Republicans for McIntyre

The Wilmington Star News has an item about a coalition of Republicans from “all across Eastern North Carolina”  supporting the reelection of  Seventh District congressman Mike McIntyre (D).

Funny.  NCGOP HQ tells those of us on the right, out here in the grassroots,  to be quiet about Pat McCrory, Debra Goldman, et. al, and show some “unity.”  Think more about winning in November than about those pesky ideological principles, we’re told.

But HERE we have a case of establishment Republicans hauling their carcasses out every two years to openly campaign FOR the reelection of an incumbent Democrat who HAS Republican opposition.  Are these folks getting the unity lecture from Raleigh? 

The leader of this alleged Republican coalition, a former mayor of Wilmington, says he likes McIntyre because he votes “independent.”  Since going to DC in 1997, McIntyre has been a dependable vote for a Democrat speaker.  His conservative reliability rating  is regularly between 35 and 13 percent.  THAT makes him the most conservative Democrat in the delegation, but HARDLY qualifies him as a conservative.  (I am SURE the GOP nominee in McIntyre’s district would have had a much more conservative voting record in Congress. )

McIntyre has had TWO close races:  his first in 1996 against New Hanover County commissioner Bill Caster (R) and 2010 against Ilario Pantano (R).   The GOP had a real chance to win in both cases, but these Republicans for McIntyre DID ALL THEY COULD to publicly help their man.