THIS WEEK: Richard "Where-Do-You-Stand' Burr Gets Called Out For "Naked Opportunism," While Deborah Continues Her Economic Opportunity Tour With a Stop in Spring Lake

Press Release

This week, Richard "Where-Do-You-Stand' Burr once again personified everything that is wrong with politics, flip-flopping on HB2 in an attempt to prop up his vulnerable reelection bid. Just days after fully reversing his position on HB2 as a reaction to the latest PPP Survey that found the law was "very unpopular," the political winds changed and, once again, Richard Burr shifted his position on HB2. Now he claims the City of Charlotte "created the problem." After months of holding firm with his position that the bill does not discriminate, wasn't a federal issue, and would not hurt the state's economy, Burr can't decide where he stands -- or what he stands for.

Meanwhile Deborah, who has stood firmly against HB2 from day-one, applauded North Carolina's business leaders who have come out publicly in opposition to the discriminatory HB2, saying "those business leaders have shown more leadership than our senior Senator did when the bill was enacted."

And Susan Ladd of the Greensboro News and Record condemned Senator Burr for his ever shifting stance on HB2, saying, "after months of equivocating, avoiding and halfway defending HB 2, his sudden change of heart doesn't exactly make him a hero. It makes him more like a naked opportunist."

Finally, Deborah continued her Economic Opportunity Tour with a stop in Spring Lake. At the roundtable, she talked with community leaders about her commitment to changing the priorities in Washington so that job growth, worker retraining, and education win out over the special interests and politics as usual.

ABC11: Sen. Burr Says it is Time to Roll Back Parts of HB2

North Carolina's senior U.S. Senator, Richard Burr, says the state should make changes to the controversial new law known as House Bill 2.

Burr didn't elaborate on why but did criticize the city of Charlotte, saying it's also time for the Queen City to take responsibility for its role in the backlash since House Bill 2 was passed. "I think the legislature should go back and look at what they did, talk with Charlotte and figure out, as it relates to bathroom issue, there can be resolution. There didn't seem to be a problem before. Charlotte created the problem and the General Assembly further created a problem."

The idea that Charlotte shares responsibility for what's happening in North Carolina is something critics take issue with. "Senator Burr is doing a bit of political posturing here," said Rep. Chris Sgro, a Greensboro Democrat that also heads up Equality NC. "Charlotte's ordinance mirrors a hundred-plus ordinances across the country that are best practices. No city has ever seen the NBA tournament or NCAA basketball or Paypal leave because they passed a comprehensive non-discrimination ordinance."

WCNC: Flashpoint with Deborah Ross

Beth Troutman: This week Senator Burr came out against House Bill 2. You are saying that that's a flip flop, that it's not quite where he stood originally when the discussion first started on House Bill 2."

Deborah Ross: Well that's right. If he's against House Bill 2, I think that that's wonderful. But the fact of the matter is, all through the several weeks that we've been living with House Bill 2, he's said three things: first he said that House Bill 2 does not discriminate, well that's clearly wrong, we know that, and discrimination of any form is wrong; the second thing he said is that it's not a federal issue and clearly it's a federal issue because we've got three federal court cases and in addition to that House Bill 2 took away people's right to sue for employment discrimination based on religion, based on their age, based on their race, in state court and put all these cases in federal court where it's much more difficult to sue and you don't get to be in your community and that is a federal issue; but worst of all Richard Burr said that House Bill 2 will not have a negative impact on our economy and clearly Charlotte has seen that--we have seen recent reports from the Chamber of Commerce--talking about the economic impact in Charlotte, but we also know that Wilmington has been devastated by House Bill 2, just getting back on its feet with the film and TV industry, and now so many shows not wanting to come to Wilmington. And it's not just about entertainment, it's about local jobs lost, it's about hotel bookings that don't come through. High point has suffered; it's furniture market has suffered. House Bill 2 has hurt the economy of North Carolina and it's hurt our good name.

Beth Troutman: To that point, we actually have a little bit sound from Senator Burr addressing the issue of jobs and the economy when it comes to House Bill 2. Let's take a listen to this quick sound bite.

Richard Burr: I continue to have businesses come to my office to talk about their desire to come and move to North Carolina, invest here, create jobs, and when they stop then I'll question if whether some policy or initiative that we've done deters that.

Beth Troutman: That was just from a few weeks ago and that was a question about House Bill 2 and how it affects the economy and certainly we've seen a lot of major businesses come out against House Bill 2 because of the discrimination they feel lies in it.

Deborah Ross: And those businesses have shown more leadership than our senior Senator did when that bill was enacted.

Greensboro News & Record: Susan Ladd: Burr's Naked Opportunism on HB2

Forgive me if I don't immediately leap to my feet to applaud U.S. Sen. Richard Burr for his recent criticism of House Bill 2.

It comes two months late and more than a few million dollars short.

Burr told the Huffington Post this week that the General Assembly "went too far" in passing the law.

"The legislature botched what they were trying to do," Burr said Tuesday. "It was far too expansive."

If Burr's criticism had come immediately after the March 23 passage of HB 2 -- which was introduced, passed and signed in less than 9 hours -- Burr could have been commended for courage and leadership.

But after months of equivocating, avoiding and halfway defending HB 2, his sudden change of heart doesn't exactly make him a hero.

It makes him more like a naked opportunist.

Consider his remarks the past few months.

March 28: Burr says House Bill 2 is "out of his reach" as a state issue. "We try to leave those issues that are up to the state up to the state."

March 29: Burr tells WTVD (ABC 11) that he would leave it to the courts to decide the fate of HB 2, but he didn't consider the bill discriminatory.

April 5: Burr tells Buzzfeed: "There's no federal jurisdiction in this."

Protection against discrimination is outlined in the Constitution, enforced by the Justice Department and litigated in the Supreme Court. Seems like a federal matter to me.

April 8: Burr defers comment on HB 2 because "it's a state issue" and says he doesn't think it will deter companies from coming to the state.

This was three days after PayPal withdrew its plans for a 400-job, $3.6 million expansion in Charlotte.

May 10: A spokesman for Burr says that because the matter is now before the courts, "the Senator cannot comment on ongoing litigation."

Since when? He and his colleagues had plenty to say during legal challenges to the Affordable Care Act.

May 18: Burr says that he still hopes the city of Charlotte and the North Carolina General Assembly can come to a reasonable solution on the issue, and he doesn't agree with the federal government's intervening on what he views as a states' rights issue.

States' rights? Isn't that the same justification Southern states cited for defending slavery, Jim Crow laws and the governmental display of the Confederate flag? As the courts found in case after case, the state does not have the right to discriminate.

Why Burr's sudden change of heart? Polls out this week put him in a statistical dead heat with Democratic challenger Deborah Ross, who has been gaining on him steadily in a race in which he once had a double-digit lead over both Democratic opponents.

A former state director of the American Civil Liberties Union and former representative to the N.C. House, Ross was quick to condemn HB 2 and started a repeal petition on her campaign website.

On the campaign trail, Ross has hammered Burr for his refusal to consider President Obama's nominee for the Supreme Court and for his stance -- or lack thereof -- on HB 2.

Both stances are deeply unpopular with North Carolina residents, according to recent polls. Public Policy Polling released a survey this week showing that 50 percent of state voters would like to see HB 2 repealed, and only 38 percent want it to stand.

Fifty-eight percent of voters in the state think Merrick Garland deserves confirmation hearings for his nomination to the Supreme Court.

PPP's most recent election poll, which has a margin of error of 3.2 percentage points, found Burr leading Ross by 3 points, 39-36. Burr has an anemic approval rate of 28 percent and high rate of disapproval at 40 percent. In addition to blocking Garland's confirmation, Burr has blocked other lower-court appointments and voted against the confirmation of Greensboro native Loretta Lynch as U.S. Attorney General.

Changing his stance on the Supreme Court nominee would bring down the wrath of his Republican colleagues in the Senate. But changing his tune on HB 2 doesn't cost him a thing. He has no direct power to change the bill, so he can criticize it without having to actually do anything but wink and nod to his GOP cohorts in the N.C. General Assembly, who understand political expediency very well.

Burr declined to say exactly how the legislature had "botched" the law or in what way it was "too expansive." The law is expansive, indeed, as it not only restricts people to using the bathroom corresponding to their gender at birth but prevents local governments from expanding protection against discrimination, takes away the rights of North Carolinians to sue in state court for any claim of discrimination and prevents municipalities from increasing the minimum wage.

Burr didn't mention any of this in his first criticism of HB 2. Nor did he cite the loss in revenue and jobs, the irreparable damage to the state's reputation, nor the harm to the state's vulnerable LGBT community.

That's likely because his only real problem with the bill is that supporting it is hurting him in the polls.

Anyone who believes that Burr has had an actual change of heart about HB 2 should contact me immediately about some valuable real estate in Florida.

Burr's behavior shows the difference between having convictions and taking positions.

One comes from the heart and holds steady. The other changes with shifting winds and prevailing polls.

Doing the right thing rings hollow if you're doing it for the wrong reasons.

Fayetteville Observer: Spring Lake Mayor Chris Rey endorses former Senate rival Ross; Ross campaigns in the town

Rey and 14 others met with Ross in a meeting room of Spring Lake's Hampton Inn as part of what the Ross campaign is promoting is an economic opportunity tour of small North Carolina towns. Spring Lake was her third stop; Clinton in Sampson County was scheduled to be her fourth stop.

"I know that smaller towns have had hard times, particularly since the Great Recession. But even before that, because of some of the unfair trade deals that Congress passed, and the lack of worker re-training going on."

As a lawmaker in Raleigh, Ross said, she strove to be the person that both sides could talk with to try to resolve these conflicts or find some middle ground.

"One of the things that I want to be able to do, as I did before when I was in the legislature, is collaborate from the local level all the way to the federal level, that kind of collaboration I'm hopeful will get the results you're looking for," Ross said.

Vivek Tandon, owner of the Spring Lake Hampton Inn, said the area has been stagnant while other cities have grown, and the economy is too dependent on Fort Bragg. Private investors like him are fearful for the investment they have here and are unwilling to put more into the town, he said.

Ross said North Carolina has used government incentives and tax breaks to encourage business to invest in communities that have less economic opportunity. "And it would be worth exploring how much this could be expanded at the federal level," she said.

@DeborahRossNC: #Medicare is crucial for our community, but Burr has a plan to privatize it & raise the age. Those aren't NC values.

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