Look Where Burr's Sympathies Lie

From The Pilot

By Kevin Smith - Sunday, July 25, 2010

Richard Burr has collected 6.3 million reasons to like his chances for re-election this November. Elaine Marshall has - well, Richard Burr. It's left to North Carolinians to decide whether $6.3 million is enough to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.
Project Vote Smart has a page where you can plug in a senator's name and see how he or she is rated by various interest groups. It's a good way to see where a senator's loyalties lie and whether his or her values reflect your values.
For instance, for the years from 2005 to April 2010, Burr received three A's and two B's from the gun owners of America. Compare that with his scores from the National Education Association, which are straight F's. Go down the list of education-related interests and his scores are, with one exception from one group in one year, either F's on a grade scale or below 31 on a percentage basis.
We may reasonably debate what, if any, restrictions are appropriate to Second Amendment rights, but giving Americans the tools to restore and sustain our economic viability should be sacrosanct. In Richard Burr's world, Little Johnny may or may not be able to read, but he can shoot. What does that mean for his prospects?
If our children want to compete for the best jobs, they're likely to have to do so in a globalized economy. It will be the caliber of their minds that matters. In the battles that will most directly determine the quality of their lives and the lives of their progeny, Richard Burr leaves our children out unarmed.
Burr's campaign ran an ad during the primary in which several supporters affirmed that Burr is the right choice for veterans. Here again, ratings from veterans groups over his time as a senator tell a different story. Burr ranks constantly low - all the more so when you consider the number of military bases and retired military in North Carolina. His highest rating from the major veterans groups during his time in the Senate is a C.
Burr is the ranking member of the Veteran's Affairs Committee, but he's no friend to veterans.
Here's another interesting paradox: Burr has an 85 percent rating from the National Right to Life Committee and an 88 percent rating from the Family Research Council, but only a 42 percent rating from the Children's Defense Fund, 0 percent from the American Public Health Association and 25 percent from the American Hospital Association.
What those numbers suggest is a man who is committed to the sanctity of life before birth but who has a vexing disregard for the sanctity life outside of the womb. Who does Burr represent? Does he represent the interests of upper-class, middle-class, working-class and impoverished North Carolinians equally? The numbers give us a clear understanding.
We know he supports business - Business-Industry PAC, 100 percent, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, National Association of Manufacturers, 100 percent, all as you would expect. We know he's no friend to organized labor - AFL-CIO, 6 percent, American Federation of Government Employees, 8 percent, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, 0 percent, also to be expected.
But what about regular, not necessarily union, middle- and working-class North Carolinians? It turns out that there's an organization called themiddleclass.org. How does it rate our senior senator? For the years 2005-2009, he got straight F's, a 36 percent rating for 2009. He's just as weak on poverty issues as he is on middle-class issues. Burr's interests reflect the interests of those best able to pay for his support.
Richard Burr will use all of the considerable resources at his command to try to persuade a majority of North Carolinians that he's looking out for them. But in the words of Bill Parcells, "You are what your record says you are." Richard Burr's record says he's six years late for his regular tee time. North Carolinians deserve better.
Kevin Smith lives in Aberdeen. Contact him at kevinasmith@gmx.com.