bell draws challenger in 20th House District

Will Hammer

By Lynn R. Mitchell

Staunton resident Will Hammer has announced that he will challenge Republican Delegate Dickie Bell in the 20th House of Delegates District as the Libertarian candidate. A 2005 graduate of Robert E. Lee High School and 2009 graduate of Hampden-Sydney College with a BA in Economics, Hammer ran in 2014 against incumbent Republican Congressman Bob Goodlatte in the 6th District.

In a press release, Hammer noted, “The race may have changed [from 2014], but my principles have not. I will be looking to get people to talk about the role of government, personal and economic freedom, and the grave failure of the two party system.”

Justin Amash combative after primary win

By Lynn R. Mitchell

Michigan Libertarian tea party U.S. House incumbent Justin Amash during his primary night victory speech Tuesday was anything but gracious. You would not see this from George W. Bush. Or George H.W. Bush. Or even Bill Clinton, for that matter. There’s a time and place for everything. This was not it.

Libertarian Robert Sarvis responds to U.S. Senate debate

By Lynn R. Mitchell

Now that the U.S. Senate debate between Democratic Senator Mark Warner and Republican candidate Ed Gillespie is over, Libertarian Robert Sarvis has released a video response on YouTube.  The video is available at www.youtube.com/user/RobertSarvisVA.

Sarvis, who felt he should have been included in the debate, was not. The photo is one I took of him in July 2013 after the gubernatorial debate when he was outside the debate room protesting that he had not been included.

“Virginia voters lose out when candidates on the ballot are excluded from the debates,” Sarvis explained. “Mark Warner and Ed Gillespie don’t want to debate me because they both know I’m capable of attracting support from not only independents and libertarians but also from progressives and conservatives. Both are afraid to appear on a stage with someone who can point out their hypocrisy and demonstrate just how similar they are on a number of vital issues like cronyism, government surveillance, and military interventionism.”

The debate took place at the Greenbrier Resort located in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia.

Photo by Lynn R. Mitchell

Virginia delegate touts 100% tea party rating

By Lynn R. Mitchell

Tea party candidate Mark Berg won his election in 2013 for Virginia state delegate to the General Assembly, defeating 20-year incumbent Beverley Sherwood who had voted for Governor Bob McDonnell’s transportation bill that stirred the anger of anti-tax conservatives. McDonnell, who had recognized a need to address a decades-long issue of Virginia’s aging transportation infrastructure that had been passed over by his predecessors, saw four allies challenged by tea partiers and libertarians. Berg was one of two who won. (See 2 GOP delegates ousted in Va. primary.)

Berg proudly announced earlier this week in a press release that he had received a “100% rating” on the Virginia tea party score card. In the email, he wrote:

The VA Tea Party Federation released their scorecard of the 2014 VA General Assembly Session.  Del. Berg was one of only two legislators to score 100% on the VA Tea Party scorecard.  This scorecard measured support for important bills on issues including property rights, taxes, and Medicaid expansion.  While many of the bills, were not the high profile legislation from the session, they had important impacts on personal freedom and keeping government small.
…
Del. Berg stated, “It is important to analyze every piece of legislation before voting on it, to understand how it impacts our personal freedom.  When I ran for office, I promised to work hard to protect personal liberty.  It is an honor to be recognized by the VA Tea Party Federation this way.  It is important to keep working hard to fight for lower taxes, the protection of personal property, and to stop the expansion of Obamacare in Virginia.”

Berg represents the 29th House District which includes parts of Frederick and Warren counties and the city of Winchester.  He currently serves on the Militia Police and Public Safety Committee, and Science and Technology Committee.

Libertarian Chris Stearns takes on Republican Reid Nicholson in 3rd District chairman’s race

By Lynn R. Mitchell

It’s decision time for voters in the 3rd Republican Congressional District where Chris Stearns is up for reelection as chairman, a position he has held the past two years.

Stearns, a former national leader from Ron Paul’s Campaign for Liberty — indeed, Ron Paul himself and his son Rand Paul endorsed Stearns for his short-lived state senate bid where he was soundly defeated — holds many libertarian views such as legalization of drugs, isolationistism, and others listed on the libertarian party platform as Justin Higgins noted over at JH Politics. Check out his post “Matt Kibbe, Chris Stearns, and the GOP’s direction.”

6th District GOP Convention: Ron Paul’s ‘Campaign for Liberty’ makes robocall endorsement

By Lynn R. Mitchell

I received a robocall Thursday from the Campaign for Liberty, Ron Paul’s Libertarian organization. A man named Braeden Wilkinson or Braden Wilkerson — I’m really not sure — identified himself as the Campaign for Liberty’s “Congressional District Coordinator.” I can’t find him on google — probably my misspelling or misunderstanding his name.

His purpose in the robocall was to offer his “personal endorsement” to Vance Wilkins for Saturday’s 6th Congressional District Republican convention. He gave all the necessary information for the convention — location, time, address — and said Wilkins would be the most capable for pursing the cause for liberty.

Interesting.