June 12, 2019
MY CORNER by Boyd Cathey
A REMARKABLE Statement from a Political Leader
Friends,
Earlier this month, on June 1, I authored a
short installment in the MY CORNER series, “A Fearless Leader of the Present:
Representative Larry Pittman” [https://boydcatheyreviewofbooks.blogspot.com/2019/06/june-1-2019-my-corner-by-boyd-cathey.html]. In these times when it
appears that almost all our political leaders seem like worthless or spineless
chameleons, willing to sell out for thirty pieces of silver, or, worse, unhinged
and frenzied fanatical leftist ideologues, it is refreshing to find a few—underline
“few”—leaders who stand out for their
commitment to traditional principles and beliefs that informed the founding of
this country. It is heartening to find leaders who are not afraid to
forthrightly state and attempt to put into practice such principles, even if
that should mean standing nearly alone at times against a self-satisfied or
scaredy-cat establishment.
Yesterday I received the latest newsletter from
Representative Pittman, and, as I read it, I knew I wanted to share it with
you. Here—in what he writes to his constituents and his friends—is how a true
defender of our historic culture, our traditions, and our beliefs speaks. Here
is what we should expect from all our
elected political leaders. Here, in
these words, are enunciated principled stands that should be normative and
common. That they are not, that they
are rare and singular, says as much about the utter decadence and collapse of
our society and our civilization, as it says about the principled and admirable
positions of Representative Pittman.
I pass on his newsletter to you, and at the end,
again, I list the address for his re-election committee. We need to keep Larry
Pittman in the North Carolina General Assembly. His voice, albeit singular and
often-times nearly alone, is the voice of our history and our heritage as a
people, and it is greatly needed:
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Representative Larry G. Pittman
North Carolina General Assembly
House of Representatives
1010 Legislative Building
16 W. Jones Street
Raleigh, NC 27601-1096
919-715-2009
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STAYING IN THE FIGHT
It gets really frustrating around here in Raleigh
sometimes. Last Wednesday, we voted to try to override the
Governor’s veto of SB 359, the Born Alive bill. In the
House, we originally passed the bill with four Democrats voting
with us. A number of us spoke with our Democrat colleagues,
pleading with them to have the human decency to vote with us to
override the veto and defend the lives of those who have been
born. Several indicated openness to consider doing so.
However, the Governor and Democrat Party operatives
put enormous pressure on our Democrat colleagues not to join us
in overriding the veto. We heard, not surprisingly, that
they were assured that if they did they could count on having a primary
opponent in next year’s election.
When the time finally came for the debate and the
vote, several of us poured out our hearts to plead for the
defense of God’s precious little ones who have been born
alive. A number of people, including members of the House
who usually criticize me heavily, have told me that what I had to
say was the best speech I have ever given. Some have said it
was the best speech of the day on the subject.
As I spoke, I looked my Democrat colleagues in the
eye. I could see in their faces that they understood that
what I was saying was right. They knew I was telling the
truth. Yet, when the vote was taken, two of the Democrats
who had voted with us before changed their minds and voted
against the override. Only Rep. Garland Pierce and Rep.
Charles Graham among the Democrats stood firm for the right to
life of children who are born alive, regardless of the
circumstances.
The final vote was 67-53 in favor of the
override. But the motion failed because we had to have 72
votes to pass the override. Some would say that the rules
should be changed, so that it only takes a simple majority to
override the Governor’s veto. I understand that
opinion. However, if we change the rules just because we
don’t like the outcome, how are we any better than our
opponents? It is what it is; but we need to hold public
officials accountable for how they vote.
I hope at some point we will have a better
opportunity to deal with this issue and obtain the right
outcome. Regardless of a setback like this, it is important
to stay in the fight.
This is not the only source of frustration for
me. I have introduced a lot of bills over the years which
our leadership have not allowed to be given a hearing. I am
told that I run controversial bills. My reply is that I run
bills to address issues important to our people, but our leaders
don’t want to face the backlash from liberals if they let them be
heard. I have offered a bill to amend the State Constitution
to state that a human life begins at fertilization and must be
protected from that point on. I was told by the Speaker
Pro-Tempore at the time that if I ran that bill, not only would
it never be heard, but I could forget any of my other bills being
heard. I have offered bills to stop municipalities from exercising
extraterritorial jurisdiction for zoning outside the city
limits. I have offered bills to defend your right to keep
and bear arms. I have offered bills to uphold the Marriage
Amendment and other bills that would defend our citizens’ rights
in various areas of concern. I have offered bills to reform
our elections and eliminate the requirements on energy companies
to use so-called “renewable energy” sources in spite of the
unjustifiable cost to them and consumers. I have offered
bills to get rid of Common Core. I have tried to amend other
bills to stop the government from giving taxpayer funding to
private corporations, thus keeping government within its
limits. I have tried to amend bills and the budget this year
to hold UNC accountable for breaking the law by taking down the
Silent Sam statue. Yet I have been told that my bills and
amendments are too controversial.
The reality is that I run common sense bills and
amendments for the good of individuals and our society; but the
fear of the liberal media and protesters makes too many of my
colleagues not want to go on record with a vote on such
bills. Yet I persist. I am staying in the fight as long
as I am in Raleigh. I say, what are you doing in
Raleigh if you are afraid of controversy? As I said when
debating the veto override last week, if I lose an election
because I did the right thing, so be it.
God bless,
Rep. Larry G.
Pittman
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I urge you to assist him in his
bid for re-election in 2020. Here is how you may do so (financially by check):
Committee to Elect Larry
Pittman
Concord, North Carolina 28027
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