In Difficult Times Good People gravitate towards Absolute Truth
Longtime U.S. Rep. Walter Jones Faces Genuine Challenge In 3rd District
Publisher's note: The author of this post is Dan Way, who is an associate editor for the Carolina Journal, John Hood Publisher.
RALEIGH — U.S. Rep. Walter Jones says re-electing him to his seat in the 3rd Congressional District is vital to North Carolina's military economy because he would be the second-most-senior Republican on the House Armed Services Committee. Jones points with pride to being named by The Hill newspaper as one of the top 25 hardest-working members of Congress.
In most years, that record — and his familiarity with the district he has represented for two decades — should be sufficient to preclude a challenge from within his own party. But newcomer Taylor Griffin of New Bern said the problem is that Jones' work too often is on liberal causes, and issues that don't help his district, which covers all or parts of 22 counties clustered along most of the state's coastline. And Griffin has gone toe-to-toe with Jones in fundraising efforts, including support for the challenger from a Super PAC backed by TD Ameritrade founder Joe Ricketts and Las Vegas gambling mogul Sheldon Adelson.
"[Jones] no longer reflects the conservative values of eastern North Carolina," said Griffin, a public policy consultant. "I am a more consistent, across-the-board conservative" than Jones, who was a Democrat as a state representative but switched to the GOP when first elected to Congress in 1994.
"If you're the most liberal Republican, and you're voting with Obama more than any other Republican, Republicans don't really trust you," making it difficult to find allies to benefit eastern North Carolina, Griffin said, citing National Journal and Congressional Quarterly ratings.
"Mr. Jones has done 20 years of honorable service for this district, and he's done a lot of good things," said former Marine Corps 1st Sgt. Al Novinec of Jacksonville, a Realtor, and the third person in the May 6 Republican primary.
"Some people say he's a liberal Republican," Novinec said. "I have nothing against the gentleman, except I want his job."
Jones, a pro-life, gun rights, budget hawk from Farmville, is a portrait in political dichotomy. He ascribes to libertarian ideals of former Rep. Ron Paul on foreign policy and monetary issues, and backs tough immigration legislation authored by his conservative friend U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas.
"You vote your conscience first, you vote your constituents second, and you vote your party third," Jones said. "When my party is right I support my party. When I don't think the party is right for the people I represent then I have to make another decision. This, from time to time, gets you into trouble."
The primary winner will face uncontested Democrat Marshall Adame of Jacksonville in the Nov. 4 general election.
The North Carolina FreeEnterprise Foundation lists the 3rd Congressional District as leaning Republican, although Democrats outnumber Republicans 39.2 percent to 31.4 percent among registered voters. Republican Gov. Pat McCrory received 58.5 percent of votes in 2012, GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney got 56.9 percent.
According to their federal campaign finance reports, Jones spent $202,691 from Jan. 1 through April 16, and had $78,776 remaining. Griffin spent a nearly identical $202,690 and had $34,325 remaining. No report could be found for Novinec.
All three candidates say the $17.5 trillion national debt threatens America's stability.
"Our national debt could be down to zero in less than 20 years just by cutting costs," Novinec said. He supports a balanced budget amendment, capturing $300 billion to $500 billion yearly from large corporations that pay no income taxes, and saving welfare money by moving people off the rolls into jobs.
"I don't think we have a taxing problem. We have a spending problem," Griffin said. "We have to face some hard choices that the main drivers of deficits and overspending are the programs that we all like," such as Medicare and Social Security.
He would safeguard those promised benefits for retirees and soon-to-retire workers. Younger workers such as him might need to retire later in life before collecting benefits, he said.
Jones wants to curb spending and stop borrowing.
"The last time I voted for a debt ceiling increase was 1997," when the debt was $5.7 trillion, he said. "At some point in time when we start hitting $21 trillion or more, then I think you're going to see the collapse of America."
All three support repeal of the Affordable Care Act and replacement with free-market plans.
Jones said he voted against Obamacare when it originally passed, and has voted at least 40 times with his party to repeal it. As a congressman he had to purchase insurance through the health exchange, and he still is unable to determine if bills for his recent kidney stone surgery were paid.
"I believe we as Republicans have some plans that would be beneficial that I hope that the leadership will bring out sometime this summer, and let us have this debate on the floor," he said.
"We need to start reorienting the tax incentives for health care and the economy towards the individual level," Griffin said.
Low-income people could be given tax credits to purchase private plans, he said. Insurance companies should be allowed to compete across state lines, and health savings accounts should be more widely used.
"Romneycare was a good system," Novinec said of the health insurance reforms put forth by the former Massachusetts governor and GOP presidential nominee, but Obamacare "basically destroyed the [health care] system for 1 percent of the people in the United States" to get health insurance. He would let states create their own programs, with a small federal agency to monitor them.
The candidates' opinions varied on illegal immigration policy.
"I'm adamantly opposed to amnesty," Jones said. "If you're here illegally, then you should be deported."
He supports Gohmert's bill to protect the borders of New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas, and not debate options for dealing with the 12 million illegal immigrants now in the United States until the governors and legislatures of those states certify to Congress their borders are secured.
"I think politically Democrats want more reliable voters, and Republicans have been too willing to accept amnesty and a pathway to citizenship as a token gesture to Latino voters," Griffin said. He opposes both measures.
"I think the Republican Party has a lot more to offer to Latino and Hispanic voters than a get-out-of-jail-free card to break the law," Griffin said. "Being an American citizen is one of the greatest privileges in the world, and it shouldn't be given away for the political benefit of either party."
Novinec, who worked with the Border Patrol while in the Marines, believes illegal immigrants should be put on a pathway to citizenship.
He would give them 90 days to obtain an identity card to stay, work, and pay taxes for two years while the government beefed up border security, and did background checks for felonies or other disqualifiers. Those who do not obtain a card would be deported immediately when caught.
Griffin opposes using drones to spy on Americans, and said the National Security Agency's surveillance and metadata collection are constitutional violations of protections against unlawful search and seizure. He believes court warrants should be obtained on individuals rather than allowing mass spying, and the Patriot Act should be kept but reformed.
He supports a system similar to that used by the U.S. Treasury Department during his time there. The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Transactions hired private "scrutineers" who required warrants "that prevented the government from abusing the data" used to track global money transfers.
"We were able to stop a lot of terrorist attacks, and I can tell you thousands of lives were saved because we were able to follow the money," Griffin said.
Jones believes there should be "a national and an international debate about the use of drones," and opposes NSA surveillance of U.S. citizens. "I don't vote for reauthorization of the Patriot Act."
He said a nation ready to sacrifice civil liberties for security is relinquishing its freedom. "Because of 9/11 we have permitted the federal government to have too much authority in our private lives."
Novinec also opposes using drones against U.S. citizens. "Our federal government goes over the deep end, and all of a sudden you have all this stuff at the airports, and all this surveillance. I think it's an invasion of our rights. The federal government should not have the authority to do that, and on top of that they lie about it."
Griffin said the Obama administration "has taken exceptional liberties" in writing executive orders. Jones said presidents have no constitutional authority to impose executive orders. Novinec said the country is "headed for a big crash and burn" by allowing the executive branch to make de facto law through executive orders.
All three thinks Congress, in concert with the judiciary, must rein in the overreach. They also urge Congress to use its constitutional authority to hold the executive branch in check, and pursue hearings on Benghazi, the IRS targeting scandal, and Fast and Furious.
Novinec said administration officials who stonewall congressional probes should be "arrested and thrown in jail" on contempt charges.
"I think when Americans die you have an obligation to the country to get to the bottom of the issue," Jones said.
"Congress' job is to make laws, and to oversee the executive, and how those laws and powers are carried out, and to constantly question the executive, and provide a check to the executive's power," Griffin said.
Go Back
Well-funded newcomer Taylor Griffin, Al Novinec try to knock off veteran
RALEIGH — U.S. Rep. Walter Jones says re-electing him to his seat in the 3rd Congressional District is vital to North Carolina's military economy because he would be the second-most-senior Republican on the House Armed Services Committee. Jones points with pride to being named by The Hill newspaper as one of the top 25 hardest-working members of Congress.
In most years, that record — and his familiarity with the district he has represented for two decades — should be sufficient to preclude a challenge from within his own party. But newcomer Taylor Griffin of New Bern said the problem is that Jones' work too often is on liberal causes, and issues that don't help his district, which covers all or parts of 22 counties clustered along most of the state's coastline. And Griffin has gone toe-to-toe with Jones in fundraising efforts, including support for the challenger from a Super PAC backed by TD Ameritrade founder Joe Ricketts and Las Vegas gambling mogul Sheldon Adelson.
"[Jones] no longer reflects the conservative values of eastern North Carolina," said Griffin, a public policy consultant. "I am a more consistent, across-the-board conservative" than Jones, who was a Democrat as a state representative but switched to the GOP when first elected to Congress in 1994.
"If you're the most liberal Republican, and you're voting with Obama more than any other Republican, Republicans don't really trust you," making it difficult to find allies to benefit eastern North Carolina, Griffin said, citing National Journal and Congressional Quarterly ratings.
"Mr. Jones has done 20 years of honorable service for this district, and he's done a lot of good things," said former Marine Corps 1st Sgt. Al Novinec of Jacksonville, a Realtor, and the third person in the May 6 Republican primary.
"Some people say he's a liberal Republican," Novinec said. "I have nothing against the gentleman, except I want his job."
Jones, a pro-life, gun rights, budget hawk from Farmville, is a portrait in political dichotomy. He ascribes to libertarian ideals of former Rep. Ron Paul on foreign policy and monetary issues, and backs tough immigration legislation authored by his conservative friend U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas.
"You vote your conscience first, you vote your constituents second, and you vote your party third," Jones said. "When my party is right I support my party. When I don't think the party is right for the people I represent then I have to make another decision. This, from time to time, gets you into trouble."
The primary winner will face uncontested Democrat Marshall Adame of Jacksonville in the Nov. 4 general election.
The North Carolina FreeEnterprise Foundation lists the 3rd Congressional District as leaning Republican, although Democrats outnumber Republicans 39.2 percent to 31.4 percent among registered voters. Republican Gov. Pat McCrory received 58.5 percent of votes in 2012, GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney got 56.9 percent.
According to their federal campaign finance reports, Jones spent $202,691 from Jan. 1 through April 16, and had $78,776 remaining. Griffin spent a nearly identical $202,690 and had $34,325 remaining. No report could be found for Novinec.
All three candidates say the $17.5 trillion national debt threatens America's stability.
"Our national debt could be down to zero in less than 20 years just by cutting costs," Novinec said. He supports a balanced budget amendment, capturing $300 billion to $500 billion yearly from large corporations that pay no income taxes, and saving welfare money by moving people off the rolls into jobs.
"I don't think we have a taxing problem. We have a spending problem," Griffin said. "We have to face some hard choices that the main drivers of deficits and overspending are the programs that we all like," such as Medicare and Social Security.
He would safeguard those promised benefits for retirees and soon-to-retire workers. Younger workers such as him might need to retire later in life before collecting benefits, he said.
Jones wants to curb spending and stop borrowing.
"The last time I voted for a debt ceiling increase was 1997," when the debt was $5.7 trillion, he said. "At some point in time when we start hitting $21 trillion or more, then I think you're going to see the collapse of America."
All three support repeal of the Affordable Care Act and replacement with free-market plans.
Jones said he voted against Obamacare when it originally passed, and has voted at least 40 times with his party to repeal it. As a congressman he had to purchase insurance through the health exchange, and he still is unable to determine if bills for his recent kidney stone surgery were paid.
"I believe we as Republicans have some plans that would be beneficial that I hope that the leadership will bring out sometime this summer, and let us have this debate on the floor," he said.
"We need to start reorienting the tax incentives for health care and the economy towards the individual level," Griffin said.
Low-income people could be given tax credits to purchase private plans, he said. Insurance companies should be allowed to compete across state lines, and health savings accounts should be more widely used.
"Romneycare was a good system," Novinec said of the health insurance reforms put forth by the former Massachusetts governor and GOP presidential nominee, but Obamacare "basically destroyed the [health care] system for 1 percent of the people in the United States" to get health insurance. He would let states create their own programs, with a small federal agency to monitor them.
The candidates' opinions varied on illegal immigration policy.
"I'm adamantly opposed to amnesty," Jones said. "If you're here illegally, then you should be deported."
He supports Gohmert's bill to protect the borders of New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas, and not debate options for dealing with the 12 million illegal immigrants now in the United States until the governors and legislatures of those states certify to Congress their borders are secured.
"I think politically Democrats want more reliable voters, and Republicans have been too willing to accept amnesty and a pathway to citizenship as a token gesture to Latino voters," Griffin said. He opposes both measures.
"I think the Republican Party has a lot more to offer to Latino and Hispanic voters than a get-out-of-jail-free card to break the law," Griffin said. "Being an American citizen is one of the greatest privileges in the world, and it shouldn't be given away for the political benefit of either party."
Novinec, who worked with the Border Patrol while in the Marines, believes illegal immigrants should be put on a pathway to citizenship.
He would give them 90 days to obtain an identity card to stay, work, and pay taxes for two years while the government beefed up border security, and did background checks for felonies or other disqualifiers. Those who do not obtain a card would be deported immediately when caught.
Griffin opposes using drones to spy on Americans, and said the National Security Agency's surveillance and metadata collection are constitutional violations of protections against unlawful search and seizure. He believes court warrants should be obtained on individuals rather than allowing mass spying, and the Patriot Act should be kept but reformed.
He supports a system similar to that used by the U.S. Treasury Department during his time there. The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Transactions hired private "scrutineers" who required warrants "that prevented the government from abusing the data" used to track global money transfers.
"We were able to stop a lot of terrorist attacks, and I can tell you thousands of lives were saved because we were able to follow the money," Griffin said.
Jones believes there should be "a national and an international debate about the use of drones," and opposes NSA surveillance of U.S. citizens. "I don't vote for reauthorization of the Patriot Act."
He said a nation ready to sacrifice civil liberties for security is relinquishing its freedom. "Because of 9/11 we have permitted the federal government to have too much authority in our private lives."
Novinec also opposes using drones against U.S. citizens. "Our federal government goes over the deep end, and all of a sudden you have all this stuff at the airports, and all this surveillance. I think it's an invasion of our rights. The federal government should not have the authority to do that, and on top of that they lie about it."
Griffin said the Obama administration "has taken exceptional liberties" in writing executive orders. Jones said presidents have no constitutional authority to impose executive orders. Novinec said the country is "headed for a big crash and burn" by allowing the executive branch to make de facto law through executive orders.
All three thinks Congress, in concert with the judiciary, must rein in the overreach. They also urge Congress to use its constitutional authority to hold the executive branch in check, and pursue hearings on Benghazi, the IRS targeting scandal, and Fast and Furious.
Novinec said administration officials who stonewall congressional probes should be "arrested and thrown in jail" on contempt charges.
"I think when Americans die you have an obligation to the country to get to the bottom of the issue," Jones said.
"Congress' job is to make laws, and to oversee the executive, and how those laws and powers are carried out, and to constantly question the executive, and provide a check to the executive's power," Griffin said.
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