[sws_grey_box box_size=”630″]Upon request, Richmond Tea Party will consider having guest bloggers submit content to be shared with our supporters, provided that the content is consistent with the organization’s 5 principles. We recognize that providing a venue to be heard for candidates for office is important, as financial constraints can make it difficult to share information with the community, especially for non-incumbent candidates. It is in this spirit that we are sharing a message from Floyd Bayne, who is running for the House of Representatives in the 7th district. Richmond Tea Party is in no way endorsing any commentary offered, nor is Richmond Tea Party responsible for the content provided. [/sws_grey_box]

My fellow Patriots,

As you read this commentary we here in Virginia are preparing for another primary election. On June 12 we will be asked to once again cast our vote to choose the Congressional representative we wish to serve the next two-year term. I have asked my fellow Virginians to consider my words in making their decision.

As a Republican I hear members of my party daily castigating the Obama administration and those who support his presidency. We complain, and rightly so, about the assault on our personal liberties and the continuing destruction of the private-sector economy at the hands of the federal government. We decry the socialist nature of the direction we find ourselves moving in. Too much government! Too much spending! Return to the Constitution! You have heard the cries. You may have even made some of the exclamations yourself. Now I would ask you to consider the following; we have not arrived at this juncture in our nation’s history because of Democrats alone.

We must recognize and be willing to deal with the fact that some in the Republican Party have contributed to the problems our nation faces. We cannot speak of “holding them accountable” and then turn around and reward them with our vote yet again. By doing so we send a clear signal, that they need not fear the voters and may do as they please. If we think of the Democrat Party as the party of big government, a well-deserved moniker, then we must have available to us a small-government alternative. That alternative used to be the Republican Party. I wish to see our party regain the designation of being the party of limited, constitutional government.

As with the alcoholic or drug addict, the first step to seeking help is to recognize that there is a problem. We must recognize that voting records tell a story. Flowery rhetoric may inspire, photo opportunities may encourage, television and newspaper interviews may provide some context, but at the end of the day a voting record tells what the representative actually did. That voting record impacts our daily lives and the lives of future generations. Is your representative’s voting record one of constitutionally limited governance? Does his rhetoric match his actions? Do you trust him to do as he says he will do or do you find yourself waiting anxiously to see what the final outcome will be? Is his a consistent pro-Constitution record or one of taking one step forward and three steps back? These are questions that we must ask and seek answers to if we are to fulfill our responsibilities as citizens in a free republic.

I have done my homework regarding my representative and his is not a record that I would be proud to stand behind. As Republicans we have a creed by which we are to conduct our political business. I submit that if our representatives do not adhere to this creed then they are as damaging to our country’s future as any progressive Democrat. Fiscal responsibility and budgetary restraint are listed in that creed. How then does one explain having voted for TARP, which was a bailout of private-sector businesses using our tax dollars? Not only did this bill violate the call for fiscal responsibility and budgetary restraint, but it also violated that part of our creed, which calls for “observing constitutional limitations.” Nowhere does the Constitution authorize Congress to determine which businesses should succeed and which should fail, using our tax dollars. This is simply Obama’s “stimulus spending” by another name.

Regarding our personal liberties, our creed states, “That the Federal Government must preserve individual liberty by observing Constitutional limitations,…” However, in just the past couple of months, my representative has added to his vote to undermine our Fourth Amendment rights, when he voted for The Patriot Act and its extensions, by voting for the National Defense Authorization Act. This one act effectively renders null and void our Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amendment rights. Constitutional limitations? Preserving individual liberty? Those of you who think this won’t affect you because you think it is directed only at “terrorists,” should know that this bill allows for the indefinite detention of American citizens with no due process of law. You cannot see a lawyer, you cannot not confront your accusers, and you cannot have a speedy trail by your peers. The government can keep you locked up for as long as they like. With the Department of Homeland Security having redefined the word terrorist, to include freedom loving U.S. citizens, this onerous legislation does indeed affect us all.

It is because the current representative of Virginia’s 7th district, one Eric Cantor, has a long list of such votes, that I am offering myself as the conservative, constitutional alternative in the Republican Party this year. I humbly seek and ask for your support, that we may yet restore constitutional government to Washington. D.C. No more excuses. The time has come to hold him accountable.

I am asking for help from the “Liberty Community” to unseat this big-government, progressive Republican. Anything you can contribute is greatly appreciated. Please visit my website at – www.floydbayne.com – or my contribution page at – http://floydbayne.com/contribution/. You can help me restore constitutional government to Washington, D.C. with your contributions.

Thank you,

-Floyd Bayne

(this information originally posted on: http://www.dailypaul.com/237257/liberty-candidate-for-congress-running-against-eric-cantor-in-virginia)