NC GOP Senate Candidate Exposed: How Thom Tillis Helped Banks Shaft Poor Borrowers and Then Convinced Them To Vote for Him

And they think, of course, that they are "soon-to-be rich" Republicans, and thus, they vote for him at every opportunity. Thom Tillis's much-touted, self-made educational background has become much more well known since his Linked-In resume raised questions about his bona fides. Not to mention his campaigned-for public education cuts and increases to charter school funding.

Tillis defeated an incumbent Republican to join the legislature in 2006. He became Republican Whip as a sophomore and helped engineer the 16-seat gain in the 2010 elections that made the conservative party a majority and Tillis its presiding officer. Just one year later, Tillis was named national “Legislator of the Year” by the conservative American Legislative Exchange Council. In addition to his widely-noted pro-business reform, Tillis and his House colleagues have pushed a ban on gay marriage, pro-life protection laws, and required drug testing for welfare recipients.

Rick Glazier has served North Carolina superbly for years in the North Carolina General Assembly.

Thom Tillis has served himself and his backers (Duke Power/Progress Energy, American Financial Services Association, Americans for Prosperity, ALEC (American Legislation Exchange Council, a secretive group, which was created to get state legislatures to approve bills that had been drafted by its corporate donors, in which Tillis was a member for years, serving on its Board of Directors) and Karl Rove's Crossroads Groups).

North Carolina is expected to be the most expensive Senate race in history.

Nearly $80 million in political ads have already flooded the state, a figure that could rise as high as $100 million by Election Day.

. . . North Carolina has one Republican senator already, a Republican governor and a Republican-controlled state legislature. But Democrats are making inroads in North Carolina, as President Obama won the state in 2008 and Hagan defeated former Sen. Elizabeth Dole.

Though Obama’s approval rating is abysmal here, Tillis, the state House speaker, has struggled to energize the Republican base.

He ties Hagan to the president at every chance, but Tillis can’t separate from her in the polls.

Thus, North Carolina is a purple state forever? Thanks, racialistas!

According to Tillis, ALEC is a “great organization” and the sneaky way that it does business through backroom deals and politicians trading votes away to corporate lobbyists is “a great collaboration between legislators and businesses.”

ALEC’s influence on Tillis’ policies is clear — and so is the impact those policies are having on public education.

“We have had a record number of teachers — good teachers — leave the profession since his leadership began in 2010,” said (NC Educator Vivian) Connell. “That’s because under his leadership the North Carolina General Assembly has passed regressive education polices.”

It's almost funny (not the humorous type) that the white middle class,who are being ferociously propagandized by the Republicans (Reince Priebus has just made a nervous appearance in Raleigh),  are the ones being taken advantage of just as much if not more than the poor.

But the Republicans assure them they are not poor.

They are just Democrats (and they need to change parties to be rich).

Thom Tillis and Reince Priebus campaigned together at a rally in Raleigh Saturday. Photo: Josh Siegel/The Daily Signal

GOP Senate Candidate Exposed:  How Thom Tillis Helped Banks Shaft Poor Borrowers

A new report sheds light on how the North Carolina House speaker went to bat for his financial industry backers

Wednesday, Oct 22, 2014
Luke Brinker

The New York Times has an in-depth look this morning at how several states are updating their lending laws to allow lenders to increase the fees and interest rates they charge borrowers with poor credit scores. Among the states to loosen lending laws was North Carolina, where Republican House Speaker Thom Tillis helped guide the overhaul to passage. Tillis is now the GOP’s nominee against Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan.

According to the Times, lenders have lobbied for the changes by citing “the increased costs of doing business, including running branches and hiring employees.” It’s a rich argument to make at a time when bank profits are near record levels. Moreover, the Times points out, regulatory filings show that lending to borrowers with subpar credit scores can itself prove “a highly profitable business.”

The effort to loosen North Carolina’s lending law started in 2011, after Republicans took control of the state Legislature. Military commanders at Fort Bragg and Camp Lejeune lobbied vigorously against the overhaul, the Times notes, warning that it could saddle soldiers with “out-of-control debt.” The commanders’ opposition to the bill proved too much for the industry to overcome that year.

But last year, lenders revived their push. With some commanders fatigued from their previous battles against loosening lending laws and others new to their posts, the state’s military commanders opted to remain neutral. The Times notes that the Center for Responsible Lending also abandoned its opposition “after the industry agreed to slightly lower the proposed rate increases at the last minute.”

Whereas the 2011 legislation would have permitted lenders to charge 30 percent interest on loans up to $1,000 and 18 percent on a remaining balance of $6,500, the 2013 legislation permits up to 30 percent interest on a loan’s first $4,000 and 24 percent for the next $4,000.

At the center of the fight was Tillis, who has been pivotal in pushing conservative policies like voter ID legislation, cuts to unemployment benefits, tax cuts for the wealthy, and abortion restrictions through the Legislature.

Tillis, the Times observes, “has received more money from the American Financial Services Association than any other Senate candidate.”

Tillis’ campaign manager told the Times that Tillis was simply taking account of “the risks [that] can drive up the rates” when he voted for the legislation, which Gov. Pat McCrory signed into law. Rick Glazier, a Democratic state representative, offered the Times a sharply different take on the new law.

“It was one of the most brazen efforts by a special interest group to increase its own profits that I have ever seen,” Glazier told the paper.

Luke Brinker is Salon's deputy politics editor. Follow him on Twitter at @LukeBrinker.

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