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Rep. Mark Pless (R-Haywood) speaks at an NC House Freedom Caucus rally on July 6. Cory Vaillancourt photo
Grasping for a supermajority
Smoky Mountain News
July 13-19, 2022
The ‘strong right arm’ of the Republican Party flexes its muscles in Maggie Valley
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BY CORY VAILLANCOURT POLITICS E DITOR nergized by recent Supreme Court rulings and eager to remake North Carolina in their own image, members of the N.C. House Freedom Caucus held a “rally in the Valley” last week, issuing local endorsements and looking to gain support for their forthcoming legislative agenda. “The thing I hear from everybody is they want us to stand up,” Rep. Mark Pless (RHaywood) told The Smoky Mountain News on July 6. “They are looking for representatives that are not out to make a name for themselves, they want somebody that’s willing to stand when it’s not popular, to stand behind the Constitution and stand behind the people and what they want to see done.” Pless, along with fellow Haywood Rep.
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Mike Clampitt, hosted six other members of the Freedom Caucus, including Appropriations Chair George Cleveland (ROnslow), Veterans Affairs Chair Ed Goodwin (R-Chowan), Local Government Chair Bobby Hanig (R-Currituck), Wildlife Resources Cochair Karl Gillespie (R-Macon), Local Government Vice Chair Ben Moss (RRichmond) and Banking Chair Keith Kidwell (R-Beaufort). Kidwell also serves as chair of the HFC. He explained that the group got its start several years back, but fizzled out for a time until he took over two years ago. Since then, the group has grown from five members to nearly 30. “Our mission is to review legislation with a concentration on how each bill impacts the rights, freedoms and liberties of the people
of North Carolina. This will include the appropriate use of taxpayer money, [and] to be sure all legislation is in accordance with the North Carolina and U.S. Constitution,” Kidwell told an audience of about 50 people in the Maggie Valley pavilion. “Our objectives — to assist leadership in how legislation may infringe upon the rights and liberties of our citizens, and to offer suggestions and alternatives for improvement.” The group shares more than just a name with the better-known U.S. House Freedom Caucus, formerly chaired by former NC-11 Republican Congressman Mark Meadows. In 2017, members of the congressional caucus blocked a bill from Republican leadership to repeal Obamacare because it didn’t meet their standards. Acting as a bloc, they exerted outsized power by withholding their
votes, killing the bill on the floor of the Republican-controlled House. It was one of many instances where the outsized impact of the caucus made a difference. Kidwell offered a similar example of his caucus’ capacity for asymmetrical warfare. “They wanted to put cameras all up and down the highway, license plate readers, so that they could track where you move, so the Freedom Caucus called an impromptu meeting, literally in the chamber where we vote,” Kidwell said. “We all said with that one [camera] section in there, the bill dies on the floor.” Hanig, who serves as vice chair of the Freedom Caucus, accompanied Kidwell to the speaker’s office and threatened to kill the commerce bill if the camera provision remained in it. “They sat there and talked about it and couple minutes later, that piece of the bill came out and we passed good legislation,” he said. “So will we sacrifice good legislation for that piece that infringes on your liberties? Yes, because it’s the right thing to do.” According to Kidwell, the Freedom Caucus isn’t just hoping to influence legislation, it’s also hoping to influence upcoming elections. State Board of Elections records show the House Freedom Caucus PAC was registered last August and raised $200 by the end of the year. Through the end of the second quarter of 2022, HFCPAC had raised more than $5,400, including $1,200 contributions from Kidwell, Hanig and Cabarrus Republican Rep. Larry Pittman. As of June 30, the PAC reported $2,954 in cash on hand. They’ll likely need every cent, and more, if their “3-2-1” plan for the November General Elections is to succeed. Right now, Republicans hold comfortable majorities in both the N.C. House and Senate, but they don’t quite have enough votes to command a supermajority. A supermajority would allow each chamber enough votes to override vetoes by Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, who has just two years left until he’s termed out. The 3-2-1 plan represents Republican efforts to secure three more seats in the House, two in the Senate and one on the state Supreme Court. If successful, Republicans would totally control a state that then-President Donald Trump won by just 1.34% in 2020 and therefore could advance legislation — as well as new congressional maps
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