McIntyre's debt-driven Democrat policies push U.S. down the road to fiscal ruin!

Verne Strickland Blogmaster 

April 28, 2011 

NC Congressional District 7 GOP Archives:  News

AMERICAN PEOPLE AND EXPERTS BELIEVE NORTH CAROLINA DEMOCRAT'S POLICIES ARE MAKING U.S. DEFICIT PROBLEM WORSE. 

Washington — Mike McIntyre was dealt another blow this week as economic studies outlined the dire consequences of his failure to address the spending-driven debt crisis he presided over, and polls showed the public strongly disapproving of his fiscal policies.

Despite all this, McIntyre continues to tout bloated budget plans, more job-destroying taxes and plenty of Washington fuzzy math instead of changing his big-spending ways and getting serious about fiscal reform.

“It is shocking that Mike McIntyre would pile on more interest and debt on families throughout North Carolina just so he could continue his government spending spree with money borrowed from countries like China,” said NRCC Communications Director Paul Lindsay.

“McIntyre’s wrong-headed priorities demonstrate just how out-of-touch he is and these new polls show Americans instead want meaningful deficit reduction that will get our nation’s finances back on track," Lindsay commented.

A new Bloomberg Government study showed that the most likely outcomes for inaction on the deficit will either lead to a debt crisis or rapid inflation:

“Short of default, a bout of inflation similar to that of the 1970s may be the only way for the U.S. to reduce its debt burden if lawmakers fail to pass deficit-reduction measures, according to a Bloomberg Government Study released today.


“The study projects the debt would fall to 61.8 percent of gross domestic product in 2020 under a scenario that repeated the 1970s, when consumer prices climbed 8.1 percent a year on average. A return of the 1980s, 1990s or 2000s would result in debt levels anywhere from 96.4 percent to 102.4 percent of GDP.” (Steve Matthews, “Inflation 1970s-Style May Be What Cuts U.S. Debt, Study Finds,” Bloomberg, 4/21/11)

A new USA Today/Gallup poll shows Americans overwhelmingly recognize that the Democrats’ approach is not workable:

“Nearly three-fourths of those surveyed, 71%, worry that the Democrats’ plan ‘won’t go far enough to fix the problem’; 62% fear they might use the deficit as an excuse to raise taxes.”


“Republicans hold a 12-percentage-point edge over Democrats as the party better able to handle the budget, and a 5-point edge on the economy in general.” (Susan Page, “GOP’s gamble on the budget pays off, so far,” USA Today, 4/26/11)

These new studies confirm what Americans already know, which is that Mike McIntyre cannot continue to spend and borrow in order to protect his spending spree without serious economic consequences. Will McIntyre finally listen and stop the very same fiscal mismanagement that created this crisis?

Tags: Deficit, Mike McIntyre, U.S. Budget

Pantano talks jobs at Whiteville Tea Party. McIntyre shows up somewhere close by.

Verne Strickland Blogmaster

Filed Apr 12, 2011

Ilario Pantano recently addressed a Whiteville NC Tea Party on the topic of jobs and how to best address the unemployment crisis occurring across NC's 7th Congressional District.

Pantano emphasized his belief that a return to prosperity can only be achieved by the success and growth of the private sector.  He talked about the importance of making America a more competitive place to do business by lowering taxing and eliminating burdensome regulations. 

Pantano harshly criticized the failed liberal philosopy of the government as a job creator that has led to double digit unemployment rates across much of the 7th District.


From News 14 Carolina / Ashley White

WHITEVILLE, N.C. – A rematch of the closest race in years for the 7th Congressional District seat could be happening in 2012.

Republican candidate Ilario Pantano officially announced his candidacy. Both Pantano and Congressman Mike McIntyre were in Columbus County April 11. McIntyre was hosting a Job Boot Camp and Pantano was on the campaign trail while attending a Tea Party rally.

It's no secret that unemployment is a major concern across North Carolina and it's clear job creation is one of the biggest issues to be followed for the 2012 election. For Pantano, it's a big part of his campaign platform and like he said at the Tea Party rally, it's time for a change.

"There are two views about job creation. The traditional view that has lived here in Columbus County that has been brought by Democratic representation, is that the government is going to be your job creator,” said Pantano. “You'll be on the government payroll. We'll grow the government. They'll be a new government program.”

But Pantano said relying on the government isn't the answer anymore.

"I understand the goal and importance of government but I also understand as somebody who has been in big business and in small business, that the only way we are going to get our country moving again is by private sector job development," said Pantano.

For McIntyre, job creation is an area to which he has dedicated full-time staff.


"Any way that we can get those jobs to the people we want to do it because everyone wants to be able to provide for themselves, their families and contribute to their own community," said McIntyre.

Congressman McIntyre hosted a job creation boot camp in Columbus County as a way to be proactive and teach new skills to those who need them.

"That may seem easier for people that are use to using Facebook and Twitter, the social media, but for others it's kind of a new venture,” said McIntyre. “So we want to make sure we leave no stone unturned when it comes to creating job opportunity," said McIntyre.

Leland, the little town that could, hosts launch of Pantano campaign which shares the same spirit.

 By Verne Strickland

April 11, 2011

A lot of people have breakfast in Brunswick County every morning. This breakfast was different. Eggs, sausage. But no grits, a Southern staple. 

As I availed myself of a modest serving of the available vittles on the buffet line, I asked a lady behind me what was in the second serving tray. Grits? She said she didn’t think so. 

“I believe those are hash browns,” she finally said.

I knew that. I tell the story to make a point. We native Southerners are not the only ones in the South anymore.

And you know what? That’s great. The Cape Fear Region, which offers a wonderful, temperate climate, an ocean, and friendly people everywhere, is a favorite nesting place for Northerners who’ve pulled up deep roots above the SFL (serious frost line), and planted them here.

Brunswick County has been a favorite. It is touted as one of the fastest growing counties in North Carolina – and ranks near the top nationally as a retirement and vacation destination as well.

“I wouldn’t say we usually come for the grits,” one good-natured newcomer admitted.

Whatever. They come. And they are not only a windfall for the economy. Their exodus from above the Mason Dixon line – in many cases way above – is a priceless windfall for conservative and Republican political activists in North Carolina’s southeastern congressional districts – many known as hidebound Democratic strongholds for as much as one hundred and fifty years. 

This story isn’t about grits. It’s about politics. Government. Philosophy. Core personal beliefs of the population here – a population being seeded with a host of new citizens who know that there is life after the Democratic Party.

They are becoming a critical mass which promises to break the grip of  entrenched Democrats on government at community, county, district, state and national levels.

The new elected leaders in government are certain to bring political evolution. But the changes already being seen appear more similar to a revolution – at least at the ballot box.

The new wave of leaders is hungry for change, impatient with a status quo which has brought mounting deficits, fiscal irresponsibility, arrogance, unresponsive treatment of constituents, declining governmental transparency, liberal attitudes on social issues, disrespect for American ideals, and a cynicism and moral laxity.

All this deeply disturbs many conservatives who are making North Carolina’s Southeastern and Piedmont area their home. 

But the fare at this April 9 breakfast gathering at Two Guys Grille in Leland is not the story. It’s what the gathering was all about, why the location has more than casual significance, and about the ripples that will widen and affect lives and institutions far beyond this once rural and undistinguished community.

Leland, you see, is becoming a thriving hub of commerce, a spreading cluster of vital residential developments where professionals, retirees and wage-earners live, raise families, work and play. 

It is one of the fastest growing incorporated communities in what is called the Cape Fear Region. Some joke that Leland may annex Wilmington in the future.

This is where conservative Republican Ilario Pantano chose to launch his campaign for the U.S. Congressional seat in North Carolina’s Seventh District – his second bid to defeat Mike McIntyre, who is now embarked on his eighth two-year term in office. 

McIntyre did win, but not by much. That was only months ago. One of the drawbacks the former U.S. combat Marine had to deal with was lack of time – only ten months to build an organization, gain awareness among the region’s Republicans, conservative Democrats and unaffiliated voters, raise funds, and come out of the starting blocks at warp speed.

Facing an incumbent who is a street-smart politician posing as a Southern gentleman, Pantano had an uphill battle against all odds, going up against a “Blue Dog” Democrat with momentum, money, and insider connections with a liberal political machine which provided clout at City Hall, the county courthouse, the State Legislature, and the U.S. Congress.

Running against McIntyre and this stacked deck was audacious. But neither Ilario Pantano nor the patriotic and motivated supporters who flocked to his campaign paid any attention. They ignored that deficit of influence and big money, which at the eleventh hour (courtesy of Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi and the DNCC), pumped a cash infusion of over $500,000 into McIntyre’s re-election drive to stave off a spirited challenge by political newcomer Pantano.

There was disappointment, but instead of despair, Pantano’s core team went into think tank mode and began to plan for a second run at Mike McIntyre.  This time, they said early on, they would succeed. 

The Leland breakfast arranged by the Pantano for Congress Committee drew an energized phalanx of 125 Pantano faithful who socialized, had a group breakfast (sans grits) and listened to informal presentations by GOP stalwarts who will figure prominently in the 2012 Seventh District Republican primary effort.

Ilario Pantano led the charge. Others who spoke included Congressman Pete Sessions, chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), who spoke by a two-way audio hook-up from his Washington office; George Bell of Leland, chairman of the Brunswick County GOP; and District Attorney Jon David, a Republican elected in November 2004

 

This article detailing the 2012 bid by Pantano to unseat incumbent Mike McIntyre is only the first installment in a series of posts dedicated to the April 9^th kick-off. We will feature presentations by prominent Republican leaders who for the Pantano 2012 run for the U.S. Congress. Their comments give an insightful preview of what this campaign is all about, as told by some of the conservatives who will play key roles.

In his invitation to the event, Candidate Pantano asked, “Are you ready to finish what we started?”

Judging by the rousing response from Pantano faithful, the answer left no doubt that they are not only ready -- but willing, able and not to be denied.

That this should happen in Leland, an idea that started small but expanded beyond all expectations, is quite fitting.

McIntyre opponent drops out of Democratic campaign. Cites personal attacks.

Verne Strickland Blogmaster

Posted: Apr 05, 2011 8:25 PM EDT Updated: Apr 05, 2011 8:31 PM EDT 

 

By: Jon Evans - email 

Del Pietro

NEW HANOVER COUNTY, NC (WECT) -  Del Pietro has announced that he is dropping out of the Democratic campaign to challenge incumbent Congressman Mike McIntyre in 2012.

Pietro was recently the subject of a personal attack by a member of McIntyre's staff. Pietro told WECT News Tuesday night that he expected more similar attacks from inside the Democratic Party as the campaign continued, and he did not want to put his family through that type of politics.

"It's saddening," Pietro said, "but I think this is the right decision for the long term."

Pietro has ruled out a run for political office, but says he looks forward to endorsing a qualified primary and general election candidate to represent the citizens of District 7.

He issued this statement:

I am officially announcing that I will be withdrawing my intentions to challenge for the Democratic nomination for Congress in the 2012 election.  The direct attacks of this past week from Congressman McIntyre's staffer are an indication of what this campaign would be.

I have a wonderful and very loving family and they do not deserve to be put through such a terribly unethical campaign as put forth by Congressman McIntyre and his staffer.  
My heart goes out to the people of this district which is the poorest and sickest in North Carolina.  

May God be with you.

The official filing period for the Congressional seat does not open until February of 2012.

Copyright 2011 WECT. All rights reserved.

McIntyre concerned about jobs (mostly his own). Congressman has plan to subvert NC redistricting to his own ends. Here's the scoop!

By Verne Strickland

Hello. It’s Verne. Your trusty old blogger bud. The conservative pundit who rats on pompous, big-spending, excessively incumbent, closet liberal Democrats -- plus commies, atheists, pacifists, radical Muslims, and Mormons with more than six wives? Know who I am now?

Well okay, then. I have a question for you. Have you talked with your congressman recently? Mr. McIntrye? From Lumberton? The guy who staged the little jobs summit recently? Where his aide dissed Mr. Del PIetro behind his back, telling a TV reporter Pietro was crazy, not all there, off his rocker, schizophrenic? Remember that?

Well, I think it’s time you did talk with your congressman. Because he’s acting mighty weird these days. You’re probably used to this. But this time it’s really bizarre. Maybe it’s Mr. McIntyre who’s off his rocker.

Truth is, Mike just don’t do right. He’s so bound up with hanging onto his own job that he’s ignoring the plight of the unfortunate jobless people in his own district. That’s selfish, disappointing, arrogant, and deplorable. 

The bottom line of my tirade here is to inform you that Mike has figured out a way to game the system on redistricting. His aim is to subvert the outcome and influence it in his favor.You can stop him in his tracks.

Mike has revamped his own website to program his robots so they will come together in a mass, or a pile, or possibly a wad, and do his bidding on this issue. They probably will. 

So let’s get our own true soldiers together and resist this audacious campaign by Congressman Mike McIntyre, who has faithfully worked to improve the lot of “his” people -- but after fourteen years in his cushy Barcalounger in Washington still lives in one of the poorest, sickest, most impoverished and demoralized counties in all of North Carolina! That would be Robeson County. So let’s cut to the chase.

McIntyre is using scare tactics to trick voters on redistricting and preserve the gerrymandered "good old boy" network.

We saw it with the bogus social security scare ads, and then the bogus fair tax scare ads.  Now we're even seeing it with redistricting.  How far will the Democrats go to keep their grip on power? Too far, you can bet.

As a government shutdown looms, trillions in deficits accumulate and unemployment and foreclosure continue to ravage Southeastern North Carolina, do you know whose job Congressman McIntyre is trying to save? HIS.

Are you as stunned as I am to learn that while our nation is struggling to undo the liberal's job-killing policies, Congressman McIntyre is busy trying to LOBBY the newly-elected leadership in Raleigh to keep his job?

Of all the Democrat and Republican congressman in North Carolina, Mike Mcintyre is the ONLY ONE who has re-dedicated part of his website to redistricting and launch a lobbying campaign to keep his job.

Call his office and ask him how he could possibly spend the time and energy on saving his job -- time that he should be spending on the people of North Carolina. 

Call Congressman McIntyre at (202) 225-2731 and ask, “Whose job are you really trying to protect, Mister Mike -- yours or the hapless people of your neglected district?"

Call the Congressman and tell him to get back to work and leave the district issues to the newly-elected legislators that the people of Southeastern North Carolina have empowered. Tell him that they should do their job just as you expect the congressman to do his. Will you please do dat?

You've seen it all, from voting machines that only make "mistakes" that favor the Democrats to Nancy Pelosi pumping in $570,000 dollars to bail out McIntyre at the last minute in the recent election.

Now they are at it again, right under your nose. How much do these liberal scalawags think will fit under your nose anyway? They are trying to intimidate our new Republican legislators. They are using fear to keep their hold on power. The only question is, are you going to let them win? We need a congressman in Washington fighting for OUR families, not HIS job security!

McIntyre has been paid over $2 million dollars of tax payer money in salary over the last 15 years. and that doesn't include the nearly $20 million for his staff. Whose interests is he actually looking out for?

I’m not through with this yet. This is so important, so cheeky, so downright onerous, that I am going to do a series on the issue, which maybe we’ll call “Mike and you. Who comes first? Well can you guess?” Not very catchy, but it'll have to do. I gotta rush this to press.

There will be a series of meetings coming up in April and May at convenient locations throughout Brunswick, Cumberland, New Hanover, Pender and Robeson Counties.

We will post the locations in our next report. Be sure to mark the date, time and place on your calendar. Or write it with your wife's lipstick on the bathroom mirror. This is big. Resolve to be there to resist McIntyre’s cheesy effort to get control of the redistricting process.

We’ll also explain how to register to voice your opinions, and how to assure that you are in compliance with the Public Hearing Guidelines.

Also call McIntyre’s office and let him know you don’t like him meddling with a fair and open redistricting plan. You didn't forget the number did you? It's  (202) 225-2731.

And visit the official Mike McIntyre web site to see what he’s doing. I don’t think you’ll be surprised. But I’ll wager you’ll be very disappointed.

Go there now -- http://www.mikeworksforme.com/redistricting-2/

Keep the faith, neighbors. I am your humble servant. Verne.

NC district map-makers could be political king-makers -- but GOP vows to play fair.

REPUBLICANS IN CHARGE OF CRITICAL PROCESS, WHICH GETS UNDERWAY THIS WEEK

Verne Strickland Blogmaster

BY JIM MORRILL - CHARLOTTE OBSERVER
Saturday, March 26, 2011


It's the mantra of North Carolina's Republican leaders: This year's political redistricting will be "fair and legal."

They don't say it will be non-partisan.

The process that will change voting districts for millions of North Carolinians - and the state's political landscape for at least a decade - starts Wednesday when House and Senate lawmakers charged with redrawing districts meet for the first time. A series of public hearings will start in April.

Republicans drawing lines for the first time since Reconstruction will work from a 2010 census that left current congressional and legislative districts unbalanced a decade after they were last drawn.

Rebalancing the district's populations means that some, such as the 1st District of Democrat G.K. Butterfield in the northeast, must be redrawn to take in more people. Others, such as the Charlotte area's 9th District, represented by Republican Sue Myrick, will have to shrink.

Republicans expect the process not only will solidify their new hold on the General Assembly but help them gain as many as four congressional seats. One publication called North Carolina the GOP's "Golden Goose of redistricting."

"If [Republicans] just draw districts that, in their words are fair and legal, they should do pretty good," says Francis De Luca, president of the conservative Civitas Institute.

Drawing legal districts has never been easy in North Carolina.

Cases challenging N.C. plans have gone to the U.S. Supreme Court at least six times in three decades.

"It's definitely been the epicenter of some of the most landmark redistricting cases in the modern era," says Tim Storey, a senior fellow with the National Conference of State Legislatures. "Some of the seminal Supreme Court cases that guide legislators in every state in the country in the redistricting process originated in North Carolina."

Those cases as well as a series of state court rulings have created a legal thicket for map-makers. Virtually every case involved interpretations of the Voting Rights Act, the 1965 law designed to ensure the rights of minorities.

The court has said the state can consider race in redrawing lines. Just not too much.

Race will play a role

This year, race will be a factor again as lawmakers tweak the state's two "majority-minority" congressional districts - the only two represented by African-Americans - and perhaps try to add a third.

"We're looking at our options," says Sen. Bob Rucho, a Matthews Republican who chairs the Senate Redistricting Committee. "It's all going to be based on where we can find large pockets of population."

To rebalance North Carolina's 13 congressional districts, lawmakers must add nearly 100,000 people - almost the population of Wilmington - to Butterfield's 1st District. They'll have to subtract 3,000 from Charlotte Democrat Mel Watt's 12th District.

They'll have to do both without diluting the influence - what the Supreme Court called the "effective exercise" - of minority voters. Any plan has to win approval of the Democratic-controlled U.S. Justice Department.

African-Americans tend to be concentrated in the state's urban areas and in rural areas in the northeast and south.

One place lawmakers might attempt a third majority-minority district is along the southern tier, through much of what is now Democrat Larry Kissell's 8th District. Such a plan could effectively siphon traditionally Democratic voters from Kissell and Rep. Mike McIntyre of Robeson County who represents the 7th District.

(VS: McIntyre is already challenged by Democrat Del Pietro. Republican Ilario Pantano, who lost to McIntyre in 2010, is an announced candidate for 2012. )


"It's obvious why Republicans would want to create a third minority district," says Democratic Sen. Dan Blue of Raleigh. "Their whole goal and purpose is to bring all the black voters in the state together and sort of 'ghettoize' them and reduce their influence in other districts."

Robo-calls target Dems

This week the National Republican Congressional Committee began robo-calls against Kissell and Democratic Reps. Brad Miller and Heath Shuler, blaming them for rising gas prices. Similar calls have targeted McIntyre. All four are among the GOP's top 10 Democratic targets. Redistricting could help unseat them.

Shuler's 11th District must add about 30,000 people. They would likely come from Republican Patrick McHenry's 10th District, making an already conservative district more so.

Rucho has suggested that Kissell's 100,000 Mecklenburg County constituents - most of them Democrats - might be moved to a more compact 12th District.

Miller, a former state senator who in 2001 drew the district he now represents, could lose Democratic voters in Guilford and Wake counties.

Republicans could draw Robeson and Cumberland counties out of McIntyre's 7th District and replace them with Republican-leaning voters along the coast. Republicans could put Kissell and McIntyre, or Miller and Democratic Rep. David Price of Chapel Hill, into the same district.

Working within limits

But map-makers will be constrained by growth patterns, which have seen the state's population shift from rural to urban areas. And every change creates a domino effect on neighboring districts.

"There are just some limits to what they can do, simply because you have to make them fit," says Ferrel Guillory, a UNC-Chapel Hill political analyst.

While federal law will guide congressional maps, a 2002 N.C. Supreme Court ruling sets parameters for state legislative districts.

Chafed by what they consider years of Democratic gerrymanders, Republicans say they can be fair, legal and successful. By changing maps gerrymandered by Democrats, says House Speaker Thom Tillis of Cornelius, "logic would dictate that that favors Republicans."

GOP Senate leader Phil Berger of Rockingham County agrees.

"If we draw the plans fairly, consistent with the law, our folks will win on their merits," he says. "We want to draw maps that allow voters to choose their representatives, as opposed to maps where legislators pick their voters."

jmorrill@charlotteobserver.com or 704-358-5059
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2011/03/26/2173064/gop-ready-to-redraw-ncs-political.html


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