Matthew Berry, a candidate for the Republican congressional nomination in Virginia’s Eighth District, hosted a campaign kick-off last weekend at Marymount University in Arlington.

Berry was an attorney with the Institute for Justice, a public-interest law firm, before moving on to clerk for the U.S. Supreme Court and to jobs with the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Communications Commission.

Berry faces one opponent in the June 8th GOP primary, Patrick Murray. The Eighth Congressional District is currently represented by Jim Moran, who was first elected in 1990.

After his campaign kick-off, Berry spoke with the Charlottesville Libertarian Examiner about the issues he plans to emphasize in the general election and how he plans to get voters to cast their ballots for him.

Top Three Issues
His top three issues, Berry said, are first, “the need to restore fiscal responsibility to Washington, we’ve got to get the spending, the budget deficit, and the growth of government under control. Number two, aggressively fight the war on terror and maintain our national defense. Number three, end the culture of corruption in Congress; Jim Moran trades earmarks for campaign contributions. We need to stop that.”

Experience
In terms of the experience that qualifies him to be a Member of Congress, Berry cited three elements.

“First, I had the honor of working for Justice Clarence Thomas at the U.S. Supreme Court, so I know the Constitution backward and forward and can defend constitutional values in Congress. Secondly, my work at the Justice Department, giving people the tools they need to fight and win the war on terror. I know what policies we need in that regard.” He added that at the FCC, he gained “experience with the telecommunications and technology industries, [which will] be the prime drivers of economic growth over the next generation.”

Party Unity
Because he has a primary opponent, Berry also has the task of unifying the Republican party behind him after June 8th.

He is confident that he can do that because, he explained, “we’re going to stress themes that unify the Republican party rather than divide it. The issues that I’m talking about – fiscal responsibility, national security, ethics – are things that almost all Republicans agree on.”

Moreover, Berry believes that he already has united different branches of the party behind him.

“We’re already unifying the Republican party because we’re getting an incredibly diverse group of support,” he said, combining both the libertarian and social conservative wings of the GOP. “We’re doing that because people want the candidate who has the best chance of winning the general election and they see our campaign as having that best chance.”

Berry noted that his campaign has been endorsed by party leaders in the city of Alexandria and in Arlington and Fairfax counties, including the vice chair, secretary, and treasurer of the Arlington Republican Committee. Two candidates who had originally sought the GOP nomination and then withdrew from the race have also endorsed Berry.

Why Vote for Matthew Berry?
Summing up, the candidate said, “You should vote for Matthew Berry if you want to see spending and the deficit brought under control, if you want to see the American people protected from terrorism, and if you want to see individuals empowered to make decisions about their own lives rather than have government make decisions for them.”

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