STAM SPEAKS ON GOSS, WARREN — It was a full house as local Republicans held their Annual Lincoln Day Dinner at Taylorsville Beach Seafood Restaurant Monday, March 17. Above: Keynote speaker Paul Stam speaks on House Bill 878 which he says was sponsored by N.C. Representative Ray Warren along with two amendments.

Alexander Republicans honor Lincoln at dinner

By STEPHANIE CASS

In honoring Abraham Lincoln during the Annual Alexander County Republican Lincoln Dinner held at Taylorsville Beach Seafood Restaurant on Monday, March 17, local Republican Party Vice-Chair Mark Sharpe spoke about the humbleness of the United State’s sixteenth President saying, “Abraham Lincoln was a backwoods man who rose from humble beginnings to the heights of political power.

“During the dark days of the U.S. Civil War, he served as a compassionate and resolute president. Depression and mental pain were his frequent companions; Yet the terrible emotional suffering drove him to receive Jesus Christ by faith.

“A lot of things have been said about Abraham Lincoln, but I have found something that I had never heard in all of my years of study.
“Lincoln told a crowd in his hometown in Illinois, ‘When I left Springfield, I asked the people to pray for me; I was not a Christian. When I buried my son, the severest trial of my life, I was not a Christian. But when I saw the graves of thousands of our soldiers, I then and there consecrated myself to Christ. I do love Jesus.’

“This is just a little something to let you see the humble side of our sixteenth President.”

Key note speaker for the dinner North Carolina Representative Paul Stam addressed the group of Republicans, saying, “I have two goals tonight. The first is to inspire you to make sure that Mark Hollo is elected the next Representative for Alexander and Catawba Counties. The secondary goal is to make sure that we have a new Senator for this area.”

Speaking of N.C. House Representative Ray Warren and Senator Steve Goss, Stam continued, “These guys are nice and friendly, but I need to explain how things work in Raleigh. If you re-elect Senator Goss for this area... he is a nice guy, a great guy, a moral guy and he may sponsor the Property Rights Constitutional Amendment which has passed the House, but his sponsorship of that will not make a bit of difference because in the Senate, he has cast his first vote for the person who is going to veto it, Marc Basnight. Ray Warren may sponsor the Marriage Amendment and he may believe in it just as Mark Hollo believes in it but on the very first day of session, Ray Warren is going to cancel out his sponsorship because he is going to give the speakership to Joe Hackney who retains the authority and who will exercise the authority to veto that amendment this year.”

Stam also sited House Bill 878 dealing with the Eminent Domain Amendment which Warren sponsored. “Forty-six Democrats took various opportunities to kill or gut this Bill at different stages. Your current Representative [Warren] used the Allen and Ross Amendment. A lot of these 46 Democrats, including Warren, voted for the Bill but also for the amendments that totally took the guts out of it.”

Speaking on House Bill 442, he added, “Warren voted with the party to kill the death penalty for first degree murder. I’m sure that he is a law and order kind of guy, but when he’s down in Raleigh, he has to vote with the Democrats on those procedural type of things or else he doesn’t get whatever slab of pork they give him.”

In wrapping up his speech, Stam addressed the audience saying, “Did you know that in the House, we [Republicans] got more votes than the Democrats did last year. Now, we lost the election, it was a bad year, but did you know that we got 860,000 votes and the Democrats only got 830,000. Yep, we got more than they did, but the gerrymander gives them the seats. The voters did not reject us, the maps did.”

“The Democrats are on a mission of self-destruction. You know who they are going to have at the top of their ticket? I don’t know whether it’s going to be Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama, but it’s going to be somebody who will not sale in Taylorsville.

“It’s not going to be someone who you would want to invite to Taylorsville Beach Seafood because these are not the people that have the values of the people down here. These are New York liberals.

He concluded, “We have had a tremendous recruiting season at County Commissioner levels and State House levels and all of that puts a synergy together where you can replace Steve Goss and replace Ray Warren with Mark Hollo if you work hard.”

Congressman Virginia Foxx spoke during the dinner on the need for Senator John McCain to win the upcoming Presidential election.

“I think that Senator McCain is going to do very, very well. We are not downcast in Washington. I can tell you the Republican caucus in the House of Representatives is very, very positive about our prospects this fall. We have 60 Democrats that are sitting in seats that President Bush won twice and we believe that Senator McCain is going to win this fall and help us pick up seats that we need to take back the majority. If we don’t do that folks, we are in big time trouble in this county. The budget that the Democrats passed last week, that 15 Democrats voted against, is the largest tax increase ever in the history of this country at $683 billion. It’s going to raise taxes on the average North Carolina taxpayer by $2,300. They have done away with all of the tax benefits that came in 2001-2003, the marriage penalty is back, the children’s deduction is gone, the death tax is back; they are going to reinstate every tax that went away during the Bush tax cuts.

“I have been criticized for saying that Senator Clinton and Obama are socialists, but folks, I’m going to tell you, we are headed in that direction. What they want to do is take money from working people and give it to other people, and that’s my definition of socialism. That’s not the way this country was made great. This country was made great through three things - the rule of law, our Judeo-Christian beliefs and our capitalistic system. We’ve got to maintain those three things.”

She added, “I want to say thank you so much for having me here tonight and for all of the work that you guys do on a day-to-day basis... I need your support this fall just like all of the other Republican candidates do.”

Candidate for the N.C. House of Representatives in the 88th District Mark Hollo discussed the problems facing the State of North Carolina and where he stands on related issues.
“North Carolina is a melting pot of many distinct cultures of people who have come here looking for a better life for themselves and their families, not unlike you and I. These people will find a better quality of life and friendly faces in this state. I support legal immigration in this country, but we have a problem with illegal immigration.

“There are over 300,000 illegal aliens in North Carolina. Illegal immigration costs the state in areas ranging from public education to housing to Medicaid. we are a nation of immigrants, but we need to protect our borders from illegal immigration while welcoming those who come here legally.”

He continued, “North Carolina has a budget problem; we need fiscal responsibility in Raleigh. $170 million continues to be diverted from the Highway Trust Fund to the General Fund while roads like Interstate 40 crumble.

“Likewise, millions have been taken from the disaster fund. Of local concern, millions of reimbursement dollars were withheld from local governments...When elected as your State Representative, we will work to balance the budget and work towards cutting the tax burden.”

On the issue of creating jobs in North Carolina, Hollo stated, “We need to utilize government to create the kind of environment that allows private enterprise to create jobs. Providing good schools, quality affordable healthcare, and good roads will help in this endeavor. A business friendly environment creates jobs, improved the standard of living and grows the economy.”

He concluded, “I don’t pretend to know all the answers to all the problems, but I promise to study the issues and vote with God, family, and country in mind.

Dwight Shook, past Secretary and Chair to the Alexander County Republican Party and current candidate for N.C. Senate District 45 spoke to the group of Republicans commenting, “We need to get North Carolina running more like a business instead of the bloated bureaucracy that it currently is. I am running for the N.C. State Senate because I want to do what is right for my family, community, and the State of North Carolina. I want this seat back in Republican hands. We have a chance to gain control of the N.C. Senate, but the only way that we can do this is by gaining control of this seat, the bedrock of our party’s plan.

“This region is the heart and soul of the Republican party. We need to put forward the best candidate for the general election, and, make no mistake, I feel that I am that candidate. I’m not running for personal glory or for personal gain; I’m running because I want the best for North Carolina.”

Jerry Butler, also a candidate for the N.C. Senate District 45 spoke Monday, asking the group for their support at the polls.

“I am conservative and I tell you why I’m conservative. I was adopted by a man who did not finish the eighth grade and I grew up on a farm. That’s no complaint on me; a lot of you had it tough too, but I know what a dollar means. I knew what it meant not to have a dollar. I’ve been on both sides of this spectrum. One teacher got me through school and got me into college; I give her all the credit for that.

“Thirty plus percent of high school students don’t get out. It’s not the teachers’ fault; it’s the system. It’s one of my goals to change that system. Instead of those 30 percent getting out as failures, they are going to get out and be successful and they aren’t going to take out of your pocket. They are going to add to the tax base and be successful citizens.

“Also, the tax bite is too tight for the county system. You have to have alternative taxes to use in our county rather than taxing property.”

He continued, “I want to help you, your children in school, and I care about your taxes. I ask for your vote.

County Commissioner candidates were also on hand Monday, addressing local issues including a local healthcare facility, water and sewer lines, and growth.

Newcomer Eric Bumgarner stated, “As Commissioner, I want to work hard to establish a 24-hour healthcare facility here. Will it be easy? No. Can I stand here and say that in twenty years there will be a healthcare facility? No. I’m not a politician; I’m simply a common, everyday guy. I think we need this facility and the community deserves it.

“I also want to continue working on the water project, and I commend the current commissioners on that. I also want to work aggressively to bring jobs, and I want to work closely with the School Board.”

Incumbent Larry Yoder commented on the proposed new jail saying, “We are going to build a jail. It’s going to happen. In probably July, we are going to employ the architect for that jail. Later on down the road, we will then decide where the facility is going to be and we will have a community meeting on that so that the public can put their input into this county jail.”

Incumbent William Hammer added, “There is no doubt that we need a jail. We have a 26-bed jail and we are probably averaging forty some people. The jail is completely outdated from top to bottom, and this new jail is going to be built. We are working on some outside funding to support this, but as Larry alluded we will probably turn the architect loose to get on with the plans which will take him about a year.”

Newcomer Ryan Mayberry spoke on the needs of the county commenting, “Alexander County needs growth. We had 1.6 percent growth over the last four years and the County Manager says that is flat and it is. I know what it takes for growth and we need it badly. We have got to get more infrastructure in, sewer, water and natural gas in, and do better at our budgeting which is probably the biggest thing that the commissioners do. We also need to grow our tax base, have higher paying jobs with more benefits, and continue to go after manufacturing.”

Other speakers for the evening included Governor candidates Bill Graham, Bryan Holloway for Fred Smith, and Bob Orr; District Attorney candidates Sarah Kirkman, Alan Martin, and Michael Van Buren; District Judge candidates Lynn Gullett, Deborah Brown, Joe Crosswhite, Dan Barrett, and Peter Smith; and Chief District Court Judge Wayne Michael and N.C. Republican Party Chairman Linda Daves.