Congressional hopeful Dean Young got a couple of big endorsements on Thursday night from national conservative figures — conservative talk show host Mark Levin and RedState.com editor-in-chief Erick Erickson.
(Above: Mark Levin endorses Dean Young in AL-01)
“Bradley Byrne is a former Democrat,” Levin said. “He’s a moderate and he’s strongly supported by the Chamber of Commerce, which has quietly poured $185,000 into the race to help Bradley — that is Bradley Byrne — because they want to defeat Dean Young. Who’s Dean Young? Dean Young is a religious man. Dean Young is a wholly decent man. Dean Young is a lifelong conservative. Dean Young is the tea party candidate in the Republican primary. So the Chamber of Commerce has poured $185,000 quietly into this race.”
Levin then blasted the U.S. Chamber for their position on numerous issues that are important to grassroots conservatives.
“This is the same Chamber of Commerce that supports amnesty,” he said. “The same Chamber of Commerce that supported the stimulus. The same Chamber of Commerce that has trashed Ted Cruz and Mike Lee and other conservatives. They want Bradley Byrne — in other words, the corporatists, the crony capitalists. But if you believe in individual liberty and the Constitution, if you think we need more men and women in Washington that are going to stand up for you… you have an opportunity in the first district of Alabama on Tuesday to make a difference. I am sure Dean Young is being outspent. I’m sure he’s running TV commercials and radio commercials out the wazoo, defining himself and defining Dean Young in some negative way.”
“So just based on what I’ve read, just based on biography, based on who’s taken what position and so forth — I have to endorse Dean Young,” Levin concluded. “I don’t mean ‘have to,’ I want to because Dean Young is the Reagan conservative. He is the conservative in this race.”
(Above: Erick Erickson gives his take on the AL-01 race and throws his support behind Dean Young)
Meanwhile, on WSB radio in Atlanta, Red State editor Erick Erickson threw his support behind Young’s candidacy for similar reasons.
“Bradley Byrne, I supported him when he ran for governor. He’s not a bad guy,” Erickson began. “But the Chamber of Commerce is spending over $180,000 this week to support Bradley Byrne against Dean Young. Why? Because Dean Young is the tea party candidate.”
Erickson admitted Young has “some crazy views,” but called him a “constitutionalist” and “a small government guy.” Much like Levin, Erickson saw the Chamber’s support of Byrne as problematic.
“The Chamber of Commerce is stuffing $186,000 in to support Bradley Byrne,” Erickson said. “Bradley Byrne is not a tea party type. He is an establishment Republican type. He’s a nice guy, don’t get me wrong. I’ve supported him in the past. I know nothing about Dean Young other than he’s a burn-it-all-down tea party guy who would have kept the government shut down, would have stood with Ted Cruz. Bradley Byrne has made it very clear he opposed the shutdown strategy. He opposed the Ted Cruz and Mike Lee approach, and so the Chamber of Commerce is flooding money down there for him. This is going to blow up in Republicans’ face, I’m afraid.”
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