So what should Republicans and Conservatives do who think that SB 20 does not go far enough – or who think the GOP must be a full out pro-life no-abortion organization? Well, it’s a huge list of things. But none of them require government. What they do require is for us to put our skin into the game.
Does government have the responsibility to protect life? Certainly. But we should not always look to government for the answer.
Republicans have the answers to the issues that we are facing here in New Hanover County, across North Carolina, and throughout our country. Talk to us today, and see how we have plans to make a brighter tomorrow. Check us out at https://newhanovergop.org
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Reuel Sample: No secret. The big news this week is the override of Governor Roy Cooper’s veto of North Carolina’s Senate Bill 20. The Care for Women, Children and Families Act. No additional surprise that our Republican representatives faced enormous pressure, intimidation and threats from people and groups from inside and outside our state. Representative Ted Davis shared his thoughts about some of that on Wilmington’s Morning News with Nick Craig.
Ted Davis and Others Threatened By Liberal Left
Ted Davis: And I find it interesting that the governor has never called me to personally discuss this matter,or even asked for a personal meeting to discuss the matter when he was in Wilmington.
Nick Craig: Not once. No, No email, no text message, no phone call. Nothing.
Ted Davis: Nothing from the governor.
Nick Craig: Oh, that’s pathetic.
Ted Davis: Instead of being a man about it and talking to me, man to man about it, he got others to do his bidding for him. I mean, in addition, Planned Parenthood. As I’m sure you’re aware, they have made all kinds of posts on Facebook. They’ve run full newspaper ads. Even my contact information and asking people to contact me. They’ve run TV ads trying to bully and pressure me into voting against the veto override. So this is no exaggeration. My legislative assistant and I have tried to keep track the best we could of the emails, the phone calls and the texts that I have received concerning this matter. Over 5000.
Nick Craig: Wow.
Ted Davis: I’ve been told that if I vote to override the veto, they were coming to get me. They would make it their mission to ensure that I was never reelected. I even had someone say that there will be a curse against the women in my family, meaning my wife, my daughter and my two granddaughters. And that women would remember in November every and every election going forward. If I ever tried to run for reelection again.
Decision to Override Veto
Reuel Sample: In the end, Representative Davis voted to override the veto.
Ted Davis: So in looking at my conscience, there is no way in this world that I could vote to sustain the veto. Meaning that I supported Governor Cooper. Meaning that I supported Governor Cooper. There is no way in the world that I can support someone who tries to bully and pressure me into doing something just to make. So, in other words, just to support something that he wants, You can’t treat me like that and then expect me to want to help you. My constituents. Like I said, my legislative assistant, I have tried our best to differentiate the phone calls, the emails and the texts, and I have received.
Ted Davis: From those that reside actually reside in my house District 20. From all the other things that the contacts that I had and the best that we could determine. Nick it is approximately 5050 in my house District 20. Meaning 50% that wanted me to uphold the veto, 50% that wanted me to override the veto. And then the third, looking at my caucus, every other member of my Republican caucus voted in favor of Senate Bill 20. I knew and anticipated that every other member of my Republican caucus would also vote in favor of the veto override. And I was correct in that they did. And I was not going to turn my back on my fellow members of the Republican caucus and do something that Governor Cooper and Planned Parenthood had tried to bully and pressure me into doing. And that’s why I voted to override the veto.
Reuel Sample: Ted Davis, Charlie Miller, Michael Lee and our other Republican elected officials showed amazing courage and fortitude in getting SB 20 past the veto and into law. They knew that this bill codified what the majority of North Carolinians have been asking for – sensible abortion restrictions that protect the life and health of women, the unborn and families. No doubt this bill will be challenged at every level by activist judges and others. We’ll need to keep an eye on them.
Some Republicans Think Bill Does Not Go Far Enough
Reuel Sample: However, already within Republican ranks, we are hearing that this bill did not go far enough. One person wrote on a Facebook page, “Republicans should not be dancing at this bill this morning.” Others are committed to holding elected officials to a zero abortion pledge and drumming them out of office and out of the party if they do not hold a strict pro-life line.
Reuel Sample: That kind of thinking is actually a trap. It’s one that Democrats and liberals fell into ages ago, and it is one that we must avoid as we try to address the important social issues in our state and nation. That trap is that government is the answer. As Republicans, we have always believed that government is actually part of most problems and very rarely provides good answers.
The Trap of Relying on Government
Reuel Sample: Yet well-meaning conservatives continue to look to government to solve issues like abortion. While it is the responsibility of government to put sound frameworks and reasonable restrictions in place which SB 20 clearly does, it cannot solve every issue that surrounds abortion and other issues. That way of thinking is akin to the Democrats and activists who say that government must save the planet through draconian environmental laws. Who say that government must save our children through demolishing our Second Amendment rights or any of a hundred of other issues that government must do to save us.
Reuel Sample: It’s a trap because, once again, from health care to gun restriction to you name it, when the government is put forward as the answer, it usually creates more problems.
What Should Republicans Do?
Reuel Sample: So what should Republicans and conservatives do who think that SB 20 does not go far enough, or who think that the GOP must be a full out pro-life, no abortion organization? Well, it’s a huge list of things, to name a few. Volunteer at a local pregnancy crisis center. Get involved with your faith organization to care for those who are pregnant, but who have no one to turn to. Think about adopting the baby of a woman who does not want a child and pay for her health care during her pregnancy. Consider ways to help out those who have severely handicapped children. Talk to your own children about sexuality issues. Get involved with private organizations that seek to end abortion by sharing with expected women the sonogram of their unborn child. The list goes on and on.
Reuel Sample: But none of them require the government to get involved. What they do take is for each of us to put some skin in the game. Time, talents, resources, our homes, our churches, our places of business, our entire selves. Government cannot fix this issue, but we can if we stop looking to government for the answer.
Reuel Sample: We want to hear from you on this issue. What ways can conservative Republicans get involved outside of government to help curb abortion in North Carolina? Share your thoughts in the comment section.
Reuel Sample: For the New Hanover County Republican Party. I’m Reuel Sample. Thanks for listening.
