Wednesday, August 20, 2014

NC House Votes Down Special Interest "Walk Around Money"



Twenty eight NC House republicans stood by their principles and voted against a crony capitalist bill.  Leadership was split on HB 1224 with U.S. Senate nominee Thom Tillis supporting this “business as usual” legislation.  That’s change in you can believe in, folks.  How pathetic.

At least there are some politicians who refuse to be buffaloed.

Speaker Pro Tem Skip Stam, R-Wake, and Majority Leader Edgar Starnes, R-Caldwell, opposed the legislation. Also in opposition were the Finance Committee’s senior chairwoman, Rep. Julia Howard, R-Davie, and Co-Chairman Mitchell Setzer, R-Catawba. 


First-term Rep. Michael Speciale, R-Craven, made an impassioned plea for members to oppose the bill. Speciale spoke about watching House sessions from the chamber’s balcony for 14 years, watching Republicans argue against “walk-around money” for special incentives to politically favored businesses.


“I thought, ‘Oh, if only the Republicans could be in charge — and that’s what a lot of the state thought — if only the Republicans were in charge, they would fix this,’” Speciale said. “They would quit taking money out of my pocket and give it to someone else.”


Speciale said Republicans now were being asked to support “the very thing that we argued year after year after year [against]. … The only thing I can say is, Please think about what you’re doing here.” 

Yeah, please do.


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