Lobbyists are prohibited by law from contributing directly to state legislators, but not Congressional campaigns. That means lobbyists can give money to the son of the most powerful man in the General Assembly just a few months before lawmakers return to Raleigh to consider bills the lobbyists are paid to pass or defeat. The Insider story quoted Bob Hall from Democracy North Carolina calling the fundraiser featuring Senator Berger a “simple-minded pay-to-play scheme” and that is exactly what it is. There’s normally not much of a reason for lobbyists at the General Assembly to give money to a congressional campaign. But when the head of the state Senate is involved, there is a powerful and obvious reason. The Insider asked Berger’s staff for a comment and was directed to Ray Martin with the Senate Republican Caucus, which Berger runs. His response was to lash out at Bob Hall for making the comments on the day of Senator Martin Nesbitt’s funeral. Hall of course was simply answering questions from a reporter about the obvious ethical questions about Senator Berger raising money for his son from lobbyists with interests before the General Assembly that Berger controls. There’s no defense for it really, so Martin pitifully attacked Hall instead. And Berger’s not the only one with ethical issues. House Speaker Thom Tillis is raising a lot of money from lobbyists too, for his bid for the U.S. Senate. Tillis still runs the state House and presumably still has a lot to say about what will pass in this summer’s session. A group of lobbyists even held a fundraiser for Tillis in December. Pay to play is stronger than ever in Raleigh these days.
Posted on: Fri, 14 Mar 2014 16:33:14 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015