Justin Burr

When you see large newspaper ads, signs all over the roadsides, direct mail, television ads and hear radio ads in higher priced specific time slots, you just have to wonder how incumbent NC House of Representative Justin Burr can afford such an expensive reelection campaign.

To see where all that money comes from, just check his campaign report at www.ncsbe.gov. The first quarter of 2012 campaign reports are yet to be posted; however, all of 2011 and prior years are available.

In 2011, NC Rep. Justin Burr received $25,800 in campaign contributions.

Now to have received that amount in contributions representing the citizens of Stanly and Montgomery County would, unquestionably, have really been a statement of support, however; when you look further into his campaign report that’s not what you’ll find.

The Pre-K lunch story from Hoke County has been super-sized into a life of its own, and the umbilical cord connecting it with reality has been severed. Far from being an example of big government intrusion, the incident is really an example of the unintended consequences of short sighted shrinking of government, and de-regulation.

The construction and operation of childcare facilities and K-12 schools bear a deceptive superficial similarity to each other but the statutes, rules and codes governing them are quite different. The differences have chafed public school systems with Pre-K programs to the extent that many of those rules have been relaxed over the years as they apply to such programs in public schools. For example Session Law 2009-123 provided that public school facilities could be used for three and four year old preschool students without modifications normally required for child care facilities.

The coveted #3 spot in our new Hall of Shame goes to... NC House Representative Justin Burr, with at least a tour of the Hall given to NC State Board of Elections Chair Gary Bartlett, for the reasons outlined here: http://www.progressnc.org/2011/11/-nc-house-representative-justin.html

(Progress NC tips its hat to Blue NCer Greg Flynn, citizen journalist, for uncovering this whole episode. Well done, sir!)

If there was an award for petulance in the NC House there would be many contenders. The top place might likely be shared by Stephen LaRoque and Justin Burr, and not simply on account of their contempt for the trials of low-wealth citizens. LaRoque is on a crusade to redefine the NAACP as racist. Burr for example, has been contemptuous of the Racial Justice Act, and of opposition to various election law “reforms”. Burr reached a peak of pique when he ran roughshod over Verla Insko in a committee considering the abortion bill.

Burr’s juvenile physique has been tempered this session by the maintenance of a close haircut that is oddly suggestive of an outbreak of lice in the boys' dormitory. Burr grandiosely thinks he needs to educate Judge Howard Manning and Governor Bev Perdue on the need for low-income parents to pay 10% of that paltry income towards constitutionally required Pre-K education.

This week, Rep. Larry Brown sent out an e-mail denouncing gay people as "queers," and making fun of the Speaker of the NC House for receiving an award from Equality NC. He also refered to gays as "fruitloops" (activists happen to be sending him some). As we said the other day:

Brown was hinting that some legislators are gay by calling them "fruitloops," not calling gays in general fruitloops. If you know anything about North Carolina politics, you know that the only legislators who attend the Equality NC gala will be Democrats.

Well, it seems like a candidate for NC House has just as much of a problem with Equality NC as Rep. Larry Brown and his collaborator Rep. Paul Stam. Steve Henion, running against American Hero Rep. Grier Martin in NC-HD-34, wouldn't mention an endorsement for his opponent unless he thought it was a bad thing:

Grier Martin III is now endorsed by Equality NC http://bit.ly/bSdzLk #NCGOP #NCPOL #CONSNC #TCOT #NC34 #NCGA #TPP #TEAPARTY

Are the Republicans running against Equality NC in addition to equal rights? It was Rep. Stam that announced Speaker Hackeny's ENC award to the Republican caucus, and Stam is unafraid to equate same-sex marriage with polygamy. Candidate Henion released a similar tweet concerning Rep. Martin's Planned Parenthood endorsement, and Republicans have run against Women's rights organizations for a long time.

If you follow your nose to Henion's website, you find a candidate who supports "a Defense of Marriage Act in North Carolina." Organizations like Equality NC have kept North Carolina from passing such an amendment, and perhaps that's why they're on the recieving end of attacks from the GOP - even though battling human rights is a losing issue, morally and electorally.

What happens if you follow your nose to other Republican legislators?

If you keep poking people Timmy, they're gonna throw you in the pokey:

Republican congressional candidate Tim D’Annunzio Thursday lashed out at two party officials – including state chairman Tom Fetzer – after an incident in which a Republican legislator said he felt physically threatened by D’Annunzio.