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An ideologue at work

Post on August 26, 2011 by 13 Comments »

There’s a bit of current North Carolina political mythology (not infrequently invoked in the General Assembly and even in some semi-reasonable circles)  that Speaker Thom Tillis is “not a bad guy.”

Under this line of reasoning, Tillis is no fire-breathing right-winger; he’s just a “business conservative” trying to ride herd on an unruly group of tea-partier types.

Unfortunately, as this post (and about 99 others like it on the Policy Watch websites over the past few months) confirm, such a contention is fantasy.

Tillis may be a tad better polished than his Majority Leader or his Rules Committee co-chair, but if you scratch below the surface, you quickly discover the same thing: a right-wing ideologue working busily to roll back decades of progress (for schools, for the environment, for human rights, for the economy)  just as fast as he can.

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Comments (Closed):13

  1. James
    August 26, 2011 at 4:26 pm

    Tillis is a typical, privileged consultant who made a fortune selling technology to banks, technology they wish they’d never bought. Like others, Sarbox was a get-rich-quick scheme that he jumped on like Art Pope jumping on snakes. There are plenty of consultants who are good guys, but there are also plenty of flat-out a$$holes. Tillis sets a new bar for personal arrogance.

    However, he does tell the truth every now and then … but only at BlueNC.

    Thom on job losses

    Thom and Pat rap it down

    Tillis and LaRoque

    The whole series

  2. francesjenkins
    August 26, 2011 at 8:34 pm

    How on earth can this group operate as a nonprofit and never expose the corruption in the Democrat party? How is the possible to maintain your tax-free nonprofit? You never tell the story on both sides.

  3. Rob Schofield
    August 26, 2011 at 9:22 pm

    Frances, you’re displaying an embarrassing lack of knowledge again. We’ve blasted many, many D’s throughout the years from Black to Edwards to Easley to the five Dems who supported this year’s diastrous budget and many more. Pay attention if you’re going to attempt to participate in the debate.

  4. Frances Jenkins
    August 27, 2011 at 7:29 am

    Rob, Rob I thought liberals were tolerant of the poor, down trodden and certainly, the less intelligent. You need to help me out just a little. Some of us do not have the golden egg education and our poverty never afforded us the proper training. So come on, give the less fortunate a chance to sit at the table with you.

  5. Jimmy
    August 27, 2011 at 7:53 am

    When I look at the definition of an ideologue, I think it actually fits a progressive more than a conservative. The key word is “blindly “. Go figure !

  6. Frances Jenkins
    August 27, 2011 at 8:09 am

    The head of the DMV owns stock in the company that provides the devices for cars for people convicted of a DWI and there is not a word from Blue NC or Progressive Pulse. There is also a connection to Bev. Not a word, why is that?

  7. James
    August 27, 2011 at 11:03 am

    Frances. Please send me the information you have on the DMV conflict of interest. You can reach me through BlueNC. I’m not aware of this story. Thanks.

  8. Frances Jenkins
    August 27, 2011 at 3:18 pm

    The article is in the N and O today.

  9. James
    August 27, 2011 at 4:07 pm

    Well that’s a problem. I boycott the N&O because of its heavy reliance on Art Pope’s think tanks as sources and for editorial opinion.

    I’ll see if I can find it elsewhere.

  10. gregflynn
    August 27, 2011 at 8:07 pm

    As usual Frances you have the facts mixed up. The DMV head who owned stock in LEA was George Tatum who resigned in 2007, not the current DMV head. Chris Fitzsimon wrote about his resignation here, more than 4 years ago:

    It is difficult to understand the magic North Carolina’s Governor Easley saw in George Tatum, his appointee in 2003 as state commissioner of motor vehicles. …

    The Division of Motor Vehicles, which handles driver’s licenses and vehicle registrations and oversees inspections, is a fairly complex agency in need of a commissioner with a track record of administrative skill and experience.

    Unfortunately, like the Department of Transportation of which it is part, the DMV has a tradition of being headed by political appointees. That’s a formula for trouble, and Tatum’s tenure is good evidence as to why.

    LEA is not the company which provides the devices. Monitech is a different company which has been the sole provider of the devices since 1989 and has been in a long-term dispute with LEA. Monitech is in a dispute with DMV because it does not want the contract opened up to competition.

  11. Frances Jenkins
    August 27, 2011 at 8:38 pm

    Thank you for your knowledge and correction. Did I not read the current head of DMV is being sued? Did the article talk about Rand and Bev? But then you would never mention that, would you?

    Your speech at the redistricting hearings took away any faith in you. You do not see for the greater good for most of North Carolina, just your little band. Just my thoughts.

  12. gregflynn
    August 27, 2011 at 10:20 pm

    I said “Monitech is in a dispute with DMV”. As a function of that dispute the current head of the DMV is being sued by Monitech, (not LEA) not personally, but in his capacity as head of DMV. Monitech has had a sole source, no-bid contract for years. The current head of DMV is cleaning things up, and as far as I know has no stock in Monitech or LEA. You implied earlier that he owned stock in the company that is suing DMV. That is not true. The reference to LEA and Rand was tangential to the article, the reference to Perdue even more so. The author has been covering the LEA/Rand/Tatum/Tippett angle for years and couldn’t resist adding a little red meat. NC Policy Watch has written plenty about questionable practices involving DOT over the years, including Rand, Lyndo Tippett, and Mike Easley.

    And none of this has anything to do with Thom Tillis.

  13. david esmay
    August 29, 2011 at 11:16 am

    Tillis is single minded in the pursuit of his ultimate goals, eliminate corporate taxes of any kind, deregulate and abolish oversight of any kind, privatize schools, deny benefits to those in need, and suppress the wages of the average worker in this state. In other words whatever his corporate benefactors tell him to do, and then explain his actions only enhance the quality of life in NC. These guys are a danger to the economy and the environment of this state and to its people.