More than 371,000 Americans have signed the Americans for Prosperity’s November is Coming petition, telling their policy-makers, elected officials and candidates that if they support big government policies, petition-signers will remember in November.

The Americans for Prosperity’s ‘November is Coming’ Bus Tour will Kick-off Labor Day by equipping citizens to educate others about area politicians and their big government spending positions. The purpose of the tour across the second, seventh and eighth congressional districts is to expose the voting records of Congressman Bob Etheridge, Mike McIntyre, Larry Kissell and other politicians.

The tour’s first stop is Monday in Rockingham at 12 p.m., but the location has yet to be announced. Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory will be speaking at the event. All events are free and open to the public.

“Etheridge, McIntyre and Kissell have joined with Nancy Pelosi in ushering in a new era of bigger government, endless bailouts, a permanently broken federal budget and government control over our decisions. Folks need to send a clear message to Mr. Etheridge, Mr. McIntyre and Mr. Kissell that struggling taxpayers can’t afford any more bad decisions from Congress,” said Dallas Woodhouse, State Director of Americans for Prosperity - North Carolina.

The tour has nine scheduled stops, with speakers including representatives from Americans for Prosperity, The Civitas Institute, The John Locke Foundation, community activists and at some events the Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory.

After the tour’s first stop in Rockingham, the next stop is the National Guard Armory in Laurinburg at 2 p.m., then at the Pavilion at Armory Park in Raeford at 4 p.m., and concluding in Fayetteville at 7 p.m. at the Crown Exposition Center at the Crown Coliseum Complex. On Tuesday the tour resumes at 8:30 a.m. in Clinton, at the City Market, then at Tart Park in Dunn at 11 a.m., Nashville’s L&L Food Store at 2 p.m., Shannon Village in Louisburg at 4 p.m., and the tour’s last stop is at the vacant Ashley Furniture Store in Henderson at 6 p.m.

Activists will be encouraged to go door-to-door and do at-home phone banking as part of a citizen education effort to let people know where Congressman Etheridge and Kissell stand on certain issues and to encourage them to contact the Congressmen and to tell them to stop what the AFP calls out-of-control spending and big government policies.

“The public needs to know about the Congressmen’s past support for endless bailouts, and their refusal to sign a pledge opposing cap-and-trade, a piece of legislation designed to regulate our lives and limit our freedoms. Their constituents can make a difference by letting them know they have had enough of these reckless policies,” said Woodhouse.

Americans for Prosperity is a nationwide organization of citizen leaders committed to advancing every individual’s right to economic freedom and opportunity. AFP believes reducing the size and scope of government is the best safeguard to ensuring individual productivity and prosperity for all Americans.

Staff Writer Dawn Kurry can be reached at dkurry@yourdailyjournal.com or by calling 997-3111 ext. 15.