Richard Burr Heads for the Center

Hard to find fault with the speech Sen. Richard Burr made yesterday in Chapel Hill. The N&O reporter paraphrased the gist of what he said: "The South, and North Carolina in particular, must sustain itself as a center for biotechnology, top-rate universities and quality of life .... The key to fulfilling this promise, Burr said, is public education."

He's been seduced by "the education racket," looks like. And notice his tacit endorsement of evolutionary science. Whoa.

This is how he spun illegal immigration: "The state's booming illegal immigrant population proves that the immigrants fulfill a need, Burr said, but he would like a federal verification process to vet their criminal histories and limit their stays in the United States." There's not a whiff of Foxxism in that statement. Why, it's downright moderate and even -- gulp -- statesman-like.