News & Observer: "Berger broke the mold"

If you think all Republicans were born on the country club side of town, Berger does not fit the mold.

When he graduated from high school in Danville, Va., he went to work at one of the local factories. He wasn’t a good student, and college wasn’t for him, he thought.

This was back in 1970, when decent-paying blue-collar work was still plentiful, before global trade vaporized most of the strong-back jobs on both sides of the border between Virginia and North Carolina.

His epiphany came while muscling bulky sheets of pressed wood off a conveyor belt. “It took me about a month of doing that,” he said, “to figure out this ain’t what I want to do for the rest of my life.”

He landed at a Kroger, rose to produce manager, and had the flexibility in his hours (because he did the schedule) to enroll in community college. He worked full time and went to class nights, mornings and lunch hours. He transferred to Averett College, graduated, and then earned a law degree at Wake Forest.

He settled with his wife in Eden, about 45 minutes from his hometown, launched a law practice, raised a family, got politically active and won election to the Senate in 2000.

And today, his is one of the leading voices criticizing the taxing and spending plans of the Democrats who run both chambers of the legislature and the executive branch. Last week, he met with our editorial board, portraying the Democrats not only as extravagant but also incompetent.

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