#ncga: Nicole Revels 1, Jeff Tarte 0
She came. She saw. She conquered.
The video of conservative activist Nicole Revels trying to question her state senator Jeff Tarte about his mandatory vaccination bill has gone viral. (Tarte and his co-conspirators in the legislation were trying to repeal the religious exemption for vaccinating children.)
Tarte flipped his lid at seeing Nicole in his office, and called security on her. Revels got escorted out. (Nicole, as you can tell from the photo accompanying this post, is quite an intimidating figure.)
And THAT is where things started going downhill for Tarte and his co-sponsors on the shot bill. Protests popped up around Raleigh. Cyberspace went wild with complaints about the legislation. Complaints poured in to legislative offices. Now comes word that Tarte and his co-sponsors on the bill have surrendered:
A bill that would have ended religious exemptions for vaccinations “went too far,” one of the bill’s sponsors said Wednesday.
“I expected to get pushback, and I expected this bill to change, unfortunately the pushback was so great that I lost control of it,” Sen. Terry Van Duyn, D-Buncombe, said Wednesday.
Van Duyn, Sen. Jeff Tarte, R-Mecklenburg and Sen.Tamara Barringer, R-Wake, who sponsored the bill, released a joint statement Wednesday saying the bill is “dead.”
“After hearing serious concerns about stricter vaccine and immunization requirements from our constituents and from citizens across the state, we have decided we will not move forward with Senate Bill 346,” the statement read.
Van Duyn said she had hoped state lawmakers could find a compromise.
“I’m disappointed in that I thought we could reach a compromise that would have respected parental rights, religious rights and personal rights yet maybe close the gap that’s developing in the shield of protection that keeps our kids safe,” she said.
[…]
Compare this to what the lefties are accomplishing with their fight against the Religious Freedom Restoration Acts popping up across the country in places like Indiana, Arkansas and North Carolina. If you make enough noise, politicians tend to pay attention to you.
[Another valuable takeaway from this episode? If you see Nicole, don’t call the cops on her.]
The drivebys are good at handing out the mushroom treatment when it comes to the honorables in Raleigh and DC. Outlets like ours, and others across cyberspace, will keep you infomed about what those scoundrels are up to. For this all to work, you need to apply heat to your elected representatives.
Umm, I’m pretty sure that’s Parents of NC – 1, Jeff Tarte – 0.
This battle was neither fought nor won alone.
Point taken.
But, Relax. I am not suggesting this was ALL Nicole. However, it IS arguable that Tarte’s flip out on her video was key to raising the level of awareness about the bill. (I doubt we would have given the story as much play as we did if we didn’t have that video.) His on-camera reaction surely inspired a lot of non-political or less-political people to ask “WTH?”
Getting escorted out of the NCGA building, due to your issue advocacy, is — in the words of Joe Biden – a BFD. The headline was one more chance for us to jab at Tarte. Just chill and enjoy the win. We all won here.
Stephanie, of course you are right. This war was won on many fronts. However Senator Tarte has admitted that this was “personal” between he and Ms. Revels, which would explain the headline. His statement also puzzles Ms. Revels, who has only ever engaged with the senator as a respectful constituent. But then who can figure out the mind of Jeff Tarte?
The article is hilarious and a great finale to the first round of the Revels/Tarte saga. 😀 Stephanie we all know that the massive opposition from a HUGE group of parents is what the bill sponsors, themselves, stated caused them to back off of the bill for now. Not just one person, it was a lot of people. I remember you yourself stating that you had spoken on the phone with Tarte for over an hour. I am just glad that NC momma grizzlies kept up the fight, after he tried to get you to convince everyone to help him get it to a study committee rather than fight its death in committee! His deception has reared up all throughout this process but perseverance pays off and 3000+ NC mama grizzlies can pat themselves on the back for the progress made so far. I hope everyone keeps this up though. Tarte told the News/Observer that he is letting “the whole thing calm down” and that it’s best to leave it alone “right now.” Since the bill is technically still alive I hope his words do not mean that he plans to bring this back up at a later time. I would advise pushing for the committee to bring it to a vote right now and vote it down in order to actually kill it formally so that we can all rest east.
If there is concern that Tarte and others may just want to let things calm down and revive it later, perhaps a strike now at the Health Care Committee and put the pressure on them to formally reject the bill so it’s formally dead. Raleigh has been apparently blown away by the amount of phone calls that flooded their offices, they got the message. But, let’s bury it for good:
Co-Chairs of HC Committee:
Sen. Ralph Hise
(919) 733-3460
Ralph.Hise@ncleg.net
Sen. Tommy Tucker
(919) 733-7659
(704) 256-9056
Tommy.Tucker@ncleg.net
Sen. Louis Pate
(919) 733-5621
(919) 658-3637
Louis.Pate@ncleg.net
One hopes plans to select a genuinely conservative primary opponent for Mr Tarte are already well under way. Both the substance of his bill and his way of defending it are prima facie disqualifications for continuance in office.
I don’t believe it is wise to go the route of score keeping. Rejoice that the bill is dead, yes! For sure! But reveling in the win and making it all about one particular person’s achievement does not fit the kind of character I want to be locking arms with. It is likely going to backfire…
Really… jealousy showing its ugly head! wow, I don’t even know what to say.
No disrepect to the quite attractive lady Miss Revels holding the cute puppy in the picture above but if I were the Senator, I’d let her hang out in my office all day long! VA VA VA VOOOM!!!! Is he gay?
Great article! The video Nicole did of Tarte went viral and was awesome. We all realize that this bill is nearly dead because of grassroots activists from across the state working together. I think her video exemplifies what all activists did….. didn’t have videos from other activists, so this was the face of the campaign to end the bill. The bill isn’t technically dead, BTW. Unless they table it or vote it down, then they can bring it back up before crossover or change it completely. So, while I rejoice that they’ve said the bill is dead, we must remain vigilant.
I thank Nicole for being brave enough to be the face for all of us and for pushing Tarte to his limits and making others take notice! Many people noticed only after Nicole was kicked from his office. Let’s not be jealous when one person gets some mention in the news. We all know it wasn’t one person! LOL Obviously, if you don’t have something on film or print, you can’t be *noticed* in the same way…. that’s just the way tis sort of thing works…..
There’s no question this was a turning point in the debate and getting legislators on the spot is the best way to put sunshine on what they are attempting to do. I sincerely hope that Tarte’s district is looking for a replacement.
If I need to come to Raleigh to advocate for a cause, I surely should bring Nicole to film, because you know darn well now they wouldn’t dare kick her out of the building.
I wonder if Nicole Revels carries that dog in a crate on top of her car? I wonder if Nicole Revels has ever eaten dog? Sheesh….special thanks to Nicole Revels for intimidating Pop Tarte. Perhaps the NCGOP should use Nicole to promote the “brand” instead of Pat McCrory or some other “chicken suit”.
I know Nicole well and have seen her in the front lines of many issues. She is a true warrior. Her best attribute is that she knows the difference between being assertive versus aggressive. Tarte and others of his type have no clue about how to handle an assertive woman who is rational and claims the right to be heard. She is smarter than the average bear and her intellect is what intimidates them. I know many other people played important roles in stopping this bill, and if you read Nicole’s comment above, you will see that she gives them credit. I have never seen Nicole do anything for the credit, power, or visibility. Really folks, we need to stop being petty and celebrate success!
It seemed like the tide really started turning against this bill once this video came out. Suddenly more people became aware of the bill and even people who did not care about the issue became involved because they were so outraged by the senators behavior on video. Now it is hilarious to see how jealous some people are over the attention Nicole has received.
Worth noting from a quick check of the NCSBE voter registration site is the fact that Sen. Tarte is NOT Ms. Revels’ senator, but rather Sen. Soucek.
So does that excuse Tarte’s obnoxious undemocratic Etheridge-like behavior?
Wolfie attempting to re-direct. Somebody POP wolfie with a rolled up newspaper. Hey go after the F’er who is doing the most harm. If you live in the mountains and a coastal oligarch is trying to screw you, your business, and your family or your neighbor go direct to burn him or her down to their cheap ass shoe leather. Don’t waste your time with the lip service from you own elected empty suit. You know metaphorically speaking of course burn them down to their cheap ass shoe leather.
The activists should file charges based on USC or NC law. They were deprived of their Rights to Petition, Freedom of Assembly, Free Speech, and just a slew of other violations. File a civil suit against Senator Tarte personally! What’s the worst that could happen – it gets thrown out during summary judgement? What you want to do is rattle his cage, and hope he goes into vapor lock.