NCSEN: Mark Harris & The Issues | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's note: Brant Clifton relates the reality of grassroots conservatism in his "bare knuckles" Conservative online publication known as The Daily Haymaker.

    Charlotte pastor and GOP US Senate candidate Mark Harris is closely associated with the state constitutional amendment passed in May 2012 defining marriage as between a man and a woman. Other than that - he's been rather vague on his positions.

    Harris has spoken fondly - as has Barry Obama - about working toward "the greater good."

    "The greater good" can mean many things - from cutting government to the bone and slashing taxes to bolstering the nanny state. It depends on who you ask.

    We "found" some video of Harris talking about recent high-profile violent crimes that have occurred around the nation:

    "If you look at the real issue of the tragedies of whether it be Aurora, Colorado, or whether it be what happened in New Town, Connecticut, or whether it be what happened at the Naval Yards - the three things that all those incidents had in common was a mental illness, was violence coming out of the entertainment industry based on video games and movies, and number three was the breakdown of the family. None of those are being addressed by the lack of leadership going on in Washington, DC."

    Those sound like some great things for some pastors and other church leaders to try to tackle, but HOW do politicians and bureaucrats show "leadership": on those issues without sending our nation head-first into a real, bona fide nanny state?

    Another commonality shared by those incidents - that Harris neglected to mention - is that they all occurred in "gun-free zones." You know, those places with the polite signs telling you to leave your firearms at home. Nice, law-abiding people are likely to abide by those kinds of things. Criminals and psychotics - not so much. They tend not to pay too much attention to signs.

    Just imagine how many lives might have been saved if someone on the scene had drawn their concealed weapon on those murderers. It's not so brave to shoot up a place where you're the only one with a gun.

    The news media is going wild covering sensational murder cases. They try to concoct hate crimes and racism at every turn. George Zimmerman - Treyvon Martin, anyone? There's a great new book out - called White Girl Bleed A Lot - illustrating the growing problem of violence in the black community. Black-on-black crime as well as black-on-white or black-on-Asian or black-on-Hispanic hate crimes.

    We hear ad nauseum about "white hispanic" George Zimmerman but get vague descriptions about "a young man in a hoodie and jeans" when the suspect is black. Anyone check the violent crime / murder rates in Washington, DC or Chicago lately?

    What can you do in the US Senate about entertainment industry violence? Tipper Gore tried it in the 1980s. How well did that work out? Politicians tried to crack down on Elvis Presley and his swiveling hips in the 1950s and 60s. *Presley and his dancing were corrupting young Americans.*

    Anyone out there honestly feel comfortable with the idea of politicians or bureaucrats at the federal level deciding what is acceptable entertainment and what is not? I honestly don't believe that a miniseries on The Bible - from beginning to end - could ever survive FCC scrutiny.

    If the American family is going to be saved, it will have to be done in the private sector with the backing of churches, their congregations, and their pastors. Washington can't fix it. (We're in the 60th year of a war on poverty. People are poorer and families are more broken than when the "war" got started.)

    Americans are being knocked out of work thanks to the overwhelming burden of taxes and government regulations. "Health care reform" is trying to put the coup de grâce on our economy and the very fabric and existence of our nation.

    The stranglehold the government has on our economy has got to be loosened. Greg Brannon talks specifically about how he wants to help that along. Thom Tillis and Mark Harris are giving us consultant-concocted vagaries. Kay Hagan is aiding and abetting the crippling of our nation and the rending of our national fabric.

    Instead of talking about how bad TV is - (I know. I have been without cable for two years now.) - talk about something that really matters. Talk about your plans to revive that American spirit that helped build this country so it can save us from going down the drain.