Burning down the house
They lost the election for party chairman in June. But the 
Craig Collins campaign is trying to “win” it back right now in a style that would make Watergate-era Richard Nixon beam with pride.
The in-house propaganda organ for the Raleigh Cartel has broken a story alleging that Hasan Harnett tried to perpetrate a Kevin Mitnick on the NCGOP website. The source? None other than rodeo clown Dallas Woodhouse himself:
The North Carolina Republican Party has contacted law enforcement officials in Raleigh and launched an internal investigation after receiving a tip last week that a computer technician was instructed by the elected chairman to crash the party’s GOP convention websites and replace them with alternative websites. In a sworn affidavit obtained by the North State Journal, the computer technician said that Chairman Hassan Harnett asked him to replace the N.C. GOP sites with ones housing a new fundraising system that, if implemented, would have funneled payments for the state convention out of party accounts and into ones under the control of the chairman.
The allegations appear to be lighting a movement within the party’s governing Central Committee to censure or remove Harnett as chairman. According to those close to the N.C. GOP, members will consider, at a minimum, severely limiting Harnett’s authority to speak on behalf of the party until the investigation is complete, but it may also begin circulating a petition for his removal as chairman. The petition would require 50 signatures and must pass by a two-thirds vote of the party’s more than 600-member Executive Committee. T
he smaller Central Committee, which has 30 voting members who are elected every two years, took the unusual step this week of calling its own meeting for March 20, where members may consider emergency actions. Usually the party chairman formally calls the Central Committee to meet. The efforts allegedly launched by Harnett are described in a sworn and notarized affidavit reviewed by the North State Journal on the condition that the accuser remains anonymous until the investigation is complete. N.C. GOP Executive Director Dallas Woodhouse would not comment on the allegations. However, several high-ranking members of the party’s governing committees confirmed the underlying details of the events’ timeline and the existence of the investigation. […]
Joyce Cotten — a/k/a The Mother-in-Law from Hell — is the main mover-and-shaker behind this one. She’s got Ada Fisher and Dallas out front, though.
Boy, that’s nice. An anonymous accuser followed by a leak to the press — even though it’s Pat McCrory’s personal propaganda organ.
One big mistake by the lynch mob? Putting Dallas Woodhouse out front. There is an interesting public record on Mr. Woodhouse. There’s this interview from election night 2014. There’s the alleged false statements to the IRS about Carolina Rising. And then there was the gross, outrageous attempt to slander Charlotte reporter Nick Ochsner.
Ada Fisher is not much better. 
The record shows chairman Harnett publicly complaining about not being able to access the party website to update pricing information for the state convention. We also have the public complaints about Woodhouse ordering the accountant to call the ISP to shut down Harnett and vice chairman Michele Nix’s email. And don’t forget the letters and emails and press releases sent out by Dallas in the name of the party and Harnett without Harnett’s knowledge or approval. Sources have confirmed for me that party HQ is dominated by on-going insubordination against Harnett by Woodhouse and spats between the two.
It was clear from the beginning that Woodhouse — with his track record as a dirty tricks errand boy for the cartel — would be put in place to bog down any efforts by the new party chairman.
What was a great PR coup in June — electing the first black party chairman — has been torpedoed by some selfish, vile, corrupt people willing to tear others down to protect their loot, their position in the on-going scam in Raleigh.
I’m all for giving Mr. Harnett his due process and a fair shake. I am willing to bet that what happened was more like THIS: Harnett wanted to update the website to change the convention fees and honor his campaign promise. Woodhouse refused to follow orders. Harnett — getting no help from the party leadership that backed his opponent in June — tried to go around Woodhouse. And we got this nasty piece of political assassination as an end result.
The “security” story is bunk. If the problem was Harnett, why shut off the email of vice chairman Nix — who also is a thorn in the cartel’s side? Copies of emails are saved on servers. If investigators wanted them, they could go directly to the server. Harnett can’t delete those.
It sure looks like this puts a fork in any efforts to grow African-American participation in the NCGOP. Why would any of them want to join a group dominated by this high-tech lynch mob?
Beyond that, why would ANYONE want to get involved in this nonsense? The state party is as bad as the one in DC. Jesse Helms, Ronald Reagan and their conservative principles are dead, buried and long-forgotten. The GOP is now in the era of Thom Tillis-style trolling-for-cash-with-both-hands politics. 
We’re just bystanders to — and apparently the bank for — this on-going never-ending BIPARTISAN scam.
The only way to teach these people a lesson is to toss them out on their butts. Let’s hope at least a few of them get tossed today.
Yeah… I’ve zero interest in giving any of these people money or support. Ugh… what a shame the GOP is reduced to operating with these clowns. I’m embarrassed for them.
I Stand with the Chairman what has gone on in the party since the delegates overwhelmingly voted for a change of leadership in the party with the election of both the Chairman and Vice Chair. No way the convention delegates would except the leadership of the central committee since the last convention
No delegate to this years convention should support the central committee trying to raise delegate fees. Also executive committee did not do anything to attempt to raise delegate fees even though a slip of paper inserted in a envelop eluded to that conclusion
Remember in the past some hidden committee set up by the central committee made salary decisions for the chairman and past chairman told people to look in election filings if they wanted to know his salary. This Chairman fighting for every convention delegate is not taking a salary from the party he is working for republicans in this state not taking from the party do not forget this part of the story
Re: “Harnett wanted to update the website to change the convention fees and honor his campaign promise. Woodhouse refused to follow orders. Harnett — getting no help from the party leadership that backed his opponent in June — tried to go around Woodhouse. ”
Harnett didn’t just try to go around Woodhouse. He tried to go around a decision made by the ruling body of the party. Harnett is chairman, but he was elected along with a team of elected party officials on the Central Committee.
Anyone who has chaired a party committee or another organization knows that the chairman doesn’t always win the argument or get their way. But instead of moving forward with the already challenging task of the convention, Harnett chose to defy the decision made by the CC which has the authority over fiscal/budget planning for the party.
Our chairman has authority to make day to day decisions for the party, but not in defiance of policy set by the CC on issues within their scope of authority.
We like to criticize POTUS for using his pen and phone to bypass the will of those we elect to make laws and set policy in Washington, shouldn’t we be just as concerned with a chair who acts outside the scope of his authority in defiance?
He made a campaign promise. He did his best to honor it, but the realities of the expense of a state convention were insurmountable at the site selected (and contract signed) before Hasan was elected last June.
Why not take the long view, and attempt to make the registration costs as low as possible by 2017 at a lower-cost venue. Sometimes a leader cannot accomplish everything they want in the first year.
Creating chaos will not help us win elections.
“He made a campaign promise. He did his best to honor it, but the realities of the expense of a state convention were insurmountable at the site selected (and contract signed) before Hasan was elected last June. ”
the executive committee should call for a full audit of this years expenses. A full audit of past years conventions all the way back to the last time the convention was at the same venue and the general business session fee was $35. The convention has made money in all the years I remember so someone must be doing a bad job organizing this convention to need a $90 fee to pay convention expenses. The convention is not a fundraiser it is a meeting to do party business
I agree with what you’re saying about the audit. I also believe it is time for an investigation of our Central Committee that is operating behind closed doors under a gag order. Many of us have no confidence in the Central Committee; they have gone rogue and need strict oversight.
And, I continue to call for Dallas Woodhouse to be fired.
if the gang running the Central Committee were honest and on the up and up, why in the world would they be operating in such a secretive manner? The clear answer is that they would not. Anything that comes out of this Closed Door Central Committee is highly suspect.
Until there is an Executive Director the party can trust and some major changes in the way the Central Committee operates, no grassroots Republican should contribute a dime to the NCGOP. Go pay the ripoff registration fee to be able to vote to help bring these scoundrels down, but do not sign up for ANY other convention activities. Starve the beast!
The budget approved at our January EC meeting clearly shows the party making money from the convention, as it always has. This budget was adopted, and that item was not brought into question by anyone that I recall. This is especially a concern this year as Hasan has been unable to raise much for all of the reasons that we can imagine with the on-going controversies over decisions already made. I have never been a Woodhouse fan, but he is doing his job, and we need to move on. If not, we are likely to let our good Republican candidates down, and hand some elections to Dems.
I don’t like paying $90 either. My solution for this year is to pay registration only, and not attend any of the other events.
I sincerely hope we can find a lower cost way of doing this in the future, but right now we need to choose our battles, and focus on beating Dems. That is our mission.
The larger point is that our party operates under a POO, and Hasan appears to be ignoring the rule of law, just as we often observe with Dems. It was under this POO that Hasan was elected, and can succeed in making changes. But it can’t all happen at once. Anarchy is not going to help. There are better and more effective ways to accomplishing organizational changes.
Please cite a specific provision in the POO that gives the Central Committee the power to set the convention registration fee. If it is not there, how do they have that power?
Are you claiming that the delegate fee was actually set in the budget? I don’t think so! By jacking up the basic registration, fee the Central Committee majority is going to have fewer people going to the optional events where the real money is made. You yourself, from your comments, are one of those. Therefore jacking up the basic registration fee will not increase the bottom line. Indeed, those who do not come at all due to this excessive fee will detract from the bottom line. What this group on the Central Committee is really after with this fee has not the slightest thing to do with making money for the party. Indeed, it may well make less for the party, but they are willing to accept that to accomplish their other goals.
Wasn’t Joyce Cotten the one who headed that committee responsible for the hiring of Woodhouse?
I would also point out that Woodhouse’s backers claimed he was a great fundraiser as an excuse for hiring him. What has he done?
The POO gives responsibility for preparing budget and fiscal matters to CC. They worked on the budget, which included numbers for the convention, though a specific amount for the registration fees was not included in the budget presented to the EC in January. I believe that was arrived at after the budget was adopted. Hasan would have participated in these meetings, and been involved in the discussions. He was unhappy with the result, but even the strongest leaders sometimes lose a vote.
You may well be right about the possibility of less money coming in due to the higher prices, but the CC has authority over this and has made their best judgment. All I am saying is that by attempting to override the process, Hasan is creating chaos.
My understanding is that Woodhouse is doing nearly all of the fundraising to meet payrolls and keep the lights on. He is carrying the load, not Hasan. I am not trying to disparage Hasan, but I believe his performance has been a disappointment to many (some on the CC) who expected more when they voted for him.
The POO provision on preparing the budget is different from that on ADOPTING the budget, which latter duty is that of the Executive Committee. Preparing a proposed budget which does not establish a convention delegate fee does not give the Central Committee the power to later, after the Executive Committee has adopted the budget, to establish delegate fees. Their budget authority is only to make recommendations to the Executive Committee, not act unilaterally on their own.
I saw those provisions and how they did not apply to this situation which I went through the POO.
Is that ALL you have?
If all Woodhouse can do is raise enough money to keep the lights on, does this make him the fundraising powerhouse that some would have led us to believe?
“The budget approved at our January EC meeting CLEARLY shows the party making money from the convention, as it always has.
Nothing was really clear…..the ExComm had to squint at a small font, badly focused projection on a grainy concrete wall. Nothing was clear and Members were not given hard copies to follow, and if they had been given such, no time to carefully review such an intricate document.
This budget was adopted…..” with no amendments allowed and under threat of basically shutting down the NCGOP unless we knuckled under.
This is the truth and how the central committe is trying to control the party and most EC board members do not understand that they should stand up and fight for the good of the party
Somebody has got to pay for the alcohol for Dallas….as well as his salary.. the alcohol itself will be a BIG expense…if past accounts are to be repeated.
Hey Linda, I bet you think Burr’$ doing a good job, too?
The Central Committee seems to be run by a secretive Sore Loser Caucus that cannot get over their side losing the last state convention, and are still fighting a battle they lost almost a year ago. They are willing to rip the party to shreds to keep up that fight, with no concern on how that will blow back on our candidates.
This grossly excessive delegate registration fee is not about raising money for the party. It is about factional gutter fighting, and the party and its grassroots delegates be damned. It is first of all about control, about the secretive Sore Loser Caucus getting its people in as national delgates and as National Committeeman and National Committeewoman. It wants to depress turnout among certain groups to accomplish that, and that is the main purpose of this excessive fee. Seconly, they are well aware that reasonable registration fees was a campaign issue of the chairman, and this is designed to politically kick him in the teeth.
I am not an expert on the Plan of Organization, but I have looked and still do not see where the Central Committee has any power to set convention registration fees. Maybe the power grab here is by the Central Committee itself, not the chairman.
Exactly. John steed, you always have such valuable comments. LOL @ Sore Loser Caucus!
Linda,
The problem here is the central committee defying the will of the people while Hasan tries to uphold it. The $90 fee is a clear effort to keep average citizens such as the majority who elected Hasan and Michele from being able to attend the State Convention. Too bad I can’t afford to pay the fee for a lot of those good people. I would if I could.
Yeah, I too wish I was financially able to pay the exorbitant fees being imposed on the most active and involved members of the party in order to control convention outcomes.
By the way, congratulations on your primary victory.
I don’t know that you can credibly argue that folks who helped elect Hasan and Michele last year when registration was $75 will now be shut out because of the increase to $90.
no you are missing the point the early bird rate last year was $50 so $90 this year is almost double so yes it is a big deal a big deal for lots and lots and lots of delegates That need the difference to pay for hotels food and travel expenses associated in attending and participating in the convention and party people are not attending the business/general session for themselves but for the party the burden should not be put on the delegates that are taking time out of their lives to help and support the platforms and principles of this party – but some would rather not have there voice the less people that attend the more they can control because they do not want a result like last year when the ordained person lost and this year the want to make sure there delegates and RNC leaders win and they do this by fixing the system ahead of time – A convention makes money but it is not to be used as a fundraiser
I do not like it when the race card is played. It’s cheap and down right deceitful, however I must in some respects believe that the accusations against Hasan Harnett sounds suspicious. Nothing more than lynch mob mentality
I think down deep in the ruling class of the NCGOP racism exists and does sadly matter especially in this situation. Joyce Cotton and her ally Dallas Woodhouse are on the edge proving what Republicans fear most being labeled “racist”.
Joyce, Dallas and company are giving the Democrats a free shot and open target on Republican candidates this November. Whether true or not If unseated as chairman I can see the front news papers all over the US “racism is the motivation for removal of Chairman in the Republican Party of NC”.
This news story can be written to make the demonstrations against Trump rallies pale in comparison to the current events of the time.
This attempt of a coup d’ etat against the sitting Chairman Harnett will be felt even stronger with the anti-establishment forces within the NCGOP and the backlash unrelenting and damaging to the Republican Party.
This is another example which proves to the likes of a Mitt Romney and the Republican establishment that they truly don’t get what’s happening in the country politically and they never will.
The truth obviously can’t be handled, the days of establishment control are all but over in the Republican Party. Just see how well the two anti-establishment presidential candidates did in Tuesday’s Primary election. Joyce, Dallas and the Central Committee do what you will to hold onto your imagined importance and power because your days are numbered like the hairs on your heads. I feel the storm clouds are rising and will sweep each of you away to anonymity a fate worse then death to these people. To that I can say it’s been a long time coming and more then welcomed!
They need to get it together, if the report of hacking is true, which I have my doubts, that’s not good.
At this point I’m done with the NCGOP, it’s been ran into the ground and will offer zero help to our candidates.
Anyone have a copy of the affidavit’s body?
I’m not up-to-date on NCGOP activities (I stick to myself here in the Durham GOP), but my background was in computer science before I became a lawyer – the excerpts from the J&B story don’t make sense.
Given the campaign run last year by the establishment, non of this is surprising…but they may be a bit surprised when the masses notice and “storm the gates with pitch forks”.
Nah, it could be more like speaking to a half-empty convention, and finding it difficult to even maintain some county organizations, that leads to change.
The peasants would rather spend $90 on something else (and multiple weekends that had been used for attending meetings and cleaning up signs)
Y’all need to make sure you have all the facts before sounding dumb. Have you considered that maybe Hasan might be a bit of the problem himself? He was elected in part to raise money; that hasn’t much happened, and now the party isn’t in much of a position to contribute to assisting candidates. My understanding is that the convention fees are $90 because that’s what it’s going to cost to hold the convention, since the fundraising by Hasan and Michelle isn’t up to par.
If you want to make change, get involved. Have you participated in your Precinct and your County conventions? Have you personally contacted District leadership instead of just calling names? Have you offered constructive suggestions instead of accusations?
Are you really wanting conservative leadership in the State and Country, or is it just more entertaining to make accusations and poke fun?
The cost to hold a convention has not nearly doubled. That is nonsense.
Wouldn’t facts be more forthcoming if we had a Central Committee that did not try to hide what it is doing from the Executive Committee, county chairmen, etc. through the ridiculous use of gag orders and non-disclosure provisions? Wouldn’t communication within the party be a lot more healthy for the party than this non-transparency?
I thought the failure Woodhouse was going to raise big money. Isn’t that what we were told, he had millions waiting in the wings when he was brought on board by the Rino losers? Do you recall this? What happened? The RINOS have ruined the whole party with their failure to do anything the past 7 years. You are a typical establishment liar.
Most of us here ARE involved in our precincts, counties, and districts. That’s how we know what is really going on despite the lack of transparency. And since you seem to have your head in the sand, are you not aware that donations dried up within days of Harnett’s election? There were rumors that this would happen within 24 hours of Harnett’s election because of the establishment’s displeasure at Harnett’s victory. Sour grapes much? So they had to hire an ED who could make up for that loss, but despite assurances that Woodhouse could do the job, he has fallen flat on his face. Johnny Schull would have been a MUCH better choice!
So you’re the one who needs to get your facts straight. Besides, how on earth can the cost to hold a convention go from $35 per delegate to almost $100 per delegate in 4 years? Sounds like someone doesn’t know what it means to be frugal. And we fuss about our government spending more than it has!