Yesterday I posted an article about the shadow Republican Party created in the state of North Carolina. Today The Daily Haymaker has the update. The bill to move the North Carolina Primary Elections to March 15th passed. That is the good news. It consolidates local and state office primary elections and will save the state money. The bad news is that there was a last-minute amendment to the bill that essentially sets up a shadow Republican fund raising party in the state.
The Daily Haymaker article explains one of the reasons this is a problem:
Right now, the rules bar state parties and caucus groups from overt involvement in primaries. Some politicos may see the changes as a good thing (protecting incumbents.) But this legislation allows for the money raised by these committees to be used anyway the leaders want in primary races. Cross your party leaders, and you may find yourself with a primary challenger loaded with cash provided by one of these new “affiliated committees.”
(“Troublemakers” like, oh, Mike Speciale, John Blust, Larry Pittman, Chris Millis and Justin Burr should pay especially close attention to THAT part.)
It’s going to be A LOT harder for some “Mr. Smith Goes To Raleigh”-style amateur to compete with an incumbent now that this legislation has passed. (On the Democrat side AND Republican side.)
Transparency. This lifts donation limits for individuals and groups. It MAY allow for the skirting of the rules about donations from lobbyists during session. It will now be a lot easier for these “affiliated committees” to get involved in primaries and hide from donors what exactly the money will be used for. The reporting requirements are a lot more lax than current standards. It will be much easier to fire off checks to these ambiguously-named Independent Expenditure groups to run attack ads and promotional efforts for select incumbents.
This move takes power away from the grass roots (which happened to seize power at the State Republican Convention in June) and allows the establishment to use Republican money to attack non-establishment Republicans.
The Craven County Republicans have responded to this move.
The Craven County Republican Party posted the following on its website yesterday:
The Craven County GOP Executive Committee unanimously adopted the following resolution Thursday night:
A Resolution to Remove David Lewis from National Committee Chairmanship Immediately for Failure to Comply with NCGOP Plan of Organization
Whereas David Lewis introduced language into H373 in the “11th hour,” establishing shadow parties in direct competition with the Republican and Democratic Parties, in direct and overt retaliation to the newly-elected GOP leadership; and
Whereas the “affiliated party committees” created under § 163-278.8B are permitted to use the identical names of the parties represented by their leaders but are established to operate with their own bylaws and bank accounts, not subject to the same campaign finance restrictions of the state parties, thus bypassing accountability to the state parties’ own authority and respective Plans of Organization; and
Whereas the NCGOP Plan of Organization in 7.a.1 (correction: VII.A.7.a.1) allows for any member of a committee organized under the plan to be removed for “failure to comply with the State Party Plan of Organization,” and the establishment of a competing “affiliate party committee” using the same trademarks as the State Party is obvious noncompliance;
Resolved, that Craven County GOP encourages all delegates to the NCGOP Executive Committee to move, second, or vote in support of any motion made to remove David Lewis from his position as Republican National Committeeman for the cause of Party Noncompliance.
Unfortunately, this is going to get ugly. The establishment Republicans are working hard to make sure Jeb Bush is the Presidential nominee. Unfortunately, they are not necessary being transparent, fair, or honest about it. The establishment Republicans have also become as addicted to big government and big spending as the Democrats. Unless we want to continue to take money from our children and our grandchildren, it is time to remove the establishment Republicans and the Democrats from power. That is the only way our states and our nation will survive economically.