Dr. Greg Brannon: Thom Tillis Has Always Been A Progressive

For those of us who have paid close attention, Senator Thom Tillis’ recent op-ed in the Charlotte Observer came as no surprise.

Thom Tillis is the same progressive he’s always been.

In 2010, people like Thom Tillis told us they needed the U.S. House to stop President Obama’s radical agenda. Immediately, the American people answered with a sweeping movement to give Republicans the majority in the House of Representatives.

Then we were told, having control of the purse strings in the U.S. House wasn’t enough, Republicans needed control of the U.S. Senate. So in 2014, the American people stood up and gave them a majority in the United States Senate.

Now, as Donald Trump becomes the 45th President, with Republicans holding majorities in both the House and Senate, we have Senator Tillis telling us “…the American people didn’t give the GOP a stamp of approval or a mandate to ram through an ideologically-driven, far-right agenda.

Thom Tillis ran as a conservative Republican in 2014.  He made promises about repealing Obamacare, defending the second amendment, defending the unborn, securing the border, cutting spending and cutting the deficit.

The very same things that he now calls a radical far-right agenda. The voters in North Carolina were fooled by a slick politician that will say whatever it is he has to say to get elected.

Tillis’ progressive nature is not a new phenomenon.

When we examine his record over the course of the past decade, we discover a career politician who has no regard for our great nation’s most sacred document – The United States Constitution.

As Speaker of North Carolina’s House of Representatives, Thom Tillis actively worked to bring Obamacare’s State Exchanges into our state; he advocated for Common Core, often creating codewords to disguise his true intentions; he pushed the UN’s Agenda 21 toll road project on the people of Charlotte.

And with that record, the powers that be – unelected, establishment insiders – hand picked Thom Tillis as their candidate for Senate in North Carolina, months before the race had even begun.

On February 27, 2013, after much prayer and consideration, my family and I made the decision – we were running for the U.S. Senate. We made it clear from the moment we began, we would run, exclusively, on a Constitutional platform.

We would not waiver on principle in order to appease the establishment or big donors.  Our message was never “Vote For Greg” – it wasn’t about me. It was, and still is to this day, about liberty and freedom over coercion and compulsion.

You see, the Constitution binds the federal government, freeing the individual. The legitimate role of a government is expressed clearly in the second paragraph of our Declaration of Independence.

To protect the individual’s right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, government is instituted amongst men deriving their just power from the consent of the governed.

Our federal and state representatives are bound by the Constitution. They are not bound to a party or the never ending task of “just get things done.”

Tillis is just an example of what we see happening throughout the entire country. He ran as a conservative, but his record showed him as nothing more than a progressive. But fortunately for Thom, his campaign had lobbyists and special interest groups lined up to write big checks so he could fill the airwaves with slick ads to fool voters into believing he was something he is not.

After the primary in 2014, the Republican Party asked me to give a speech at the state convention to show “unity”.  They said I wouldn’t even have to mention Tillis’ name. I said no.

I believe we should unify around the principles of liberty and freedom, over a political party. Especially when our party’s nominee is nothing more than a progressive with an “R” next to his name.

We need to stop playing by the Establishment’s rules based on compromise and setting aside our a principles to “win”.  Those who believe in the truth of Constitutional Liberty can no longer allow themselves to be fooled into believing it’s the only way to defeat the Democrats.

We must remember George Washington’s warning about having blind allegiances to political parties and commit ourselves to supporting men and women – who will keep their oath, inhibiting the government, and freeing the individual.

Thom Tillis will be up for re-election in 2020, I hope my fellow Republicans will keep a close eye on Tillis’ words and actions as he climbs the ladder of power in Washington.  

He’s only going to get worse.