2014 Senate Races

[whoisjohngalt]

Woops, I meant to write Robert Paul if RP was not a possibility.

Robert would be capable of challenging Cornyn, even if he only got 30% of the vote. If Leppert got in the race as well, we could keep Cornyn below 50% and force a run-off.

I went to a YAL meeting at UNT to watch Robert speak. He addressed calls for him to run and basically said that it ain't gonna happen. He wants to spend time with his kids and is happy running his practice. I jokingly asked him, "Can you at least run for a House seat?" It would be nice, but it's nearly definite that it won't happen.

 

[GeorgiaAvenger]

Ron Paul wouldn't be able to win a statewide election in Texas, unfortunately.

I wonder if Steve Stockman could...and if he would be interested....

 

[Uriah]

The top 2 priorities, IMO, must be Davis and Miller. Davis is an outstanding liberty candidate who has a great chance of knocking off perhaps THE worst senator in the nation, and Miller is by far our safest bet at winning another senate seat. Besides that, I am intrigued by the thought of Kent Sorenson in Iowa, Jim Forsythe in New Hampshire, and I think these 4 are probably our best shot IMO.

I'm not sure Sorenson is ready for the big big time yet. I'm also somewhat weary of him... Ron Paul endorsed Kent, then Kent endorsed Bachmann, and then he rescinds his endorsement and endorsed Paul days before the Iowa caucus. He also worked for Bachmann on her campaign.

 

[whoisjohngalt]

I wonder if Steve Stockman could...and if he would be interested....

Stockman came in second in the initial primary and has a somewhat questionable history. He is a total socialcon and a neocon. He is decent on fiscal policy which is I guess why Ron endorsed him, but he is mostly terrible. I'm in Houston and I don't see the liberty community getting behind Stockman, at all. Debra Medina? Just have to get past the 9/11 truther attacks that are bound to come out.

 

[whoisjohngalt]

We really need someone like a Medina if we plan to primary Cornyn effectively. He is about as bad as a legislator can be on every single issue except gun rights, but he is the minority whip and well entrenched. We need someone way outside of the establishment.

 

[AJ Antimony]

First look at the states that generally vote Republican but have Democratic senators:

Alaska, Louisiana, maybe Arkansas.

Then look at the states that might swing GOP or have vulnerable incumbents:

Minnesota, Montana, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina

Then there are the states that aren't safe, but lean Democratic:

New Hampshire, Maine

If Gary Johnson wants to do something useful and run for senate in 2014 that would be nice.

Primarying Graham in SC would be nice.

 

[GeorgiaAvenger]

Stockman came in second in the initial primary and has a somewhat questionable history. He is a total socialcon and a neocon. He is decent on fiscal policy which is I guess why Ron endorsed him, but he is mostly terrible. I'm in Houston and I don't see the liberty community getting behind Stockman, at all. Debra Medina? Just have to get past the 9/11 truther attacks that are bound to come out.

Have you really researched him. His fiscal/economic policies are outstanding. He is quasi-non interventionist, highly pro-national sovereignty, anti-Fed. Not a neocon in the slightest. Look up his history with the Constitution party(and with people like Howard Phillips and Chuck Baldwin) and liberty organizations.

Yes he is a social conservative. I agree with his views. He stated today on his facebook page he will introduce the Sanctity of Life Act now that Ron Paul is leaving. He first wrote it and introduced it himself.

I think if he re-establishes himself in Congress and gets into an open Senate primary he could win.

 

[AJ Antimony]

Have you really researched him. His fiscal/economic policies are outstanding. He is quasi-non interventionist, highly pro-national sovereignty, anti-Fed. Not a neocon in the slightest. Look up his history with the Constitution party(and with people like Howard Phillips and Chuck Baldwin) and liberty organizations.

Yes he is a social conservative. I agree with his views. He stated today on his facebook page he will introduce the Sanctity of Life Act now that Ron Paul is leaving. He first wrote it and introduced it himself.

I think if he re-establishes himself in Congress and gets into an open Senate primary he could win.

I think Robert Paul would have a better shot at an open TX US Senate seat than Steve Stockman.

Robert would just be like Rand, the perfect outsider/insider mold to run away with the nomination among an anti-establishment electorate.

 

[GeorgiaAvenger]

I think Robert Paul would have a better shot at an open TX US Senate seat than Steve Stockman.

Robert would just be like Rand, the perfect outsider/insider mold to run away with the nomination among an anti-establishment electorate.

I'd definitely be interested in Robert Paul as well! However, I would prefer for him to get a House seat first. He could still be viewed as an outsider, and it gives him credibility.

 

[AJ Antimony]

I'd definitely be interested in Robert Paul as well! However, I would prefer for him to get a House seat first. He could still be viewed as an outsider, and it gives him credibility.

Rand Paul didn't need a House seat!

And again, it'll make it even easier if it's just Paul vs. the establishment pick, like Dewhurst or something.

Challenging Cornyn would be a waste of time and money.

 

[GeorgiaAvenger]

Rand Paul didn't need a House seat!

And again, it'll make it even easier if it's just Paul vs. the establishment pick, like Dewhurst or something.

Challenging Cornyn would be a waste of time and money.

Fair enough.

 

[whoisjohngalt]

Have you really researched him. His fiscal/economic policies are outstanding. He is quasi-non interventionist, highly pro-national sovereignty, anti-Fed. Not a neocon in the slightest. Look up his history with the Constitution party(and with people like Howard Phillips and Chuck Baldwin) and liberty organizations.

Yes he is a social conservative. I agree with his views. He stated today on his facebook page he will introduce the Sanctity of Life Act now that Ron Paul is leaving. He first wrote it and introduced it himself.

I think if he re-establishes himself in Congress and gets into an open Senate primary he could win.

He is pro death penalty and "tough on crime" in that he promoted a plan to cut social spending to build more prisons and get tougher on enforcement.
He is very tough on his anti immigration stance and treatment of illegal immigrants already in the country (this won't play well in Texas, even though its a defensible position).
He advocates and voted for DOMA.

On fiscal policy he is not terrific. He voted in favor of almost every appropriation that was military or omnibus. He voted for appropriations to the treasury, post office, department of labor, department of education, FEMA, etc, etc. He voted for budgets with massive deficits. He voted for farm subsidies. He voted to raise the minimum wage. The list goes on and on. Terrific? I don't believe so.

On foreign policy he has spent too much time pushing for symbolic measures that show he is pro-AIPAC pro-Israel. He voted for funding for the invasion of Bosnia. He voted for sanctions on Cuba and vocally promoted sanctions against anyone who did business with Cuba. He votes for every military spending bill and against amendments and measures to limit the DOD budget.

I'm glad you agree with his social policy. The liberty movement down here won't and they also won't get behind him or be excited about his candidacy. I don't think it would be a smart play

 

[whoisjohngalt]

I think Robert Paul would have a better shot at an open TX US Senate seat than Steve Stockman.

Robert would just be like Rand, the perfect outsider/insider mold to run away with the nomination among an anti-establishment electorate.

I hate to repost, but you guys won't get off of it:

I went to a YAL meeting at UNT to watch Robert speak. He addressed calls for him to run and basically said that it ain't gonna happen. He wants to spend time with his kids and is happy running his practice. I jokingly asked him, "Can you at least run for a House seat?" It would be nice, but it's nearly definite that it won't happen.

He made it quite clear that he has no interest in running and is not going to. He wasn't ambiguous about it.

 

[GeorgiaAvenger]

He is pro death penalty and "tough on crime" in that he promoted a plan to cut social spending to build more prisons and get tougher on enforcement.
He is very tough on his anti immigration stance and treatment of illegal immigrants already in the country (this won't play well in Texas, even though its a defensible position).
He advocates and voted for DOMA.

I prefer government to spend on stopping crime and not social programs myself. As for DOMA, its not my preferred solution but also not a big deal.

On fiscal policy he is not terrific. He voted in favor of almost every appropriation that was military or omnibus. He voted for appropriations to the treasury, post office, department of labor, department of education, FEMA, etc, etc. He voted for budgets with massive deficits. He voted for farm subsidies. He voted to raise the minimum wage. The list goes on and on. Terrific? I don't believe so.

I won't defend every single vote.

In general though, he has been very good. See this list: http://www.voteview.com/is_john_kerry_a_liberal.htm

It ranks Ron Paul as the most conservative member from 1937-2002, and Stockman ranks 5th. He seems to be even more conservative now.

On foreign policy he has spent too much time pushing for symbolic measures that show he is pro-AIPAC pro-Israel. He voted for funding for the invasion of Bosnia. He voted for sanctions on Cuba and vocally promoted sanctions against anyone who did business with Cuba. He votes for every military spending bill and against amendments and measures to limit the DOD budget.

He also generally doesn't like involvement around the world and is anti-nwo organizations.

He isn't perfect, but should be among the top 5. I don't consider him "terrible" at all. But let's see how he does his second time around, then we can assess him better.

 

[compromise]

He is very tough on his anti immigration stance and treatment of illegal immigrants already in the country (this won't play well in Texas, even though its a defensible position).
He advocates and voted for DOMA.

Immigration in Texas: I think it'll go down well among whites and well-established immigrants. Look at Cruz's immigration stance.
DOMA: Ron Paul and Amash both said they would have voted for DOMA.

 

[AJ Antimony]

I hate to repost, but you guys won't get off of it:

I went to a YAL meeting at UNT to watch Robert speak. He addressed calls for him to run and basically said that it ain't gonna happen. He wants to spend time with his kids and is happy running his practice. I jokingly asked him, "Can you at least run for a House seat?" It would be nice, but it's nearly definite that it won't happen.

He made it quite clear that he has no interest in running and is not going to. He wasn't ambiguous about it.

I'm sorry, I just didn't see your post.

 

[GeorgiaAvenger]

 

[GeorgiaAvenger]

I was seeing if McCain was up for reelection but he isn't. It would be cool to have Goldwater Jr. primary him, and Barry is two years younger(74).

edit-shouldn't have assumed he is from Arizona, he is actually from California. There goes that.

 

[Eric21ND]

Robert just wants to be a doctor, he has no political ambitions.

 

[whoisjohngalt]

Ron said he misunderstood DOMA and that he would not have, in fact, voted for it. I don't care if Amash and Ron support it though, it's wrong. You know who the guest speaker was at Liberty on the Rocks in Houston was this week? Zach Wahls, the two moms kid who spoke at the DNC. Most of us were to the left of him on LGBT issues.

Those prisons and tougher enforcement are just cash cows where we throw the non-violent drug offenders. We already have 25% of the world's incarcerated population, I don't think building more prisons is the answer.

You don't have to take my word for it, but Stockman will not receive the support of the liberty folks in Texas. His ties to militia movements and his letter in Guns & Ammo about Waco being an excuse for gun grabbing make him an easy target to the uneducated voter.