#ncga: A Dollar meltdown?
I had the benefit of learning politics at an early age from a very wise, very successful political ‘boss.’ Two of the more important things he taught me? (1) The minute an incumbent attacks a challenger personally, that indicates the incumbent feels threatened. (2) Never, never, never do anything that increases your opponent’s name ID. (Especially if said opponent is nowhere near as well-known as you are.)
So far, state Rep. Nelson Dollar appears to be violating both of those political maxims. The House Appropriations chairman and Cary Republican is being challenged for renomination by fellow Republican Mark Villee. When I first heard about Villee filing, I tried a Google search. The guy had next to no profile on Google whatsoever.
Earlier this month, Villee let loose with a hard-hitting ad questioning Dollar’s commitment to smaller government and, basically, the GOP platform. Dollar, the powerful incumbent, has responded with an ad attacking the little-known Villee with perjoratives such as “desperate” and ”lying.” The ad shows Villee’s face and mentions his name. If viewers were unaware of Villee’s existence prior to this ad, they are no longer.
What, according to Dollar, is the “desperate” Villee “lying” about? The Dollar ad tells us: “Mark Villee is desperate. So desperate that he’s lying about Nel
son Dollar’s record.”
What was the lie? Villee’s ad pointed out that Dollar fought tooth and nail against Medicaid reform aimed at rooting out fraud and waste and abuse. The public record is pretty clear about that.
Villee questions Dollar’s commitment to conservatism. Dollar’s ad says he’s a “proven conservative.” It fails to mention that Dollar pushed through the House the structure for implementing and administering ObamaCare statewide. (Thank God the Senate blocked it.) His budget proposal included a five percent increase above and beyond what the state spent last year. Dollar’s fellow Republicans in the Senate criticized Dollar’s budget as being not conservative enough. (Silly me. I always thought being conservative meant spending LESS MONEY.)
Dollar’s ad praises him as “a common sense conservative we can trust.” Some time back, we had some items about House GOP caucus members confronting Dollar behind closed doors about (1) his management of caucus campaign funds, and (2) alleged misleading statemen
ts regarding a UNC board of governors nominee.
And, of course, Dollar’s, um, “leadership” was on full-display back in August with the budget negotiations. .
Dollar and his wife have bounced around Raleigh for years in a number of state and party jobs. Dollar runs an advertising agency that seems to get more than its fair share of business from his colleagues. Who can say NO to the Appropriations chairman?
I’ve actually stumbled across a few people who know Mark Villee personally. They tell me the guy is a devout Christian who probably doesn’t know how to lie. He’s a small businessman who prefers getting out in the community and coaching his kid’s sports team over spending hours on end in a committee hearing or party administrative meeting. Grounded in the real world. Sounds like just the kind of guy we need in government.
Nelson Dollar is a wonderful progressive Republican who helps promote President Obama’s key policies in the NC House. It would be a tragedy to lose him to one of those conservatives who actually believes in the GOP platform.
Take green energy, one of President Obama’s signature issues. In the previous legislative session, Dollar was one of the progressives who blocked Mike Hager’s attempt to end the renewable energy mandate. This session , he was a key player in pushing taxpayer subsidies for solar energy and keeping the renewable energy mandate. He really showed his courage on those, since they cause the electric bills of consumers to go up, or to ”necessarily skyrocket” as President Obama has said. Dollar will throw his own constituents under the bus to help save the Polar Bears.
Similarly, Dollar has helped President Obama’s signature issue on undocumented immigrants by supporting NC drivers licenses for them.
How much, on average, did the renewable energy mandate increase the electric bills of consumers?
It is like boiling a frog, where the heat gets turned up gradually and he does not realize what is happening until he is cooked.
Duke Power specifically listed the higher cost of renewable energy in its most recent paperwork for a rate increase, but did not break out precisely how much of the rate increase that factor was responsible for. They probably will not, or will downplay it, since they seem to be in bed with the green left for PR purposes.
The Germans can tell you best that this renewable energy costs consumers out the wahzoo since they have gone farther down this road than most, and electricity is almost becoming a luxury there it has become so expensive. The UK is starting to feel the bite, too, although they are not as far down the road as Germany. North Carolina needs to avoid this, and we will not unless we make some changes in the primaries.
Thank-you, It seems we are getting a cat and mouse game thrown at us about energy costs. Doing away with the cost of the mandates for the consumer still doesn’t make up for the sales tax increase on power in 2014.
I believe renewable power is inevitable. NC has a chance to be a leader or a follower. Looking at the long game, I prefer the former.
Another perspective of Rep Dollar’s actions might be that he thinks that we in NC can manage our own energy policy instead of relying the ALEC policies that Rep. Hager lets guide most of his legislative decisions.
As a native of this great state, I’ve had enough of outside influence.
*relying on*
The solar boys in the legislature like Dollar and David Lewis sure cost our taxpayers a lot in just their wind down of the solar subsidy. The Locke Foundation has revealed figures from the NC Department of Revenue showing that NC taxpayers will be on the hook for nearly a billion dollars to the solar cartel. It would have been even worse if they had gotten their way and extended that corporate welfare further. What we are stuck for in the compromise is bad enough.
That billion dollars would have been better spent on roads and schools than putting in the pockets of the solar grifters. Dollar, Lewis and others who are flunkies of the solar boondoggle need to be punished at the polls.
The costs to the consumers will also keep mounting, as more of this overly expensive electricity comes on line. Most folks I know think their electric bills are high enough already, but Dollar, Lewis and their ilk think they need to go up even more
This will also kill industrial recruitment, since NC is the only state in the southeast to impose this stupid mandate, so we will be competing for new industry against nearby states with lower electric costs.
Throw the bums out! Dollar and Lewis need to go!
Ah, here’s the link i was looking for..
http://www.markforhouse.com/contribute/
Nelson dollar sounds like he hangs out with the Tillis/Mccrory/Hartsell/Woodhouse crowd and we would all be better off if he were sent packing.
This is easily the most important race in the state legislature this year. I hope some of these conservative legislators who fight with Dollar will get some money behind the challenger. He doesn’t stand a chance against the Solar Power Money Machine without some help from the good guys.