From the Diaries by NS

The recent decision by Virginia Senator Jim Webb not to run for reelection was a gift to Republicans. While it is disappointing that we will not be able to give him the electoral defeat he had coming, it guarantees that Jim Webb will no longer be a reliable vote for the Democrats’ disastrous agenda in 2013.

But the real gift is the opportunity this presents to Republicans. The open 2012 Virginia Senate seat is an opportunity for the people to decide on the future of the Republican Party.

In the Republican primary for Senator Webb’s seat, Virginians have a choice: We can vote for the old Washington Establishment or for a new generation of conservative leadership.

I am running to become Virginia’s next Senator because I believe that Republican renewal will come not from the Establishment that created our problems, but from the grassroots movement that has arisen to challenge that failed Establishment.

For more than a decade, the Washington political Establishment – in both parties – has steadily increased spending, burning through our treasury and then borrowing more money from other nations to spend. In the process, we’ve accumulated a $14 trillion national debt and jeopardized America’s financial stability.

Unfortunately, Republicans contributed to this spending binge. Despite their pledges to reduce spending and the debt, the Republicans who ran Washington did not follow through on their promises. They voted for spending that increased our national debate by trillions. They voted for tens of thousands of earmarks. They became a part of the Establishment.

Like the rest of the Washington establishment, the Republican leadership of the past didn’t seem to understand the dangerous situation their actions created for our nation.

Across America, millions of citizens have stood up to reject this Establishment. We have seen the emergence of the Tea Party movement, and I have proudly been a part of this movement, as an organizer and a leader.

In 2010, the Tea Party challenged the Establishment. In 2012, it is time for Tea Party activists to take back the Republican Party from the Establishment.

The Republican Party and Virginia can move forward in a new, responsible direction, guided by Tea Party principles such as Constitutionally limited government, fiscal restraint, free markets, virtue and accountability. With $14 trillion in debt, we literally cannot afford to go back to the Washington Establishment.

I invite you to join me.

Jamie Radtke – www.radtkeforsenate.com