Why Virginia Democrats Need to Get Out the Vote This Fall in District 7

From left, Democrat Jack Trammel and Tea Party Republican David Brat

If you thought U.S. Rep. Eric Cantor’s views on the budget and other matters were bad, take a look at the guy Virginia Republicans in House District 7 chose instead. Mother Jones provides these nuggets about Randolph-Macon College (student population: 1,300) economics professor and tea party candidate David Brat.

It’s hard to imagine Brat denouncing white celebrities as he has Jay-Z and Beyonce, except everyone knows tea partiers are NOT racist
  • His negative ads criticized Cantor for entertaining the idea of immigration reform and acting to end the debt ceiling crisis
  • He wants to cut Medicare and Social Security assistance to seniors by two-thirds
  • Climate change is not an issue because “rich countries solve their problems”
  • While claiming to believe in libertarian ideas about government staying out of people’s inner lives, he bemoans public schools’ lack of instruction in Christian religion-based morals. He also derides celebrities Jay-Z and Beyonce as not fit role models, although the couple was married four years before the birth of their daughter and continue in a seemingly stable marriage. Beyonce covered the Lee Greenwood song, “God Bless the USA” as a fund-raiser for the New York Police and Fire Widows’ and Children’s Benefit Fund, and performed at Pres. Obama’s second inauguration and the Super Bowl. It’s hard to imagine similarly situated white celebrities being denounced by Brat, but everyone knows tea party folks are NOT racist.
  • He wants to dismantle the United Nations and the IRS

Brat’s website features a photo of Pres. Ronald Reagan with the caption, “What We Believe,” along with one of Cantor and Pres. Obama with the caption, “Reforming Washington.”

The Democratic challenger is fellow Randolph-Macon professor Jack Trammell, an author and political scientist and presumably reasonable person.

In the 2010 Census, the Richmond area that District 7 encompasses was 74 percent white and the median age was 39.2 years. The Cook Political Report gives Republicans in the district a 10-point advantage, since it was engineered to be a safe Republican seat, with both McCain and Romney winning there against Obama.

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