In his attempt to pass a budget that hurts no one except people duped by the lottery, Thom Tillis has once again exposed his lack of leadership. The Senate has sharply criticized his budget and now the director of the North Carolina lottery says she warned House leaders that proceeds from the games would not cover the cost of raises for teachers. Not only that, she was told to keep quiet about it. So much for transparency.
The House budget is not serious. It’s a campaign document for Thom Tillis. The Speaker has been relatively low-profile throughout the session, probably trying to keep out of any frays that could spill over into his Senate campaign. But the budget is his. It’s getting ridiculed. And deservedly so.
Tillis is trying to use a gimmick to fund serious services, in particular, raises for teachers. He could have looked for stable sources of revenue or even cuts that might have angered most people but would have been true to conservative principles. But he didn’t. He chose to play politics with the budget.
Tillis has two main nemeses in Raleigh. The state Senate has never thought much of him and they rolled him throughout the long session of the legislature. Berger and company have blasted his budget. Senator Jerry Tillman called it “crazy” and says it’s “not serious.” His other opponents, the Democrats, should be making hay about it but they don’t really have the numbers to influence it.
The real political fallout, though, could come from the conservative base. Those conservatives who supported Greg Brannon and Mark Harris were right. Tillis doesn’t have any hard and fast principles. Sure he’s conservative, but Thom Tillis is really only committed to Thom Tillis. And using gambling money must feel like a slap in the face to the social and fiscal conservatives who put morality and fiscal responsibility ahead of pure politics.
The 2014 election is all about turnout. Democrats are fired up. They are angry about the sharp right turn of the state. Republican policies have given every major constituency of the Democratic coalition a reason to go vote. And they’re coming.
Tillis needs to make sure that his base is excited, too. And yet, just a month after the primary, he showed he’ll do what’s in his best interest, not theirs. He’s put politics ahead of sound policy and conservative principles. It’s what they were saying about him during the primary. Now, Tillis has proven them right.
Thomas Mills is the founder and publisher of PoliticsNC.com. Before beginning PoliticsNC, Thomas spent twenty years as a political and public affairs consultant. Learn more >
0 Comments