Health care -- illegal immigration

The current question is the affordability of health care. McCrory wants to institute as many incentives as possible for small businesses to give health care to employees. He wants to do this by offering tax credits for health care and also reducing the mandates in NC which make our health insurance some of the highest in the nation. He also wants tort reform to protect doctor's and nurses from lawsuits which raise the cost of health insurance.

Democrat Perdue wants to push prevention to lower cost. She believes that the mandates are critical to health insurance in NC. She wants to work together to make sure that "everyone gets a chance to see a doctor" -- but doesn't quite explain herself.

McCrory attempted to tell us that he doesn't know where she is getting her data, but said he's "used to it" :)

The question now is about illegal immigrants. Munger just wants to make it easier to be legal.

Perdue just accused McCrory of using "undocumented workers" in Charlotte, and urges that everyone needs to "play by the rules" when it comes to illegal immigration.

McCrory responds and states that the "net cost of illegal immigrants" is greater than any gain, and it is imperitive to stop illegal immigration.

McCrory and Perdue clash on illegal immigration

I had some technical difficulties for a minute, but I'm back.

There is a viewer question on how to support funding for "creative industries".

Bev Perdue says that creative industries are the future of America as well as North Carolina (WHAT?). She's praising the great opportunities we have with the SChool of the Arts and other places in NC, and she has "such a track record" of supporting arts. She says that we will see her "highly engaged" in art funding.

McCrory reponds that the arts are important, but they won't make a huge difference "if we don't have jobs". He wants to help the farmers and the manufacturers create jobs before we worry about the arts... we need jobs before we need arts. :)

The next question is on Sheriff Bizzell, a local sheriff that recently made some bigoted comments on illegal immigrants. Perdue states that the immigration system is broke and she will work to fix it (the room just said "yeah, right". She just said, "here in North Carolina, none of us are born here". WHAT? I'm pretty sure I was born in North Carolina.

Pat McCrory states that he will demand an immigration facility from the next US President. The closest one is in Atlanta and it puts a huge strain on our local sheriffs, since we have no place to deport illegal immigrants. We're putting too much of a burden on county jails right now. Jails are full of illegal immigrants who are breaking OTHER laws -- people who already broke the law coming into the country and are now harming NC citizens.

When asked if McCrory would "talk to" a sheriff like Bizzell who makes such bigoted comments, McCrory said he would, but ultimately he is an elected official and it is up to the voters to vote him out if he offends them. Perdue is basically responding that she would have spoken with Bizzell "before it got to that point".

McCrory and Perdue on illegal immigration and mental health

McCrory is talking about his 287G program which catches illegal immigrants who are committing other crimes and gets them out of here. He says one of his first duties as governor will be to get an illegal immigrant detention center in NC -- the closest one now is in Atlanta, and it's a joke to try to get illegals in NC over there.

Perdue states "The immigration system is broken." REALLY, Bev? Ya think? She thinks the feds need to fix it, "like, yesterday". She also states that she's going to focus her power in NC on getting undocumented workers out of here. And now she's repeating herself over and over. Zzzzzzz....

Now they have a question on the mental health care system in NC. She's talking about how all aspects of the mental health system need work -- which, as McCrory pointed out earlier, is thanks to her administration's incompetence. And she wants to model the mental health care system after Medicaid, because THAT works to well.

McCrory is rightly pointing out that the current administration is who has ruined the mental health system. He thinks we need to encourage the school to graduate more mental health care workers. The few resources that we have are not well-staffed.

Pat McCrory and illegal immigration

Perdue and McCrory in Greensboro  from YES! Weekly:

McCrory is an interesting kind of centrist candidate. His rhetoric on immigration appeals to a certain conservative and nativist sentiment that runs strong in this state, but his advocacy of mass transit makes him more progressive than many prominent Democrats in the state. And with Charlotte’s new light-rail system, he has a record to match.

“I think the more choices you have, the better,” McCrory told the audience at Embassy Suites. “You put bike paths and pedestrian paths where you think they might be needed, not just today, but for the future.”

In discussing gangs, he made a connection between illegal immigration and criminality, and demonstrated a cognizance of recent events in the Triad.

“We have a serious gang problem right here in Greensboro,” he said. “You also have international gangs. In Charlotte we had a shootout with an El Salvadoran gang, all illegal immigrants. Let me repeat, all illegal immigrants. And thank God, they missed and our police didn’t.”

Later I asked McCrory if he agreed with the five leading candidates — Democrats Perdue and Moore; and Republicans Fred Smith, Bill Graham and Bob Orr — that undocumented immigrants should not be allowed to attend North Carolina community colleges.

He clearly is: “I am opposed to it. They’re illegal.”

I took the question a step further and asked if he also would be in favor of denying undocumented immigrants access to emergency rooms, and the mayor drew a distinction.

“I believe in helping people for their health and safety,” he said. “I would not deny anybody help for their health and safety.”

My response to the article:

"McCrory is an interesting kind of centrist candidate. His rhetoric on immigration appeals to a certain conservative and nativist sentiment that runs strong in this state[...]"

I think your wording here attempts to denigrate McCrory's stance on immigration. While it is true that some conservatives' immigration views stem mostly from blind xenophobia, the same can not be said for McCrory.

As mayor of a large southern city for the past 12 years, McCrory knows firsthand how dangerous illegal immigrants can be. We here in the Greensboro and Winston-Salem areas would do well to remember that we are having an increasing problem with gangs whose membership consists soley of illegals. Violent crimes against honest, hard-working Americans are disgusting enough when committed by their follow citizens. When these same crimes are committed by people who shouldn't even be here, the blame shifts partly to a government who has no desire to enforce their own laws.

I am aware that most illegal immigrants are NOT gang members and are only interested in making a better life for their families. I have no problem with people from other countries wanting to move to America for better opportunities; that is why we have a LEGAL path to citizenship. By crossing the border and living here illegally, these people have already shown that they are capable of breaking our laws, and for some of them, more violent crimes are an easy progression.

One of McCrory's biggest concerns is North Carolina's crime rate, and I dare say he's had more first-hand experience with that than any of the other GOP candidates. McCrory's immigration stance is firmly connected to his fight against crime, not simple conservative "rhetoric".