Archive for the ‘NC Democrats’ Category

Brenda T. Formo provides weekly briefings on behalf of the North Carolina Federation of Republican Women.  To join, click here.

Katy’s Conservative Corner is the only North Carolina blogger with permission to reproduce these reports.  KCC thanks Col. Formo for her continued research on behalf of the Federation.

NC General Assembly

Defense of Marriage Amendment

The Marriage Amendment passed in the Legislature this week.  It will be on the ballot for the May 2012 primary so that the people of North Carolina can vote on it.

The bill states that Article 14 of the NC Constitution  is amended by adding a new section that states, “Marriage between one man and one woman is the only domestic legal union that shall be valid or recognized in this State.  This section does not prohibit a private party from entering into contracts with another private party; nor does this section prohibit courts from adjudicating the rights of private parties pursuant to such contracts.”

A Pro-Marriage Amendment rally was held on Sep 12th at the Halifax Mall adjacent to the Legislative buildings in Raleigh.  The rally was hosted by The Upper Room Church of Christ in Raleigh and was attended by a diverse group of concerned citizens of both political parties.    As we were walking toward the rally, some of them were saying that they just couldn’t believe that in NC marriage would be controversial.

Inspirational leaders from The Upper Room Church of Christ addressed the crowd, including Pastor Patrick L. Wooden and his wife Pamela.  Church coordinators for the event were Wanda Thomas and Anthony Wilson.  They did a commendable job in getting people out because it was a huge crowd.  Our own Felice Pete, of the congregation and President of the Wake County Republican Women, was there with her new baby, Reagan.  What dedication to the Defense of Marriage!

Kevin Daniels, President of the Frederick Douglass Foundation of NC was also a speaker and drew praise for his comments.  The rally was inspiring and uplifting while giving evidence that marriage between one man and one woman is beneficial for families and reflects on our nation’s Christian heritage.  The people attending the rally made a difference in the legislative vote by showing that they care about the definition of marriage in NC.

During the next eight months there will be much debate from both sides.

The White House has already responded to North Carolinians by stating that “President Obama opposes laws ‘designed to take rights away.’”

In related news, House Republicans are seeking ways to delay the termination of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” enacted during the Clinton administration.  Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT) expires on September 20, 2011.  In brief, under DADT military members keep their sexuality preferences private.

US House of Representatives

Sources:  ncga; Observations from Sep 12 Marriage Amendment Rally and General Assembly; Washington Blade, ”White House Responds to N.C. Marriage Amendment by Chris Johnson, Sep 13, 2011 and “House GOP Seeks to Delay End to ‘Don’t Ask’” by Chris Johnson, Sep 15, 2011; News Release: “Berger: Perdue Shoud Stand Up to NLRB, Encourage Job Growth,” Sep 15, 2011; and house.gov.

EDITOR’S NOTE: For more information on this volatile issue and to see how those on the opposing side stand, your blogger suggests you check out her friend, Pam Spaulding‘s blog, Pam’s House Blend.  KCC does not see members of the Republican Party and the Libertarian and unaffiliated voters as a “sure thing” in the vote for this amendment.  Many of these people feel that this is a case where the “government needs to keep hands off”, and these people, if compelled, will get out and vote against the amendment in May.  We shall see how this goes in the ensuing months!

Obama at NC State, Copyright WRAL http://www.wral.com

President Barack Obama visited Apex, North Carolina on Wednesday, trying to sell his jobs bill to a hand-picked small business.  The owner, Erv Portman, is an Obama donor, a Democrat, and a Wake County commissioner in a fight for re-election.

After the President’s speech in Apex, his motorcade drove down I-40 into Raleigh, onto the campus of N.C. State University.  He arrived at a nearly packed Reynolds auditorium, where 24 years ago this month, President Ronald Reagan visited.  Your blogger was in the house that day, along with Senator Jesse Helms and a number of conservative notables.  She remembers it being “wall to wall people”, something that didn’t appear to be on television today.

Twenty-four years ago, President Reagan drew a much larger audience than did President Obama.  Four large, industrial air conditioners were brought in to cool the huge crowd.  Even so, a number of people passed out from the heat.  Mr. Reagan even took off his jacket, revealing his bulletproof vest underneath his shirt, which was soaked through.

Wednesday, President Obama claimed that his jobs program would be paid for via higher taxes on the wealthiest taxpayers.  Meanwhile, these people already pay the bulk of our taxes and are our major job creators.

He now wants to tax them further so that the government can provide another “stimulus” of money into our state and others.  He even went so far as to promise the collegiate audience summer jobs.  Additionally, he promised more teachers and a $1300 “to the average working family”.

Since we are all working families, your blogger wonders who he is trying to push off his class warfare language on?

He then tried to sound like a conservative.  He promised that the government would live within its means and began his “blame Bush” tactics when he said that we had lived too well “these last ten years”.

Yet, Obama said “a lot of THEM don’t get it,” referring to Republicans, and added “Raleigh needs people who can put country before party.”  Believe us, Mr. President, Raleigh has these leaders and we plan to vote you and Governor Beverly Perdue, right out of office in 2012.

The President gave his students a homework assignment.  He told them to put on their marching boots and get to work contacting their members of Congress, “even writing a letter”.

We appreciate your orders Mr. President.  KCC will certainly follow up.  We will contact our Congressman and urge that he vote AGAINST this expensive and unnecessary jobs bill.  Have a pleasant flight to back to Washington.  There is a community on the south side of Chicago that is missing its organizer right now.

Word on the street is, that in setting up this visit, the President first tried to rent out a Wake County school.   An advance team contacted General Anthony Tata, Supt of Public Instruction for Wake County, gave them the thumbs down.  The White House then went looking for higher education.  Your blogger assumes that Tata didn’t want anyone exploiting Wake County school children for political gain, and KCC applauds him for his actions.

Editor’s note:  The President was very careful to stay on message and avoid using the “s” word.  He didn’t want to be associated with either of the two failed stimulus acts.

Your blogger’s husband is a double alumnus of NC State University, having both undergraduate and graduate degrees in electrical engineering and minors in math.

Pantano is running for Congress in North Carolina's 7th Congressional District

From the Pantano for Congress Campaign:

We are confident that the citizens of the new 7^th District will respond very positively to Ilario’s conservative message of JOB CREATION by reducing taxes and cutting regulations to spur private sector economic growth while at the same time putting an end to the runaway spending and crippling debt burden that threatens the prosperity of our families and future Generations. Ilario’s pro-growth message of government reform and private sector innovation will stand in sharp contrast to his opponent’s record of supporting the Barack Obama stimulus, failing to support any budget or debt reduction plan, and his continued support for wasteful spending of money we don’t have paid for by debt from governments we don’t trust.

This weekend Congressman Mike McIntyre is returning from a taxpayer paid luxury junket across Europe from Rome to Moscow to Lisbon where the official itinerary noted he and his wife were celebrating their wedding anniversary with all the perks of a Washington insider.

Pantano served our nation proudly in the United States Marines

Meanwhile, back here in southeastern North Carolina, where unemployment is in the double digits, Pantano will be spending time in 7 counties celebrating America’s Independence with supporters and friends from all across the new district. A 4th of July stop will include Onslow County where Ilario served proudly as a Marine in two of our nation’s wars, the first Gulf War (1991) and Iraq in (2004).

Pantano, whose father legally immigrated to the United States from Italy and became a US citizen in 1976, is willing to give the congressman an Italian Lesson for free when he returns from spending our money overseas.

Pantano will also be happy to share with the Congressman what he heard from his fellow citizens of Southeastern North Carolina about their concerns over unemployment, the debt, and out of control federal spending which has ballooned over his opponents fourteen years in Washington living high on the hog.

The 7th District will now include parts of the Crystal Coast, including Morehead City, Cedar Point, Atlantic Beach, and Emerald Isle

EDITOR’S NOTE: As a part-time resident and property owner in Western Carteret County, this blogger urges the Pantano team to pay more attention to the Atlantic Beach to Emerald Isle area on Bogue Banks (aka Crystal Coast) and from Morehead City to Cedar Point on the mainland.

We think it is great that he’ll be in Onslow County for July 4th, but we assume that Mr. Pantano will make plenty of appearances in Carteret County where the people are conservative and politically active.  Please don’t take this solid base of support for granted.

Katy’s Conservative Corner endorses Illario Pantano for Congress!

He is the one for the 7th district.  We’ll have another post on that, soon.

Katy’s Conservative Corner is the oldest political blog in North Carolina, serving you since 1998.  Follow us on Twitter, here.  Find us on Facebook, here.

With Obama running the nation's budget, many feel that the US currently has no hope.

Facts can be frightening things, almost as frightening as an American flag to a liberal on July 4th.

Let’s use this wonderful holiday celebrating our nation’s birth to remind our friends and family why President Barack Obama has failed this nation and why we need to get him and his fellow liberals out of office next year.

Remember this?  ”We own it!”

“We Own It”: Two of the President’s closest allies, Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Dick Durbin, have admitted that this “President owns the economy” in the minds of voters.

Quick Facts about THE DEBT

• National Debt up 35% under Obama
• Current National Debt is $14.3 Trillion
• $3.7 Trillion added to the national debt since Obama took office
• 43 cents borrowed on every dollar the federal government
• $26.3 Trillion is the expected national debt in 2021 under Obama’s budget

UNEMPLOYMENT

• National unemployment at 9.1%
• Unemployment up 25% under Obama
• 2.5 million jobs lost under Obama

Let’s remind our friends and family that Obamanomics has failed and that HOPE never did hire in America!

Thanks to our friends at the North Carolina Republican Party for these statistics.

Follow Katy’s Conservative Corner on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/katys

Let's Veto Beverly Perdue in 2012

Here we go again. Governor Beverly Perdue continued to mark up good legislation with her red veto stamp. She ignored the will of the people of this state and ran roughshod over legislation that a bipartisan and duly elected legislature crafted together and overwhelmingly passed.

And she vetoed bills, such as the Regulatory Reform Act and the Energy Jobs Act —  an action that will kill jobs at a time when the state economy has lost 100,000 jobs over a two-year period. The Regulatory Reform Act actually hadunanimous support in the Senate because it was a common-sense bill that eliminated cumbersome and unclear regulations that had created uncertainty for businesses.

On Thursday, she vetoed 4 bills –all had passed in the House and Senate either unanimously or with very solid majorities.

She did not even have the guts to sign into law the hugely bi-partisan Tax Credits for Special Needs Children Bill and the Annexation Reform Bill – but allowed them to become law by simply not addressing them prior to today’s deadline.

It is a shame that the voters worked so hard to get real change at the legislature, begged for regulatory and tax relief and common-sense legislation—only to have Governor Perdue arrogantly use the veto 15 times this session.

You can be sure that AFP will be at the legislature building when it opens again later this summer and early fall, trying to come up with the votes to override these vetoes.

And we know you will be right there to help us – calling and emailing your legislators or visiting them on Jones Street.

Just look at some of the great, AFP-supported legislation that Governor Perdue vetoed this year:

Budget with zero tax increases         VETO Overridden

Medical Malpractice Reform              VETO

Individual Opt-out of Obamacare       VETO

Stop Government from taking union dues from teacher paycheck                                           VETO

Requiring a photo ID to vote               VETO

Regulatory Reform                              VETO

Energy Jobs Act                                 VETO

With your help, we got some good laws passed this year, too.

• Removed cap on charter schools
• Tort Reform for Businesses and Citizens
• Repealed Land Transfer Tax
• Tax Relief for Small Businessman
• Workmen’s Comp Reform
• Regulated Local Government Competition with Private Business
• Annexation Reform
• Tax Credits for Special Needs Children

The North Carolina Americans for Prosperity works for us!

However, we have our work cut out for us in trying to undo the damage Governor Perdue created with her veto stamp. We hope we can count on you to help us override these vetoes when the legislature convenes again later this summer.

Sincerely,

Dallas Woodhouse
North Carolina State Director
Americans for Prosperity

But it takes money to fight. Won’t you help the AFP NC  fight Governor Perdue and her bad policy decisions by sending $25, $50 or $100 today? The AFP needs us all.  This is your blogger’s favorite group and the one she works most closely with.  Let’s keep pushing to get the message out on radio and television. Join KCC and please donate today.

NC State Seal

Much has happened this week in the North Carolina State Legislature and Col. Brenda Formo has covered it all. Katy’s Conservative Corner cannot thank her enough for her dedication and oversight to conservative causes.

This report helps many plan their legislative activities and know when to contact their elected officials. Formo had a distinguished career in the United States Army and we thank her for her service to our nation.

Writing on behalf of the North Carolina Federation of Republican Women, Mrs. Formo is the State Vice-President of the Central Region.  To find out how to join a Republican Women’s Club near you, please contact Valerie White.

BREAKING NEWS: Clearly NC House Speaker Thom Tillis feels that he has the votes to override Governor Beverly Perdue‘s veto of the Photo Voter ID bill.  This is excellent news.  While your blogger doesn’t know who the Democrats are that will be siding with the Republican majority, we will report them just as soon as we find out.

Meanwhile, the NC Senate has a veto proof majority.  Does your vote at the polls matter?  You bet it does!

The press release from Tillis’ office is below:

House Speaker Thom Tillis (R-Mecklenburg) announced today that the North Carolina House will attempt to override Gov. Bev Perdue’s veto of the voter ID bill when the body reconvenes in July.

“Governor Perdue has chosen to veto a bill that over 75% of North Carolinians support and more than a dozen other states utilize,” Tillis said.

“Governor Perdue continues to play politics and she has once again turned her back on the voters of our state.  Republicans in the state House will not let this stand.   We will take the lead and we will work for an override vote on the voter ID bill when the House reconvenes in July.”

Tillis said the House will notice the veto override once the House reconvenes in July for a brief session on redistricting.   The override vote will occur during the July session.

“This legislation is a no-brainer,” Tillis said.

“Requiring a photo ID to vote is a measure that provides confidence in voting and protects the integrity of our electoral process.  Why this bill was vetoed is beyond me, but we will not stand idly by while the Governor and her liberal allies put politics before principle.  We simply want North Carolina to join the majority of states that have an ID requirement when someone shows up to vote.”

The voter ID bill, known as the “Restore Confidence in Government Act,” has consistently received substantial support of the voters across party lines.  If citizens do not possess photo identification, the bill stipulates that free photo identification can be provided at DMV locations or local Boards of Elections.

“This is not a partisan issue, nor is it defined by political controversy in other states,” said Tillis.

“The Governor is out of touch with the people in her state, and we intend to make that very clear to the citizens of North Carolina in the days and months ahead.”

For more, please see NC Governor Vetoes Photo Voter ID

Gov. Beverly Perdue (D) has shown that she cares more about her job than those of others by going against the wishes of the people of North Carolina. AP photo

North Carolina Governor Beverly Perdue vetoed Photo Voter ID on Thursday, going against the majority of her constituents who elected a Republican General Assembly in 2010. (Read her official press release, here.)

One of the top items on the NC Republican agenda this session was passing a requirement that registered voters show a North Carolina-issued photo identification.  The bill, Restore Confidence in Government , was stamped with her eighth veto  of the session, according to the News and Observer of Raleigh.

In a first, the NC Democratic Party claimed that issuing an ID, paid for by the state  for indigents, would be too expensive.

In a press release, Senate Democrat leader Martin Nesbit stated “Voter ID is nothing more than a costly solution in search of a problem that forces thousands of seniors, minorities and students to nagivate an obstacle course of bureaucracy before being allowed to vote.”

Ironically, the same Democrats that spent the Republicans into power, suddenly cared about what a program actually cost.

These same Democrats ran a slick, expensive campaign all spring and summer trying to stop the Republican budget and other bills voters wanted, only to fail.  Last fall, voters became sick of the overspending by President Barack Obama and Governor Perdue and their party, and voted the Republicans into leadership in both houses of the NC General Assembly for the first time since Reconstruction.

The NC Senate and NC House Republicans followed the wishes of those who elected them and passed this needed bill.

Even liberals, nationally, have felt that voter fraud is a problem, despite the denials of the NC Democrats.  According to a post in the last issue of their Policy Statement, Duke Chesson, writing for the NC Young Republicans stated:

So is voter fraud really a problem? Liberal former Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens certainly thought so. As he put it in a 2008 opinion for the 6-3 majority in a case concerning voter ID laws in Indiana,

“That flagrant examples of [voter] fraud…have been documented throughout this Nation’s history by respected historians and journalists…demonstrate[s] that not only is the risk of voter fraud real but that it could affect the outcome of a close election.”

The NC General Assembly passed a similar version to what was upheld in Indiana, according to sources.

North Carolina Republican Party Chairman Robin Hayes, had the best quote of the day.  In a prepared statement, he said

“When given a chance to boost voter confidence, Governor Perdue again chose to appease her liberal base to boost her floundering re-election campaign while ignoring an overwhelming majority of North Carolinians who supported this common-sense bill.

Governor Perdue’s veto is not surprising and as unemployment in North Carolina remains at 9.7% for the third straight month, it is clear ‘The Jobs Governor’ is only concerned with one job, her own.”

The Republicans have not yet announced when they will attempt to over ride the veto.

Robin Hayes spoke about the Budget Veto Override on Wednesday

Today, North Carolina Republican Party Chairman Robin Hayes shared his thoughts regarding Beverly Perdue’s budget veto by the North Carolina General Assembly.  He added facts that the liberals have chosen to overlook. When the television commercials are running, don’t forget the bullet points .  The liberals running the television ads certainly have!

Thank you, Chairman Hayes, for reminding us of the truth.  Let’s not forget to thank the “Party of Five” that stood with the Republicans, either.

Chairman Hayes’ Remarks:

North Carolina faces high unemployment and historic budget deficits because of decades of out-of-control spending and failed policies from the tax and spend Democrats in Raleigh.  Governor Perdue had a chance to work with Republicans but chose to politicize her veto stamp to protect the status quo and to energize her liberal base for her re-election campaign.

“Fortunately for North Carolinians, the General Assembly reached a bi-partisan agreement to reject Governor Perdue’s $1 billion tax hike and right-size state government to provide a better future for North Carolina’s families, students and job creators.  Our state’s fiscal problems were not caused by Republicans but this budget is a responsible first step by Republicans towards putting our state’s fiscal house in order.”

Budget fulfills promises made during the 2010 campaign:

• Balances the budget, closing a $2.5 billion shortfall
• Allows the temporary sales and income tax increases to expire, putting $1.3 billion back into the hands of North Carolina taxpayers
• Provides tax relief for small businesses allowing them to expand and put people back to work
• Protects education – fully funding all classroom teachers and teacher’s assistants
• Brings state spending in line with revenues and places North Carolina back on the path to fiscal responsibility

Right-sizes State Government:

• Cuts state spending by approximately 4%.  Spending has more than doubled in the past 10 years.
• More than doubles the amount of money in the Rainy Day Fund – $185 million
• Allocates $125 million for renovation and repair of university and state buildings
• Fully funds the state’s retirement system

Creates Private Sector Jobs:

• Cuts taxes for EVERY North Carolinian by allowing temporary taxes to expire, reducing the state’s sales tax from 7.75% to 6.75%
• Implements small business tax relief – exempting the first $50,000 of small business income from income tax
• Creates nearly 14,000 private sector jobs in the first year (30,000 over the next two years) by returning nearly $1.5 billion to the hands of taxpayers of North Carolina
• Extends unemployment benefits for 40,000 North Carolinians whose benefits have expired

Protects Students and Teachers:

• Republicans believe that every child should be reading by the time they leave 3rd Grade.  Currently 23% fail to do so, yet only 3% are held back.
• Reduces class sizes in grades 1-3 from 18:1 to 17:1 – adding more than 1,100 additional teachers
• Protects every teacher and teacher assistant position currently employed
• Provides liability insurance for teachers and school employees to help ensure their safety in the classroom
• Does not pass down fiscal responsibility for school buses, tort claims and worker’s compensation claims to the counties like the Governor’s budget proposed – saving counties $75 million
• Allocates $100 million to the Public School Building Capital Fund to assist counties in building, renovating and upgrading schools with new technology.  Governor’s budget proposed only $55 million
• Creates a performance pay model for teachers and state employees to retain and reward our state’s best and brightest employees

Protects Health and Human Services:

• Over half of all the budget reductions in the Department of Health and Human Services have been achieved through savings with no loss of services.  We have also maximized the swapping of federal block grant funds for state funds.
• All DHHS treatment facilities, schools, mental health hospitals and contract beds have been preserved.
• All 23 optional medical services in the Medicaid program have been preserved.
• We have paved the way for major Mental Health Reform in North Carolina.
• We have achieved pharmacy and medication savings through new initiatives to increase utilization of generic drugs.
• We have restored the Governor’s proposed cuts to local health departments and senior services, and taken steps to lessen the financial burden on counties.

URL:  www.ncgop.org/VetoOverride

Your blogger’s dear friend, retired Army Colonel Brenda Formo has contributed another legislative report. We thank her for her research, on behalf of the North Carolina Federation of Republican Women. KCC is a fellow member and has exclusive rights to post. We appreciate Brenda’s service to our great nation and look forward to more posts, soon.

It’s been a busy week at the North Carolina General Assembly.  For more, check out the latest at the Civitas Institute,  the North Carolina Americans for Prosperity, or at the John Locke Foundation.  They are all excellent organizations and all focus on North Carolina issues.