#NCSEN 2014: Brannon gets endorsed. Hagan gets spanked.
It’s getting pretty clear that Tea Party-affiliated groups and voters are warming up to Cary physician Greg Brannon and his campaign for the GOP nomination for US Senate. He’s picked up endorsements from The National Association for Gun Rights as well as The iCaucus — a national coalition of Tea Party groups and activists. Erick Erickson, over at the RedState blog, is also raving about Brannon:
Honestly, as we were winding up our agenda for RedState, several people told me I needed to squeeze in Dr. Greg Brannon from North Carolina. I had no idea who he was. WOW! I’m so glad I did. I’m so committed to helping Greg now. His speech was amazing at the RedState Gathering. This guy gets it. Listen to him.
Winning an endorsement from Erickson is a good thing for candidates in GOP primaries. Folks who get endorsed by Erickson and his web site — including some named Rubio, Cruz, Paul, and Lee, among others — typically end up in DC.
If Brannon makes it out of the primary and into the general, it will be tough for the Democrats to give him the Todd Akin-Richard Mourdock treatment — beating him over the head about “women’s health.” Brannon protects women’s health for a living.
Things have been a little rough for incumbent senator Kay Hagan lately. She recently had her head handed to her by a spokesman for state Senator Phil Berger, the president pro tem of the general assembly’s upper chamber:
[…] As a budget writer in the North Carolina Senate, Hagan crafted budgets that led to historic deficts, out-of-control spending, and the highest taxes in the Southeastern United States.
“It’s tough for North Carolinians to take seriously the policy advice of someone who wrecked the state budget, raised taxes and killed jobs, cast the deciding vote to force Obamacare down our throats, and lacked the political clout to extend federal benefits to 70,000 unemployed North Carolinians,” said Berger spokesman Ray Martin. “I’m not sure if we’re better or worse off because of Kay Hagan’s failure to pass a budget in Washington, but she should stop the hypocritical rhetoric and thank Senator Berger for cleaning up the disaster she made of state government.”
Senator Sock Puppet also got some rough treatment from one of the most esteemed, respected members of The Tar Heel State’s female population, Lady Liberty:
Some of us saw the emails that came out of the Obama campaign and the DCCC in 2012. The ones that played upon hate and fear using a stack of falsehoods and in some cases, outright lies. Many even bordered on creepy. Emails that were designed with one purpose of frightening people into funding the Democrats. Give us money, give us money.. give us money NOW – or else!! Well, it’s campaign time again and NC’s Kay Hagan isn’t just taking a page out of that book of fear and hate, she’s using it as a how-to guide.
Oooooh. Scary, scary Koch brothers! They give money to conservative causes and that racist Tea Party. STOP THEM! Give money to me… just like all the unions do.
In the last two months, not a single email has come from her campaign touting an achievement of hers. Instead, they’ve all been about fear, hate and misdirection. Her campaign of fear and loathing goes back further; I’ve kept all the emails but you can sample the last few months here. My favorite was the one attacking the NCGA for cutting education spending by half a billion — a claim well debunked.
Spending in education actually went up $400 million, Kay. You should really know better, having served on the NCGA yourself. In fact, Hagan sat on the Joint Legislative Study Committee on Public School Funding Formulas. Well…How embarrassing for her to not have gotten that basic math right or apparently to know how to read a budget.
Hagan doesn’t have to bother with facts or actual achievements in education, when it comes to Kay, the NC Media has her back! I’d look for WRAL to get up a promise trackeron all of her opponents.
Distraction, Deflection and Shiny Objects
Not one of those emails touts her achievements and every single one stokes a particular fear or is designed to incite anger — all so the reader opens their wallet and donates. In particular, Hagan has taken to using the NC General assembly as a shield.
Hagan is using the same tactic President Obama used with that ‘evil do-nothing’ Congress to distract from his horrific record. In these emails, Hagan wants you to focus on anythingbut her. In her TV spots, well, she’s the golden girl…or at least that is how the Council for American Job Growth wants you to think.
Keep an eye on Hagan’s TV spots and fundraising emails and I think you’ll find they follow a pattern as The Dems Rally Their Legions of Haters for 2014.
Brannon is turning out to be the best choice for Senate. The RNC establishment may want Tillis, but the RNC is in a shambles. McCrory acts as if he doesn’t know how to be governor. People can get excited about Brannon–a fresh face who actually says what he believes and believes what he says. Imagine that!
I’ve not heard of the National Association for Gun Rights, maybe they’re good. But iCaucus is kind of a joke.
Brannon claims their unanimous endorsement. How can you get unanimous support of your organization’s members for a particular candidate? It’s easy: by kicking out anyone who expresses disagreement!
You think I’m kidding? Read it yourself. This is a quote from the iCaucus “Standards of Conduct” document:
“Any attack on iCaucus, the leadership, other volunteers, or our candidates in any manner are terms[sic] for removal from the iCaucus organization.”
Ref: http://www.webcitation.org/6Ivk96opb
(I inserted the “[sic]” because they obviously mean “grounds” or “cause,” not “terms.”)
So, if you criticize “our candidates in any manner” you’ve outta there.
I think that’s remarkably hypocritical for an organization that claims to value independence so highly that they call themselves the “Independence Caucus.”
Endorsements brings votes and campaign workers. National Association for Gun Rights is one of the two national 2nd Amendment organizations whose endorsements are politically reliable (hint: NOT the NRA, which is a whore to incumbents).
The endorsement I am most impressed with is Erick Evanson of the influential Red State .com, who not only boosted Brannon but also talked about what an absolute piece of slime Tillis is. A candidate who has no real ideological compass and who prostitutes himself to special interests the way Tillis does is a guaranteed loser in November. I want to beat Hagan, and we need a decent candidate to do that. Tillis is clearly not that candidate. Brannon may or may not be. There are others waiting in the wings who might be. Between Tillis and Brannon, Brannon is the hands down choice.
Greg is the only man I’ve ever met who has memorized the Deceleration of Independence, the Bill of Rights and the Constitution. He knows every line and number and what EVERY WORD means.
Today I started collecting campaign donations for Brannon for Senate. I’ll be raising money for Greg every chance I get. You can to. Just ask folks and turn the money in.