Establishment Upset in Virginia

"We shall celebrate with such fierce dancing the Death of your Institutions."

— Windsor Free Nation News, 1974


Money in politics is supposedly the big scary thing we're all supposed to be concerned about, nominally edging out those wicked libertarians when news media, statist commentators, and the chattering classes — or do I repeat myself? — begin to howl in discomfort. But despite starting out with a mere $50,000 versus House Majority Leader Eric Cantor's $1.5 million, a libertarian-minded political newcomer named David Brat thrashed the GOP insider mercilessly in Virginia's 7th District GOP primary.

The votes are still being counted, but Brat looks to have gathered about 60% of them. Better yet, since the 7th district is considered "safe" for Republicans, Brat looks set to take the seat in November.

Brat is an economics professor at Randolph-Macon College, but his main appeal comes from his staunch defense of both the Fourth and Second Amendments. In the lead up to yesterday's vote, Gun Owners of America called voters all over the district to remind them of Cantor's anti-gun votes in the House and that "Brat stands 100% for the right to keep and bear arms," according to a GOA press release. Clearly this didn't hurt him.

Another area of significant disagreement between the two candidates is the National Security Agency's massive spy program. In a report for Antiwar.com, Justin Raimondo writes that

"Brat is an incisive critic of the Surveillance State. On his campaign web site, he went after Cantor for voting for the NDAA and against Rep. Justin Amash's legislation that would have reined in the NSA. As the Brat campaign put it:

'Dave believes that the Constitution does not need to be compromised for matters of national security. He supports the end of bulk phone and email data collection by the NSA, IRS, or any other branch of government.'

"Not only that, but Brat went after Cantor for voting for the National Defense and Authorization Act (NDAA) on the grounds that it 'authorizes the unconstitutional bulk data collection by the government under the PRISM program.' He also savaged Cantor for voting against Rep. Justin Amash's amendment to the Act, which would have stopped bulk collection dead in its tracks."

According to Washington insiders, only fringe ideologues (read: scary libertarians) care about the Surveillance State. If that's true, Virginia's 7th District must be full of them. Brat was certainly open about his libertarian sympathies — and that didn't hurt him one bit either.

That has the establishment — of both parties — squirming in their comfy seats. For years statist Republicans and statist Democrats have used simplified, dumbed-down descriptions of their opponents and scare tactics in order to drive voters into a particular tent. Both parties' candidates — and their respective water-carriers — seemed happy to follow the script.

In recent decades there has been very little room in this debate for libertarians, whose philosophy of peace, fiscal restraint, voluntary exchange, private property, and uncompromising support for the Bill of Rights — all of it — and liberty and justice — for everyone — rejects the violence of the state in favor of individual dignity.

Times have changed, however; Americans are waking up to the lies told by party insiders, to the failed policies initiated and maintained by Republicans and Democrats alike, to the police state's onward march — and they are growing weary of the status quo. Party loyalty means less and less to young voters. Freedom is growing in importance.

In the years ahead, the precious little apple carts of more and more people who are heavily invested in the establishment will be threatened by a growing movement of those who are sick and tired of playing pawn in the duopoly's power struggles. Expect much name-calling, finger-pointing, paranoia, denunciation, temper tantrums, and gnashing of teeth as this dark world comes — blissfully — to an end. It can't happen soon enough.