Republicans Scramble For Chance To Succeed Coble (Part 1) | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's note: The author of this post is Barry Smith, who is an associate editor for the Carolina Journal, John Hood Publisher.

6th District contenders Berger, Causey, Matheny, and Phillips profiled

    RALEIGH – Nine Republicans are seeking to succeed 6th District U.S. Rep. Howard Coble, who's retiring after 15 terms in Washington.

    The winner of the May 6 GOP primary — and a possible July 15 runoff if no candidate gets at least 40 percent of the vote — will face the winner of the Democratic primary in the November general election. The 6th Congressional District is considered a strong Republican district by the N.C. FreeEnterprise Foundation.

    The nine Republican candidates are Phil Berger Jr., Mike Causey, Kenn Kopf, Zach Matheny, Jeff Phillips, Charlie Sutherland, Bruce VonCannon, Mark Walker, and Don Webb.

    Four of the candidates are featured in this report. The remaining five will be featured in a separate article.


    Berger is the Rockingham County district attorney. His name may sound familiar to those who follow state politics and state government, because his father, Phil Berger Sr., is president pro-tem of the N.C. Senate.

    Berger said that Obamacare is the most important issue in the campaign because it creates a lot of uncertainty in the marketplace with patients, insurance writers and medical facilities.

    "The government overreach into our health care system is threatening to continue to expand and threaten our freedom," Berger said. "The solution is to repeal it and to replace the current system with marketplace reforms that focus on patient care, portable insurance, and access to health care for all Americans." Berger said that government bureaucrats should not serve as gatekeepers for health care coverage, freeing doctors and patients to decide on appropriate treatments.

    Enacting "meaningful" tax and regulatory reform at the federal level are keys to boosting the economy, Berger said. Berger supports a flatter tax rate, repealing the alternative minimum tax and the death tax, lowering the corporate tax rate, and reducing the capital gains tax.

    "On regulatory reform, we must have members of Congress who take an active role in oversight of the executive branch," Berger said. He suggested a requirement that any regulation that is put in place by an agency that has a net impact on the economy of $100 million or more would have to get congressional approval.

    On revelations that the National Security Agency has been collecting data without a warrant, Berger said, "The Constitution is quite clear, that a warrant shall be issued on probable cause." On NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, Berger said, "It's quite clear that he's violated the law, and as a prosecutor we should hold individuals accountable in those circumstances." However, Berger said he did shed light on an important issue for America.

    Berger said that the way to fix "runaway spending" in the federal budget "is just [to] stop spending. He said he favored "the Penny Plan" of cutting one penny of every dollar out of the federal budget for six years and capping federal spending at 18 percent of gross domestic product in the seventh year.

    He says President Obama has "walked a fine line" with his executive order waivers on Obamacare, but also criticized Congress for letting the president get away with it. "Until Congress discontinues ceding authority to the executive branch, we'll have these issues," Berger said.


    Causey is the Adopt a Highway coordinator for the N.C. Department of Transportation. He is also a farmer, small business owner, and former lobbyist. Causey was the 2012 Republican nominee for N.C. insurance commissioner, losing to incumbent Democrat Wayne Goodwin by a 52-48 margin.

    Jobs and the economy rank as the top issues for the campaign, Causey said. And he said there is a lot Congress could do.

    Wasteful spending and the deficit hinder business, Causey said. "You've got the Affordable Care Act, that thing hanging over their head," he said. "They're afraid to hire more workers." In addition, Causey said, "burdensome regulations coming out of Washington" also stifle economic growth.

    "If I'm fortunate enough to be elected to office, I will oppose any legislation and any policy that sends American jobs overseas," Causey said.

    Obamacare needs to be repealed, Causey said. "It's obviously not working," he said. "My personal opinion is the federal government should not be involved in administering health care in the first place."

    As for the NSA's data collection, Causey said he didn't think the federal government needed to be spying on U.S. citizens. "The government knows too much information about every person," Causey said. As for NSA whistleblower Snowden, Causey said he had mixed feelings. "He obviously broke the law in what he did, and that was wrong," Causey said. "But there are some things that are being revealed that he brought to light."

    As for the budget deficit and national debt, Causey said there are a lot of solutions, from reining in money sent all over the world to curtailing wasteful spending on grants. He also made a reference to the man he wants to replace in Congress. "When Howard Coble first went to Washington, his motto was to take a sharp pencil [to the budget]," Causey said. "We need a sharp pencil."

    Causey said that Obama has been overstepping constitutional bounds with his executive orders. "Every president issues executive orders," Causey said. "This president has gone way beyond what I've seen from other presidents."

    Causey also said that he was raised in the 6th District of North Carolina, and would continue the high level of constituent service that Coble has given his constituents.


    Matheny is in his fourth term as a member of the Greensboro City Council. He founded White Oak Capital, which promotes investment and economic development in the state.

    Matheny said he puts "accessibility and jobs" at the top of the list of issues in the 2014 campaign. He said he wants to promote a pro-business environment so that people can have the opportunity to work.

    Government has overstepped its bounds in the regulation of health care and the financial sector, Matheny said. "Probably the best thing government can do is get out of the way," he said.

    "Obamacare has hurt many businesses in North Carolina," Matheny said. "In the meantime of trying to get it repealed, the Republican Party needs to offer alternatives." He said the law is hurting small businesses. As an example, he cites the tax on medical devices imposed by the law.

    On the NSA issue, Matheny said there is a "fine line" between privacy rights and safety issues. "You've got to have privacy rights," Matheny said. "I don't agree with every phone call being taped." Matheny said he didn't want to make an "off-the-cuff response" to what he thought of Snowden.

    Matheny said Congress needs to be more aggressive in cutting the cost of government. "Part of the problem is the tremendous gridlock," Matheny said. He said that former Republican President Ronald Reagan and former Democratic House Speaker Tip O'Neill got a lot of stuff done because they were focused on results.

    "What we need to do as Republicans is talk about alternatives and ideas," Matheny said. "Shutting down the government should not be an option."

    Matheny sees Obama's use of executive orders as a "slap in the face" to the Founding Fathers' system of checks and balances. On the Obamacare executive orders, Matheny said, "Because [the law is] not successful, then they keep extending it so more people can sign up. "

    Matheny also brought up immigration as an issue. He says he's not for amnesty and is for the e-Verify program that determines the immigration status of people applying for jobs. "We've got to streamline the bureaucracy for someone to get a proper work status," Matheny said. "It starts at the border, but it's beyond just saying protect our borders."


    Phillips is in his term as a Guilford County commissioner. He has been in the financial management business for 28 years and has owned Phillips Wealth Management since 2003.

    What's his most important issue in the campaign? "Our level of debt nationally and our spending habits in Washington have certainly gotten out of hand and unprecedented," Phillips said. "Fiscal conservatism in practical terms has kind of gone out the window in terms of how business is done in Washington."

    He places federal fiscal policy at the top of his agenda because it affects so many other issues, Phillips said, including the ability of families "to provide for their most basic needs."

    Phillips supports a balanced-budget constitutional amendment. "We just do not seem to understand what it means to live within our means," he said. Phillips said the Guilford County commissioners cut spending, reduced the tax rate, and increased the level of education funding. He said he wants to put those principles into effect in Washington.

    On the economy, Phillips said that reducing taxes would give individuals more money to either spend or save, and provide businesses more opportunities to expand. "There certainly needs to be not only a philosophical but a practical pursuit of these kinds of ideals," he said. He also said that overregulation is stifling economic growth.

    He's a flat-tax proponent and supports reducing both the personal and corporate income tax rates.

    Phillips supports full repeal of Obamacare in favor of a private and free-market approach. "This is an example, in my view, of the most extreme overreach of government," Phillips said of Obamacare. "It's certainly been a debacle at best in terms of implementation."

    He continued his criticism of the president's signature piece of legislation, saying promises have not been kept. "Millions have lost their coverage," Phillips said. "There's just so much uncertainty created by Obamacare that I'm confident that it is stifling potential growth in our economy nationwide."

    Phillips said that the NSA data collecting revelations, the IRS scandal involving extra scrutiny for conservative political groups, and the attacks on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Bengazi have grabbed headlines over the past year. "When American citizens watch [these events] unfold and see what's happening, it creates more concern about what's going on in Washington," Phillips said.

    He called Obama's executive orders a "disregard for congressional authority" and said that they're another reason why people are disenchanted with Washington. He also said he supports the Keystone XL pipeline.