Posted on 07/30/2013 5:46:24 AM PDT by cotton1706
Last week, the Kentucky businessman announced he would challenge Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell in next year’s Republican Senate primary. This will be Bevin’s first entry into the political rodeo. But the longtime Republican has often been a frustrated party member.
“I have a Peroutka for President T-shirt from 2004 in my drawer,” Bevin tells National Review Online in an interview at his Louisville home. He’s referring to Constitution-party candidate Michael Peroutka, for whom he cast his ballot in the general election rather than George W. Bush. “In ’04, I was just so fed up with the choices that we were given,” he says.
During the 2008 election, Bevin recalls, his brother sent him some memorable campaign gear. It was “one of the funniest T-shirts I’ve ever had,” he said: It bore the slogan, “We’re Screwed ’08.” “This was when we had McCain and Obama as the choice,” he says. “We were going to get basically a socialist moderate-type person either way.” He didn’t see a third-party candidate that he liked as a “good viable alternative,” though. “I held my nose,” he says, and cast a ballot for McCain.
Nor is Bevin much pleased with today’s congressional Republicans. “Of 535 members of Congress, I would bet there are two dozen truly conservative people,” he estimates. “We are not being well lead in either the House or the Senate in the Republican party.” He does admire Senator Rand Paul (who has endorsed McConnell), and Senator Mike Lee of Utah, and, perhaps most of all, Senator Ted Cruz of Texas. “I love Ted Cruz,” he enthuses. Indeed, “someone like a Ted Cruz” would be his dream pick for a Republican Senate leader to replace McConnell. “I think he could handle it. It would be refreshing.”
(Excerpt) Read more at nationalreview.com ...
Why does he consider Obama a “moderate socialist” rather than a hard-left radical? This makes me concerned about his bona fides.
A good way to say “no” to both McC and Rand Paul, whom I believe would have trouble carrying seven states if he were the 2016 nominee. But KY people won’t vote for unknowns.
Was Rand Paul, an eye surgeon, well known in Kentucky before 2010? Granted, his father was well known nation-wide.
Hacks like McConnell are the reason why most people are frustrated with Washington. How can you change it without getting rid of McConnell as part of the process?
I think he didn’t state it exactly as he meant it. That’s just my opinion. A better way would be, Obama - radical socialist, McCain - moderate socialist. Therefore AT BEST EVEN IF THE REPUBLICAN WON YOU’D GET A MODERATE SOCIALIST.
I can’t believe he doesn’t understand that Obama is extremely radical. I agree with you that if he doesn’t, there’s something wrong there.
But I’m guessing he didn’t articulate it the way he understands it within himself.
One thing (among many great things) about Ted Cruz : the man can speak and say what he means to say.
I like Ted.
I give Bevin props for distinguishing Cruz as the best of the 3. That is a good sign.
I give Bevin props for distinguishing Cruz as the best of the 3. That is a good sign.
See what Cruz did when Jake Tapper demanded to know where was Cruz and what was he doing when George W Bush “violated Constitutional rights” worse than Obama has (according to Tapper)??
Tapper said maybe you (Cruz) spoke up at that time and I just didn’t hear it - to paraphrase.
Clearly Tapper had no idea what the answer was going to be.
Cruz said he was solicitor general of Texas at the time W tried to make Texas follow international law and not execute a murderer because he wasn’t originally from Texas but Mexico and they objected, and he sued W’s administration in federal court and got a 6-3 SCOTUS decision in favor of TX’s position that it was not subject to international law but to its state law.
That’s what I did, Cruz told the gobsmacked Tapper.
Gotta “donate to” link?
But KY people won’t vote for unknowns.
Thanks!
I’ll send him a Bennie for now and see if he gets this off the ground.
Mitchie Poo has got to go.
I interpreted it as Obama=socialist, McCain=moderate. Which would have been understated but largely accurate.
Amen!!!! Put the Senate on Cruz Control!!!
Ted Cruz, Senate Majority Leader 2014!!!
I don’t mean this as a way to knock Bevin out of consideration (and I don’t live in Kentucky anyway). We have been led by so many false conservatives, or by real conservatives who make terrible choices, over and over again and I don’t want to hope for someone again, only to see him turn out to be conservative-lite.
Your analysis sounds credible, especially since by the time we receive this thought it has been filtered through a journalist rather than directly from his lips.
The Cruz Missile strikes again! He’s a rock star and I’d vote for him for anything!...Just like I did for the Senate! :)
“We are all socialists now” was a magazine headline after Obama hit the scene. And socialism has been building and building from both major parties...
I don’t disagree that your interpretation is POSSIBLY what Bevins meant.
I just think Obama’s clear radicalism shows that even socialist isn’t strong enough of a word to define Obama.
The way he spoke sort of melded Obama and McCain into a single type, and I was replying to a comment and saying I don’t think Bevins said what he meant.
As for McCain, he’s radical in that he’s McCain and has a serious disorder of some kind. Moderate is an inadequate word to describe him, no?
Point is, we’re left to guess what Bevins actually believes because he wasn’t clear in what he meant when he said it.
Ted Cruz typically avoids that problem. (Was my other point).
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