Elaine Marshall Wins Democrat Primary

North Carolina Secretary of State, Elaine Marshall, has just won the Democrat Party nomination, and will challenge Senator Richard Burr in November's general election. As such, it seems like an appropriate time to review her record.

On health care costs, Marshall was quick to blame the "obscene profits" of our nation's insurance companies.  Of course, when she made this allegation she had absolutely no idea what the average profit margin of the insurance industry was.  In reality, insurance companies average around 3% profit: anemic compared to most industries.

I doubt she has taken the time to get informed since her website still bears the same, pre-ObamaCare talking points. At press, this was the lead paragraph:

Every president since Franklin Roosevelt has tried to address the problem of providing meaningful health care to United States citizens who need it.  Sixty years later we are left with a disjointed, dysfunctional and wasteful system that does little to improve the health of citizens.  Today, we are closer than ever to fixing this broken system, and we cannot let this moment pass without action.

On Social Security, Elaine warns us to "Stand firm against risky privatization schemes: .... She’ll fight schemes that would leave our Social Security vulnerable to Wall Street risk-taking."  Of course, on the same page she also says we need to stop "politicians [from] using Washington budget gimmicks" to raid "the Social Security Trust Fund to pay for unrelated programs and measures."  So, would you rather take a chance that a Wall Street investor might make a risky choice with your savings, or keep it with the federal government which has a proven, unbroken track record of squandering your money?

Then, there's this gem from her page on "Energy and Environment:"

Global climate change is the most pressing environmental and national security issues facing us today. We need an energy policy that will reduce the pollution that causes global warming and, at the same time, lessen our dependence on oil shipped in from other countries.

That's right.  "Global climate change" is a greater threat to our nation than transnational terrorism.  Of course, that kind of ridiculous statement only exists to justify irrational bans on American drilling.  The United States could greatly reduce our total consumption of foreign oil.  We just need to make use of our own, domestic resources.  Domestic energy exploration would create a wealth of new jobs for our nation, but Elaine Marshall would rather extend unemployment benefits and subsidize state budgets.  For the private sector, Elaine offers only a trifling "job creation tax credit."  This idea has failed repeatedly because it represents a long-term expense on behalf of the business for a very minor, short-term subsidy.

And finally, no Democrat would be complete without campaign points targeting former President Bush.  Two years into the Obama Presidency, and Elaine Marshall has this to say:

The Bush deficit is now ballooning under the strain of a collapsed economy. Virtually every economist agrees that getting the economy moving is going to take an increase in government spending. But who is going pay?

Who is going to pay, indeed?  You, of course.  Elaine Marshall claims this spending will be paid for with a "financial transactions fee."  You see, we have to make "Wall Street pay its fair share."  Elaine Marshall has clearly never run a business.  Businesses don't pay taxes; they adjust prices.  Not only will her new tax further depress the economy, it will hit working Americans where they can least afford it by crippling retirement investments and undercutting pensions.

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