The Asphalt King . . . Working Hard

It must be nice to have your own personal newspaper to write puff pieces about your campaign for governor. Which is exactly with Fred Smith has in the Goldsboro New Argus. A newspaper that just loooooooooooves the Asphalt King and everything he stands for.

State Sen. Fred Smith, R-Johnston, is campaigning for governor, but that doesn't mean he is ignoring his duties in the Senate. "I think I'm meeting the needs of the people in my district," he said Tuesday after leading a devotional at the Tuesday Morning Men's Prayer Breakfast at Wilber's. "It just requires long days, but that comes with the territory. I'm working hard to be a good senator in the 12th senatorial district." And, he continued, while it can be difficult for a Republican to be effective in the Democrat-controlled General Assembly, he's doing his best.

"What I'm trying to do up there is make a difference by pushing for bills that I believe will make a difference," Smith said. "We've got to do a better job in Raleigh."

Did you notice the reporter mention that good old Fred is working "real hard" down there in Raleigh? Kind of reminds me of the moron in the White House who also claims to be working "real hard." Something tells me the two neocons have more in common than god and golf.

Smith also is working (hard!) on state constitutional amendments to define marriage as being between one man and one woman and to prohibit the governmental seizure of property through eminent domain for economic development purposes, as well as a bill to raise the cap on the number of charter schools allowed in the state -- one of several initiatives to improve education that he is supporting.

"I believe education is important, but I think we need to turn it upside down. Education has changed. The student is the customer and we need an education system that meets the student's needs," Smith said, advocating not only charter schools and college prep courses, but also vocational education and other kinds of Learn and Earn programs.

Makes sense to me. It's gotta be hard work to single-handedly insinuate discrimination into the North Carolina Constitution while gutting public education at the same time. Hard indeed.

I like listening to people. I believe a campaign should be a conversation between people and that's a two-way street." Plus, he continued, it also helps people get to know him a little better -- particularly Tuesday in terms of his Christian faith, which is important to him.

"I think that faith is important. In many ways it affects who I am, my viewpoint," Smith, a regular Sunday School teacher, said. "Barack Obama (U.S. Senator and Democratic presidential candidate from Illinois) says that people of faith don't have to check their faith at the door of the public square. They're entitled to bring their faith in. And I agree with him, but the public policy we adopt needs to be filtered through the prism of what's best for society and what's best for all the people.

Small correction there, Mr. Smith. Don't you actually mean all the heterosexual people?