David Rouzer 'a solid conservative voice' -- Former Pantano staffer Andy Yates.

 
Staff photo by Allison Potter

Senator David Rouzer greets supporters and media at an

Open House for his New Hanover County headquarters.

 By Verne Strickland / August 4, 2012

Recently I interviewed Andy Yates via our USA DOT COM telephone hook-up from his home in Huntersville, NC, near Charlotte. Yates worked in behalf of Ilario Pantano of Wilmington through several bruising political campaigns. Pantano was the District's GOP nominee in 2010, but couldn't take down Democrat incumbent Mike McIntyre, who squeezed by in a nail-biter. Pantano had come close to pulling off the upset of the year. Pantano was not able to overcome 2012 primary challenger David Rouzer in the run-up to the November General Elections. A State Senator from Johnston County, Rouzer is preparing to face Mike McIntyre in November 2012. I asked conservative political consultant Andy Yates but one question: Who is David Rouzer?

"In  the spirit of full disclosure I was a Pantano guy for a long time, and always will be, but we don’t want to throw the baby out with the bath water. I’ve known Sen. Rouzer for a long time, dating back to when he ran for Commissioner of Agriculture in 2000. He is a dedicated working guy and will make a great congressman.

I’m not going to agree with anybody 100% of the time, but he will be a solid conservative. I don’t think you can work with Jesse Helms for as long as he did without being a solid conservative. I think he’ll work hard to represent the whole district, although he knows he has some work to do in some areas, and he will do that. When he gets to Congress he will work hard to get things done, and he is familiar with what needs to go into effective leadership there. I feel that Republicans across the Seventh District who may not know him well at this time will grow to like and support him in time. 

"David Rouzer has been a solid conservative voice in the State Senate, where he was especially active on social issues. He has been a leader in the fight in Raleigh – not just someone who sits on the back row and only shows up to vote. Especially over the last two years, when we have tried to right all the wrongs that the Democrats brought to the State Legislature, David has been in the front ranks of the battle. In Raleigh, as we know, he has won lots of praise for his work ethic and strong conservative record.

"One of the great positives of the Republican Congressional Primary in the Seventh District was that we had a choice between two candidates who each pledged to go to Washington and create positive change. Senator Rouzer was chosen for the mission, and he is shaping up to be a tough opponent for McIntyre to take on.

"I know people have had some concerns with David over the immigration issue, and we’re not going to agree with everybody over everything. But hands down he will be greater asset to the District than Mike McIntyre, who talks like Jesse and votes like Nancy. What Mike does is he masquerades as a conservative to his constituents, but does what he thinks is best for him. He’ll tell you he will vote to repeal Obamacare, that he will vote to do away with the estate tax, and fight for traditional values, but he just disappears into the Democratic partisan crowd in Washington and totally goes against his word.

"I think we have in David Rouzer a conservative with all the right stuff, who will speak his mind and vote his heart. We don’t need to look any further than the enthusiastic endorsement of Ilario Pantano who has pledged he will do whatever he can, not only because Ilario is a gentleman, but because he knows we need a new congressman in the district, and knows David  will be a dramatic improvement over Mike McIntyre. Both David and Ilario have moved past the primary, and I know that their alliance will be good for the party.

With David in Congress, we’ll have no more Mike McIntyre stunts like a taxpayer-funded party in Italy with his wife on their wedding anniversary, then after he comes comes back to North Carolina he uses campaign funds to buy Panther tickets for his wife and his children, and reimburses his wife tax-paid dollars for personal expenses. There’s nothing honest or honorable about that. Mike is just up there to just have a good time and not really do a whole lot. It’s past time for a change."