#NCSEN: The Preacher Strikes Back
It appears that Charlotte pastor and US Senate candidate Mark Harris has learned what a lot of us have known for YEARS: Thom Tillis is a political weathervane who will say anything or do anything to stock his campaign treasury and nail down some votes. Even if it means taking credit for something he had little to nothing to do with.
One of Tillis’ neighbors in Cornelius emailed me once about this particular subject:
“[…] Thom is not interested in you unless you’ve got a bundle of cash in your hands. He’ll chase you down for a dollar. I’ve often mused about taping a $20 bill to his front door every day just so he’ll stay the hell home.[…]”
The Harris campaign is speaking out on a commercial released by the Tillis campaign which appears to paint Tillis as the driving force behind the passage of the 2012 marriage amendment to the state constitution.
Here’s a statement from the Harris campaign:
[…]Tillis is quoted in the 30 second spot with, “…the thing I’ve never understood about politicians is the massive difference between what they say and what they do.” Mark Harris agrees:
“If you are looking for a politician saying one thing and doing another, look no further than Mr. Tillis. In his latest TV ad, Tillis points out the two faces of politicians while speaking about putting traditional marriage in the state constitution. This is a perfect example of the massive difference between what Mr. Tillis is saying now to a conservative audience and what he did as an elected official with public statements predicting the marriage amendment would soon be overturned.”
Tillis’ prediction came shortly before the vote in May of 2012 and was widely seen as chopping the legs from underneath the marriage amendment leadership. WRAL reported on the comments here.
While Tillis spends time campaigning on his work as a leader in passing the marriage amendment, conservative leaders know better. Mark Harris is the only candidate in the race that has received the endorsement of the National Organization for Marriage, a major financial and grassroots supporter of the 2012 movement in North Carolina.
Tillis’ wavering on the issue of traditional marriage has earned him a different type of endorsement from a hedge-fund CEO whom the Washington Post calls “the money man behind pro-gay marriage Republicans.” North Carolina is now in the cross-hairs of several court challenges to its constitutional amendment which defines marriage as between one man and one woman. While the amendment passed with 61% support, many conservatives are asking why Mr. Tillis has failed to take any steps to defend our state against the coming lawsuits.
“What type of conservative leader disingenuously flaunts his record on conservative values and then takes over $200,000 from a group that fights directly against those same principles?” said Harris. “If Mr. Tillis does not recognize how such funding has strings attached, then how can North Carolinians trust him to represent our values when faced with the pressures from lobbyists and special interests in Washington, D.C.?[…]
Wow. Tonight’s debate on UNC-TV might be kinda fun.
Many see stuff like this as Tillis trying to steal what he can in the primary in order to avoid a runoff — which he is guaranteed to lose. He and his team have done so much to antagonize the Tea Party during the campaign. Which supporters of which losing candidate will come over to Theam Thom to help their man escape a second primary?
If there is a runoff, either Harris or Brannon need to commit now that they will turn their base out to support the other and rid North Carolina of the nuisance that is Thom Tillis. Tillis is an enemy to conservatives and I hope that he will beaten soundly in the primary. He is an enemy of North Carolina citizens. I mean really, line all three men up and compare who genuinely cares about serving citizens:
Brannon: An OB/GYN. A medical doctor who cares for the life of his patients and their unborn children and has remained true to his Hippocratic oath to do no harm to others. A medical doctor.
Harris: A pastor who has consistently cared for the spiritual needs of his parishoners in their sufferings and concerned about their well being as another human being. A Dr. as well.
Or,……wait for it……Tillis, a career politician wannabe, and a joke to conservatives who who will only show up at a fundraiser if there’s something in it for him per$onally and will snub his constituents in exchange for campaign dollar$. If you think he’s out of touch now while his sorry _ _ _ is on NC soil. Watch how out of touch he’ll be when he’s tucked in nice and tight within the DC beltway crowd over 350 miles away. Not a doctor. But we think that he took some online courses somewhere, not a doctor at all who helps others and heals, but a distributor pain to citizens. Throw him OUT!!!!
Spot on! The challengers to Lindsay Grahamnesty in South Carolina have all pledged to support whoever gets in a runoff with him. The conservatives in North Carolina need to make the same pledge to support whoever gets in a runoff with progressive Tilli$.
I predict Harris will endorse Tillis if there’s a run off.
If that be the case then it will be proven that the Harris campaign was a ruse and a scam all along. Harris has already gone past the point of no return. If he were to endorse anyone but Brannon in such a scenario, Harris would lose all credibility.
There is no way that any credible conservative could support Mr. “I didn’t know that my chief of staff / roommate was having sex with that woman in my shared apartment” Tillis. Shades of Bill Clinton Tillis.
But before he goes, I’ll make sure my roommate and buddy gets a lot of taxpayer dollars as a reward for bad behavior.
Harris was brought into the campaign by NCGOP insiders specifically for the role of gathering up evangelical “tea party” voters and turning them over to Tillis.
Nothing has changed. Former NCGOP chairman Robin Hayes is behind the Harris campaign and in the end he will do what it takes to get Harris to tell his flock to get behind Tillis.
Nonsense.
Such endorsements often do not deliver the actual voters to the candidate endorsed. Plus the much smaller runoff turnout will be more dominated by conservative activists who know just how rotten TIlli$ is.
Unfortunately, with McCrory’s endorsement today, I don’t think conservative activists are going to get a chance for a runoff. Very frustrating and discouraging.
So far, from what I am hearing it looks like a low turnout, which means a bigger percentage of voters who actually know what is going on, and less likely to be influenced by things like that. We will see. I happened to be talking with the immediate past chairman of the GOP in my county today, and his comment on that endorsement was that it did not make him think any more highly of Tillis, but it made him think much less highly of McCrory. McCrory may have crapped in his own mess kit for this own reelection by this endorsement.
Conservatives can only hope Agenda 21 McCrory endorsed Tillis that would be as sweet as say Tricky Dick Richard Burr endorsing him. Wonder if Tricky Dick is feeling the heat of a primary this early yet? He should. He’s next.
Thank you for bringing up Agenda 21.
I have a hard time understanding that one. Could you give us an update? I know about Area 51 but 21 is a mystery. Does it have anything to do with lowering the drinking age from 21 to 18? I have read about the microchips in the brain and the Aurora Op but Agenda 21 is foggy. It is not about fluoride in the water is it? Is Agenda 21 where the TSA clamp those electric shock bracelets on? Or is Agenda 21 the location of the FEMA camps?
I went to Camp Seagull as a child.
Thanks for the update.