It’s no secret that Glenn is not a fan of politicians, and he speaks to all of them with great skepticism. But early last month, he spoke with a Senate candidate from North Carolina, Dr. Greg Brannon, and he was pleasantly surprised by what he heard. In fact, Glenn went so far as call Brannon “perhaps the best candidate [he has] ever talked to the first time out of the chute.” Brannon once again joined the radio program this morning to talk about his campaign and to offer a fascinating history lesson on American foreign policy.

“I don't think the American people really understand the game that is being played at the international level with Ukraine and Putin and the laughingstock that we are. I certainly don't want to go to war. I don't want to get involved,” Glenn said. “But as somebody who would be in the Senate, what exactly would you do and what advice do you have for Americans and for the Senate?”

Brannon, who is a self-proclaimed history buff, proved just how deep is knowledge of U.S. history and politics runs with the overview he provided of his preferred foreign policy:

This is crucial… I love history. I've been reading about Europe and Asia for years. You look back at the Ukraine. Ukraine actually means, by definition… ‘border land’. It's between Europe and Asia. There's a crucial part there… You have to know the details of the geography, the economics, and the people there; how it's been divided over years; in World War I, how they split sides between the Triple Entente and Central Powers. This is not a knee reflex reaction. But the problem is our American policy has weakened us. We've weakened because of the amount of gasoline refineries since 1973. We've not drilled in Anwar. We have not made ourselves energy efficient.

I believe the word is meek. Our military must be meek, which is strength under control. We must be quietly powerful. Senator [Robert] Taft (R-OH), [President Ronald] Reagan, their foreign policy was phenomenal because they run back to John Quincy Adams and Thomas Jefferson. So we got to look at the details of this. But it does not mean weakening. It means strength.

Glenn, Pat, and Stu found themselves a little gob smacked by the Sen. Taft mention, and asked Brannon to expound upon that particular point:

Taft was beautiful. Mr. Republican, right? He might have been president if he didn't pass away, maybe even before [President Dwight] Eisenhower. His book on foreign policy talked about having phenomenal air force strength, for example. He did not want to retire from the world. He wanted to be engaged in it. But we must do it as peace through strength.

And that's why understanding the geography, the language, understanding the peninsula itself, how it is there – look at the gas. 60% of the gas pipeline was through Ukraine to Europe. What if we were selling gas to Europe? What if we had the free market to compete again? I believe in America. We are the superpower of free markets when we let our chains be off our hands, off our feet. That is strength.

I was thinking, sir, about something really clear here: What if our dollar was constitutionally backed by gold, which is Article I Section 10? What if we did that? Other countries would not run away from our currency. They would run towards our currency. There's so much intertwined here that we must look back and think about.

The Republican primary in North Carolina is scheduled for May 6. The establishment-backed Thom Tillis is his competition. Tillis is the speaker of the North Carolina House. Brannon is quite optimistic about his chances against Tillis, though he is essentially fighting against the Republican Party. Should he make it through the primary, Brannon will square off against incumbent Senator Kay Hagan (D-NC).

“We're the only candidate against Senator Hagan to – five months in a row – either beaten her or tied with her. We're tied with the Karl Rove and McConnell candidate,” Brannon said. “And if you look at the independents, we win significantly. That's why we're being attacked because Mr. Tillis will never debate us. I would love to be on a stage with him. I want to know how he allowed Common Core in our state. How he was actually getting state exchanges done. He said, ‘Obamacare is a good idea. We just can't afford it.’ If that's conservatism, that's not our party. We're going to stand firm.”

If you are interested in learning more about Brannon’s campaign you can visit GregBrannon.com. As Glenn explained, the caliber of conservative candidates running in this midterm election cycle is really unparalleled, and that is truly encouraging news.

“If Greg sounds like somebody that you feel you want to support, I mean, I have not heard anybody speak like this. I mean Matt Bevin is really good [too]. I would tell you: Count your blessings, America, because five years ago we said, ‘Where are the good people’… Here they are,” Glenn said. “And really, if you don't step up now, it's going to be too late… You want the Constitution? Then you go Greg Brannon, you go Matt Bevin, you find someone like that. They're there, but it's all going to rely on you doing something about it. If you have money, donate. If you have time, donate.”