#ncsen: crossing the aisle, ”restructuring” ObamaCare, and (*SIGH*) handing out tax money “fairly”
It may sound like John McCain and Lindsey Graham, but the words are coming out of Speaker Thom Tillis’s mouth: 
[…] Tillis said that jobs and the economy are high on the list of importance to people across the state and will be a priority for him as a member of the Senate. Also, rural areas of the state need to receive more attention in regards to receiving their fair share of financial and other resources, Tillis, a resident of Mecklenburg County said.[…]
Tillis said that priority issues that must be addressed now by the Congress include restructuring Obamacare and improving the country’s safety and security. He said that this is going to have to be done through “tough decisions” made by both the Republicans and Democrats in Congress.
Tillis told his audience in Lumberton that he wanted to operate in DC with the spirit of Ronald Reagan:
[…] “Although people say we (House GOP) didn’t work in a bipartisan manner, we did,” Tillis said. “When I became a member of the House, bipartisanship wasn’t the focus. But when I began my second term as Speaker it was by acclamation. No Democrat ran against me.”
Tillis said that bipartisan government in Washington is possible, pointing back to the relationship that Ronald Reagan had with Democrats in the 1980s at a time when problems in America were similar to what they are today.
“Democrats and Republicans finally got together and said enough is enough,” he said. “They said it was time to get America back on track.” […]
I seem to remember an episode — late in the last session — where Tillis tried to end-run his GOP colleagues by cutting a deal on some pork barrel legislation with the Democrats. Of course, they screwed him over.
One big distinction — Reagan came to DC after running a rock-solid conservative campaign and defeating an incumbent Democrat by a landslide. He laid out a specific tax cut agenda and folks in DC fell all over themselves to join the effort. Reagan didn’t run from conservatism and talk out of both sides of his mouth.
Leadership is about presenting your ideas and persuading others to see things the way you do — like Reagan did. It’s not about being wheeling-and-dealing for the sake of “getting something done.” For Reagan, it was about more than government-funded bike trails and paying back donors with “favors” and other people’s money. It was about fundamentally changing America for the better.
Every day I am lamenting the fact America needs another REAGAN bad. Real bad. It would fix a lot of things.
I recall Reagan grew the size of the Federal government.
Yes he did, just like “W” grew the federal government and the debt at a rate that had never been seen before. Reagan changed once in office and his administration acted nearly polar opposite of the Goldwater Conservatism that he campaigned on.
http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/reference/timechoosing.html
The Reagan who gave that speech would not vote for “toll road” Tillis because of the baggage that is spelled out in the article above.
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Tillis is using the Rove playbook from the open seat race in North Dakota in 2012, a race Republicans should have won, but our candidate starting whining about being bipartisan and reaching across the aisle and managed to lose while Romney was winning the state big and the staunch conservative running for the statewide open House seat was also winning handily, running on red meat conservative issues.
Tillis would be NC’s Lindsay Graham.
Tillis just needs to stick with saying he’s not Hagan.
The Democratic Party of today is not your parents and grandparents Democratic Party. Reagan had fierce battles with the Left, he also battled his own party so he went straight to the American people.
Tillis is our Graham and will buddy up to Chuck Schumer just like Hagan..I wish we had Sen. Tim Scott, can we trade please!
Robeson County voted over 80% for the Marriage Amendment. Why didn’t he tell the crowd that Hagan opposed it!! Who is his campaign manager? Must not have one.
This day and time, it is the consultant, not the campaign manager that is key to the message, or lack of one. In this case, Tillis has the same consultant as his mentor, Richard Morgan, used and that is Paul Shumaker.
As to the gay marriage issue, Tillis’ own record makes that hard to use. When he ducked his own county GOP convention to go to Colorado to hobnob with a group that supports gay marriage and then had the top money man of the gay marriage crusade hold a fundraiser for him in New York City, it becomes hard for Tillis to credibly use the gay marriage issue.
> Tillis has the same consultant as his mentor, Richard Morgan, used and that is Paul Shumaker.
Don’t forget that Tillis now has a son in the political consulting biz. Gotta keep that campaign loot in the family.
It is big news that the NC race for US Senate has reached a cost of $100 million.
That is not too much. Heck, the Golden Leaf gave Spirit Aero a check for $100 million just to start the ball rolling to get Spirit to land at the Global Transpark.
$100 million is obviously just chump change to the Golden Leaf Slush Fund. I’m thinking the US Senator from North Carolina will have a lot more influence over North Carolina that Spirit.
One of the several reasons I left the party was “ick” I felt when receiving those scary letters they send out to old people, trying to scrounge up more funds. I feel sorry for the thousands of donors who gave to the NSRC and NCGOP, just so it can be sprayed all over television and radio for weeks (and generally be ignored by most people who got sick of the negative campaigning)