Hey, everybody. Mama Joyce is ON THE PHONE.
2nd district GOP chairman — for now — Joyce Cotten , a/k/a Ma Cotten, a/k/a (in some quarters) ‘The Mother-In-Law-From-Hell’ , was busy last night rallying the troops to join her in her personal jihad against NCGOP chairman Hasan Harnett. Ma Cotten presided over a conference call with members of the Moore County GOP executive committee.
I spoke with some sources who participated in the call. They told me she repeated the same refrain she and Dallas Woodhouse have already circulated in the press: Hasan can’t raise money, Hasan can’t run a meeting, *Hasan can’t walk on water. He can’t juggle chainsaws.* (No mention, however, of repeatedly locking him out of the HQ, his email, and the party databases.)
Ma Cotten circulated this screed from NCGOP official Scott Cumbie. What was the general consensus about the Cumbie offering among call participants? Said one source:
“Most people were like ‘huh’? They weren’t seeing any justification for the rabid reaction from Joyce and her minions. At least one participant in the call, who has a legal background, said the Cumbie piece and a lot of the other anti-Hasan tactics were red meat for an enterprising attorney seeking to sue the pants off of the North Carolina Republican Party. It’s like begging to be sued.”
Ma Cotten expressed her frustration and anger at Lee County GOPer Jim Womack and Chatham County GOP chairman Brian Bock over her belief that the pair were leading an effort to depose her as chairman at the April 9 2nd district convention.
I asked how the meeting ended and what the general feeling was, among the group, at the end of Cotten’s pitch. Said one of my sources:
“There were one or two in the group who were gung-ho about firing Harnett before the call even began. They still felt that way after it was over. Everyone else left the call with more questions than they went into it with. I don’t think she won anybody over or changed any minds.”
Oh, almost forgot. Ma Cotten promised that the big move on Hasan will occur April 30th. She also said the party is NOT BOUND to selecting vice-chairman Michele Nix as Harnett’s replacement.
(I’ve also been told to expect a nice-sized grassroots protest against Cotten at the 2nd district meeting — featuring activists from across the state.)
Earlier, Ma Cotten sent out this in a note plugging the April 9 2nd district GOP convention in Sanford:
[…] The NCGOP2.com website has been hacked and has been taken down. The
Eventbrite link is safe and should be used to pre-register for the
convention.Please use the link below that will take you directly to the Eventbrite page
to register.<https://ncgop2-2016.eventbrite.com/> https://ncgop2-2016.eventbrite.com/
I urge you to register and attend the Second District Convention and keep
our party alive and well. It is unfortunately that there are those out
there that are attempting to destroy our party-I urge you NOT to allow this
to happen. Register today and let’s get on with the business of electing
Republicans and delegates to the National Convention and an elector.[…]
It does not matter that this fight we have started will blow back on our Republican candidates in a crucial election year. That is irrelevant. What is important is that the chosen few keep control of our positions and of the party itself. Hasan Harnett is not among the chosen few, so he needs to go. We need to correct the error made when delegates did not do what their betters told them to do at the last convention.
We will ”fix” this convention. Why do you think we have raised the delegate registration few to a point where some of those troublesome peons in the grassroots can no longer afford it? It is all about control, and we will be getting that control, one way or another! When they do not do what they are told, then we will price them out of the convention.
“The State Chairman, with the advice and consent of the Central Committee, shall have general supervision of the affairs of the Party within the State. He shall preside at all Meetings of the State Executive Committee and shall perform such duties as may be prescribed by the State Executive Committee.”
If this is accurately quoted in the Scott Cumbie post, I call BS on the idea that the Party Chair operates as simply as a Board Chair. Has Scott (since I do not know him or about him) ever served on a board?
The above gives the GOP party chair MORE authority than a board chair, which usually is in charge of BOARD functioning rather than ORGANIZATIONAL functioning that is reserved to the ED or President. The above clearly states that the party chair SUPERVISES PARTY (not board) functions.
According to Scott’s post, the ED is assigned duties from the Central Committee and fulfills the mission of the CC.
The problem the party is having is a very POORLY written PoS that has created a two-headed day-to-day in charge authority structure without clearly having ONE person in charge. The chair is in charge of the day to day PARTY and the ED is in charge of the day to day CC MIssion.
Harnett answers to and receives his authority from the EC and the ED answers to the CC and his authority is LIMITED to fulfilling the mission of the CC. He does not have the same sweeping authority that the Party Chair is given.
Just my thoughts.
H- I think you’ve done a good job of explaining why Cumbie’s analogy to a corporate board is incorrect. I would also point out that the EC is a governing body, much different than “shareholders”. In my my mind the “shareholders” are all the registered republicans in North Carolina. Using Cumbie’s analogy of a board of directors; the primary goal of a public BOD is to increase shareholder value. Can anyone point out to me how the CC has increased shareholder value? If they haven’t done that, then the president (ED?) and the board need to be replaced.
As a person who is not on the inside – I would appreciate some facts. I don’t expect the Dailyhaymaker to have to dig them up either.
We have two sides here. We have two separate sets of accusations. The situation is not much different than one would expect to find in a third grade classroom after the teacher returns.
As a life long Republican – I’m sick of it. I’m embarrassed by it. I’m ashamed of our Party and the persons we’ve trusted to take care of our political dealings.
Facts ladies and gentlemen. Facts. I want to see a by point (And by name) list of who is accusing the Chairman and the accusations. I want to see documentation.
I want to know why it is important to keep the fee at a certain level? At the moment it sounds like it is a tool to keep out those who can’t be controlled. If that is NOT the reason – Soneone correct me. I just want facts.
Meanwhile – Enough of these little secret meetings trying to cause problems behind the scenes. If your purpose ma’am was to keep things quiet while you “fixed” fixed the mess – You’ve failed horribly.
In closing – I have an idea. WORK TOGETHER!
If you can’t – Give us FACTS – And explain why.
It’s hard to take sides without knowing anything except the little snippets the Haymaker can sniff out.
Thank you Haymaker!
They raised the general/business session fee for a two fold reason
1. Turn the convention into a bigger fundraiser
2. Keep the grassroots out of the business session
The higher fee does both
how about raising the fee to cover the cost of the hotel/convention hall?
if the convention expenses went up this much someone is doing a awful job negotiating and planning this convention. The based the fee on how much money they wanted to raise and not what was reasonable to get the maximum delegate participation
I hope the Ex Comm will call for a full audit of convention expenses/revenue for this convention and all the convention back to the last time the convention was held in the same venue
I hope the Ex Comm will set up a convention committee that will be elected and put in charge of all future conventions
In the past the convention fee was held down (am not saying low) due to monies raised by the chair and the sponsorship(s) they got. Harnett has not raised the money nor has he gotten the sponsorship(s).
Raising the fee does not necessarily make it a fundraiser because of the law of diminishing returns. Fewer people will go to the convention with a higher fee. Fewer will attend the high dollar events where the real profit is made. Some who would have contributed otherwise will be so pissed off at this nonsense that they will not give.
There is another angle to this year’s convention which will reduce both turnout and profits. That is doing away with being able to register at the door. Unlike any previous NCGOP convention that I can remember, there is a cut off two weeks before the convention, and if you do not register by then, you are out of luck and cannot attend. We have always had registration at the door in the past, and a fair number of people do that, including a fair number who buy the tickets to the high dollar events.
The claim that this higher fee is about raising money is a smokescreen. Everything about the way they are running it shows that the real sole reason for the high fee is to suppress the grassroots vote.
Damn, I agree with you!
The GOPe cabal of witches are busy stirring the cauldron in the backrooms. Better be careful, the cauldron is about to explode all over them.
The Grand Wizards Dallas Woodhouse and Joyce Cotton have gotten their cross ready to burn April 30.
I think maybe it would serve the NC and the country better that Woodhouse and Cotton be ridden out of the GOP on a rail!
so what is going to happen on this April 30th date ?
How can we trust any of these people? They all need to go and we need to start over. I wrongly thought the GOP was the party of truth and fairness so what the heck are they doing? The delegates from each district will pick the nominee for president but if we can’t trust them with the small stuff how can we ever trust the results they tally at these districts meetings about delegates. I think a major protest is in order.
The town elections in the primary are watched closely yet the GOP is throwing out the States pick in favor of their own inside wishes. They are really going to screw this election and country up for the rest of us and I am mad as hell.
The Cottens’s and the West’s need to give it a rest and take trickster Ken Robol with them.