Those of you who read this blog who are not political junkies actually have lives and responsibilities. I understand that. I also understand how easy it is to get disillusioned with politics and political figures (If I had a nickel for every time I yelled, “Throw all of the bums out,” I would right up there with Donald Trump financially). However, there comes a time when you have to pay attention, take action, and work to make your voice heard. If you live in North Carolina, now is that time. I can’t speak for other states, but I can tell you what is going on here.
This article is based on a number of articles that have recently appeared in The Daily Haymaker, a conservative newspaper that does a very good job covering the hijinks of North Carolina politicians. The article is also based on my personal observations at the North Carolina Republican Executive Committee Meeting in Greensboro. I am not a delegate, so I had the opportunity to sit in the back of the room and observe. Boy, did I get an eyeful.
I recently posted an article about the law passed regarding the date of the Presidential Primary election in North Carolina. What was needed was a straight-forward, clean bill to change the date of the Primary Election to March 15th. What was passed was a money and power grab by establishment Republicans to cut off funds to conservative candidates and do away with those pesky conservatives in the legislature that want to hold elected officials accountable.
On Friday, The Daily Haymaker reported on some financial shenanigans that took place before the vote on the amended Primary Election Bill. Essentially, money is being moved out of the state Republican Party coffers (where it would be under the control on the newly-elected conservative Chairman and Vice-Chairman). Eight members of the legislature received checks for $15,000 (this is not an election year). Oddly enough, seven of those people were present and voted for the amendment added to the Primary Election Bill.
The article reports:
THIS is not an election year. Why the big payouts? Could it have something to do with the surprise outcome of the NCGOP convention in June? (After all, we did break the story about establishment insiders plotting to move “caucus funds” out of the state party bank account. Laundering the money through the accounts of loyal lieutenants — who won’t snitch — would seem like a great way to do that.)
At the Executive Committee Meeting yesterday, the Craven County Delegates brought forth a Resolution that David Lewis, the person who put the last-minute amendment into the Primary Election Bill, be removed from his position as Republican National Committeeman for the cause of Party Noncompliance (in other words, he broke the Party rules). It was very obvious that those running the meeting did not want this Resolution introduced and did not want it voted on. There were three calls to make sure there was a quorum within about ten minutes to delay the vote. David Lewis got up and explained what a wonderful idea it was to create shadow political parties (wonderful for whom?), and generally the meeting was a three-ring circus for about thirty minutes. After a very lively discussion, the establishment prevailed (at least temporarily) and declared that the Resolution was out of order. It may (or may not) have been out of order, but it was clear that the group of politicians running the meeting did not want to be held accountable for their actions.
Because most of us have lives and don’t pay a lot of attention to what is going on in our local and state governments, professional politicians have not been held accountable for their actions. They are elected because they say the right things, but are not held accountable when they do the exact opposite of what they say. Because we are not holding our elected officials accountable, they are seizing more power and our voices are not being heard. In the coming week we have a chance to make a difference (at least in North Carolina).
The solution to the current mess is for Governor McCrory to veto the current Primary Election Bill, send it back to the legislature, and have the legislature send him a clean bill. There is time for that if the Governor vetoes the bill on Monday or Tuesday. If you want to have a voice in your state government, please call Governor McCrory’s office (919-814-2000) on Monday and ask him to veto House Bill 373.