National Review writer calls AL-06 country’s ‘most important’ congressional race, supports Palmer

Conservative journalist Quin Hillyer on Monday called Alabama’s 6th Congressional District race “the single most important U.S. House race in the country,” before throwing his support behind Republican Gary Palmer.

Hillyer is a contributing editor of National Review, which describes itself as “America’s most widely read and influential magazine and web site for conservative news, commentary, and opinion.” He’s a Mobile resident and actually ran for Congress in Alabama’s 1st District earlier this year, so he has a pretty good handle on what’s going on both in the state and nationally.

Hillyer called Palmer “everything conservatives need” and said he “could immediately, even as a freshman, be a conservative congressional superstar.”

Here are a couple of key excerpts from Hillyer’s article, which can be read in full on National Review’s website:

Palmer is not just the founder and longtime president of the Alabama Policy Institute (API), but effectively is the dean of the entire alliance of tremendously successful think tanks known as the State Policy Network (SPN). His quarter century in the conservative vineyards gives Palmer not just unassailable credentials as a full-spectrum conservative, but also the policy chops, procedural knowledge, and political skills to hit the Capitol grounds sprinting as an advocate, legislator, and leader.

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Palmer’s background is far from that of the typical policy wonk. He grew up poor, in a house his father built with his own hands, and was the first one in his family to attend college. Although he had not played a single down of high-school football, Palmer tried out for Bear Bryant’s Alabama Crimson Tide as a walk-on — and made the team.

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In his home state, API has not just provided an invaluable resource for facts and ideas for journalists and political reformers, but has built a remarkable record of seeing its policy initiatives become law. Indeed, when Republicans in the 2010 elections took majorities in both state legislative chambers for the first time ever, they found themselves with what amounted to a ready-made agenda courtesy of Palmer’s long years of work — and, piece by piece, they implemented it.

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All too often, conservative activists rally to whichever seemingly conservative candidate appears best able to rouse the people, or turn a clever phrase, or play well for the cameras. Too often ignored is the knowledge and skill set needed actually to legislate a conservative agenda. For that job, Gary Palmer is one of the best in the business. National conservatives should be rushing to support him.

The article included glowing recommendations from political figures including Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson and Dothan Mayor Mike Schmidtz.

[Gary’s] an impressive guy [whose work] has distinguished him nationally as a reliable conservative leader. – Gov. Jindal

Gary is so resolute and firm in his convictions that he is not for sale. But he also knows how to find a pathway to solutions that many conservatives can’t find. They complain and they know things aren’t right, but they don’t have the creativity to come up with a pathway to a solution. Gary just seems to find a way to come up with creative alternatives to solve complex problems. – Mayor Stimpson

Gary finds solutions. He looks into things at a real deep level. He gave me knowledge no one else was giving me, and in the end I believe it will save millions of dollars for the city. – Mayor Schmidtz

As for why he believes the 6th Congressional District race is the most important in the country, Hillyer seems to suggest that Palmer would be a much-needed bridge between grassroots conservatives and congressional Republicans, who he believes have not demonstrated the willingness to coordinate with the grassroots or the wisdom to capitalize on the states’ role as “laboratories of republicanism.”

“I’ve always believed that to get the nation back on the right course, change would start from the bottom up, not from the top down,” Palmer told me. “The State Policy Network always has been focused on driving what reforms are needed at the state level. The big reforms that have started across the country — welfare reform, school choice, right-to-work — they’ve all started at the state level. But somebody needs to actually take these reforms to the federal level as well. What makes my candidacy unique is that I have networked in every state. I have the credibility to get these groups to work with us to drive the messaging, to get the reforms that are needed.”

And that is what makes this the most important race in the country. There’s a disconnect between the grassroots and congressional Republicans, with far too little coordination between them and far too little knowledge of how to take advantage, in Congress, of the state laboratories of republicanism. There’s certainly far too little knowledge of how to integrate it all.

UPDATE: Here’s how Hillyer responded to Yellowhammer’s request for clarification on why he believes the AL-06 race is the most important House race in the country:

It is the most important race because Gary Palmer is in it. That is the whole point of the column: that conservatives have the chance to rally behind a guy who can be a superstar from day one, because he has the experience of 25 years in the trenches (unlike a lot of Johnny-come-latelys) AND because he has the network of state think tanks on which to draw for reforms, for solutions… in short, for legislating, which conservative activists for some reason tend to rarely put a priority on.

Do you think Hillyer makes a compelling case for AL-06 being the most important race in the country and Palmer being the man for the job? Let us know in the comments below or by tweeting @YHPolitics.

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