Dave Brat is Running Scared
Dave Brat is running scared. There’s really no other way to explain the over-the-top presence at this year’s RPV Advance. Somebody – obviously not Brat himself because he has barely raised enough money to keep the lights on – spent lavishly to create the impression that Dave Brat has massive grassroots support in the party. Somebody has been reading the Eric Cantor playbook again.
For those who attended the RPV Advance, the first thing they saw when they walked down the long Homestead hallway towards RPV’s check-in table was a host of paid FreedomWorks staffers in bright red Brat for Congress t-shirts, handing out stickers. Once you ran that gauntlet, you found yourself in front of the RPV check-in table, and immediately to the left were more paid staff, and two long tables piled high with Dave Brat for Congress t-shirts. Yes, Virginia, you too could rent your chest out as advertising space to a Congressional candidate for free! The next day at lunch, RPV attendees were treated to a $5,000 Laura Ingraham campaign commercial for Dave Brat while they tried to gnaw through rock hard grilled cheese sandwiches.
On Friday night, FreedomWorks also hosted a hospitality suite for Dave Brat, adorned with even more piles of Dave Brat for Congress t-shirts where they were handing out dated promotional literature – some urged support for the House Freedom Caucus against Speaker John Boehner’s retaliation – and other generic swag. They were also handing out this gem – the “Top 10 reasons to support Dave Brat for Congress.”
Let’s take a look at the actual results of these votes:
1. Brat’s vote to repeal Obamacare: Brat voted along with almost all of the Republican caucus and leadership (239 of 245) to repeal Obamacare on a vote that PASSED 249-186. This bill represented the 56th time the House passed a provision to repeal some part of Obamacare and the 4th full Obamacare repeal. The bill hasn’t been taken up by the Senate.
2. Brat’s vote to repeal the Death Tax: Brat voted along with almost all of the Republican caucus and leadership (233 of 245) on a vote to repeal the Death Tax that PASSED 240-179. The bill hasn’t been taken up by the Senate.
3. Brat’s vote to limit warrantless surveillance: Brat voted along with a majority of the Democratic Party (146 out of 182) including some of the most liberal House Democrats like Nancy Pelosi and Charlie Rangel, and a minority of the GOP (109 out of 245) on an amendment to the DOD Appropriations bill that PASSED 255-174. Had this amendment been a standalone bill, it would have violated #7 of Brat’s “10 commitments” he claimed to require to earn his vote for speaker (the majority-of-the-majority principle). The underlying bill, which also passed, hasn’t been taken up by the Senate.
4. Brat’s vote allowing states to opt out of Common Core standards: Brat voted along with the entire Republican caucus – not a single dissenting vote (244-0) – and a majority of the Democratic caucus (129 of 182) on an amendment to the “Student Success Act” that PASSED 373-57. The underlying bill, which also passed (and Brat voted for), hasn’t been taken up by the Senate.
5. Brat’s vote on EPA regulations: Brat voted along with almost the entire Republican caucus as well as the Republican leadership (239 of 245) in favor of the Ratepayer Protection Act that PASSED 247-180. The bill hasn’t been taken up by the Senate.
6. Brat’s vote against more fed control over elementary education: Brat voted along with almost the entire Republican caucus and leadership (224 out of 245) against a Democratic amendment to the same Student Success Act noted above in #4. The amendment FAILED 205-224. The underlying bill, as noted, hasn’t been taken up by the Senate.
7. Brat’s vote against Amtrak: Brat voted along with very divided GOP (147 of 245) against an amendment that would have stripped funding for Amtrak in the Amtrak reauthorization bill. This amendment was largely on geographic lines, and FAILED 147-272, with a bipartisan majority voting against it. The underlying bill (which Brat also voted against) passed, and hasn’t been taken up by the Senate.
8. Brat’s vote to rein in regulatory agencies: Brat voted along with the entire Republican caucus and leadership (241 of 245, with 4 not voting) for the REINS Act, which was firmly opposed by the Democrats and PASSED 243-165. The bill hasn’t been taken up by the Senate.
9. Brat’s vote against the Ex-Im Bank: Brat voted along with a minority of the GOP (117 of 245) against a standalone Ex-Im Bank reauthorization bill that PASSED on a bipartisan vote of 313-118. The bill hasn’t been taken up by the Senate, but Ex-Im was reauthorized as part of another package, making this vote meaningless.
10. Brat’s vote against increasing spending: Brat voted along with a majority of the GOP (167 of 245) against accepting the Senate’s version of the Bipartisan Budget Act. His vote didn’t matter as the bill PASSED 266-167, and was the ONLY piece of legislation on this top 10 list that became law.
Are we starting to see the pattern here? As usual, even under GOP control, the Senate is where legislation from the House goes to die. Perhaps the constant complaints about Boehner and the House leadership were unfair? As for the Bipartisan Budget Act – the only vote that Brat took on a bill that became law – his vote didn’t matter because he couldn’t stop it.
What else does this voting pattern tell you? Every single vote Brat took here was meaningless. He voted for amendments that didn’t pass. He voted against bills that passed. He voted for bills that passed that died in the Senate. Not once did he vote here for something that advanced conservative principles that ended up becoming law, or against something that violated conservative principles and helped stop them from becoming law. This could easily have been titled “Top Ten Reasons Why Dave Brat’s Vote Doesn’t Matter.”
I will give him this – with the exception of #3 and #10, in every other situation up there, he voted in lock-step with the rest of the Republican party and the Republican leadership. When it doesn’t really matter, Dave Brat is a great team player.
As for his presence at the Advance, it’s important to note that not a single other Congressional candidate who was simply running for reelection had any kind of major presence at the Advance. Some, like Barbara Comstock, stayed in DC to work rather than coming to the Advance. Nobody else used paid staff – even if they were paid for by someone else – to establish a presence at the Advance. Even Congressman Wittman, who made his announcement about running for Governor there, didn’t waste his time going over the top, and he will be running statewide.
Given the cost of attendance, the cost for hospitality suites and Brat’s inability to fundraise, it would have been better for FreedomWorks to hold their powder trying to tell Republican activists, most of whom don’t live in the 7th, how great Brat is. They’ll need it for the convention.
