As chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Sen. Richard Burr should know how dangerous a Donald Trump presidency would be. He should be disturbed by Trump’s comments to “bring back waterboarding and worse” and should heed the advice of over 50 Republican foreign policy experts who believe Trump would be “the most reckless president in American history,” but Burr hasn’t been.
Burr has stood by Trump even through comments of groping women and being able to “do anything” to them because he is a star. Burr’s failure to condemn, or, at the very least, distance himself from Trump speaks to why he shouldn’t be given a third turn: He constantly puts party interests over North Carolinian needs.
When Richard Burr began his Senate career 12 years ago, Burr worked effectively for North Carolina as a moderate on Capitol Hill. He was far less partisan, working with Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan, for example, to find judicial nominees both could support. Yet, today, Burr, like much of the Republican Party, has been pushed radically right, no longer considering a much needed bipartisan approach.
This year alone, Burr joined an unprecedented refusal to even consider Merrick Garland for the Supreme Court while also singlehandedly blocking the nomination of the immensely qualified Patricia Timmons-Goodson to fill a vacancy on a federal court in eastern North Carolina. Burr chose to please party officials rather than filling a vacant seat to help decide important issues to eastern North Carolinians.
Further, Burr has failed to represent our progressive state on important issues. He still opposes gay marriage, fails to acknowledge that human activity contributes to climate change and has favored tax cuts to the wealthy. Serving as our senator, Burr has been removed from North Carolinians, not understanding our state’s true opinions on the issues. He’s so far removed, in fact, that one-third of North Carolina’s residents have no opinion of the man that has served as our senator for the past 12 years.
North Carolina is in need of a change, and Deborah Ross presents just that. Ross is immensely qualified, having led the North Carolina ACLU and served effectively in the state legislature for 10 years. While Burr has criticized Ross as being too far left, that simply isn’t the case.
Both during her time at the ACLU and her time in the General Assembly, Ross worked time and time again with her Republican counterparts to advance necessary bipartisan legislation. Ross was instrumental, for example, in working with fellow Republican Sen. James Forrester to mandate insurance coverage for birth control — a law that’s positively impacted hundreds of thousands of North Carolinians. Additionally, if elected to the Senate, Ross has agreed to work with Republican counterparts to improve the Affordable Care Act and is committed to rebuilding our state’s failing infrastructure.
During the election cycle, Burr has attacked Ross for opposing the creation of the state sex offender registry, but her votes as a state legislator to strengthen the same registry speak otherwise. Her only opposition to the registry came from small critiques to recognize that even the worst criminals should have some human rights. Such opposition to recognize basic human rights speaks to Ross’ ability to do what may be politically uncomfortable to accomplish the right thing. Such an attitude is needed in our national capital where the interests of North Carolinians must be placed far ahead of political motivations.
Deborah Ross is smart and ambitious, supporting education and job-creation and will work hard to end the gridlock in Washington created by senators like Burr who have been afraid to work across the aisle. It’s time for North Carolinians to have their voices heard at the national level again, and Ross is the one candidate who can effectively accomplish that a crucial task.
