Burr says election boosts GOP

U.S. Sen. Richard Burr says he isn’t concerned as he looks ahead to the 2010 election about any so-called rift in the Republican Party.

Burr’s comments came a day after Democrat Bill Owens defeated Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman in New York’s 23rd Congressional District special election, a race that drew national attention as divisions arose between moderate and conservative Republicans, handing Democrats their first victory in the right-leaning, upstate district since before the Civil War.

“I’m not sure there is a rift in the party,” said Burr, R-N.C. “Senator (Jesse) Helms taught me years ago that, in North Carolina, people usually assess elected officials based on, ‘Did they keep their promise?’ I’m pretty comfortable that up until this point, I have come to Washington and have done what I promised North Carolinians, and I think it was fairly well understood at the time, I am a conservative Republican.”

Burr holds one of a handful of GOP seats targeted by the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee in 2010.

Reaching out to North Carolina reporters a day after Election Day, Burr said in a Telegram interview Wednesday that he was encouraged by GOP gubernatorial victories in Virginia and New Jersey. Those races offer a better prognosis, he said, for how Republicans might fare in the 2010 midterm elections.

“I think the intensity of voter turnout (Tuesday) night and the results were driven by people who feel government has well overstepped its bounds; by people who say that the economy and jobs do matter and that the size of the American government is a threat to the American people,” Burr said. “That’s the narrative to take away from (Tuesday).”

Burr deflected recent media attention criticizing him for publicly celebrating a local fire department grant for Alexander County paid for by the federal stimulus package, a bill he venomously opposed. Burr said the story was blown out of context by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, which seized on the report, telling The Associated Press last week that “Richard Burr could win the gold medal in hypocrisy for trying to have it both ways.”

“The only question other than who is going to run against me, at this point, is how much outside, third-party money is going to be spent to defeat me?” Burr said. “I was opposed to the stimulus package when I voted against it, and I’m opposed to it today. I think it was a missed opportunity to turn the economy around and actually make investments to create jobs. But when any locality or county invites me to attend an event for them, I try to do as many of them as I possibly can.”

As Democrats jockey for the chance to run against him in 2010, Burr said the economy and job growth are the issues that will most resonate with voters in places in Rocky Mount, where unemployment is near 14 percent.

“The first thing we have to do is stop the national debate about how we’re going to raise the cost of doing business in the United States,” Burr said. “That is health care. That is the climate change bill. Those things don’t put you in too comfortable a position when you are thinking about making a capital investment.”

Burr says his commitment to small business and job growth will earn him points with voters, be them conservative, moderate or otherwise.

Likewise, Burr said, North Carolina voters have expressed appreciation for his work on the Senate Armed Services Committee. Fresh from a short trip to Afghanistan to meet with U.S. Gen. Stanley McChrystal, Burr has been speaking in support of sending additional troops to support the mission there. President Barack Obama has been criticized for delaying his decision on McChrystal’s troop request, but Burr has avoided scolding the president on the issue.

“President Obama’s decision concerning the future of our mission there will be critical in predicting the outcome of this mission and the ability to place the future of Afghanistan back into the hands of the Afghan people by eliminating the external threats they face today,” Burr wrote in a letter to supporters following his return last week.

Among the Democrats expressing interest in challenging Burr are N.C Secretary of State Elaine Marshall, Chapel Hill attorney Ken Lewis, Chapel Hill Mayor Kevin Foy and former N.C. Sen. Cal Cunningham of Lexington. Other candidates are likely to step forward before the filing period ends in February.