Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Brat beats Cantor in Virginia GOP primary

Who Is David Brat? A Look At The Economics Professor Who Toppled Eric Cantor - Thomas Barrabi, Mother Jones:

June 11, 2004 - "The Republican Party is reeling Wednesday after David Brat, a little-known economics professor at Randolph-Macon College and devout Roman Catholic, dealt House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., a stunning loss in Tuesday’s congressional primary.

"At the moment, political pundits on both sides of the aisle are fixated on Brat, but the 52-year-old academic remains something of an enigma. Through support from some elements within the Tea Party and a grassroots campaign that espoused greater fiscal responsibility, a crackdown on illegal immigration and the repeal of Obamacare, Brat managed to overcome Cantor’s vast advantages in campaign funding and name recognition....

"Brat's faith played a role in shaping his career as a scholar; he earned a master’s degree from Princeton Theological Seminary. It also informs his political beliefs — a deep conviction that the GOP, and Cantor in particular, has gone astray, and must return to its original mandate: 'Free markets, equal protection under the law, fiscal responsibility, constitutional restraint, strong military and belief in God,' he said, according to NPR.

"In addition, the self-described 'free-market, Milton Friedman economist' has served as the chairman of the department of economics and business at Randolph-Macon College -- a small liberal arts school in Ashland, Virginia -- since 2005....

"Though not an avowed libertarian, Brat has ties to the Cato Institute, the leading libertarian think tank in Washington. He heads BB&T Moral Foundations of Capitalism program at Randolph-Macon, which is funded by John Allison, president of Cato. He’s also studied Ayn Rand at length; in 2010, he co-authored a paper titled “An Analysis of the Moral Foundations of Ayn Rand.”

Read more: http://www.ibtimes.com/who-david-brat-look-economics-professor-who-toppled-eric-cantor-1598240 'via Blog this'

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