N&O columnist flails McCrory on budget -- "not the stuff of which legacies are made"

NC Governor Pat McCrory



By Verne Strickland / March 22, 2013

Please read this. It will remind you again of why liberal Democrats are smitten by pie in the sky, then spend themselves and the government into the poor house. And don't care. 

These are a few lines of a blog by Rob Christensen -- political blogger at the News & Observer. I have always liked and respected Rob even though in my considered opinion his stuff was pretty liberal.

More recently, he seems to have edged closer to that dreaded line which states clearly, "I'm not moderate, and if I were I wouldn't admit it."

Past sins aside, I had a vision prompted by Rob's recent column about Governor Pat McCrory's budget proposal for the State.

In the vision, I saw what really makes liberals so loose with the money. Not their money. Your money.

I'm going to reveal some portions of Rob's column and drop in a few personal notes to demonstrate what I mean. 

According to writer Christensen, McCrory's budget suggested that he is "a pragmatic, moderate conservative, not a Tea Party Republican. The budget colored him an incrementalist with a modest vision of what government can or should accomplish."

Verne: Excuse me? Are we now complaining that Pat has no imagination or flair for accomplishment and growth because he is holding the line on spending? I know that in North Carolina the balanced budget is sacrosanct. Pat McCrory should not be mistaken for an empire builder. But he will distinguish himself for his innate sense of responsibility and (gasp) fiscal restraint.


Rob continues: "McCrory’s budget offered no sweeping vision of what he wants his governorship to be about. If anything it seems to be a green-eyeshades budget that puts an emphasis on fixing things or making things run more smoothly – it put more than $1 billion in funds designed to repair buildings or update computers and telecommunications equipment, or build up reserves for future emergencies."

Verne: What the hell? Now you're really making me mad! Of course the "green-eyeshades" dig is insulting enough, but to belittle the "emphasis on fixing things or making things run more smoothly" cuts to the quick. It's childish. 

One of the main problems in America and in the states and communities is building exciting monuments to politicians -- gargantuan buildings, soaring bridges, sports palaces -- anything you can put a plaque on saying who spent your money to put up this thing and why they were wonderful.

That ain't all bad. But all over the State, and across the nation, we have neglected infrastructure -- disintegrating streets, highways, bridges, electrical systems, and other necessities that keep us safe, secure and functioning. As a result, these things don't get fixed. No one wants to spend money to keep up something that has lost its luster. How you gonna create excitement by overhauling a municipal sewer system?

"This may be sound management," the N&O blogger ventures, "but it is not the stuff of which legacies are made."

Verne: Legacy? Is that what all this is about? I know that politicians are egotists, but if "building a legacy" breaks the bank, or comes close, then it's clear that this is not why we elect leaders. It's always needlessly expensive, in many cases barely functional.

I don't think I have heard any presidents talk of "my legacy" more than Obama and Clinton. JFK and LBJ, further back in time, had the same affliction.They happen to be showboats with inflated opinions of themselves. They reside in a rarefied atmosphere where they feel they deserve lavish praise and recognition, and, by dang, they are going to buy it. Or we are. Republicans are generally more reserved. George W. Bush, George H.W. Bush, Gerald Ford, Dwight D. Eisenhower. And Ronald Reagan? In a class all by himself.

But I seem to be taking a ramp off the Interstate. My point in all of this is to support Pat McCrory, who does have imagination, drive, energy, vision, and great leadership qualities. And to shine the spotlight on his character and capabilities.

He is a businessman. This is what attracted many of us to his candidacy. And I say it's about time that we have a businessman as our Governor. Of late, we've had a succession of skilled politicians, self-promoters, with an occasional embarrassing side trip into malfeasance and total incompetency. This has cost us and tarnished our reputation.

Governor Pat McCrory will do us right. He won't blow his budget on frills. He won't abuse his privileges. He won't misbehave. He will tend to business. He won't fail.

I know you like your Democrats, Rob Christensen. But after the "administrations" of Easley and Purdue, you're going to find Pat McCrory an exceptional governor, a breath of fresh air, and a leader who will accomplish great things -- always within his means. Yep, Rob -- you're gonna love this guy.

By the way, here's just a little bullet point that showed up in an editorial in the N&O on Thursday:
"This budget may be dull, but it’s politically shrewd."

That's what I'm talking about, Rob!

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/03/21/2769437/mccrorys-budget-sets-up-a-debate.html#storylink=cpy

By Rob Christensen — rchristensen@newsobserver.com

Gov. Pat McCrory proposed a hold-the-line budget on Wednesday that offered key clues about his still-fledgling governorship.

Budgets by and large are political documents, reflecting the goals and priorities of the governor.
A governor’s first budget is particularly important because the governor is at the height of his or her power to push an agenda through the legislature. McCrory will never has as much leverage as he has today. So what did he do with his leverage?


Andrew Taylor, a political science professor at N.C. State University, said the McCrory budget contrasts with the more ideological proposals coming out of the Republican legislature.
“We have the governor taking a more moderate, pragmatic approach, more interested in issues of management and administration,” Taylor said. “The legislature is taking the bolder, more pre-emptive and ideological position on issues.”

Claude Pope announces run for Chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party

MESSAGE FROM CLAUDE E. POPE, JR.

March 21, 2013

I’m running for Chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party because I want to build on the successes
we’ve had in the past two election cycles and establish the Republican Party as the dominant political organization in our state for the foreseeable future.

Staying on top is even tougher than getting to the top, in my opinion, but I believe my combination of business and political experience has prepared me to lead the Republican Party to a successful future in North Carolina – and that will be good news for the state and its people.

Our great new Governor, Pat McCrory, and our Republican majority in the legislature are going to make the reforms and changes North Carolina needs to get its economy moving again, put an end to the constant tax increases and pervasive corruption that marked the recent Democrat years, and give all North Carolinians a government that works efficiently and treats them like they were valued customers.

But the Democrats aren’t going to roll over and play dead.  You’ve probably read that they have a plan to “cripple” and “eviscerate” Republican leaders and “weaken their ability to govern.”  They promise to use private investigators and other shady tactics to dig up dirt on Republicans.

To fight that kind of disgusting negativism, our party is going to have to be strong, and I’m ready for the challenge.

I’ll work to strengthen local party organizations, to help each of them to “own their sandbox” and win local elections that will add depth to our Republican governing team.  I’ll provide mechanisms to support our statewide leaders against the underhanded tactics the Democrats have already announced as their battle plan.  I’ll ramp up our fundraising and volunteer efforts – as Wake County Chairman, I set records in both areas.

I’ll reach out to the various constituencies and conservative-minded organizations so we can all work together to build the North Carolina you and I want.  And I’ll use my business experience to make sure the whole thing is managed in an effective, efficient way.

That’s my pledge to you, and the basis on which I’m asking for your support at the Republican State Convention in Charlotte June 7 – 9.

I look forward to seeing you there, and to working together in the coming months and years on behalf of the North Carolina Republican Party.
Thank you.

Claude E. Pope, Jr.

P.S. Please visit my website at ElectClaudePope.com for regular updates.

GOP must remain the party of mainstream Reagan conservatism

 

Verne Strickland Blogmaster / March 19, 2013




 By Benjamin P. Chatham

I belong to the school that believes the Republican Party must remain the party of mainstream Reagan conservatism rather than try to become a diluted version of the Democratic Party. 

This does not mean Republicans can't come up with creative policy solutions when advisable, but it does mean that conservatism is based on timeless principles that require no major revisions. 

Conservatives are champions of freedom, the rule of law and enforcement of the social compact between government and the people enshrined in the Constitution, which imposes limitations on government in order to maximize our liberties. 

If we reject these ideas, then we have turned our backs on what America means and what has made America unique. What's the point of winning elections if the price is American exceptionalism?

I refuse to acquiesce to the cowardly notion that conservatives are intolerant or mean-spirited because they oppose discriminant treatment for groups and classes of people, because they support the rule of law, because they oppose a runaway entitlement state and because they adhere to traditional values, including the protection of innocent life.

But my personal preferences as to the future of the conservative movement and the GOP aren't really the point. The point is that no matter what I prefer, the hard truth is that the movement inside the Republican Party to abandon social conservatism is nothing short of a political death wish. Denying it will not alter the reality.

The five minute NRA speech that would change the gun control debate forever

 

Verne Strickland Blogmaster / March 18, 2013

Published March 14, 2013

FoxNews.com

Editor's note: Author Scott Pinsker is a marketing and publicity expert who writes occasionally for Fox News Opinion. This is his vision of a speech he would like to see delivered by leaders at the National Rifle Association. It has not been delivered by the NRA.

Greetings. My name is Wayne LaPierre, and I’m the executive vice president of the National Rifle Association. After the national tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School, it was my hope that Red America and Blue America would finally come together and try to solve a serious problem, because protecting our children from violent madmen isn’t a conservative position or a liberal position; it’s a common-sense position.
Sadly, instead of offering new solutions, the same anti-gun zealots who’ve always hated the Second Amendment have politicized the deaths of kindergartners, adopting the Rahm Emanuel tactic of “Never letting a good crisis go to waste.” Anti-gun newspapers have even published the names and private addresses of law-abiding gun-owners – something they would NEVER do to sex offenders, drug addicts, wife-beaters, AIDS victims, welfare recipients or women who’ve had an abortion – and rightly so.

The Sandy Hook tragedy, the Virginia Tech shooting, the Aurora “Batman” shooting, the Tucson shooting – all of the killers were mentally unstable young men who were prescribed mind-altering psychiatric drugs.

The NRA tried to help: Since we protect our president, vice president, governors, senators, judges, banks, hospitals, office buildings and jewelry stores with armed guards, why does it make sense to protect our schoolchildren with a small sign that says, “This Is a Gun Free Zone” – and then hope that someone with a gun can get there quickly if there’s an emergency? Why do we have armed guards at middle school and high school football games – but not at the actual middle schools or high schools?
But this still doesn’t do enough to protect our children. The time for partisanship is over; now is the time for action. And that’s why the NRA is requesting the assistance of the ACLU.
The Sandy Hook tragedy, the Virginia Tech shooting, the Aurora “Batman” shooting, the Tucson shooting – all of the killers had something in common: They were all mentally unstable young men who were prescribed mind-altering psychiatric drugs.
These killers didn’t purchase their guns illegally, or watch Fox News, or circumvent background checks by attending gun shows. They didn’t have prior convictions or troubling police records. That’s not the common denominator. The common denominator is that these young men were sick – and everyone knew it.
The ACLU has done more than any other organization to protect the legal rights of mentally sick people.
This is a fact.
Because of the ACLU, mentally sick people can refuse medical treatment or psychiatric care, even when their mental condition has left them homeless and penniless. Even in situations like Adam Lanza, the 20-year-old Sandy Hook killer, whose own mother, according to reports, was unable to mandate medical treatment for her son.
The NRA doesn’t hate the mentally ill. They deserve our compassion and our help. But sick young men have spilled far too much innocent blood. This simply cannot continue.
The NRA is hereby inviting the ACLU to join us on a study to find common-sense solutions that will prevent violent madmen from harming our children. And then together, it’s our hope that the NRA and the ACLU will offer these solutions directly to President Obama.
This won’t be easy. It’s anathema to the NRA to deny any law-abiding American the right to bear arms, just as it’s anathema to the ACLU to deny any American the same civil liberties of his neighbors. But despite our personal biases, there must be a solution that’s better than the status quo!
An inspirational politician once declared that there isn’t a Red America and a Blue America, or a black America and a white America – there’s the United States of America. As Americans, let’s come together, rise above the rhetoric, and actually do something that protects our children.
Thank you.
Scott Pinsker is a marketing and publicity expert who specializes in brand-development for celebrities, entertainment properties and corporate conglomerates.  He lives in Tampa Bay, Florida.