“Lily for Liberty” Leaves Her Mark on Senate Race
The US Senate race in Colorado is heating up. The Democratic incumbent, Michael Bennet, who has never met a regulation he didn’t like, and the Republican challenger, Darryl Glenn, who helped to fast-track an unpopular wind farm project in El Paso County as a commissioner, think they are fighting a two-way battle to win the seat, but there’s just one “little” problem.
Her name is Lily Tang Williams, and she’s the Libertarian nominee for the US Senate seat in Colorado.
She was born in China. She grew up under the oppressive Communist regime of Mao Zedong. When crybaby millennial snowflakes whine about wanting everything from tuition-free college to free healthcare, no one is as passionate an advocate for free markets and free people as the woman who actually lived in a tyrannical society where government really did enjoy the kind of absolute power required to give you free stuff.
Colorado libertarians should, without too much argument, vote for Lily in November. As a political party, the Libertarians tolerate more diversity of opinions than any other. Even so, they have found it pretty easy here in Colorado to come together to support the party nominee. Democrats who espouse the ideals of socialism will vote for Senator Bennet. He’s the candidate of bigger government, more spending, and more debt (but socialists don’t care about debt). It’s Republicans, in particular, that need to take a long, hard look in the mirror and decide for themselves how America can make its first real course correction on the seas of uncertainty.
Darryl Glenn, a USAF veteran, is a decent guy whom I respect for his service to the nation. He won the GOP nomination in a strange year for Colorado Republicans. His ideas are your basic run-of-the-mill party talking points that are very scarce on specifics. His non-committal and equivocating style is what it takes to succeed in major party primaries, but it’s not what the United States needs right now. Let’s do something that most in the media are failing to do. Let’s look at specifics and see what the candidates say in their own words. In the interest of time, I’ll limit my analysis to Education, Taxes, and Guns. You can use the links provided to learn more topics for yourself, as any informed voter should.
Education:
- Criticizes Sen. Bennet for DC oversight
- “I’m not talking about cutting one dime out of education.”
- Does not mention Common Core on his website
- Claims to have “overhauled” No Child Left Behind
- Pushes increased funding for early childhood education and nutrition programs
- Does not mention Common Core on his website (he voted to confirm the Education Secretary, Dr. John King who is a staunch proponent of Common Core)
- Favors free market competition in schools
- Opposes Common Core
- Believes that education is a state prerogative, not federal
Conclusion: For Republicans who agree that Common Core is a national disgrace and nothing short of federal overreach, only one candidate has specifically called for actually doing something about it on her main website. Education isn’t one of the enumerated powers for the federal government, and the 10th Amendment puts it firmly within the state’s purview. Chalk one up for Lily.
Taxes:
- Calls for “simplicity” and “neutrality” of the tax code
- Wants to “consider” eliminating dividends and capital gains double taxes
- Is OK with a Flat Tax or FairTax policy (He doesn’t have a preference over either one)
- Mentions his support of wind and solar tax credits
- Mentions a tax cut for small businesses for new equipment
- Supports a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution
- Wants Congress to reduce expenditures, instead of raising taxes
- Will repeal of all federal government programs that are not explicitly authorized by the Constitution
- Favors going to a simple 10% flat tax, then a full-on repeal of the 16th amendment and a national consumption tax like the FairTax
Conclusion: Senator Bennet is a tax-and-spender who disguises himself as a man of the people. He’s not an extreme leftist like Bernie Sanders, but he’s not going to help tackle the $20 trillion debt we’re staring at either. While I appreciate the need for a simple and neutral tax system, Darryl Glenn’s offering mostly platitudes. Lily offers more specifics. 10% Flat Tax up front. Repeal the 16th Amendment. National consumption tax (e.g., the FairTax). For me, that’s one more tick in the Lily column.
Guns:
- “I will continue to defend the right of all Coloradans to own, purchase, and enjoy firearms without the intrusion or monitoring of the government.”
Sen. Michael Bennet.
- No mention of it on his “issues” page.
- Repeal all gun control laws.
- Opposed to “gun free zones” as they are often targets for criminals
- Supports enabling trained teachers to carry guns on campus
- Testified in the Colorado Senate against banning magazines.
- Was published in the National Review for her piece Guns Against Tyranny.
Conclusion: Sen. Bennet is a detriment to your 2nd Amendment right to bear arms. He knows his gun control stance is unpopular, so he skirts the issue after the state of Colorado voted to recall state senators who favored gun restrictions. Darryl Glenn will not be a detriment to your gun rights, but is he passionate enough to speak out against popular liberal ideas such as gun-free zones? Lily has proven her tenacity in fighting for our gun rights. She experienced life in a place where citizens were actually banned from owning guns. She doesn’t want to feel helpless like that again. Lily gets my vote here, too.
Overall, if you’re a conscientious voter who loves this country and who wants to see it return to its former glory as a bastion of freedom for all individuals, I think Lily needs to be a serious option. Democrats will erode our Constitutional rights quickly. Republicans have shown that they are content to do it slowly.
It’s time to restore our rights.
There’s no better place to start doing that than in the United States Senate. There’s no better time to start than now. Republicans, I’m not asking you to change your party affiliation or to abandon your party. The Grand Old Party has many redeeming qualities, and I completely understand the desire to fix things from within. I only implore you to consider checking the box for Lily in November. Fear not that you might be leaving the comforts of the majority, and remember, when our American Revolution started, patriots were outnumbered by loyalists to the crown here in this country. Liberty is contagious. It only takes a few dedicated patriots to stoke the flames to create something really powerful.