Team Berger ratchets up its war on Mike Causey
Every day we’re hearing about power being snatched from this state entity or that one and being placed in the hands of the General Assembly. Speaker Timmy is leaving after this session. So, these moves clearly are to the benefit of senate president pro tem Phil Berger and his entourage.
They’ve snatched zoning authority away from communities in Dare and Guilford counties. A whole bunch of appointments have been snatched from the governor. (At some point, there WILL BE a Democrat legislature and a GOP governor, folks.)
The Senate is continuing to bang away at the Department of Insurance, currently run by Republican commissioner Mike Causey. Many might not realize that the office, historically, has had a lot of say in fire safety and building inspection issues. (Blueprints for school construction, for instance, have to pass through the DOI.)
Some earlier legislation snatched Causey’s responsibilities as fire marshal away from him. Now, with the passage of SB409 this week, Causey has been stripped of any influence over fire safety, fire departments, or building inspection. Oh, he still has to pay for those operations and provide office space for them. But those folks don’t have to listen to him anymore.
You know, it actually makes sense having fire safety issues, construction quality, and insurance all under the same roof. But WHEN has “sense” ever made a difference in our fair capital city?
Why, you ask, are elected Republicans — including Moore County’s very own senator Tom McInnis — targeting a fellow Republican who was elected statewide? Pacifying an annoyed, significant financial contributor may be part of it.
Another could be Causey’s relentless refusal to participate in Raleigh’s Grand Grift. A special interest tried to bribe Causey. He told the FBI and agreed to wear a wire. Causey also committed the unpardonable offense of daring to expose and oppose an oh-so-special sweetheart deal for BIGTIME financial donor Blue Cross NC.
Mike Causey speaks out about wrong when he sees it. And the rest of the gang in Raleigh H-A-T-E him for it. Causey is about public service. Most of the rest of them are there for THE GRIFT – aka “cold hard cash.”
There’s been nothing conservative about this veto-proof majority on Jones Street. Spending has ballooned. Corruption has, as well. Consolidating power is actually authoritarian, not conservative. (Conservatives honestly want to shrink government.)
Proximity to large sums of cash corrupts absolutely. Big government begets a lot of regulation opportunities which beget lobbying opportunities. Lobbying opportunities beget cash transfer opportunities.
That proximity stunk up Raleigh in the Black-Basnight era. And it’s doing it now.
I’ll leave much of Mr. Clifton’s comments unanswered. I am just going to point out that our legislature acts in a manner inconsistent with the values of the party. I told Sen. Hise that by continuing down their current path NC Republicans will have as much influence as Republicans in Jersey.
“Boss Hogg” Berger’s hard-on for Mike Causey appears more related to something more recent and more directly tied to Berger. That is the corrupt deal that was pushed through the legislature this session to allow Blue Cross to raid its reserves and put the money in a new for-profit entity to the detriment of its policy holders. Boss Berger was one of the architects of this scam, and one can only speculate on what he got out of it, while Mike Causey loudly denounced this raid on Blue Cross’ policy holders. Causey stood up for the people of North Carolina while Berger was knifing them in the back to pander to a special interest, and Berger has not forgiven Causey for that.
This retaliation is really petty. Fire departments in my county are very upset over what Berger has done to monkey around with them and they blame the whole GOP delegation. Hopefully, Boss Berger will be dethroned in his primary, and that would be a great day for Republicans, conservative, and North Carolinians. Good riddance.
Welcome to the NCGA! If you piss off Leadership…they will punish you. They will be patient, hit you when least expected and make it as painful as possible. This is nothing but a power play. SB 409 will be disastrous to our Volunteer Fire Departments. I live in a rural community that relies heavily on volunteer fire departments. I guess Berger doesn’t care about our part of the State because we don’t have a large amount of votes, but Bobby Hanig should care. This GREATLY AFFECTS HIS DISTRICT!!! Hanig is a CoSponsor of this bill. I guess he will do anything to get in the good graces of Berger, including pooping on his district.
This bill has been monkeyed around with with a last minute committee substitute in the House and by a conference report. I suspect if these petty and petulent provisions were in the original bill, they would have been seen and fought, so I would wager they were added one of those places. But you are right that Hanig will get blamed even if these provisions were not in his original bill.
This is just another example of the abuse by the leadership of the last minute “committee substitute” mechanism. It is why the NC Republican state platform specifically opposes its use.
What Boss Hogg Berger and Little Timmy have done on this is screw the whole Republican Party. Local volunteer fire departments are venting loudly over it, and their ire is not directed at the main culprit Berger but at “Republicans in the legislature”. Most of these fire department volunteers are normally Republican voters and they are people that have a lot of influence in their community. There is an old saying in politics that you do not piss on your base, but that petty tyrant Berger has not only pissed on it, but also defecated. In pushing his petty revenge, Berger has created a problem for the whole Republican ticket in NC in 2024.
Let’s hope Berger’s casino machinations stir up a serious primary challenge next year. If so, conservatives statewide need to chip in to Flip the Berger. Berger is a clear and present danger to Republic principles and Republican victory. Berger has transformed in to a state version of Chuck Schumer ever since he stabbed us in the back in repealing HB2.
Thank you Bev for your spot on remarks about the hogs (NCGA) having fed greatly at the expense of NC citizens but you and Dale + Causey have put NC citizens first! Thank you!
Same old King Phil.