#NCGOP — Gambling, govt child care, and solar subsidies: Welcome to Kristen’s World
It’s astounding. The Central Committee of the North Carolina GOP actually struggled with the idea of whether or not to hire someone as chief fundraiser who is IN BED with a whole lot of leftists and leftist groups.
Kristen Laster has been an integral part of an effort to sell the Republican majority in Raleigh on government subsidies for solar energy. Civitas told us all about that.
She lobbies with her husband, Scott, who used to be executive director of the NCGOP. Word around Raleigh is that Scott is getting ready to sign up as the official flack for multi-millionaire Jay Faison of Charlotte, who wants to shift the GOP into the renewable energy movement.
Well, we cruised over to the secretary of state’s web site to get a fuller picture of the folks Kristen has been promoting to the powers-that-be in Raleigh.
In 2014, Kristen represented Sky Boat NC, LLC — a casino development group. 
This year, Kristen has been representing the Coastal Conservation Association (CCA), an environmental group that is taking dead-aim at the commercial fishing industry. She’s also been representing the NC Child Care Coalition, one of a gaggle of non-profits out there seeking day care subsidies from government.
Kristen has also been representing the North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association, as well as NRG Energy — one of the national leaders in alternative energy solutions (solar, wind, etc.).
In 2014, she also represented DHIC, LLC — a group that partners with government entities to develop “affordable housing.”
Kristen Laster may be a very competent woman who is very much up to the job. But her past associations — with groups who have agendas antithetical to the GOP platform — ought to be cause for concern.
How did the Lasters end up in NC? Who encourage or invited them? Hmm. Wow
So now you see who’s really running things @ NCGOP. Harnett was too slow to see the fast ball coming.
Meanwhile, Nix was kept on the sidelines blindfolded. Yeehaaah! What an inning!
Same old same old. $ and power win again. Pass the the peanuts, please. This is only top of the 2nd.
Actually Hasan clearly was in the conversation per the text messages that were presented to the central Cmte once Hasan lied to the cmte. Hasan lied not once but twice sat. One on him recruiting Laster. Second in open session when Hasan sought compensation from central Cmte. This one he lied to the every delegate at the state convention.
Lying is a big concern overall about Harnett, if he was involved in this, but the question is whether Poole’s dossier including all emails, verbal communications, etc.
But even if it were established that Harnett lied about it, that does NOT justify the NCGOP hiring this way out liberal woman. That is a red herring that Poole threw out to try to protect his hires. It does not matter who hired her, recruited her, or whatever so much as the fact that she was hired and should not have been. She has sold her soul to a list of left wing causes that are opposite of Republican policy positions and she should not be working for NCGOP.
The fact that her husband seems to be on the verge of becoming a major operative for a liberal money man who wants to pull the party to the left on one of Obama’s key issues is a huge concern.
Harnett’s apparent behavior in this fiasco, if the emails are real (and, of course, they could be dummyed up) justifies my first choice of Daoud at the convention, but it does not justify NCGOP having a flaming liberal Trojan Horse on its payroll, or make that two of them..
Nix blind folded no I doubt that.
Hiring Mrs. Laster is a terrible idea. It just reiterates the fact no one inside the GOP can be trusted. To hire her as chief fundraiser with her liberal background is another knife in the back of conservatives. Mrs. Laster will force the party even further to the left because we all know the RINOS only listen to their donors. Has the chairman spoken about these hires? Is he planning on censuring any of the RINOS or is he just trying to get along?
Why not hire someone directly out of ThinkProgress or Organizing for America as this left wing woman? I wonder how much of this Todd Poole told the Central Committee or the chairman. None of it, I suspect. If Poole has lied by omission on presenting this woman by failing to disclose her leftwing background, then that is more than enough to give him his walking papers.
If her husband is that close to the wanna-be Tom Steyer of the GOP, then the pair of them are particularly dangerous.
From a source in the room, the 5 votes against these hires were:
Hasan Harnett – NCGOP Chair
Michele Nix – NCGOP Vice Chair
Joyce Cotten – 2nd District Chair
DeVan Barbour – 7th District Chair
Daniel Rufty – 12th District Chair
The rest of the CC members in attendance (18) voted in favor of the hires. It bears mentioning that there are 32 voting members of the CC. With 18 for and 5 against, that means that only 23 members were present and voting.
I’m also given to understand that 6th District Chair AJ Daoud was present and one of the 18 who voted in favor of the hires.
I wish we could get a list of the 18 no votes…..
And on a seperate topic if they keep minutes of central committee meetings like they do for excom meetings it will read
“A discussion happened and a vote took place”
The point my best guess is this vote will try to be forgotten that it ever took place just like when the budget is discussed in excom meetings the minutes read “budget was discussed at length”
They will not release them just like David Sawyer will not release some I’m the 11th.
The Republican Party should be the party of transparency
In terms of my comments towards the minutes…. The minutes should have enough detail that the 9 other members of the CC that missed the meeting would get a clear picture of what happened in the previous meeting
I know that the Excom members that miss the previous meeting and try to catch up by reading the minutes do not get the full understanding of the meeting they missed when this occurs it allows big issues to be tossed aside like they never happened
If we as a party are too afraid that our budget numbers will get made public that we will not pass out hard copies of the numbers to the Excom members at the meetings Then we as a party are doomed
I have heard from several people a different five names three are the same as yours. Hmmm. It was a secret ballot vote so I have heard
There is another huge issue with this Laster hire. The General Assembly is not over, so she will certainly be continuing to lobby until it adjourns. By issuing that press release, Todd Poole has draped an NCGOP cloak over her, with the implication that she speaks for the NCGOP since it has been announced that she has been hired by the NCGOP. This was an extremely inappropriate act by Poole, especially since some of the positions she is lobbying for are directly opposite of the positions of the NCGOP Platform. Any active lobbyist being hired should be news embargoed until the General Assembly adjourns.
The fact that this leftie is on board with Obama’s green energy program and pushing it hard is well known, but one of the other liberal connections she has needs more attention, and that is the CCA.
There have been quite a few people in the commercial fishing industry active in the NCGOP, as county party leaders, local elected officials including county commissioners and county commiission chairmen, party workers, and heavy hitter GOP contributors. The radical environmentalists of the CCA are thier sworn enemy.
How do you think these GOP activist commercial fishermen are going to react to a former CCA lobbyist asking them for money?
“How do you think these GOP activist commercial fishermen are going to react to a former CCA lobbyist asking them for money?”
Two choices: 1- NO or 2- HELL NO
How can the party endure a situation where the State Chairman voted against the party’s new Political Director? Our headquarters is now in worse shape than the Democrat’s.
What the party should not endure is hiring a new political director who is a close associate of a political consultant who slimes conservative Republicans in primaries, and a new finance director who works for the Democrat side of multiple policy issues and against the Republican position. The convention voted for a new day in the NCGOP and the executive director backed by a majority of the Central Committee is kicking them in the teeth with hiring these establishment operatives.
An equally valid question would be, “How can the party endure a situation where the Executive Director publicly announced a slate of new hires after being instructed not to do so by the State Chairman, as the Chairman had other candidates he wanted to place before the Central Committee for consideration?”
That kind of deliberate undermining of your boss is called insubordination, and grounds for firing pretty much anywhere.
Exactly!!!
This is more of a result of our parties poor operational structuring
The most powerful body in the NCGOP is the body formed during annual convention
when the convention is not in session the Executive Committee is the most powerful body
where as the Excom cannot gather on as a group on a monthly basis the Central Committee is put in charge to oversee the issues that needs more timely action
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The problem is the Executive Committee does not form the Central Committee and even though the Central Committee is working for the Executive Committee and should be held accountable to the Executive Committee there is no really way under the current structure for the EXCOM to keep the CC in check. At every meeting of the EXCOM committee we should have to VOTE up or down the work that the CC has conducted during the time between the EXCOM meetings… But more importantly the CC should be installed by the EXCOM committee. Thus voted in by the EXCOM and not formed by the current rules – I also take lots of issue with EX Chairman on the CC
If a Excom member wanted to call a meeting to review the CC actions there is no method in place that I know of to do this… If I am wrong please someone tell me how this could happen. The Excom should have more power to determine its meetings and agendas currently it is a body they can get pushed around to easy and manipulated
Anyway I think our structure is messed up maybe you will agree or disagree but I think this needs to be a bigger conversation in our party
If the ED or the Central Committee does not fix this debacle by getting rid of these people who should never have been hired, then the ExCom at its next meeting needs to compel it.
if history is considered then the next regularly scheduled Excom meeting would be sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas so we still would have months to go
The Excom kind of has its hands tied when adding new business to the agenda
if a quorum of Excom people want to hold a meeting then there should be a process to force a meeting… someone please help educate me
Patrick – the problem is that the CC doesn’t represent the will of the Exec. Comm. nor does it represent the will of the delegates that elected the Chair and VC to lead. TP is a hire. He works for the Chair, VC, CC and Ex Comm.
Right now we have the Ex Director pulling all the strings hiring his cronies and OMG Solar Lobbyists and is being investigated for misappropriation and poor record management!
Why? Because the CC is comprised of those willing to prostitute themselves for a seat at the table and protect Todd who in turn protects them. Broken.
“the problem is that the CC doesn’t represent the will of the Exec. Comm. nor does it represent the will of the delegates”
Yes Totally I hope this it what is coming across in all my posts about our organizational structure and what is wrong with it…
I am not saying that no one else is willing to fight but I will say that I have gotten up and challenged a past chair in Excom meeting about issues/ a issue and I brought forward a issue to the convention body. Now I admit I probably really suck at it but heck I try
the point being the current problems are not different then the problems I have seen the last 15 year and the only way to fix this is structural changes because this is bigger then a group of people because the people come and go but the problems stay they just change but the root cause remains the Excom members needs to change the party plan of organization to regain its authority over the CC and not wait for a plan of organization committee to do it.. In other posts I have outlined my ideas to change things
oMG, I go on vacation for a week and the NCGOP implodes? Whose hand is on the tiller with these questionable hires? Can someone explain them to me and Craven County? 888-666-1491 standing by…we have a White House to win and need to get our house in order so as to not create our own diversions from the job at hand. Please help me and Eastern North Carolina understand the whys and wherefors. Thanks. Carl
Hooray! The Republican Central Committee has, at least for now, approved the hiring on their staff of a progressive who wants to save Polar Bears. Progressives just keep gaining within the Republican Party in North Carolina. This trend started when our hard core environmental movement bought those two progressive Republican consultants, Dee Stewart and Paul Shumaker for our cause, That other recent NCGOP hire is also a win for progressives since she is a disciple of our progressive friend Dee Stewart.
Things are progressing nicely for Polar Bears in North Carolina. Thanks to the work of Stewart, Shumaker, and Laster, President Obama’s green energy program is well under way there, with many millions of dollars in corporate welfare dedicated to our renewable energy friends, and that conservative effort to end the green energy mandate beaten down. David Lewis also helped the hard core environmental movement a lot on these projects in the legislature.
Now things are going to be even more spectacular. Remember those tons of ads that Tom Steyer’s group ran last general election against conservative legislators who don’t care about Polar Bears? Our movement now has a new guy who can do those things against conservatives in the primary! We can move the GOP leftward toward a greater appreciation of Polar Bears.
Progressive Republican Jay Faison of Charlotte will be the GOP’s Tom Steyer. He has already dumped ten million dollars in a 501c4 that can get involved in election campaigns and lobbying. This article above lets the cat out of the bag about his hiring progressive Republican Scott Laster to run that organization. It will be soooooo convenient for Scott Laster to have his wife, Kristen Laster sitting there in GOP headquarters, staying on top of things..
Kristen Laster has already paid her dues with the hard core environmental movement, both with President Obama’s green energy campaign and with the local hard core environmental group, the CCA. She has worked hard and proven herself with both,and she understands that saving Polar Bears is a lot more important than that pesky Republican platform, and between the two, she has demonstrated repeatedly that her loyalties are in the right place – to the Polar Bears.
The Polar Bears and their supporters all thank the NC Republican Central Committee for keeping Kristen Laster in place.
The CCA came to N C almost 25 yrs ago. They are good at what they do but what they do is not good. I could write a thick book about these scoundrels. Not good that the GOP has become involved with their lobbists. NOT GOOD!