North Carolina voters have a very clear choice in the election for governor on November 3. A vote for Dan Forest is a vote to move forward as a state, while a vote for Roy Cooper will be a vote to take the Old North State backwards.
There is no question that Roy Cooper completely bungled the state’s response to COVID-19. To start, he failed to take the most basic actions as recommended by the coronavirus task force to protect our most vulnerable citizens Cooper refused to test all nursing home residents until the media called him out for his months-long delay. He failed to implement CDC recommendations for nursing homes for months even though the majority of COVID-19 deaths continue to occur in nursing homes.
Instead of safeguarding the vulnerable, Cooper shut down the entire NC economy which shuttered many small businesses forever and left hundreds of thousands unemployed. In fact, the Cooper shutdown ranked as the third most extreme in the nation. Then the Cooper Administration failed to ensure that North Carolina’s unemployment system got much-needed relief to those who lost their jobs and consistently ranked as the slowest in the country to provide unemployment benefits. Even now, it has been reported that Gov. Cooper is instructing local governments to implement strict lockdowns as soon as the election is over which will be a death knell to the small businesses that are still hanging on.
Unfortunately, the Governor’s poor response to COVID-19 is not the only time that he has failed North Carolina in its time of need. Cooper was quick to respond to Hurricane Matthew with photo ops with victims, but he mismanaged the response and delayed aid for victims for years.
Cooper also failed to competently manage the basic functions of state government even though he has spent three decades in state government. His department of transportation was over budget by billions of dollars forcing a bailout by taxpayer dollars. Instead of working with the duly elected legislature to enact a budget, Gov. Cooper vetoed multiple teacher pay raises and needed funds to keep the government working. Even worse he continued to find new ways to try to raise our taxes.
Gov. Cooper has also built a record as the most radically liberal governor in North Carolina history. He vetoed a bill providing that babies should be protected after birth. He used his VETO pen again to side against Immigration Enforcement and allowed violent criminals back onto North Carolina streets. Cooper sides with union bosses over parents and fights Opportunity Scholarships at every turn. When rioters burned downtown Raleigh and cities throughout North Carolina, Cooper marched maskless with the protesters, demonstrating his allegiance is to the rioters, not North Carolina small business owners and workers.
Lt. Gov. Dan Forest wants to safely reopen North Carolina, create opportunities for everyone to go back to work, and rebuild our economy. He strongly supports school choice for all North Carolina families and increased pay for teachers so that every child can have the opportunity to receive a great education regardless of where they live. Forest has always stood tall for the sanctity of life and proudly supports law enforcement. These are not radical positions. In fact, they are positions that are supported by strong bipartisan majorities of North Carolina Voters.
The plain truth is that North Carolina cannot afford another four years of Governor Roy Cooper’s incompetent management and radical policies. Vote for Dan Forest on Tuesday and let’s move our great state forward.
