#ncga: What about Bob?
Rep. Bob Steinburg called this site out on Facebook over the weekend — encouraging us to watch a Facebook live video called #straighttalkwithbob. Of course, we got intrigued and tuned in.
We got treated to about a half-hour of pure nonsense. It was worse than those rambling al-qaeda video threat-grams from ayman al-
zawahiri. It was akin to an awful lot of the YouTubed 9-11 Truther / Beware-the-Bilderbergers political diatribes we get emailed about from activists all over the country on a daily basis. (*THANKS, YouTube.*)
The graphics at the top of the page have not been altered. These are stills from this weekend’s fireside chat with Steinburg. That IS a pickle he is waving around like an orchestra conductor’s baton. I am willing to bet that neither Sam Ervin nor Jesse Helms EVER maniacally waved around a pickle during a speech to voters.
Here are some things I came away with from this weekend’s Bob-fest on Facebook:
Rich self-financing guys. On camera, Steinburg unloaded on his opponent in the current state Senate primary for having a lot of 
money. Do we really want some rich guy with a lot of money self-financing and buying his way into office, Steinburg asked.
Um, Donald Trump? You Okay with him, Bob?
I’m a Christian. (No, really.) The word “Christian” got thrown around a lot on this weekend’s video. It’s peppered throughout his campaign literature.
Hmmmm. I don’t know many pastors or deacons or elders who run around leaving potty-mouthed voicemails like this. (He sounds very comfortable using that language, doesn’t he?) 
There is also an important message in Christianity about “bearing false witness.” Steinburg, throughout the video and frequently on campaign stops, accuses his rival Clark Twiddy of being ashamed of being a Republican — not liking “labels.”
I talked to some folks on the ground in the district about that one. Twiddy — a military veteran — was speaking at a veterans group. Somebody asked him a question that got kind of partisan. I’m told Twiddy responded: “Tonight, we’re not Democrats or Republicans. We’re all veterans. We’re all servants of our country.”
That’s a big difference from what Steinburg is spouting off. I found this out pretty easily, and I don’t live in the district. Steinburg, if he cares about the truth, could have too.
I’m a conservative. (No, really.) The word “conservative” gets thrown around a lot by Steinburg and his camp. They slap the term “liberal” on Twiddy whenever they get the chance. Let’s see what the legislative ratings say about Steinburg:
- NC Free Enterprise Foundation: These folks rated Steinburg a 75 out of a possible 100 in terms of friendliness to business. Two Democrats, William Brisson (82.6) and Ken Goodmon (80.6)
actually fared better in the rankings than Republican Steinburg did. - Civitas. This conservative think-tank gave Steinburg a life-time rating of 73.76 (out of 100). Bill Cook, while he was in the House, got a 92.7 rating.
There’s also the matter of the free market — a linchpin of conservatism:
[…] Steinburg also defended his support of financial incentives or subsidies for businesses. Steinburg conceded they are “distasteful” to conservatives, but said every state now has to offer incentives to attract major business investment and needed jobs.
“We’re either going to be in the game, or we’re going to be out of the game,” Steinburg said.
He also claims Twiddy has a “shallow perspective” on incentives and subsidies, which, in the case of major employers, attract additional businesses while supporting current ones.
As for his support for renewable energy, Steinburg said the only “subsidy” provided now to renewable energy companies is the Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard that requires utilities to generate a portion of their power through renewables. He said Duke Energy and fossil fuel industries enjoy far greater subsidies.
“It’s a big misnomer that renewable energy receives incentives and no one else does,” Steinburg said.
Um, decidedly NOT conservative.
A pretty helpful white paper came out this week confirming that:
“[…]in 2016 alone, American taxpayers paid more than $13 billion through federal government expenditures related to renewable energy and energy efficiency. When added to local and state spending it becomes clear that the average American has been bankrolling the “clean” energy sector, with a lack of transparency and an overall low return on investment. […]
*Aw-kward.*
Republican. Republican. Republican. Steinburg preaches that reaching out to Democrats is bad. Well, what about THIS graphic that was on his campaign website until quite recently?
I don’t know if you can read the caption, so I’ll blow it up for you:
That’s right. It DOESN’T MATTER if you’re a Democrat or Republican.
There’s another question that has perplexed me throughout my time following this campaign:
What does Bob Steinburg do for a living? His profile on the General Assembly website says he’s “retired.” Okay.
But what about this Facebook page advertising his diamond wholesale business? 
Or this newspaper article that describes him as president of a sports marketing firm?
To really muddle things up, let’s turn to Steinburg’s 2012 economic disclosure form. On that, Steinburg says HIS only sources of income are TWO disability insurance policies.
*So many questions. So little time ….*
He waved a pickle?
If you got a pickle you may as well use it. LOL!
Steinburg voted for legislation in the last session of the General Assembly that subsidized the solar and wind boondoggles on the back of the electric ratepayers instead of the the taxpayers at the state level. They are still heavily subsidized by taxpayers at the federal level. That bill also continued a one billion dollar overcharge for solar bandits against NC electric ratepayers.
State law also requires county taxpayers to subsidize wind and solar facilities by giving them an 85% exemption on their county property taxes, meaning that the Joe Blow average taxpayer has to subsidized the taxes of these wealthy out of state companies. That is an outrage that Steinburg supports.
The mandate to buy overpriced wind / solar power is just as obnoxious as the mandate to buy Obamacare medical insurance, and both smack of the same classic doctrines of fascist economics.
Steinburg is trying to push NC in the disastrous direction that Germany has travelled under Merkel, where after a trillion euros in subsidies to wind and solar, German electric consumers pay three times as much for electricity as NC electric consumers and a million households have been chopped from the grid because they cannot afford their electric bills..
Steinburg is nothing but a cheap prostitute for the wind and solar special interests. Maybe the pickle symbolized that.
NEVER Steinburg!
Bill Cook and Harry Brown, voted for the energy modernization act in 2015. Which use tax money subsidies fracking subsidies in Eastern North Carolina. Steinburg voted it for it too. Stop whining for about subsidies without farmer subsidies we would no longer have private farms in Northeast North Carolina. You want to stop farming subsidies, and put our farmers out of business? Clark Twiddy, his flood insurance is subsidized. You want to stop that? Beach Renurishment is subsidies, you want to stop that? Nice to think there is a free marketplace. Doesn’t exist!
Bill Cook and Harry Brown secured a state moratorium on wind turbines in North Carolina as an amendment to the Senate version of that bill, and they had to vote for the overall package to secure that amendment. Steinburg voted for it in the House without any such restriction on wind turbines. Steinburg is a major mouthpiece for this corrupt special interest, while Bill Cook has worked to end their special priveleges.
One particularly obnoxious subsidy for wind and solar is the 85% exemption on local property taxes these energy bandits are given. The recipients of these exemptions are wealthy out of state companies while those who have to pay extra taxes to subsidize them are hard working local taxpayers. That is immoral and just plain evil, and Bob Steinburg supports it.
The mandate to utilities to buy expensive and unreliable wind and solar energy, the extra cost of which is passed on to electric ratepayers, is just like the immoral individual mandate of Obamacare.
We need to stand up and stop these crooks from jacking up our electric rates, as has happened everywhere else that has jumped on the solar and wind bandwagon. Building lots of wind and solar gave the state of South Australia, which used to have very low electric rates, the highest residential electric rates in the world, and the voters there just threw out the politicians responsible in their parliamentary election. North Carolina does not need to let things go that far downhill. We need to take out politicians like Steinburg andf Szoka NOW before it is too late.
As to farmers, there is a better argument that where wind and solar have been heavily built, they are actually driving farmers into bankruptcy, not helping them survive:
https://stopthesethings.com/2018/04/04/killer-app-renewables-disaster-driving-australias-farmers-to-bankruptcy/
Subsidizing an expensive and unreliable source of electricity is insanity, when we have reliable and cheap alternatives available. This thoroughly corrupt industry should not be allowed to pick the pockets of either the taxpayer or electric ratepayer to do that.
Fake News
Read 3 paragraphs and quit.
Desperation is a bad state to be in.
Bob Steinburg has done more great things for our district than anybody out there
Sucking up to the energy crooks of Big Wind and Big Solar are NOT great things. Not for the taxpayer and not for the electric ratepayer.
And how many bills has Steinburg passed the whole time he has been there? One?
Bill Cook is the legislator who has worked for the Albemarle area. And Cook was gerrymandered out by the leadership so Steinburg could be gerrymandered in.
So it looks like Bob is the tomato found his best friend Larry the cucumber https://youtu.be/–szrOHtR6U
Is anybody else concerned that Steinburg is just a little off ? I remember the way he was attacking folks on here about his support of wind farms.
I guess he always runs against democrats and gets away with it but people like him give people the impression that conservatives are all crazy. Hope the conservatives on the coast do the right thing.
Bob Steinberg represents NC at the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. They make the rules to protect and sustain our marine resources. When he can’t go he can name a proxy to vote for NC.
Two of his last three proxies were given to employees of a firm who lobbies for commercial fishing interests in this state. The last one he gave is directly to a commercial fishermen.
In other words, on every occasion he gave NC’s regulatory vote to the regulated themselves. Most folks in eastern NC would call that putting the fox in charge of the henhouse if they were kind. In today’s world we may be more inclined to say he sold that proxy for political reasons.
A real conservative puts protection of public trust resources, such as tax dollars and publicly owned land and natural resources, ahead of the profits that a few make off them. Bob seems to have forgotten, or never realized that is what conservatives do when they govern.
Ray, it is to my understanding that commercial/recreational fishermen served time over seas, I believe those who are not so wrapped up in their agenda would view him as one of the best North Carolina has to offer. Maybe toning down your remarks would be proper on this one, given the one you have now called a wolf, has proven willing to protect all of our henhouses.
No need to reply Ray, we know you would rather there only be those of the mind set of the extream minority appointed to these seats.
We also need to remember Steinburg voting in committee to give his illegal alien amigos NC drivers licenses. Is he trying to be NC’s version of John McCain?
Just saw a facebook post where Bob Steinburg was at an event at a place called Dirty Dick’s last night. Combine that with your pickle pictures at the top and have at it!
Why does he get TWO disability checks? He seems pretty active to me. Frustrated with some of our current government officials!
It looks like Texas may be in the soup due to unreliable and expensive renewable energy this summer:
http://www.beaufortobserver.net/Blog-3931.112112-14055.114136-Texas-green-energy-fiasco-rationing-rolling-blackouts-high-prices.html
Why do Republican establishment types fall for these renewable con men? This primary is a good opportunity to get rid of Steinburg.