Editorial - August 2003

Myrick’s dismay with Bush understandable

Published August 29, 2003

U.S. Rep. Sue Myrick did something very unusual for a well-behaving Republican member of the U.S. House, she took a swipe at a Republican president. That just doesn’t happen, at least not among GOP southerners.

Addressing an audience in Gaston County where textile jobs are taking big hits, Myrick lashed out at President Bush, calling him “out of touch” on trade issues and saying voters won’t forget it in the next election.

“If he doesn’t care about us, we won’t care about him come election time,” Myrick told a Gaston Chamber of Commerce audience Tuesday at Belmont Abbey College.

Those are fighting words from a loyal Republican.  But Myrick, a fifth-term lawmaker from Charlotte, explained why.

“People are angry,” she said. “I understand why they are angry, and I agree with why they are angry.”

And we agree with Sue Myrick. So far we’ve seen only lip service from the Bush administration on trade and manufacturing problems that are rapidly eroding away the entire textile industry. Myrick, and 9th District Rep. Rep. Cass Ballenger, of Hickory, who represents Lincoln County, know first-hand that too many jobs have been lost and too little is being done about it. They are getting the painful feedback from people whose careers are gone and whose job prospects are poor.

The doors closed earlier this month at 16 plants operated by Pillowtex. In the Charlotte region alone 4,800 jobs were lost. Pillowtex eliminated a total of  7,650 jobs and it is believed to be the largest single layoff in the state’s history.

 Myrick says free trade no longer workers.

“We’re not experiencing free trade in anything,” she said. “If China doesn’t devalue its currency or let it float on the open market, cut it off.”

The failure of the government to deal with economic issues was also underscored here in Lincoln when First Charter CEO Lawrence Kimbrough addressed a chamber business luncheon in Lincolnton last week.

Kimbrough said it was time for optimistic, community-minded action from business people to correct a beleaguered economy.

Today, the free market doesn’t seem to work, he said, because too many products once made in the U.S. are now farmed out to factories in other countries.

“We can’t manufacture anything,” he said.

Who are the politicians and corporate leaders listening to if not a loyal supporter like Myrick and a business leader like Kimbrough?

© 2001 Lincoln Times-News  

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