Republicans to Protest Karl Rove and Thom Tillis at Fundraiser Event in Charlotte

November 20, 2013 – Grassroots Republicans will protest at a fundraiser this Thursday Nov. 21st attended by Karl Rove for Republican Thom Tillis, N.C. Speaker of the House who is running for U.S. Senate. Protesters are Republicans who oppose the tactics used by both Karl Rove and Speaker Tillis that promote corruption, cronyism and unconstitutional practices. The protest will be from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. this Thursday outside of the fundraiser to be held at the Bank of America Stadium at 800 South Mint Street.

“A growing contingency of Republicans oppose how both Thom Tillis and Karl Rove wield power to influence elections and legislation through their corporate donors,” said Chuck Suter, video reporter and founder of Constitutionalwar.org. “North Carolina Republican activists have experienced firsthand the heavy-hand of Thom Tillis and how he legislates based on what best serves his campaign coffers and political partners — not the people of North Carolina. Our message this Thursday is that the people of North Carolina — not Rove’s mega-million-dollar PAC — should select our next U.S. Senator. We can’t count on Thom Tillis to represent the interests of the public or defend our Constitution, and we do not want D.C. cronies to select our Senator.”

The Heavy Hand of Thom Tillis Favors Special Interests

Republicans opposing Tillis point to several examples of how they believe he abused his power by giving preferential treatment to large campaign donors and special interests while serving as Speaker of the House:

· Creating a monopolistic environment for cable providers by passing legislation (HB129) that restricts locally-owned cable companies.

Followthemoney.org reported, “Thom Tillis, who became speaker of the house in 2011, received $37,000 in 2010–2011 (despite running unopposed in 2010), which is more than any other lawmaker and significantly more than the $4,250 he received 2006–2008 combined. AT&T, Time Warner Cable, and Verizon each gave Tillis $1,000 in early-mid January, just before he was sworn in as speaker on January 26. Tillis voted for the bill, and was in a key position to ensure it moved along the legislative pipeline.” http://www.followthemoney.org/press/ReportView.phtml?r=484

· Pushing tolling of North Carolina highways, such as I-77 from Charlotte to Mooresville. In 2012, Tillis pushed through the legislature a law that made it legal for corporate tolling companies to receive hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer money to build, operate, manage and enforce toll roads through for-profit tolling companies with 50+ year contracts. Tillis has been a strong proponent of tolling NC highways by corporations, and opponents to his plans have faced retribution and other strong-arming tactics. http://dailyhaymaker.com/?p=6566 (See www.dailyhaymer.com for other articles about Tillis.)

· Overseeing a bill through the legislator that gave an unconstitutional monopoly to one bail bond company.

“12 days after the vote, Bail PAC, the North Carolina Bail Agents Association political action committee, sent $17,100 in checks to 17 legislators, including a $4,000 maximum contribution to Rep. Justin Burr, R-Albemarle. A bail bondsman by profession, Burr claimed he didn’t know how the overall bill, of which he was one of four co-sponsors, came to include the provision.” http://www.indyweek.com/indyweek/despite-gop-promises-to-clean-up-campaign-finance-its-as-dirty-as-ever/Content?oid=2920275 It is reported that Burr is now on Tillis’s campaign staff.

· Profiting His Bank and Campaign Contributor Duke Energy through Higher Energy Rates

“Speaker Thom Tillis used his clout to block a bill that would have ended the renewable energy mandate….The renewable energy mandate forces utilities to buy very expensive windmill, solar, and other ‘renewable’ energy, and those utilities, being monopolies, just pass those extra costs on to consumers in the form of much higher rates….Now it has come out that Tillis has an ownership interest in Aquesta Bank, which invests in solar power ‘farms’. Tillis is just feathering his own personal financial nest at the expense of North Carolina electric rate payers.” http://www.beaufortobserver.net/Blog-3931.112112-7331.112112-Why-Thom-Tillis-supports-higher-electric-rates.html

What’s Not to Like About Rove?

Karl Rove oversees the Super PAC called American Crossroads GPS. Super PACS do not need to disclose the names of their donors who can give unlimited amounts of money to the PAC. Even former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich who has been a recipient of substantial PAC money criticized Rove’s PAC.

In the Washington Post, Gingrich said, “We don’t want to become a party in which a handful of political bosses gather up money from billionaires in order to destroy the candidates which they don’t like…I think this a very dangerous model…There is some very deep rethinking we need to do as a party, but it isn’t gathering up money by Washington consultants to handpick the people they think should be in the U.S. Senate.” http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2013/02/20/gingrich-karl-roves-super-pac-plan-is-a-dangerous-model/

Glenn Beck On TheBlazeTV said about Karl Rove, “If the so-called ‘old guard’ can’t take out the more independent-minded lawmakers, they have effectively lost control of the political process, lost control of the candidates, and lost their voice.”http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/10/08/glenn-beck-on-why-karl-rove-gop-establishment-may-be-eager-to-take-out-lawmakers-like-ted-cruz/

“No longer is the political battle between Republicans or Democrats – instead it’s between the ruling political elite of both parties who want to control our lives and the rest of us who want less government intrusion, fewer taxes, regulations and the end to the ever-increasing unconstitutional governing,” added Suter.

Tillis Avoiding the Public

Tillis has declined invitations to attend almost all meetings hosted by Republican and TEA Party organizations in the past several months. It appears that Tillis’s strategy to win the election is to gather enough campaign donations to base his campaign on TV ads, mailer and robo calls and to avoid meeting and getting to know his would-be constituents. For establishment candidates, this is often the campaign strategy – buy your election. Protesters want the public to know who they should not support for the Republican Senate Primary next May.

About Constitutionalwar.org

ConstitutionalWar.org is a website and grassroots organization focused on saving lives, protecting our freedoms, pushing for lower taxes, demanding smaller government, and defending the Constitution of the United States of America. Our mission is to bring every freedom loving group together to meet these goals. Unanimity is not required. For feature videos of behind-the-scenes political encounters and unscripted interviews, please visit www.constitutionalwar.org.

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