[cross-posted to my BlueNC diary]
We’ve been talking a lot about our US Senate campaign being a choice between politics as usual and speaking truth to power.
I was surprised and frankly shocked while reading Greensboro’s Yes Weekly article about State Senator Kay Hagan.
Kay points to Senate Bill 3 (SB 3) as an example of how "we do things right in Raleigh." The legislation adopted by the state senate last year gives away the store to Duke Energy, one of the top contributors to Kay’s state senate campaigns .
You may not know about SB 3. And the problem is I don’t think you’re supposed to. The Raleigh News-Observer says SB 3 was "an insiders' deal from the get-go," passed with "virtually nonexistent" public debate and no "serious financial analysis of its total impact on consumers." http://www.newsobserver.com/...
SB 3 shifts the cost of building new power plants from industry to consumers. Duke will be allowed to bill consumers for the costs of building new power plants - before the plants produce even a single watt of electricity. Instead of borrowing money to build power plants, Duke Energy and Progress will charge you more on next month’s bill. This fundamentally changes the law and how the utilities do business in North Carolina.
Many are worried that this change will pave the way for the energy industry to build new, polluting coal-fired plants instead of pursuing cheaper, cleaner alternatives.
There are three things we need to survive – food, shelter and energy, whether it’s gas for our cars or electricity for our homes. The bottom line is, SB 3 pretty much guarantees that all of our electricity bills will go up... and up. Consumers take the risk while Duke Energy and Progress take the profits.
I know that some people may think I’m being too harsh on my primary opponent. But make no mistake about it – this is not personal. Kay Hagan appears to be a very nice person. The problem is she’s part and parcel of a broken political system where special interests write legislation to benefit themselves instead of the common good.
It’s the very reason I’m running for the United States Senate. After being in this race for almost six months I honestly can’t understand whether Kay Hagan is naive or she just thinks the public is.
Our campaign is asking for some simple things – to have a clear clean and open debate about where we stand on the issues, to meet openly with voters so we can hear their concerns, and to openly divulge who is financing our campaigns.
To examine someone’s legislative record and how they finance their campaign should be fair game. Isn’t that what democracy is about?
I’d like to hear your thoughts.
Jim Neal