Dear Editor,
Since 1968, no Democratic U.S. Senator has been re-elected in the state of North Carolina. I think that’s because North Carolinians are smart enough to recognize what failure is when they see it. On Tuesday night, Speaker Thom Tillis was elected to be the next U.S. Senator from North Carolina, replacing Senator Kay Hagan. In one of the most expensive senate races in U.S. history, Tillis fought off an abundance of dirty tactics and accusations by the North Carolina Democratic party and outside liberal groups. And although they were swinging for the fences with blatant lies and misrepresentations spread across the airwaves, Kay Hagan and the Democrats missed. They missed because despite the incredible amount money they spent throwing false accusations at Tillis, they are still part of the failed Obama agenda. And there is not enough mud available to throw at the other side that can ever erase that association.
It is important for my fellow Republicans to understand the distinct opportunity that the people have handed to them in North Carolina. Republicans now hold the Governors mansion, as well as the Lt. Governors office. At the start of the 114th Congress, both of our U.S. Senators will be Republican, as well as the majority of our U.S. House delegation. Our state legislature has GOP supermajorities in both chambers. This is not a time to get comfortable and wait for 2016. It is a time to act. Saving our country starts right now, and North Carolina is in a perfect position to set the pace.
To our members of Congress, it is time to act on all of the ideas and initiatives that have been squandered by Harry Reid in the Senate. It is time to work towards ridding our country of the monstrosity that is Obamacare. It is time to take steps toward securing our border. And it is time to begin actually helping the middle class, which has been strangled by failed Democratic policies time and time again. Because the GOP is not the party of “No” as the mainstream media would lead you to believe. That role has belonged solely to Senator Reid and his (no-longer) Democratic majority, which is why they were fired Tuesday night. Our leaders must prove this to the American people by passing good legislation and getting it to the Presidents desk. He will say “no” to most of it, which shouldn’t come as a surprise. As he has with the Keystone Pipeline, he will fail to move forward on any common sense initiatives. It will soon become very apparent to the American people who the party of “No” is, and who the party of “Leadership” is.
To our state leaders, you must continue the incredible work that you started in 2010. I commend the efforts of both Senator Dan Soucek and Representative Jonathan Jordan for their tireless work in helping our state move forward towards economic freedom and progress. And despite whatever rhetoric the teacher unions may use, continue to make a positive impact in our classrooms across the state as you did in the 2014 short session, which is something that Democratic majorities in Raleigh always failed to do. Under the leadership in Raleigh in the last four years, our state has made strides forward in every conceivable way. This is a great start, but the work is not done.
Now is the time to save this country. It is up to North Carolina to continue its role as the blueprint of how to do it.
Josh Coffey, lifelong Boone resident and student at Campbell University School of Law