Some thoughts for early voters
It’s about that time. Some folks are already asking for my suggestions on the races. There are several I am honestly indifferent about right now. But there are s
ome that are slam-dunks for me right now:
- President: TRUMP. DONALD J. TRUMP. You’re going to get HIM, or HER. And we can’t have HER.
- Attorney General: Buck Newton. Buck and I both cut our teeth in politics with Senator Jesse Helms. In the state Senate, he’s been a solid, dependable fighter for HB2 and other conservative legislation. He will not sit back and let the radical left tear our state apart, like certain current incumbent attorney generals have. Buck will be out there swinging FOR us. The alternative is Josh Stein — who was a right hand to both John Edwards AND Roy Cooper. His voting record in the General Assembly was Marxist. In office, he’ll be a smarter version of Edwards. Stein is l
oaded up on cash from the trial lawyers and his filthy rich daddy. Buck Newton will need every ounce of help you, your family and friends can give him. This office, while not getting a lot of publicity, can have a lot of impact on the future of our state. This one is important. BACK BUCK. - Treasurer: Dan Blue is a placeholder looking (1) to help Hillary turn out the black vote, and (2) use a win as a stepping stone to follow his dad to bigger things. Dale Folwell has pulled himself up by his bootstraps to become a business and political success story. He’s widely viewed as one of the sharpest financial minds in Raleigh — from his time in the legislature to his time heading the Employment Security Commission.
Folwell has been credited with spearheading the clean-up of that jacked-up agency and wiping out a multi-billion dollar debt to the federal government. Dale Folwell is the most qualified candidate to seek this office in over a generation. GIVE DALE FOLWELL YOUR VOTE. - Insurance: Talk about the stink of corruption. The incumbent has made it clear he answers to out-of-state special interests FIR
ST. A sweetheart protectionist system limits our insurance choices in North Carolina. While ObamaCare is causing the insurance industry to crash and burn across the state, Wayne Goodwin is too busy scooping up cash and doing favors to look after us. Mike Causey has been a perennial candidate. He’s run low-energy, uninspiring campaigns. But, after talking to the guy, I learned he has some great ideas to shake up the Department of Insurance. Something smells at DOI. Voting for Mike Causey will be the first step to fumigating the place.
This is all I have for you NOW.
Got to disagree with you, brother, on that last recommendation. Apparently Mr Causey has sold you and others a bill of goods, something he’s done with voters almost every four years since 1992 during his five bids for state insurance commissioner.
As I’ve come to understand it, and I’ve gotten to know a bit about it the last year or so, the insurance system our state has doesn’t exclude insurance companies. Unlike in most other states, car insurance and homeowner insurance companies don’t leave once they’re here in North Carolina. In fact, when an insurance company apparently meets the minimum financial standards for solvency (uniform standards across state lines) then its license is processed and approved, based on what I’ve read and learned in my study of it all. A quick review of the state’s website indicates that there are almost two hundred car insurance companies doing business in North Carolina, which is much more than in many states, and I estimate there are 250 homeowners’ insurance companies licensed here in my quick review on the Internet. My friends in the legislature tell me that the squawking regularly comes from insurance companies that want to charge much more but Goodwin has held hearings, and held the line, and told insurance companies “no” on excessively charging what they want, based on data, testimony and the law. The only “protectionist” (your word) component is the consumer protection of keeping car insurance premiums as low and as fair as possible. Now they’re the lowest on average auto premiums in the country.
I’m not aware of any North Carolina law prohibiting insurance companies from charging less than the state set cap – with most companies using discounts downward from that cap – only a law that limits them from charging excessively. To get around that law the insurance companies want to eliminate the current system. That’s what Mike Causey will cause, if he’s elected.
I’ve also learned about a relatively new law Goodwin asked for and passed by the Republican legislature that gives insurance companies the ability to bypass the system only if their intention is to offer folks new, creative insurance products, services, and enhancements like you see mentioned in TV ads, though many are already offered here.
Very recently, on a related note, Republican judges on the Appeals Court agreed with Goodwin’s decision that saved homeowners somewhere around $600 million.
Mike Causey wants to dismantle that system. As I understand it, if Mike Causey gets what he wants then that gives more power to the insurance companies and takes power away from the people and away from the insurance commissioner. Though he may not mean to do so, Mike Causey would actually cause rate hikes. It doesn’t help Mike Causey’s cause any that Causey is a former insurance executive and former insurance lobbyist pushing for the very same changes that out-of-state insurance companies and special interests have been begging for.
I’ve also got to respectfully disagree with you on the campaign stuff, too. Political friends tell me that Mike Causey has regularly asked for campaign donations from insurance agents and insurance company employee political committees and other special interests during his twenty-five years of running for insurance commissioner. And my insurance friends tell me that Mike Causey or his campaign team has very recently asked for an out of state, non-transparent Republican super pac to help him with this election, too. Seems a bit hypocritical to tar Goodwin when Mike Causey is and has been doing the same things for a much longer time.
Your post does raise a broader question, though. Is it “corruption” for Richard Burr, Deborah Ross, Pat McCrory, Roy Cooper, Buck Newton and Josh Stein to raise funds from outside of North Carolina and in much larger amounts?
Make sure everyone who you know is registered to vote. Vote for each candidate individually NOT a blanked party ticket, which can be easier to manipulate. Wait at the vote counting machine to make sure your vote is counted. And do not back down if anything is amiss. Do not let anyone intimidate you.
Finally, vote OUT Obama enabler Richard Burr, who is more concerned with maintaining HIS elitist power than doing anything to represent us. You can thank him for Loretta Lynch.
Brant – I think it would be helpful to your readers to list those Congressmen who have earned reelection and those which have not. Perhaps, even the General Assembly, concentrating on the ”nots”.