Triad Conservative

NC-03 GOP Congressional Primary

The field in the GOP primary for the 3rd Congressional District is ridiculously large. Seventeen candidates are running. 

This is a bit reminiscent of the primary for the seat that Ted Budd now fills in the Triad. Budd faced a very large number of opponents during the primary. That worked out fairly well for conservative voters because Budd received heavy backing from one or more national conservative organizations; and was able to prevail. He has turned out to be as good as the GOP will produce.

It is unclear that same dynamic is taking place in the 3rd district. At least a few conservatives are running; although it is unclear from a distance whether any of them have a sufficient political base and/or funding to prevail.

It is arguable that one GOP candidate-- Dr. Greg Murphy, who serves in the General Assembly-- is an incremental socialist. He has recently proposed a socialist program that promises the equivalent of expanding Medicaid in the state of North Carolina. He also notably attempted to shoot down State Treasurer Dale Folwell's program for the State Health Plan. Murphy is apparently well-funded for this primary; and enjoys name recognition as an incumbent elected official. In addition, he has a certain degree of standing as a specialty physician who has practiced in the region for a number of years. His candidacy therefore must be taken seriously, but he is precisely the wrong man for the job.

Michelle Nix is the woman who initially identified herself with the Tea Parties before hitching her fortunes with the GOP establishment. I will leave it to the reader to decide whether she can be trusted.

Dr. Joan Perry recently flip-flopped on a defining issue.

A couple of sources provide information about the candidates. The Beaufort Observer has an excellent, particularly helpful article that describes the candidates' previous actions and positions on certain important issues. In addition, the North Carolina Family Policy Council has a Voter Guide that compiles the results of a questionnaire that was circulated to the candidates. 

In the GOP field, I have particular interest in the candidacy of Rep. Michael Speciale who appears to be a reasonably solid conservative. Jeff Moore and Francis DeLuca offer interesting candidacies; although it is unclear from afar whether they will have a sufficient base of support and/or sufficient funding to enable them to prevail.

Early voting has apparently already begun. This will likely be a low-turnout primary; and it is important that conservatives in the district do their homework about the candidates and choose someone upon whom they can rely. Of course, it is highly unlikely that the GOP will produce a solid, reliable constitutional conservative because the party and its primary electorate are not oriented in this direction.

It should be noted that the Constitution Party will have a candidate in the general election. His name is Greg Holt. I have had the opportunity to meet him. He is a local businessman; and appears to be a good man. In the event the Republicans nominate one of their typical establishment, moderate-to-progressive flunkies, perhaps conservatives from that region will turn to Holt's candidacy.

Christianity Was America's Founding Religion

McCrory's "Consolidation" and the Effect on Health Care Costs

Former establishment GOP Governor Pat McCrory often spoke about how we very much needed more consolidation in the health care industry. This means a smaller number of entities would be competing with each other; and these entities would necessarily be larger than what we had seen in the past. We were to believe this would somehow make things better.

Of course, this defied common sense. Less competition and less choice do not equate with quality and lower costs.

But now there is research to suggest McCrory was dead wrong.

Marilyn Singleton, MD, JD:

Take the large health systems’ claim that hospital consolidation and buying up physician practices would benefit consumers with cheaper prices from coordinated services and other unspecified savings. A major study of California hospital mergers found just the opposite. The analysis showed that the price of an average hospital admission went up as much as 54 percent. When the large hospital systems bought doctors’ groups, the prices rose even more. There was as much as a 70 percent increase in prices of medical services in geographic areas with minimal competition. This finding seems obvious to any of us who has the choice of shopping at Walmart or Target or Costco.

Nearly all of the health care reforms introduced over the 15 years by both major parties have been driven by large corporate donors-- insurers, hospital systems, drug companies and Big Data. The health care consumer, the taxpayer and governmental deficits have all taken a major hit.

This is political malpractice of the highest order.

Greensboro/ Guilford Identity Politics Update

The last several weeks are no exception to the usual flow of history in these parts. We witnessed several blatant examples of the local left using identity politics to achieve their ends. 

Here are some specifics:

1. An angry, disorderly crowd descended on a Greensboro City Council meeting to demand the scalp of the police chief in the wake of the Marcus Smith incident. Notwithstanding the fact that there was clearly no intent to harm Mr. Smith-- and, in fact, that the police were actually trying to help him-- the left must still go for the jugular. Now, several council members are urging a special investigation of the incident outside of the usual pattern. Once again, the objective is to depose the all-too-white police chief.
2. The "Cure Violence" proposal pushed by Skip Alston is receiving attention from Guilford County authorities. This is a program to throw money at Yvonne Johnson's non-profit to create an affectation of preventing crime and saving lives. The county is giving this consideration even though the problem of black-on-black violence in our area is mostly a city of Greensboro problem.
3. Board of County Commissioners chairman Alan Branson correctly called out the democratic socialist black commissioners for slamming prospective employers with racial demands. Quotas and set-asides are unethical and immoral, and ought to be resisted. But the black commissioners did not appreciate his critical discussion of their tendency to impose identity politics. They gave Branson a tongue-lashing at the very next meeting. It was almost as if  their mother's milk-- their very sustenance-- was being taken away. Branson regrettably apologized to them during the public meeting after they targeted him even though the public square in Greensboro is absolutely sullied with these types of demands.

I differ from Branson in one key respect. He attempted to make the case that corporations would find such racial demands undesirable. Ordinarily, I would have agreed in the past. However, after watching the response of the corrupted corporate community to HB2 in North Carolina, it is obvious that a sharp left turn has been taken. Perhaps they would enjoy being told that ten percent of those they hire must be from a certain group, and five percent from another group.

Good News on State Health Plan?

The awful GOP majority in the North Carolina House passed its effective repeal of State Treasurer Dale Folwell's changes to the State Health Plan earlier this week. This was a massive poke in the eye of the taxpayer. The recorded vote is found here. The House GOP leadership forced a vote even though more democratic socialists than Republicans actually voted for the bill.

But there is still hope for Folwell's plan. Dan Way writes at Carolina Journal: 

(T)he Senate appears less eager to interfere with the operations of the State Health Plan, says the office of Senate leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham.

“Senator Berger thinks that the hospital industry and the treasurer should continue their negotiations, and he would be hesitant to involve the legislature in micromanaging a plan that we authorized the treasurer to manage just a few years ago,” spokesman Pat Ryan said.

It would be outstanding if Phil Berger refuses to allow this bill to advance in the Senate. Sticking it in the Rules Committee to die would be an excellent outcome. Recognition is due when Senate Republicans demonstrate more conservative integrity than their counterparts in the House. Let's hope it happens this time.

Need to Deliver on Promises

NC GOP Indictments a Consequence of Being Unprincipled

The news today was jarring. Whereas yesterday GOP state chairman Robin Hayes was announcing he was not running for re-election this year because of health issues, today it was announced his indictment by the feds.

An indictment does not prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt. But this is a stunning fall.

Some of us recall how another Tea Party-aligned state chairman, Hasan Harnett, was deposed from his position by the state GOP establishment in part because of his alleged inability to raise funds. It is an open question as to whether this indictment provides a window to learn about the manner in which Robin Hayes raised funds.

Harnett was likely removed from his position because he was a more principled conservative than the characteristic establishment functionaries; and because they did not want Tea Party types taking over the state party.

This indictment, however, is illustrative of the current state of the North Carolina GOP. We have seen the performance of our two Republican U.S. Senators. We have seen the performance of the GOP-led North Carolina House, and the unfortunate direction even in the North Carolina Senate. We witnessed the leadership of our most recent GOP governor.

When a party and its elected officials become unprincipled, then the primary interest becomes paying off one's donors; and perpetuating one's hold on power for the sake of holding power. The focus is not to advance a bona fide conservative agenda. This is what we have seen all too often.

One suspects that Robin Hayes might be the tip of an iceberg.

The GOP's control of the General Assembly is at risk. The media will not let this go; and in fact they will magnify it whenever possible. Perhaps Trump will somehow save them during 2020.

Political fundraising is very difficult; and the temptation to satisfy mega-donors must be intense. There can be a fine line between contributions given because of a candidate's proclivities; versus contributions given in exchange for some type of unmerited, favorable treatment.

I sympathize with conservatives who are staunch Republicans. What afflicts them? It is not merely Lucy's repeated pulling of the football from beyond the reach of Charlie Brown's extended foot. The tendency to stick with such a corrupted organization suggests that many believe no other option exists.

But that is simply untrue.

Obama's Involvement in Russia Probe