2014 NC Senate debate: on Welfare & Poverty


Thom Tillis: No government assistance for those who can help themselves

On Hardball last night, Chris Matthews featured a 2011 video of Tillis saying we have to "divide and conquer" those on public assistance, by getting those who really need it--the sick--to turn on and look down at those who "choose to get into a condition that makes them dependent on the government."

The "divide and conquer" line seems relevant. Chris Matthews noted: "The goal here politically is to get the sick people to attack the poor people."

Tillis [responded today that he] regrets using the phrase "divide and conquer" in 2011. "The frustration is that we have people that are abusing the system at the expense of us being able to do more for the people who desperately need the safety net," he said. "My point was to say we need to make it very clear, government exists to help those who cannot help themselves. And those who can need to do everything that they possibly can to let us free up those resources so that we can do better things for those who desperately need it."

Source: Washington Post on 2014 North Carolina Senate race May 6, 2014

  • The above quotations are from 2014 North Carolina Senate debates.
  • Click here for definitions & background information on Welfare & Poverty.
  • Click here for other issues (main summary page).
  • Click here for more quotes by Kay Hagan on Welfare & Poverty.
  • Click here for more quotes by Thom Tillis on Welfare & Poverty.
Candidates and political leaders on Welfare & Poverty:

Retired Senate as of Jan. 2015:
GA:Chambliss(R)
IA:Harkin(D)
MI:Levin(D)
MT:Baucus(D)
NE:Johanns(R)
OK:Coburn(R)
SD:Johnson(D)
WV:Rockefeller(D)

Resigned from 113th House:
AL-1:Jo Bonner(R)
FL-19:Trey Radel(R)
LA-5:Rod Alexander(R)
MA-5:Ed Markey(D)
MO-9:Jo Ann Emerson(R)
NC-12:Melvin Watt(D)
SC-1:Tim Scott(R) 		Retired House to run for Senate or Governor:
AR-4:Tom Cotton(R)
GA-1:Jack Kingston(R)
GA-10:Paul Broun(R)
GA-11:Phil Gingrey(R)
HI-1:Colleen Hanabusa(D)
IA-1:Bruce Braley(D)
LA-6:Bill Cassidy(R)
ME-2:Mike Michaud(D)
MI-14:Gary Peters(D)
MT-0:Steve Daines(R)
OK-5:James Lankford(R)
PA-13:Allyson Schwartz(D)
TX-36:Steve Stockman(R)
WV-2:Shelley Capito(R) 		Retired House as of Jan. 2015:
AL-6:Spencer Bachus(R)
AR-2:Tim Griffin(R)
CA-11:George Miller(D)
CA-25:Howard McKeon(R)
CA-33:Henry Waxman(D)
CA-45:John Campbell(R)
IA-3:Tom Latham(R)
MN-6:Michele Bachmann(R)
NC-6:Howard Coble(R)
NC-7:Mike McIntyre(D)
NJ-3:Jon Runyan(R)
NY-4:Carolyn McCarthy(D)
NY-21:Bill Owens(D)
PA-6:Jim Gerlach(R)
UT-4:Jim Matheson(D)
VA-8:Jim Moran(D)
VA-10:Frank Wolf(R)
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Page last updated: Dec 06, 2018