Press Release – Principles Above Politics

Press Release
October 30, 2023

Contacts:
Andy Wells (828-322-7169 or andy@andywells.org)
Carter Wrenn (919-532-0250 or carter@carterwrenn.com)

Principles Above Politics

Statement by Andy Wells:

“The idea of ‘separation of powers’ goes back to the birth of our Republic. Our founders understood – we can’t trust politicians. Politicians need watching. So, instead of creating one all-powerful branch of government they divided government into three branches – legislative, executive, and judicial – and gave each the power to keep an eye on the other.

“The NC General Assembly crossed that line – the separation of powers line – in both the US and the NC Constitution when it stripped appointment powers away from the governor and gave it to themselves. I agree Governor Cooper’s administration has serious flaws. But putting politics before principle, and undermining the separation of powers principle, won’t solve problems – it will create problems. Taking power from the Democratic governor and giving it to the Republican legislature may look good now but will Republicans still like this power grab when we have a Democratic General Assembly? Our constitution gives us better ways to address problems.

“Rather than fighting over who gets to appoint government bureaucrats, let’s reduce the number of government bureaucrats and cut costs. Let’s pay down the state’s over $50 billion debt – that makes common sense in troubling economic times. And to honor our constitution, let’s put principle above politics.”

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