US Senate hopeful speaks to conservatives in Winston-Salem

Dr. Greg Brannon, a declared Republican candidate for US Senate, spoke in the auditorium at the Forsyth Tech West campus in Winston-Salem to an audience of about 100 people subdued by news of the deadly bombings in Boston.

"Yes, I want to be called the simplistic man -- a man with only one thing," said Brannon, a practicing OB/GYN in Cary. "I want to be that guy. Yes, I want to be that guy saying, 'I love life from the moment of conception to natural passing.' Yes, I want to be the man that understands that liberty is the freedom to do what you want to do, succeed, fail and with the opportunity with that, and the responsibility. Because I've failed in life much more than I ever succeeded. And what is mine is mine. And I'll decide what I want to do with it.

"John Locke, in his second treatise, he said it very clearly: 'The only role of government is to protect one's property.' Madison took it a little further: 'The most important property you have is your body and your mind.' That's why Obamacare's so -- it's infringing on our choice."

Billed as a "Freedom Rally" and hosted by Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Tea Party Patriots, the event was emceed by Bill Flynn, a conservative talk radio host and former congressional candidate.

Brannon is the first to declare his intentions to seek the Republican nomination to challenge Democrat Kay Hagan, a Democrat whose US Senate seat is up for reelection next year, although NC Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger and NC House Speaker Thom Tillis are said to be interested in the seat.