The Weekly Activist
We hope that everyone had a safe and happy Independence Day!
This week’s edition of the Weekly Activist will highlight a few upcoming events, share a duo of legislative reports, and end with new feature showcasing President Obama’s promises made and promises, well, not exactly kept.
Upcoming Events
Monday, July 9 –
This week CAUTION is hosting the two Republican candidates for Mecklenburg County Commission District 5, Sarah Cherne and Matthew Ridenhour. After the May 8th primary failed to produce a candidate with over 40% of the vote, this July 17th run-off will produce the likely winner of the November 6 election to represent much of South Charlotte and take the reins from County Commissioner Neil Cooksey.
For more information on Matthew Ridenhour, please visit: http://matthewridenhour.com
For more information on Sarah Cherne, please visit: http://sarahcherne.com
CAUTION meetings take place every Monday at the Dilworth Neighborhood Grille located at 911 East Morehead Street in Charlotte from 6:00-7:30pm with a social hour in advance.
Tuesday, July 10 –
Charlotte Matters invites you to: CIVITAS – Charlotte Poll Lunch
Francis De Luca, President of the Civitas Institute, will lead a Poll Presentation at the Marriott SouthPark Hotel beginning at 11:45 a.m. He’ll present the latest data on what North Carolina voters are thinking. And, for this event only, poll data on Charlotte-area issues will be disclosed. $10 includes lunch. Click HERE for more information and to register.
Thursday, July 12 –
Republican Candidate for Lt. Governor, Dan Forest, will be meeting with voters and conducting door to door activities in Huntersville, NC beginning at 10am. Those interested in meeting Dan or helping in the efforts can meet in the Target parking lot located off of I-77 exit 25 at 9801 Sam Furr Rd,Huntersville,NC. For more information on Dan Forest, visit his website at www.danforest.com. Information on his Republican Run-off challenger, Tony Gurley, can be found at www.tonygurley.com
Friday-Saturday, July 13-14 –
Combat Charlotte is a weekend gathering of the nation’s top leaders of the Young Republican National Federation to meet and develop new ideas on how the Republican Party can engage young people. For more information, visit www.combatcharlotte.com.
Legislative Notes:
A note from Rick Killian on the 2012 NC Budget:
The Republican Legislature overrode the Governor’s veto of FY13 budget. Although the budget increased spending over the previous year, the Governor wanted additional spending.
Overall the budget varied very little from last year, and most changes were small. As usual, both parties un-necessarily politicized the process. In my opinion, the world financial crisis is the greatest threat to our nation. Although North Carolina has a balanced budget, we are still in need of zero based budgeting to ensure we are using our tax revenue on “needs” rather than special interest “wants”. We also need tax modernization in order to make North Carolina the most competitive state in the nation, without increasing the overall tax burden on our citizens.
A note from Senate Majority Leader Phil Berger:
When Republicans assumed leadership in January 2011 for the first time in more than 100 years, our state was in far worse shape than we could have imagined. We inherited a record $2.5 billion budget deficit, the highest taxes in the Southeastern United States, burdensome regulations on job-creating businesses, unacceptable high school graduation rates and sky-high unemployment.
In each of these areas we fought for responsible changes that North Carolinians long deserved. Among other actions, the legislature:
* Balanced a bipartisan two-year budget that cut taxes, reduced spending and reformed and improved public education – while closing a $2.5 billion deficit inherited from the Democrats. The budget restored hundreds of millions of state dollars to public education, took steps to achieve better results in the classroom, made Medicaid fiscally solvent, provided raises to teachers and state employees and cut the gas tax. And by reducing spending by more than $1 billion, it finally made North Carolina’s government live within its means.
* Made tax reforms that will help the private sector create thousands of new jobs. The legislature eliminated the nearly $1 billion “temporary” sales tax hike that Gov. Perdue and legislative Democrats implemented at the peak of the economic recession and had promised to end in 2011. The legislature also enacted a $50,000 income tax exemption for private businesses – the job-creating engines of North Carolina’s economy. The tax savings returned more than $1 billion to the pockets of North Carolina citizens and businesses, where it will create as many as 15,000 jobs in the short term and thousands more in the future, economists say.
* Passed major education reforms to strengthen student literacy, improve graduation rates, reward effective teachers, eliminate the cap on the number of public charter schools and give parents tools to make better informed decisions about their children’s education. The education reforms will help boost North Carolina’s unacceptable graduation rates. Currently, more than 1 in 4 high school students do not graduate. Many that do graduate are ill prepared for post-secondary education, straining our community colleges and universities by requiring extensive remedial coursework.
* Passed sweeping changes to the state’s regulatory environment that will simplify outdated rules and regulations. More than 15,000 new or amended regulations have hit the books over the past decade. Many are complex, confusing, and unnecessary rules that are imposed by unelected bureaucrats and cause uncertainty for the state’s businesses. Our changes prohibit new state regulations that are more restrictive than federal rules, and require the state to review and eliminate burdensome regulations annually.
* Passed bipartisan legislation to create a vibrant energy sector that will lure jobs and private investment to the state. Too many North Carolina families are struggling to make ends meet because of high unemployment and soaring energy prices. The Clean Energy and Economic Security Act is a potential game-changer that can put more money into workers’ pockets and generate more revenue for the state to ensure long-term prosperity.
* Approved medical malpractice and other tort reforms that will help North Carolina lure medical jobs and make health care coverage cheaper and more accessible for everyone. The lottery-like system let trial lawyers win big while doctors fled to other states where they could practice medicine without fear of frivolous lawsuits. North Carolina doctors long practiced defensive medicine, and often ordered unnecessary tests and procedures to avoid being sued and that enormous added cost was passed on to taxpayers in the form of higher insurance rates and taxpayer-funded medical programs for the poor.
* Reformed the state’s annexation laws to protect private property rights. A referendum vote will now be required of an area’s registered voters prior to that area’s annexation by a municipality. If a majority of the voters oppose the annexation, the municipality may not move forward with an involuntary annexation process for a minimum of three years. The legislature also exercised its constitutional authority to establish municipalities and set municipal boundaries by de-annexing areas of Kinston, Lexington, Rocky Mount, Wilmington, Asheville, Marvin, Southport, Goldsboro and Fayetteville that were involuntarily annexed. These municipalities will be prohibited from forcibly re-annexing these areas for 12 years.
* Drew fair and legal voting districts. Every ten years, the legislature is tasked with drawing new Senate, House and Congressional districts to reflect changes in population. Last year, the General Assembly passed fair, legal and competitive maps that were approved by President Obama’s Justice Department. It’s the first time in more than 30 years that all three maps were approved on the first try.
* Passed a measure to require voters to show photo identification at the polls. Studies show photo ID requirements boost voter confidence and increase participation at the polls. But the governor vetoed our common sense bill to energize the far-left wing of her base.
* Let the voters define marriage. For years, voters asked for the chance to define marriage in North Carolina’s Constitution. We passed a bill that put an amendment on the ballot upholding marriage as between one man and one woman.
* Corrected flaws in the so-called Racial Justice Act, an ill-conceived law allowing convicted murderers and child rapists on death row to appeal their sentences using arbitrary statistics that allegedly show racial bias. The law enabled nearly every criminal on death row, regardless of race, to file an appeal. In order to prevent convicted criminals from abusing the law, the legislature limited the use of statistics to the county or prosecutorial district where the sentence was imposed and stated that statistical evidence alone is insufficient to establish race played a significant factor in the defendant’s case.
* Kept the State Health Plan financially solvent by requiring participants to pay $10 per month for high-quality health coverage. For years, the State Health Plan teetered on the verge of financial collapse, but after a year of responsible management, the Health Plan’s reserve now stands at roughly half a billion dollars.
* Protected the Second Amendment rights of North Carolinians. The General Assembly passed legislation to further protect property owners who use a weapon in self-defense and increased the number of places citizens with a concealed carry permit can carry firearms.
* Protected a woman’s right to know. Democrats say they want abortion to be safe, legal and rare. While we don’t support abortion, we understand it is legal, and passed legislation to make it more safe and rare by requiring a 24 hour waiting period before a woman can choose abortion. The law also requires doctors to educate women considering abortions and give them the chance to see an ultrasound.
* Passed a bill to generate at least $57 million for education while creating hundreds of new jobs in Western North Carolina through an agreement to allow the Cherokee Nation to replace electronic casino games with live card dealers.
Promises Made, Promises Kept?
A new feature starting this week is the listing of campaign promises made in 2008 by President Obama. We will list one new promise each week.
* No signing statements
“I taught the Constitution for ten years. I believe in the Constitution and I will obey the Constitution of the United States. We’re not going to use signing statements as a way of doing an end-run around Congress,” Obama said on the campaign trail in his 2008 bid for the presidency.
President Obama gave a signing statement after he signed the National Defense Authorization Act. The signing statement expressed “serious reservations” about elements in the bill.
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