#ncpol: Shocker! Thillis inconsistent, stands for nothing.
A column on the Human Events website takes our tholl-road loving weather-vane of a junior US senator to task: 
President Barack Obama has dramatically ramped up the Washington, D.C., giant Crony-fest. Where economic sectors and companies Obama and his Democrats like get the gold mine – and the rest of us get the shaft. For instance, there was $80 billion for “green energy” in the awful 2009 “Stimulus” bill – 80% of that coin went to Obama donors.
And since the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) emanates from this president and this vile -ville – much of it is a Crony nightmare mess. With all sorts of special treatment – good and ill – for all sorts of trade items.To wit:
Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) is continuing his efforts to oppose a potential tobacco carve out in the Trans-Pacific Partnership, sending a letter yesterday to U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman in which Tillis makes clear that any agricultural carve out would directly threaten the ratification of the trade pact.
In recent days, Tillis has been meeting with his Senate colleagues, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, to share his concerns that a tobacco carve out would violate provisions contained in the trade promotional authority Congress granted to the President and would risk opening the door to choosing more “winners and losers” in future trade agreements.
“…In my conversations with other Senators who would otherwise be inclined to support the TPP, I have emphasized the dangerous, precedent setting nature of a carve out and the fact that inclusion of such a term would run counter to the explicit instructions set forth in the TPA,” Senator Tillis wrote to Ambassador Froman.
“A number of my colleagues share my view that the TPP can be a net positive in the long run. I am confident, however, that the path toward ratification will be significantly endangered if the administration or one of our trading partners impose their biases by targeting specific industries for exclusion.”
President Obama doesn’t like tobacco (despite his claim to an ex-habit – which may in fact still be a habit). So TPP gives tobacco the shaft. Senator Tillis is exactly right to call out this dedicated carve-out punishment.
But our opposition to carve-outs should be consistent. Special treatment – for good or ill – is always wrong. Thus Senator Tillis’ Judiciary Committee vote for the awful PATENT Act – is a whiplash-inducing disappointment.
Tillis Backs Protection for Pharmaceutical Firms
Sen. Thom Tillis has been trying to work out a compromise on a patent reform bill. The compromise would benefit the pharmaceutical industry by carving out an exemption from a streamlined review process for FDA-approved drugs.
Oh look – a carve-out. For which Senator Tillis has been actively working. Well that’s fairly inconsistent.
During his campaign for Senate last year, Tillis implied that incumbent Sen. Kay Hagan was beholden to big pharma because it made financial contributions to her re-election campaign.
It’s sad to see Senator Tillis so quickly acclimating to his fetid DC surroundings.
“We have to deal with the patent trolls and a lot of things that are affected in the high-tech sector, but we have our life-science, biotech, pharmaceuticals industry, particularly in North Carolina, and we’ve got to make sure that we don’t create more difficulty in the process ” Tillis told the National Journal. “I do think that there are unique considerations for high-tech that are different from considerations for life sciences.”
But Senator, if the bill is so awful for Big Pharma that they are demanding a carve-out – the bill is that awful for everyone. Which means you don’t give special treatment to Big Pharma – you give everyone an equal exemption by killing the bill.
Thankfully, there is still time for Senator Tillis to rectify this. There will be more votes on the terrible Patent Act. He need only from now on rightly, smartly, consistently vote Nay.
It sounds like the ol’ instinct to give the donors what they paid for is STILL intact.
Greg Brannon warned against the TPA, that gave this president unconstitutional power to negotiate and write in secret any trade bill for the next 6 years!!! And the TPP is the worst world governece that kills American sovereignty!!! We must follow our constitution in treaties!!! They can never crush the American Individual, these crony deals do!!! Greg warned a collective progress always needs coercion and compulsion to get there statist crap to pass at the expense of individual liberty and freedom— that’s not American!!!! This is what one gets voting for the lesser of two evils. Once again Thillis is showing that he represents the lobbyists and the establishment rather than the people. Those of us who voted for Brannon saw this coming and unfortunately have to suffer the consequences along with those who put this crony in office. I truly hope this is a lesson learned and one that won’t be repeated!
We warned against Thillis being a RINO but were ostracized by everyone and their brother… well…we told you so!
Tillis has caught some criticism for hiring former establishment legislator Brian Brown (RINO-Pitt) to head his eastern office. In addition to pushing that green energy crap in the state legislature, Brown also supported and voted for NC drivers licenses for illegal aliens. Whom Tillis chooses to srround himself with for staff is very telling. Worst of all is the word that liberal Brian Brown made this move from the legislature to Tillis’ staff because he intends to run in two years to succeed Walter Jones.
The Thillis voters are getting several “We told you so” moments of late. How sickening that AFP propped him up at a recent luncheon to let him pretend he is against cronyism. I supported Brannon and wrote in John Rhodes on the ballot. I hope Brannon will surface again for a run for something in NC. He, along with Senator Cruz, are the most dedicated Constitutional Conservatives I have ever me.
Thom Hagan
The real problem here is that so few politicians these days have party loyalty; the loyalty to the principles of the party whose ticket they ran on they ran on. Instead they seem to have developed a loyalty to the special interests and their cash. They are prostitutes in every sense of the word. The real question is why those politicians who fail to display party loyalty should ever expect GOP voters to have any loyalty at all to them. After all party loyalty is a two way street.
This is a problem which goes all the way to the top. As the old Russian proverb goes, ”the fish rots from the head”. Three of our GOP legislative leaders, McConnell and Boehner /Ryan in DC, and Tim Moore in Raleigh function more like Democrats. In fact Ted Cruz commented accurately that Mitch McConnell was the best Senate leader the Democrats ever had.
“Thom Hagan”
Good one! The one thing I’ll say for Kay Hagan is that she made no bones about being an Obama lover (and maybe fantasized about spending the night with him).
Thilly-Boy (on the other hand) is a liar, a charlatan, and a breaker of promises (and that’s just for starters).
But hell, maybe he just needs to get laid. He should go to the other side of the Capitol Building and look for Nee-Nee’s office.
Burr is even worse than Tillis. The ratings fo various concservative groups show that on key issues Richard, Burr votes more often with Harry Reid than with Ted Cruz. That is just not acceptable. The GOP needs a new nominee.