In a series of recent public statements, Rob Sarvis has revealed himself to be an ideological sham, and an intellectual mess.
The more we learn about Rob Sarvis, the more we learn that he is essentially an empty vessel for those poll respondents who would rather not express support for either of the two major party candidates. They really only say they support Sarvis because he’s not Terry McAuliffe, and he’s not the conservative caricature portrayed as Ken Cuccinelli in millions of dollars of Democrat TV ads.
How else to explain support for an ostensibly liberty-minded candidate who calls himself a “moderate”? Or who refuses to take a stand on rolling back expansive government? Who instead, as revealed in the interview below with Chuck Todd, actually endorses the expansion of Medicaid in Virginia under Obamacare?
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Seriously…the “libertarian” wants to add 400,000 of his fellow Virginians to the federal teat. But don’t worry…he only favors it after masterminds like himself can work around its margins and institute “reforms.” He talks about tweaks to regulations to increase the number of nurses, and to better manage the autonomy and authority of nurses in the healthcare system. THIS is what the Libertarian Party nominee talks about? Really!?! Instead of tinkering with Leviathan to achieve some utopian ideal, a real libertarian would be trying to put it back in its Constitutional cage where it belongs.
But that’s not the kind of “libertarian” Rob Sarvis is. Does he favor the state claiming less of a citizen’s property? No. He instead favors “prioritizing spending,” which is progressive-speak for making cosmetic changes to allow continued over-taxation. He’s the kind that favors higher taxes, because he tactically refuses to say anything that would put him in line with the Republican Party.
Higher taxes like increased gas taxes, and instituting a Vehicle Driven Miles tax, where car drivers pay tax on the number of miles they drive. How does this get implemented? By having a GPS black box installed in your car so that the government can track your movements. Yay Liberty! [CORRECTION: Updated to remove reference to higher gas tax. I’ve seen Sarvis characterized as advocating a higher gas tax, but after my friend Ashton Gilmore pointed out that this video contains no such assertion, I have removed that reference.]
Don’t fall for this Libertarian In Name Only sham. Though he’s not perfect, Ken Cuccinelli is the best candidate for liberty. In last week’s gubernatorial debate, Ken Cuccinelli boldly said that he is the most pro-liberty candidate in his lifetime. And it’s true. No other major candidate in memory has acted and advocated on behalf of our Constitutional and Natural Rights like Ken Cuccinelli has.
Ken Cuccinelli is famous nationwide as the earliest and most forceful legal critic of the individual mandate embodied in Obamacare. He was the first Attorney General to challenge the ill-named “Affordable Care Act” in court, and has spoken passionately about the disastrous precedent set by allowing Congress to force individual citizens to enter into a line of commerce.
But it hasn’t stopped there. As Attorney General, Cuccinelli undertook a challenge to another federal overreach in the form of the EPA trying to classify rain water as a pollutant in order to expand their regulatory control over Virginia localities. He’s worked as Attorney General to free wrongly convicted prisoners, and to vindicate the rights of taxpayers. Recognizing injustices associated with the war on drugs, Cuccinelli has expressed openness to revisiting our marijuana laws. As a legislator, Cuccinelli has been among the most forceful champions of the right most dear to all others, the right to life. And he has consistently stood on the side of smaller government, even when it’s unpopular with the chattering classes.
And there is a reason Cuccinelli limited his statement on being the most pro-liberty candidate to just within his lifetime. It wouldn’t be true to say he was the most pro-liberty ever, would it? Folks, we’re voting for someone to occupy the office once held by Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson. Do we really want some inexperienced clown in that position? No, and liberty advocates don’t want Rob Sarvis there either. Even if you disagree with one or two of his positions, Cuccinelli is the only viable choice for liberty.
