Just three month ago no one outside of Grand Rapids, Michigan had ever heard of Justin Amash. Today because the second term congressman stood and narrowly lost on principle his name is well known in Republican and more especially Tea Party circles. His attempt to limited the NSA’s ability to gather telephone metadata on Americans has established his maverick, Tea Party, libertarian bona fides. Amash appears to be on the crest of a wave of libertarianism that may well wash away many entrenched careers.
The recall of the two Colorado senators should have rumbled like a sonic boom in the ears of establishment politicians of both parties. With no help from the national Republican Party and scant support from local Republicans, local gun rights activists made history. In its 137 years Colorado had never recalled a state senator. Tuesday it recalled two. No one can fault the tactics of the pro gun rights movement. It was awesome but perhaps it is very much in line with the mood of the country. When Colorado voted to legalize the sale of marijuana that should have sent the signal to legislators that the population was in favor of more individual freedom, not less. Not only did the voters react but 54 of the state's 64 sheriffs condemned the new gun restrictions.
Maybe owing to the IRS scandal and the revelation that the NSA was spying on Americans a surge of anti government libertarianism is sweeping the country. The Tea Party which has always had a libertarian streak is becoming more so. A poll by FreedomWorks shows some remarkable traits in the Republican Party. The survey of all registered voters, which was conducted last month, found that a full 78 percent of Republican and GOP-leaning voters self-identify as being fiscally conservative and socially moderate.
Kellyanne Conway who conducted the poll said there is a massive increase in the number of Americans who see government as being too large and too oppressive. “The perfect storm is being created between the NSA, the IRS, the implementation of Obamacare and now Syria,” Conway said. “People are looking at the government more suspiciously. They’re looking with deeper scrutiny and reasonable suspicion.”
Hint: It isn't a good time to champion more anti-gun legislation.
Furthermore two thirds of Republican leaning respondents are not into compromise. They expect elected officials to keep their words and stand on principles. It isn't a good time to preach "electability" either. Been there and done that with Romney. Fifty-five percent of GOP survey respondents said they are more likely to vote for someone who has “stronger principles” and 34 percent said they would rather choose “a candidate who has more political experience and party leaders say is more likely to win.”
Put into this context the Colorado recalls seem almost like the expected outcome but they exceeded everyone's expectations. There is a kerfuffle over PPP (Public Policy Polling) and the poll it had done showing Senator Angela Giron losing by 12 points in a heavily Democratic district. PPP did not release its finding until after election causing many on the right to accuse PPP of partisanship. Of course PPP is partisan ; it works only for Democrats but it seems logical to me that PPP didn't believe its own polling and didn't want to look foolish. Giron lost 56 to 44-just as PPP's polling had predicted.
Email blasts urging the House to defund Obamacare have almost crashed its servers yet Boehner and Cantor remain stubbornly opposed to the tactic. A new CNN poll shows support for Obamacare to has dropped below 40% yet there is no courage in the House leadership. Nearly 7 in 10 Americans oppose any intervention in Syria yet Boehner and Cantor support it. A year has passed since the deaths of 4 Americans in Benghazi yet Boehner refuses to create a select committee to investigate why they were abandoned. Where are the strong principles?
As dismal as Republican leadership is much of the party seem quite connected to the new libertarian leaning electorate. The recent recalls should send the message to RINO's and Democrats alike that safe seats may be hard to find in 2014. Below is the FreedomWorks poll.
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