Are the People Ready for Liberty?

Yesterday saw several interesting campaigns of common citizens trying to make a difference meet their end (this time) as voters flocked like sheep to vote for establishment candidates. Hunter Hill, who I've interviewed a couple of times, failed to make the cut for a runoff election to be Georgia's next governor. Despite the long-term politician status of both Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle and Georgia's secretary of state, Brian Kemp, and voters increasing dissatisfaction with career politicians, those two will runoff for the GOP nomination for Governor. Hunter Hill garnered a respectable 18.3% of the vote, but name ID and, I'm guessing, the reluctance of voters to shy away from the safe haven of familiar faces won the day for Kemp and Cagle. Georgia voters clearly weren't ready for a liberty-driven agenda this go-round, and instead clung to the status quo.

Elsewhere in Georgia, in the 7th Congressional District, Rob Woodall, the incumbent and establishment darling, who's voting record is hard to distinguish from your average Democrat, will, in all likelihood, keep his seat after winning re-nomination. However, conservative challenger Shane Hazel garnered 28.1% of the primary vote, impressive when you realize he had a purely grassroots campaign and met resistance to his challenge at every turn from the ruling class in the GOP. There is clear dissatisfaction with Woodall's liberal voting record, and my personal opinion is that, should Hazel decide to rechallenge Woodall in two years, he could conceivably unseat the Democrat, who happens to have an (R) next to his name.

Asked about the loss, Hazel said, "Ladies and Gentlemen, faith is an incredible ally. As I felt called in my faith to make this stand against the establishment, now humbly I rely on it to look for the next path. This experience has been nothing less than extraordinary, and it is the people that made it so. I'd ask you all to love one another through these elections as we are neighbors and family and the answer and key to our problems, not the government. We must, through consent, not force, care for each other and make peace. America has so much to offer mankind, but first, we must rid ourselves of which we were first born as and that is a tyrannical government. And, finally, we're going to have to work and pray. So, break's over, say a prayer, I'm going back to the drawing board because tyrants don't rest, so neither can We the People. God bless and thank you for all the love and support… P.S. Maybe keep your signs."

Real leadership. Hopefully, the fine people of Georgia will take him up on the opportunity next time.

Elsewhere in Georgia, House Districts 4, 6, 8, and 9, the Republican incumbents ran uncontested, signaling a laissez-faire attitude toward Congressional representation in those districts.

This begs the question: Are people really ready for liberty? They say they are. Those polled are overwhelmingly dissatisfied with the job Congress is doing. Yet, when it comes time actually to vote, they vote in the same people for whom they have so much criticism. I, for one, certainly hope people start waking up to the self-evident point I've been making for months: that there is no Democrat vs Republican, there is government vs We the People.

Hazel's 28% is more than someone like him, a political neophyte, as the Founders intended our representatives be, would likely have gotten just 2 years ago. This may be a indicate things are moving in the right direction, but will it be fast enough to roll back the oppressive policies of the bureaucracy and career politicians, otherwise known as the "Deep State" that so many abhor.

There are still a few opportunities to make a difference in these midterms, should the voters of those states be ready for a more liberty-oriented agenda. Perhaps none is better than the Missouri Senate race. In an attempt to unseat Claire McCaskill in a state that easily went for President Trump in 2016. It could very well be that the people of Missouri are fed up with the status quo.

New polling shows that the front-runner, state Attorney General Hawley, has a tenuous lead over the Democratic incumbent in a general election. Conversely, Austin Petersen holds a comfortable lead over McCaskill in the general election 56/40. McCaskill has just a 40% approval rating among Missouri voters, yet at least 43% would still vote for her should the GOP nominee be Hawley.

Why would those who are dissatisfied with McCaskill still vote for her? Could it be they don't see a difference between the Democrat and the establishment's hand-picked candidate? That certainly seems like the most obvious explanation.

Ronald Reagan spoke of how Republicans need to show their difference with "bold colors, not pale pastels." Hawley, like so many hand-picked by the likes of Mitch McConnell and the talking heads like Bill Kristol, is most certainly a pale pastel compared to McCaskill. Petersen, like others who haven't spent their entire lives in government, continues his message of bold colors, demonstrating differences with a limited-government, liberty-driven agenda.