ELIZABETHTOWN — U.S. Rep. Robert Pittinger (N.C. 9th District) thinks voters have a clear choice for president come Nov. 8, as long as they are able to “scrape away all the personalities and rhetoric.”

Pittinger was making his monthly trip around his district Friday when he stopped in to visit with Bladen County Sheriff Jim McVicker.

“I try to take regular trips through the district in an effort to listen and learn,” Pittinger said. “And right now, I’m hearing a lot of concerns about the unaffordable care act and its effects on small business, as well as the slow growth of our economy.”

He added that, since his district is predominantly rural, he hears a lot about agricultural issues from farmers, as well as representatives from organizations like county extension offices, Farm Bureau and others.

But with the election of the country’s 45th president less than three months away, Pittenger said congressional Republicans are “by and large embracing Trump’s election.”

“I think a lot is getting made of some kind of rift between Republicans and Trump in the media,” Pittinger said. “But 247 Republicans met with him (Trump) recently, and he fully embraced the ideals and reforms the GOP believes are necessary to get this country back on the right track.

“Trump is all about one-liners, but when he talks in-depth about the issues most Americans are concerned with, his ideas resonate with many voters,” Pittinger added. “Sure we all wish he would soften some of his responses, but when you get past all that, he’s what we need right now.”

The congressman boiled down the presidential election to a simple question for voters to consider:

“Do you want more of the same or do you want to give someone else who understands what needs to be done a chance?” he asked. “Right now we have someone (President Obama) who believes in complete government control, and (Hillary Clinton) will continue that kind of thinking.

“I don’t think this country needs another four years of that,” he added. “This is an election of new ideas and the sovereignty of the individual.”

Pittinger said he thinks about the future of the country almost every day, especially when he is in Washington, D.C.

“Each time I walk up those stone, worn steps of the U.S. Capitol and see that gold dome — which represents freedom and liberty — I think about how great this nation is and what it will take to make it greater,” he said. “We have a clear opportunity to steer ourselves in the right direction now.”

After his stop in Bladen County, Pittinger was scheduled to visit Robeson County on Friday afternoon.

W. Curt Vincent can be reached by calling 910-862-4163.

W. Curt Vincent | Bladen Journal Bladen County Sheriff Jim McVicker talks with U.S. Rep. Robert Pittinger, N.C. 9th District, about the Sheriff’s Office Wall of Honor, which memorializes those who have recently fallen in the line of duty.
http://www.bladenjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_Pittinger2.jpgW. Curt Vincent | Bladen Journal Bladen County Sheriff Jim McVicker talks with U.S. Rep. Robert Pittinger, N.C. 9th District, about the Sheriff’s Office Wall of Honor, which memorializes those who have recently fallen in the line of duty.

W. Curt Vincent

cvincent@civitasmedia.com