‘Rubber stamp’: Tillis, Cunningham trade barbs in last debate over lack of independence
You might consider the third and final North Carolina U.S. Senate meeting between Republican incumbent Thom Tillis and Democratic challenger Cal Cunningham the “rubber stamp” debate.
For an hour, Tillis and Cunningham accused each other of being nothing more than a “rubber stamp,” or automatic votes, for the agendas of their respective party’s leaders.
Whoever wins the North Carolina race could swing control of the Senate to their party. The contest is considered a toss-up and, as a result of its closeness and importance, the race has attracted millions in outside spending. Cunningham has led in polls throughout the summer, including in a series of polls released this week.
The debate, moderated by Tim Boyum of Spectrum News North Carolina, lacked the near-constant interruptions of Tuesday’s presidential debate. Though the candidates broke little new ground in disagreements over the timing of a Supreme Court confirmation, the extent of a new coronavirus aid package and the future of the Affordable Care Act, they weaved critiques into nearly every answer of their opponent’s ability to break from the party line.
In Cunningham’s opening statement, he called Tillis “too weak to stand up and fight for us in Washington.” In Tillis’ first remark, he labeled Cunningham “an $80-million rubber stamp for (Democratic Senate Minority Leader) Chuck Schumer.”
These were common refrains. Cunningham brought up remarks Tillis made in a 2014 debate with then-Sen. Kay Hagan, who Tillis defeated to win his current seat.
“(Tillis) said any senator that would vote 95% of the time with a president is not moderate, is not bipartisan and that voting with the president 95% of the time is ground for firing,” Cunningham said. “Senator Tillis then went to Washington and has voted with this president 99% of the time. By his own standard, he should be fired.”
FiveThirtyEight.com tracks how often members of Congress vote with President Donald Trump. Tillis votes with Trump 93.4% of the time, according to the website’s metric.
“You can always be certain that when I go to Washington, I’m working for you and I’m working for your job,” Tillis said in his closing remarks.
Debating party lines
Tillis deployed the “rubber stamp” term throughout the first two debates. But he increased its usage Thursday night, saying Cunningham would vote along Democratic party lines on just about every issue: expanding the Supreme Court, confirming activist judges, changes to absentee ballot rules made by the North Carolina State Board of Elections, energy policy, the Green New Deal, a policing reform package, Medicare for All and a public option for health care.
Often, Tillis said Cunningham would vote that way just moments after Cunningham disavowed his support. Cunningham countered that he did not agree with Democrats on many of those issues, notably expanding the court, the Green New Deal and Medicare for All.
“The fact is I’ve stood up to the voices in my party in this very campaign, calling out those that who I think are off track for the state of North Carolina,” Cunningham said.
But Tillis said he did not believe Cunningham’s promises, repeating another refrain from a previous debate: that Cunningham was willing to say anything to get elected. He noted the influx of donations to Cunningham’s campaign after the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, which motivated Democratic donors across the nation.
“Does anybody believe he’s not going to be a rubber stamp?” Tillis said.
Thursday afternoon, Cunningham announced that his campaign raised $28.3 million in July, August and September, a staggering sum of money in a North Carolina Senate race. Cunningham raised a record $7.4 million in April, May and June.
“We got a very significant engagement from our donor base in the days and, frankly, in the weeks after (the death of Ginsburg),” Cunningham said after the debate.
Tillis raised $11 million total in his successful 2014 Senate bid and, through the second quarter of 2020, had raised $14.3 million for his re-election. Tillis has until Oct. 15 to report his latest fundraising totals.
Libertarian Party nominee Shannon Bray and Constitution Party candidate Kevin Hayes will be on the Nov. 3 ballot. But, as in the previous two debates, they were not on the debate stage Thursday.
Election confidence
More than 300,000 North Carolina voters have already cast their ballots, according to the N.C. State Board of Elections. The majority of them — more than 53% — have come from registered Democrats.
Tillis, who had been a supporter of absentee by-mail voting, reiterated his concerns about the new rules the North Carolina State Board of Elections unanimously approved last week that would make it easier for people to fix their ballots and give an extension for ballots to arrive after election day. The changes are being fought in court.
“It’s a dramatic change that I hope can be halted,” Tillis said. “I hope that we can get back to the absentee ballot system that I had absolute confidence in until the Board of Elections went into a dark room.”
Cunningham called Tillis’ change of position a “flip flop” and said he had confidence in election officials and the courts to make sure the system works properly.
“This is why they are working to fashion a way to make sure every ballot is counted,” Cunningham said. “That is what we expect in a democracy.”
Read a Spanish translation of this article at carolinapublicpress.org.
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This story was originally published October 1, 2020 at 9:24 PM with the headline "‘Rubber stamp’: Tillis, Cunningham trade barbs in last debate over lack of independence."
