Yesterday, after hours of debate on the House floor over the proposed state budget, Rep. Edgar Starnes (R-Caldwell County) suddenly introduced an amendment to kill North Carolina’s public campaign financing programs. The mood in the chamber dramatically shifted. With blistering intensity, several Democrats plummeted Republican leaders for using the devious tactics they campaigned against to insert a major policy proposal into the budget, without a public hearing, “in the dark of the night.” Starnes eventually withdrew his amendment as rank-and-file Republicans began realizing the downside of voting on an amendment that exposed their hypocrisy. Starnes noted that he has a separate bill to kill public financing, including the nationally acclaimed judicial program, and agreed to attack the policy that way. Kudos to Democratic Representatives Rick Glazier, Joe Hackney, Grier Martin and Deborah Ross for their eloquence and tenacity on the floor yesterday.
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[…] eventually withdrew the amendment. Additional coverage and details available here and […]
One good response to these dishonorable tactics might be to shine some light on Representative Stames’ ambush right in his home district of Caldwell County. The arguments for public financing of campaigns are stronger than ever in the wake of Citizens United, and they need to be made afresh wherever representatives answer to those who financed them rather than to the people who voted for them.