United behind Ed Gillespie

As things tighten up in the waning days of the campaign, ultimate victory may very well hinge simply on who gets out to vote. None of us can afford to take this lightly. [read_more]

I met a self-described “Constitutionalist reformer” this weekend at a GOP event. He happily advertised that he had opposed Gillespie for the GOP nomination, just as he was slapping on a Gillespie lapel sticker and signing up to make GOTV phone calls next weekend. He understands that anything other than voting for Ed Gillespie (i.e., staying home, or voting for someone else) is, constructively, a vote for Harry Reid remaining as Senate Majority Leader. It’s also a vote for Obamacare, a failed foreign policy, job-killing regulations, energy prices that must “necessarily skyrocket,” an out-of-control federal bureaucracy, insolvent monetary policy, a ballooning federal debt, etc., etc.

Conservatives I speak to are excited about the prospect of taking back the U.S. Senate this year, and are downright thrilled that might even mean knocking off Mark “I vote liberal, but I press release moderate” Warner. Most never expected we’d have a chance to win, and greet the tightening race with enthusiasm. They are also absolutely thrilled at ads like this one:

Still, many conservatives continue to feel the sting of betrayal from 2013, when what is known as “the establishment” withheld support for GOP nominee Ken Cuccinelli. Here’s what I had to say about that a year ago, in a post called, “Bolling Dines on Revenge, But Says He’s ‘Deeply Disappointed’ By Election Results.”

But are former backers of Shak Hill for the nomination over Ed Gillespie sitting this one out in some kind of tit-for-tat with “the establishment”?

Nope. They’re out knocking doors, putting up signs, and making telephone calls for Ed Gillespie, the only candidate fighting against Obamacare and other federal excesses, and carrying the banner of free markets and free people. (Heck, even the so-called libertarian in this race favors expanding Medicaid). A lot of that credit goes to the principled leadership Hill and other candidates for the nomination showed in immediately backing Gillespie.

But a lot of it just has to do with what’s right for the cause. Given how tight this race might end up being, a united party may just give Gillespie his margin of victory.