Conservatives of all stripes constantly ask me, “What can I do to help?” Amid the arrogant incompetence of Obamaism and the relentless onslaught of the ever-expanding state, it can be tough to imagine that a solitary, right-thinking Reaganite can do anything to turn the tide back toward limited government.
Well, here is something you can do immediately: Donate to the congressional campaign of Quin Hillyer, as right-thinking a Reaganite as walks the Earth today.
Quin is running hard for the Tuesday, September 24, Republican primary in Alabama’s first congressional district. Former GOP representative Jo Bonner resigned from that seat on August 15 to join the University of Alabama. Quin’s campaign today launched an all-day money bomb. Contributions are most welcome, as of right now.
Financial support for Quin is not just welcome. It is highly merited.
Quin is a titanium-tough free-marketeer. He also has advocated constitutionalism, individual liberty, and economic growth since he started writing op-ed pieces in junior high school. As such, he can do something that escapes too many on the Right: Communicate.
I have known Quin since August 1982. We met on our second day as freshmen at Georgetown University. We have collaborated continuously ever since.
As campus activists and members of Young Americans for Freedom and College Republicans, we helped Ronald Reagan cut taxes and crush Communism. As members of the commentariat, we denounced Daddy Bush when he undermined Reaganism. We tied Bill Clinton’s shoelaces together together for eight years. We applauded Baby Bush’s successes in the War on Terror and — on fiscal matters — tried mighty hard to haul him back onto the path of righteousness. And we have been hammering Obama in tandem since soon after he was sworn in. (I gave Obama a 30-day grace period. Quin was nowhere as naïve, and denounced Obama as a menace to society about the minute he entered the Oval Office.)
When Quin threw his metaphor into the ring, I wrote about him for NRO.
Meanwhile, he’s been endorsed by the American Conservative Union, the National Right to Work Committee, Citizens United, Virginia attorney general and GOP gubernatorial nominee Ken Cuccinelli, former congressman Chris Cox, former Ohio secretary of state Ken Blackwell, National Review editor Rich Lowry, The American Spectator’s Bob Tyrrell, The Weekly Standard’s Fred Barnes and Bill Kristol, RedState’s Eric Erickson, and Second Amendment expert John Lott, among others. His campaign donors include noted legal scholars Miguel Estrada and Hans von Spakovsky.
Quin’s ideas, focus, energy, and talents could make him the next Steve King, Tom McClintock, or Mike Pence.
“Quin would be a valuable addition to Congress,” says Morton Blackwell, founder of the Leadership Institute and a veteran of Ronald Reagan’s White House. “He’s a solid conservative across the board, he’s prudent, and he’s as smart as can be.”
Asked how he believed Quin would perform on the stump, Blackwell added:
As to having the ability to connect with voters, I’m not sure past habits predict future capability. I’ve known F. James Sensenbrenner since the College Republican national convention in 1963. He was smart and conservative, but I could not imagine him contacting voters at the grassroots level. When he first ran for state representative in Wisconsin, he wore out several pairs of shoes going door to door in his district, pleasantly asking for support. He won and has kept winning for many years.
Quin now is George Clooney compared to Jim Sensenbrenner then. I think Quin can win.
Quin is competitive in this wide-open, nine-man field. He is in house-to-house combat for second place among primary voters. At last report, Quin was second in campaign donations, although well ahead of the No. 3 fundraiser.
Quin needs to score at least second in the Republican primary, two weeks from tomorrow. Observers believe that if he at least can place, he eventually can win the Republican run-off. AL-1 is a stalwart GOP district. So, if Quin secures the nomination, he quite likely will capture the seat.
Until then, an even more abundant campaign war chest could make all the difference in the next fortnight of this effort. You can make all the difference.
So, please bomb Quin Hillyer with money!