Ortagus Interview, BRCC Goes Public, Freelancer Amicus Briefs to NLRB

Here's the latest dispatch.

Feb 11, 2022

Good morning,

For you newbies out there, welcome to Outsider on the Inside. I hope this dispatch from in and around the nation’s capital on underreported topics finds you well.

If you’re just discovering my musings, here’s a backgrounder.

My Exclusive Interview with Morgan Ortagus

Former State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus is “answering the call to service” running in Tennessee’s Fifth Congressional District.

The Trump-backed candidate announced her bid to represent Middle Tennessee, including parts of Nashville, during a recent appearance on Fox & Friends.

Republicans see an opening to flip the seat after incumbent Congressman Jim Cooper (D-TN) declared he won’t seek a sixth term. Under proposed redistricting plans, the seat reportedly becomes a R+15 district.

"As a U.S. Navy Reserve Officer, I am answering the call to service, and I will never back down from fighting for my country and the good people of Tennessee to stand for American greatness," Ortagus said in an official press release.

I recently spoke to the first-time candidate about her announcement, her campaign platform, and her assessment of the Biden administration thus far.

Ortagus Hits Back at Critics Who Question Her Credentials

“I love getting in the fight because I think that we are fighting for things that really matter to my friends and neighbors here in Tennessee,” she told me.

Following President Trump’s endorsement of Ortagus, supporters of her primary opponent, Robby Starbuck, also a Nashville-area transplant, accused her of being insufficiently conservative and a carpetbagger.

I asked Morgan to respond to these accusations, to which she replied, “I think I earned President Trump's endorsement because he knows my conservative record and he knows my record of being able to fight for him.”

“I spent years representing the America First foreign policy agenda of President Trump overseas,” the former Maverick PAC co-chair explained. “I have a long record of serving my country. And, I think— as President Trump and many people who worked for him would tell you—that I've always been a consistent fighter for him.”

Ortagus shot back at critics further saying she and her family, like thousands of others, have relocated to Tennessee to get away from blue state policies.

“I love Tennessee,” she added. “We moved to Nashville to give my daughter a better life. To be in a place where, you know, she can grow up next to people with conservative values. And I think a lot of people have moved to Nashville, also, for that same reason, right? Those are the things that America is founded on: moving to a place where your family can be free, where your family can make the decisions that's best for them and not to be canceled by the woke mob for doing so.”

Read at Town Hall

BRCC Goes Public

Yesterday, Black Rifle Coffee Company took their company public on the New York Stock Exchange.

The veteran-owned business, founded in 2014 by former Green Beret Evan Hafer, has grown into a lifestyle brand encompassing media outlets, podcasts, merchandise, coffee shops, and much more.

NYSE 🏛 @NYSE

The NYSE welcomes @blckriflecoffee in celebration of its listing ☕️🇺🇸 $BRCC https://t.co/6x85SRJGBQ

Check out their outdoor vertical Free Range American (where I occasionally write) and see BRCC stores are opening near you.

Congratulations, BRCC!

Freelancers, Allies File Amicus Briefs to NLRB

Fight for Freelancers, the ad hoc coalition representing countless freelancers, and over 30 House Republicans led by the Republican Study Committee filed their respective amicus briefs to the National Labor Relations Board (NRLB) on The Atlanta Opera, Inc. 371 NLRB No. 45 (2021).

Their briefs oppose rules changes to worker classification concerning independent contractors.