#NCSEN: ”What are they gonna do? Vote for Kay Hagan ???”
A friend of mine and loyal reader of this site — who also happens to be a political A-lister /celeb / newsmaker in Raleigh — passed on a pretty disturbing story to me the other day. This source told me about a conversation they had with a member of House Speaker and Senate candidate Thom Tillis’s inner circle:
“I bumped into this fellow at a social event. We talked a little business, which eventually led to the Senate race. I asked him if he thought it was about time for the speaker to start reaching out to Tea Partiers and the more conservative elements of the party. He chuckled, rolled his eyes, and looked at me like I was crazy. He then says: ‘Why? What’s the point? What are they gonna do? Vote for Kay Hagan?’ ”
Actually, there are a number of alternatives to casting a vote for Thom Tillis in the Senate race. They are, as follows:
- Leave that race blank on your ballot.
- Vote for Sean Haugh (L).
- Vote for Kay Hagan.
- Write In John Rhodes.
- Write in David Waddell.
- Write in Barry Gurney.
The fact that someone so close to Tillis has this mentality doesn’t offer much hope of “Senator” Tillis joining Ted Cruz and Mike Lee in the fight against the bureaucratic leviathan. It also sounds like Kentucky Republicans are having a similar internal debate over Mitch McConnell.
On the other hand, why should Tillis fear / respect the Tea Party? We’ve got so many people in this state and this country who will mindlessly vote party over principle. In North Carolina, we actually have a member of our congressional delegation who does not have a valid driver’s license. (And this person is making laws for the rest of us.) In Kansas, Republicans just renominated a guy to the US Senate who hasn’t lived in Kansas in nearly 40 years. In Mississippi, establishment Republicans pushed a senile old man into renomination by hauling blacks to the polls and painting the Tea Party as the Klan. We’ve got groups like FreedomWorks and Tea Party Patriots who put out inflammatory press releases and raise a ton of money — but are basically invisible when the rubber meets the road at campaign time.
We, on the right, are told to smile, bow our heads, and play nice when the GOP offers up a moderate standard-bearer. But do they play nice? No. When a Tea Partier threatens their grip on power, he gets smeared as a Klansman.
These people care about power and control. Two parties — One Agenda. As long as there are people out there who believe “We NEED Rep. or Sen. X”, our nation is doomed. Our Founders meant for power to emanate from the bottom -up. We now have a top-down power structure where folks in Raleigh or DC are telling us what to do. If we’re going to get their attention — and put our state and nation back on the right path — we need to show these people that they can be changed out like we change our clothes each day.
Thom’s buddy is wrong. We’ve got plenty of choices. The question is: Do we have the guts to take advantage of those choices?
“What are they gonna do? Vote for Kay Hagan?”
Answer: Yes, I am voting for Kay Hagan for US Senate this year. She is the first democrat I ever voted for US Senate. Bet I’m not the only one. Time to send a message.
Well written article by Brant Clifton…Very telling
Everyone should vote their conscience for sure. If you like paying twice as much for gas, milk, food, and health insurance, then by all means vote for 6 more years of Hagan. I personally don’t understand why people want to support failed leaders.
Tillis and his moderate views and according to this article,Tillis and his staff despise the conservatives and that shows where he lies…
Rhodes did not even participate in his own write in campaign. ??
One candidate has traveled county to county to get signatures on his petition. My name is Barry Gurney http://www.writeinussenate2014.info
Will be doing the same, My vote is for Kay Hagen the better choice of the two & I have voted for 33 years and this will be the first every Democrat I vote for
I may cast a protest vote but Kay Hagan? That’s not protest, that’s insanity.
But I suspect you are just a progressive spewing disinformation so nice try, it didn’t work.
As noted many are going to write in or skip it altogether. Tillis made this an uphill battle for himself and it’s going to be difficult. If Tillis wins, it will most likely be the result of Obama fatigue on the Dem side.
Great points made. I will be writing in John Rhodes. http://www.writeinrhodes.org
It is truly sad that the conservative grassroots are thought of as pawns in the game of politics by the RINO elites. No lesson learned, no opportunity goes un-squandered, and a total lack of respect for those who do all the heavy lifting. Meanwhile they are cutting every deal possible with the left.
…says the guy who supported the biggest RINO in the race: Greg Brannon.
Dave, I don’t think you comprehend what a RINO is. After all, you keep trying to claim Skip Stam is a conservative!!!!!
Remember – he was the “most electable”.
Not according to the polls back during the primaries. The polls said Tillis was one of the weakest general election candidates in the primary field. I guess that is why outsiders like Karl Rove and the US Chamber of Commerce bought the nomination for him.
Remember 5,000,000 McCrap voters stayed home instead of voting for Romney. If I were the consultants boss I’d shut him up pretty quick.
Staying home is NOT the answer. There are too many other important races. If Tillis does not do what is necessary to earn your vote, then go vote in the other races and either leave the Senate blank or write someone in. But VOTE. That sends a much more identifiable message than staying home.
This can’t be emphasized enough. Good judicial and local candidates (like Mattie Lawson) NEED US to turn out and vote!
You guys have got it exactly right. Abandoning a traitor is one thing, but we must not abandon our good candidates.
Same thing we did with Mitt… 8 million stayed home and cleaned our guns….
What a miserable choice- Thom Tillis or Kay Hagan. Writing in someone else will surely mean a victory for Hagan.
Hagan has not earned my vote and TIllis hasn’t earned my trust. John Rhodes looks like the best choice, but he will not have enough support to win.
What’s wrong with voters (and politicians) in this country today?
Wow! The arrogance. If he had ever even showed up to a debate other then the televised ones he night have a chance but he has showed the people he doesn’t care about them one iota. He only cares about establishment money, Period!
Tillis will be followed by Tillis and more Tillis. My vote for Rhodes might get us Hagan but Hagan may get us to a conservative sooner. I hope that the GOP wins the Senate but it is not my fault if the GOP loses this race. They have opposed conservatives and are now dismissive of our voice. Our voice may not get us a Senator to represent us but it surely will end up costing the GOP a Senator to represent the establishment party. I will never vote for Tillis. If the party does not learn to endorse candidates that are sufficiently conservative, they will not get my support. Country First.
What will we do? Hmmmmm…..I will be writing in John Rhodes…..a true Conservative !
I will be voting for this man. http://www.triadconservative.com/2014/08/david-waddell-qualifies-for-write-in-campaign-for-us-senate.html
Thom Tillis and his team spent so much effort running away from conservatives and vilifying the “Tea Party,” he can’t credibly stand for anything that matters to me. My vote is in doubt for him and my current Congressman, Richard Hudson. Don’t play me for stupid and expect to get my vote.
It has to be one of the write ins. We cannot vote for someone on the ballot because the message of dissatisfaction will be lost and misinterpreted as support for that candidate. If there are write ins of 50k votes and hagan wins by that much the message will be sent.
This article is so disturbing. While I watch the advertisements touting Kay Hagan’s selection by the National Journal as the Senate’s most moderate Senator, I think of all the low information voters for which there is no hope. I shock myself at the thought of not voting for a Republican choice to rid us of Harry Reid. I refuse to allow Kay Hagan to skate to victory because I can’t fill in the little circle for Tillis. How in the world did we get to this point? Is this the best we can do? How in the world are we going to do anything about Richard Burr? As upset as I am, I suppose I’ll vote for Tillis because I can’t stand Harry Reid.
This Tillis insider doesn’t surprise me one bit.
I am involved with a local Young Republican Club and from conversations I have had with some of the more active members back in the spring around primary time, I get the impression many of them look down upon the Tea Party types.
I WILL vote for Thom Tillis because I want to take power away from the Democrats, and that is more important than a “message.” Did I support another in the primary, yes I did; however, Tillis never represented himself as a Constitutional candidate and then turned his back on supporters as some have done. He is what he is, and he is not an Obama supporter. That is enough for me. Conservatives, think again; our Country is at a tipping point, and it may even be too late to stop the current abuses, but if you write in or vote for Hagan, you are wrong.
Hold your nose and vote for him. You are guaranteeing the election to Hagan if you vote for anyone else. Who would be worse? YOU KNOW HAGAN IS NOTHING BUT AN OBAMA RUBBER STAMP!
A Tillis win will give you no different outcome than a Kay Hagan win. Better go with her or one of the write ins. Anyone but Tillis.
I am truly torn over this. I was one of the 19% who voted for Ross Perot to “send a message”. That got us Bill Clinton and neither party heard “the message”. And I really doubt the GOP establishment will hear “the message” this time.
I trust Tillis as far as I could throw him. And we know Hagan’s agenda. We really need a “none of the above” on the ballot.
What about writing in Dr. Greg Brannon? I really liked him and I have yet to do homework on John Rhodes.
North Carolina has a “sore loser” law which prohibits the Board of Elections from county any write-in votes cast for candidates who ran in and lost a party primary. Writing in Brannon might keep your conscience clean (and that’s not to be overlooked), but no message would be sent because the vote itself would be discarded and not counted.
Write-in votes for the qualified write-in candidates, of which there are only 3, will be counted and recorded.
Why did Brannon not mount a write in campaign?
Been campaigning and will be voting for John Rhodes!
WHEN will the media pick up on Rhodes’ write in campaign ?
2 years ago I assumed that whoever had a pulse and won the GOP nomination would easily beat Hagan. Tillis’ arrogance and the corruption of the GOP establishment have just about assured this race will now got to Hagan. I would never vote for Hagan to make a point. Such protest votes for Hagan will not be interpreted as such by the leaders in both parties. It would also be immoral to vote for someone who’s policies are not substantially different from those of Tillis. It will send shock waves through the nation if 15-20% of the total votes cast in November do not go toward a Republican or Democrat. With 1.75 million registered independent voters compared to just under 2 million registered Republicans, NC has the potential to start a legitimate new political party based in state.
Yep, that’s their attitude – it’s not surprising, it’s written all over their rhetoric and actions, and has been since day 1.
They dont care, because they think they own your vote just by virtue of the “R” next to their name. And, a lot of people, sadly, vote like that – I think the only thing that produces is just more big government cronyism people like Hagan and Tillis, and once embedded, it’s very difficult to remove.
I’m absolutely going to vote in that race – and it’s absolutely NOT going to be a cast for Tillis.
It’ll probably be Haugh, regardless of what his personal platform is. I understand, though, the strong pull to cast a “No Tillis” vote in Hagan’s favor. In the long run, a Tillis win might actually be more damaging to my libertarian, small government principles.
Gotta wonder why Kay Hagan doesn’t have a bunch of write ins lined against her? With the number of write-ins lining up against the establishment GOP candidate Thom Thillis, its kind of like the GOP primary where the establishment helped split the votes and help Tiliis win. Maybe the GOP needs to rethink its assault on conservatives and tea party types. Why does the GOP hate conservatives so much? One has to wonder when the GOP funded mailers attacking conservatives portraying them as racists will start. Oh well, I know what I’m going to do to have a clear conscience. I’m writing in John Rhodes. Its really the only choice for me that I can say I did all I could do. After the race, “Don’t blame me, I wrote in John Rhodes.”
> We’ve got groups like FreedomWorks and Tea Party Patriots who put out inflammatory press releases and raise a ton of money — but are basically invisible when the rubber meets the road at campaign time.
Most of the Brannon signs were from Freedomworks.
“Dear tea party racists, please vote for me. Sincerely, gop establishment candidate.”
No thanks, the only dem that will be checked on my ballot will be Hagan, and I can’t stand her.
When a candidate surrounds himself with those implicated in the Mississippi Mugging, some of that Mississippi mud does seem to rub off. After Mississippi, the whole concept of voting for the lesser of the evils was blown to kingdom come by the Big Government Republicans. Now various of their nominees around the government suddenly find it harder to attract conservative votes. And Tillis and his advisors still do not have the brains to try to reach out to conservatives?
No, I won’t, I cannot cast a vote for Tillis. I am sick and tired of holding my nose and voting for the “lesser of two evils”. I am done with abandoning my own principles for some unreliable political “promise” of “something better” than the “other devil”.
I will henceforth ONLY vote my principles. Nothing more. Nothing less.
I have been looking at the candidates. I will not cast a vote in the Senate election this year. And that’s the way it is….. The Republican Party had better wake up… FAST.
So you say that /
a nameless friend of yours told you that /
he had a conversation with another nameless person who he called “this fellow” /
who he says is close to Tillis and who said that /
he wasn’t worried that the tea partiers would vote for Hagan.
Have you ever heard of the “telephone” game?
http://www.thadguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/telephone-game.png
Or have you heard of hearsay? This report would be hearsay of hearsay, even if the person saying it and the person saying that they heard him saying it weren’t both anonymous.
No court would admit such a statement as evidence, and no editor of a reputable publication would print it, because the likelihood of it being accurate is very low.
Of course, it is certainly true that no sane conservative would ever vote for a leftist like Hagan over a strong conservative like Tillis.
But some so-called tea partiers aren’t conservatives. Some of them are Alex Jones nutcases. Some are libertarians. There’s no telling what an Alex Jones nutcase might do, and I imagine that some libertarians might vote for for Hagan, if liberal social policies are more important to them than conservatism in other areas: restraining federal government overreach, sanity in foreign affairs, getting the federal fiscal house in order, an honest judiciary, etc.
Nothing about “saying” the source is close to Tillis. The source IS close to Tillis. In fact, he is regularly on camera in close proximity to Tillis (conferring with him, whispering in his ear, etc.) in drive-by news coverage. I’m very confident about the accuracy of my information, Dave.
I guess Dave’s activity here is a sign that the corrupt GOP establishment knows they have to stop the growing sentiment among the base who will refuse to vote for the lesser of 2 scum bags.
Mr Burton~ This comment, and many comments like this, have been made by the Tillis group, and their actions confirm they truly think it. What I do find suspect is you calling Thom a “conservative”. That is a false statement, and I find it very disturbing coming from you.
Before you get your panties in too much of a twist, Dave, I suggest you try to get a transcript of TIllis’ interview on the Tom and Sadie show on WTIB right after the primary, where TIllis told them directly that he did not intend to do anything to mend fences with conservatives.
But then again, you don’t even know what a conservative is, since you keep trying to tell us that BIg Government Republican Skip Stam is a conservative.
Squirm, David. It’s going to be a fun November.
Tillis should pay close attention to the Kansas race, Roberts only took 48% of the vote. Wolf lost 11% to two other candidates. It is stupid to keep dumping on conservative, many are volunteers to turn out the vote and are high information voters. Most I talk to are so fed up they won’t be giving up more family time to work on campaigns. How they will vote remains to be seen but I cannot vote for Hagan under any circumstances. Blank, write in or hold my nose and vote Tillis to try to unseat Harry Reid…what to do?
We may have to allow Hagan’s communist party take complete control and completely destroy the country faster. I’m making plans to get out of Dodge.
To paraphrase the article, do we have the guts to vote for Sean Haugh? I think I do.
Sean Haugh is an open borders amnesty apparatchik. He is not someone any conservative should vote for. One of the write ins would be a much better option for those who cannot stomach either Tillis or Hagan.
Consider this: If Tillis wins, all of the NCGOP leadership structure, state to county level, will be locked in place; as proven “winners”. If Tillis loses, the NCGOP leadership will have the stink of “losers” on them and will be cleaned out in preparation for 2016. The vote in the Senate race may have more importance inside NC than in DC.
P. Doyle you are very wise.
If you look at the straw polls at county and district GOP conventions back during March and April, you will find that Tillis was losing them, often by very wide margins. It is not the GOP activists in our own state who put Tillis over the top in the primary, but the out of state meddlers and their money, like Karl Rove, the corrupt and pro-amnesty US Chamber of Commerce,k and the National Republican Senatorial Committee. We do need state GOP leaders who will tell these outside meddlers to keep their noses out of North Carolina.
Now people are seeing why the party system is so messed up. George Washington wrote about how bad the parties are for America.
“It serves to distract the Public Councils, and enfeeble the Public Administration. It agitates the community with ill-founded jealousies and false alarms; kindles the animosity of one part against another, foments occasionally riot and insurrection. It opens the door to foreign influence and corruption, which find a facilitated access to the government itself through the channels of party passions. Thus the policy and the will of one country are subjected to the policy and will of another”
George Washington the ONLY unaffiliated President we had.
Unaffiliated candidates are beholding to no party and therefore are free to vote according to what is right, not to donors or parties.
Barry Gurney Unaffiliated write in candidate for US Senate.
http://www.writeinussenate2014.info
Insanity is doing the same thing over and over, expecting a different result. If we continue to give our vote to the GOP selected “it’s his turn” candidate we will keep getting more of the same.
Tillis made his bed…..now he must lie in it, but he will most likely lose no matter how good he is at it. Most who pay attention knew he had little chance from the beginning.
It does not take a rocket scientist to look at his consistent lack luster polling vs Hagan.
Soon they must realize that low info voters will happily support their system of smoke and mirrors, but they do not decide elections or they will continue to lose.
I will be writing in David Barton for Utterly Futile Pragmatist in 2014!
end of the day, Tillis will win by 4 or 5 points, mark my words. The write-in efforts are futile statistically…
Voting is always the “lesser of two evils.” I’m not saying I haven’t heard anything about Tillis I didn’t like, but all in all I think he’s been a great leader of NC Legislature that has driven the Dems out of their minds, and he IS much better than Hagan. To say there’s no difference between the two is just being emotional; that’s not to say I don’t understand some emotion, but I hope you’ll think longterm and realize that we have GOT to get rid of Obamacare. If you believe Tillis will vote to keep it just as Hagan would, then there’s nothing I can say. But even though people like Rush have stirred up a lot of emotion talking about “ruling class” vs. “country class,” he knows third party is not the way to go. I sympathize with the “let it burn” crowd, but the problem is that it’ll be harder than you think–maybe impossible–to rebuild. The libs didn’t get everything they want overnight, and it’s going to take a while to undo a lot of it.
Tillis initially pushed for an Obamacare exchange in North Carolina. For me that said it all. I doubt he’ll be our hero in the Senate on Obamacare or many other crucial issues. But, I seriously doubt he will be in the Senate in any other capacity than lobbyist.
I don’t know where Tillis stands on the border as I cannot get an answer from him. Hagan has supported Obama all the way, I would have to guess she also supports the open borders as she will not answer the question where she stands on it.
So I would guess that people that vote for Hagan also support the criminals coming across the open border.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2720066/Were-getting-overrun-danger-increasing-We-need-open-eyes-Sheriff-investigating-murder-Border-Patrol-Agent-claims-armed-illegal-immigrants-military-fatigues-spotted-ranches.html