Sen Smith in Iredell

Last night the Iredell County Republican Men's Club had a special guest speaker -- Senator Fred Smith from Johnson County (just east of Raleigh, out Teach's way, I think). Also in attendance was Senator Forrester from Iredell; Steve Johnson, County Commissioner; and Carlton Terry, candidate for election to the District Court Judge. There were no other elected representatives at the meeting (like the area's House Representative, Karen Ray).

Senator Smith was introduced as the next Republican Governor of North Carolina. For those not in North Carolina, the next election for governor isn't until 2008. Like Christmas, election seasons seem to be starting earlier and earlier. I guess if I want to president, I should start campaigning now for the 2040 election...

Senator Forrester introduced Senator Smith as a North Carolina native. He's from Eastern NC, a big consideration in running for statewide office in the state -- there's enough of a population in the 11 counties around Mecklenburg to win election, but only if everyone votes for you. Republicans from Mecklenburg have a VERY hard time winning the eastern part of the state. Of course, those from the east have a hard time in Mecklenburg. But that's just Republicans, Democrats vote D no matter where they're from.

Senator Fred Smith went to Wake Forest (in NC) where he played football, then attended law school. He spent 4 years in the U.S. Army, then spent time as an attorney. He now runs a business and works in real estate and building. Senator Forrester continued his introduction with

If you'd like a conservative for governor, this is your man.

Lots more about what the Senator said and his position on various issues in the extended entry... First, I have to say that the Ogre only caught the first part of the Senator's speech, as he had a previous engagement that he had to attend to. The Senator started speaking about 7:20 and the Ogre left at about 7:45. I would have liked to hear the rest of the speech, but alas, it was not to be.

The first thing that the Senator wanted to make clear was that he was NOT "an announced candidate for governor." He said he was running for election to the Senate this year and after that election he'd worry about the governor's office. Of course, everyone laughed because the people he was speaking to were not in his Senatorial District.

He had no competition in the primary election, being an incumbent. He does have a candidate filed to run against him in November, one Sherry M. Alton (D). In 2004, he ran unopposed in the primary election and in the general election. In 2002 he won the primary against Ray Boswell 6,371 votes to 1,539. There was a Democrat running against him in that year, but he won easily, 26,225 to 19,253. A 57% win is pretty darn big, so the seat seems extremely safe for this year, too.

Senator Smith emphasized that he was not a politician, but he was a businessman who happened to run for public office. He is responsible for over 700 paychecks each month, so he knew what it was to run a business.

One of Smith's heroes appeared to be Ronald Reagan. He talked at length about Ronald Reagan and how Reagan helped to make NC Democrats realize that they were really Republicans. He suggested that trend is still continuing as 80,000 voters in North Carolina in the last 2 years had switched from Democrat to either Republican or Independent.

His view of government was one of management. He complained about the one-party rule of the Democrats for decades and said that it was a time for a change in the management.

He pointed out that the legislature had $2.4 BILLION "extra" money at the start of the current legislative session. He would have used that "extra" money to remove the "temporary" taxes, or removed the Medicaid burden from counties -- and then pointed out that the Democrats increased state spending by 9-10% and completely spent every dime of the overpayment by taxpayers.

He then listed four things that he thought government should do:
1. Create a good environment for jobs.
2. Improve Education
3. Make Healthcare more affordable and accessible
4. Support traditional North Carolina values

That's nice, but I'm always more interested in HOW one plans to use the monopolistic force of government to meet those goals. He expanded on all the points, presumably, but I had to leave after point 1.

To create an environment for jobs, he wanted to reduce the tax burden on businesses. He wants to reduce the burdens on businesses via government regulation. He wants to build roads -- because building roads is a key to business.

He also noted one of the big lies of the environmentalists -- that roads cause pollution. He pointed out that idling cars cause the most pollution, so building roads will REDUCE pollution. He also mentioned that roads allow businesses to conduct business, move goods, and they improve everyone's quality of life.

He wanted to see a solution to "the immigration problem." However, he kept pointing back to Washington, saying that the solution has to come from Washington. No, Mr. Smith, the STATE has more power than Washington. The state can do something about illegal immigration if they want to. They simply don't want to.

He also mentioned that private property is the key to freedom. He said that the Kelo decision was absolutely unacceptable. That's why he supported a Constitutional Amendment to absolutely restrict eminent domain. Nice job there, Mr. Smith.

He also wants to change the way government views money. He wants to pay the taxpayer protection act that would change government. Currently, the legislature spends most of it's time trying to find ways to come up with money to pay for various "programs" (PORK). If he had his way and the taxpayer protection act were in place, the government would know exactly how much money they had and they could spend their time deciding where to spend it, instead of on how to raise MORE.

At this point, The Ogre had to depart, unfortunately, as I would have loved to hear what he was going to do TO education.
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I checked out his website, and his view on education seems to be exactly the same as the Democrats: SPEND MORE.

I also seriously question what he means when he says he wants to make healthcare "affordable." There's an EASY way to do this, and I bet it's not how he would do it: get government the hell OUT of the healthcare business.
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Looking more into Senator Smith's record, he has sponsored one hundred and eleven bills. Yes, 111. Of course, he's a member of the Republican minority in the Senate, so most proposals by Republicans are ignored. He was, however, a prime sponsor of 15 bills this year. Let's take a look at them.

S110 through S112 are crap bills. They're so-called "local" bills that are literally blank, filed as a placeholder in case the member wants to make a law later. Any law that effects only a single district is rarely opposed, so these are filed "just in case."

S140 is "Amend Firemen's Relief Fund Requirement." This law would allow firemen who had served two years, instead of the current five, to receive benefits from the state in case of accident, death, or otherwise. Sure, that's a feel-good law that no one could oppose. Of course, if fire protection were private, as Benjamin Franklin introduced, it wouldn't be an issue for the state and the state wouldn't have to worry about it, would they? The bill has been bouncing around and is currently languishing in the Insurance committee.

S172 is "Corporate Income Tax Exemption." This is a tax cut for C Corporations -- NOT for the rich ones, only those earning less than $200,000 in net income. How could anyone be opposed to that one? Oh, right, Democrats. I find it hard to oppose tax cuts, so I like this one. The bill has been buried in the Finance committee by the Democrats.

S274 is "The Taxpayer Protection Act." This is the bill that would put in place a Constitutional Amendment in the North Carolina Constitution that would limit spending by the state to population growth. It's the one that the Senator spoke to a great deal during his speech. With the state budget increasing by TEN PERCENT this year, this amendment is VERY much needed. It's current been buried in the Ways and Means Committee by Democrats.

S831 is "Safe Transportation for School Students." Okay, that's a stupid title. Oh hey, look! It's a stupid bill! It's another placeholder for crap to be done later. The entire text of the bill is:

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT to provide for safe transportation for school students.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1. This act is effective when it becomes law.

Looks VERY shady and crappy to me. But hey, it was introduced by a Republican, so it's canned -- buried in the Rules and Operations of the Senate Committee by the Democrats.

S972 is "Break Into Place of Worship." Who names these damn things? Uh oh, this one actually become State Law 2005-235. It makes it a crime to break into a place of worship. On what damn planet was that NOT a crime? Oh right, North Carolina, where the concept of private property is unknown. Seems like yet another worthless bill, but what do I know, I'm not a politician.

S973 is "NC Arts Council Funds." Do I even need to comment on this one? It's crap. Not only does the state have ZERO business giving money to "NC Arts," the bill is ANOTHER blank check "to be filled in later." Sorry, these blank bills are total B.S. What do you know, this one is in the Rules and Operations of the Senate Committee.

S1246 is "Repeal Eye Exam Requirement." This is the bill to remove Jim Black's personal cash cow and political bribe payback for his pals that required all children in NC to get an eye exam or their parents would go to jail. Seriously. But hey, this one is also stuck in the Rules and Operations of the Senate Committee. Looks like that law to throw people in jail who don't pay for eye exams for the children will stand.

S1323 is "Taxpayer Protect Act." Didn't we already see this one? Maybe the Republicans figured if they kept submitting it, ONE of them would find it's way past the Democrats. No luck with this one -- buried in the Rules and Operations of the Senate Committee by Democrats.

S1324 is "Eminent Domain Restricted." Another GREAT bill. This one would amend the NC Constitution to prevent the taking of land by the state for economic development purposes or to give to another private individual. This is very much needed here, but as with any bill that expands freedom, the bill has been buried in the Rules and Operations of the Senate Committee by Democrats.

S1750 is "Johnston County Local Act." Stupid placeholders. Filing bills that don't have their complete text should absolutely be illegal. If you don't know what's going to be in the bill, DON'T FILE IT. And no, I don't care about "the political reality" of it.

S1927 is "Clayton/Princeton Satellite Annexations." This bill is just a bad bill. It adds Clayton and Princeton to other cities that have unlimited annexation power. Bad. But hey, it was introduced by a Republican, so it's also stuck in committee ad infinitum.

S1928 is "Clayton/Clear-Cutting Trees." This one gives Clayton the power to stop people from cutting down trees on their own private property. What the hell? This is the OPPOSITE of conservatism. I wonder if this was some political payback for something else. It's bad news any time government's power is expanded -- it ALWAYS happens at the expense of freedom. This one is really, really bad, no matter how you try and sell it. It's so bad, the Democrats in the Senate have actually passed it, too. That should tell you how bad it is.

So, in summary, that's 6 bills that's he the prime sponsor on that are BLANK. Those stink. 2 of the bills are "nothing" bills that don't really have any effect. There's 1 bill to reduce taxes (corporate) and 1 bill (duplicated) to reduce taxes permanently (taxpayer protection). There's 1 bill to raise taxes (Arts funding). There's 2 bills to decrease government power and control (eye exam and eminent domain); and 2 bills to increase government power and control (Clayton/Princeton and Clayton trees). Two of the good bills propose Constitutional Amendments that will limit government and government power.

Overall, not a perfect candidate according to the Ogre, but the only candidate that the Ogre would really consider perfect is, well, the Ogre. Overall, I'd have to say, based just on the bills reviewed here, and on his positions outlined in person and on his website, The Ogre supports Senator Fred Smith for NC Governor in 2008.

More about Senator Smith can be found at his website.

Posted by: Ogre at 03:09 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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