Monkey business at NCGOP cost Republicans some opportunities in-state
It’s a quite common perception — outside the Raleigh beltline — that the NCGOP establishment is nothing but a tight clique of cronies. It’s not about growing the party. There is no ideology — no core set of principles. Oh, of course the yokels outside the beltline get a little lip service. It’s all about setting up your fellow cronies so that they can take advantage of access to government power to enrich themselves.
Look back at the primaries. There was case after case of meddling in local party primaries. Candidates with Raleigh connections were parachuted into races and micro-managed from our capital city. If the Raleigh-favored candidate lost, the primary winner got dropped like a rock.
During the recently completed campaign, we had a fantastic slate of candidates across the board. Yet, judging by the NCGOP web site, you would think the GOP slate included no one beyond Pat McCrory, Mitt Romney, David Rouzer and Richard Hudson. We had an excellent slate of Council of State candidates who spent most of the campaign pinching pennies. (All of them hung close to their opponents and finished relatively close behind.) Meanwhile, the four guys on the NCGOP web site got showered with money. (Last time I checked, that ticket had a 2-2 record. Romney lost, and Rouzer was losing in a 54% GOP district.)
Let’s look at Treasurer nominee Steve Royal. Janet Cowell should have been easy pickings. The state employees were angry at her. She’s embroiled in controversy about her decision to invest retirement funds in Facebook. Steve was hanging tight with Janet, while she used hundreds of thousands raised from Wall Street interests to attack him in TV ads. Steve got $300 from the NCGOP on election day. State Senate candidate Chad Barefoot — a big-time crony of the gang at NCGOP — got (wait for it) $838,538.88 in funding from the state party. That’s for ONE state senate candidate. We already have a veto-proof majority in the senate. Our treasurer candidate got $300 on election day. Boy, does it EVER help to be bosom buddies with the College Republicans alumni infesting the NCGOP HQ. (Ask Chad.)
To make matters worse, Chad ran a bunch of campaign ads hitting the Democrat incumbent for CUTTING education spending. That’s right. CUTTING. That’s what the party’s $800,000-plus was bankrolling. The last contribution — in-kind on 10/31 — was TEN TIMES what the NCGOP gave the treasurer candidate on election day.
It’s pretty clear that the Democrats smoked the NCGOP on getting out the vote. There were roughly 250,000 more straight-ticket Democrat ballots than Republican ones.
Did anybody else get that robo-call at 7:25 PM from Richard Burr? (Polls closed at 7:30.)
We need a grassroots rebellion to run out the inbred clique that is running NCGOP into the ground. In addition to the above, the shameful failure to run an AG candidate for the first time in many decades needs to be held against this crowd. Was someone playing footsie with the Dem AG or one of his cronies? Similarly the Debra Goldman fiasco needs to be hung aroung the necks of those at NCGOP responsible. That hurt the whole Council of State ticket.
We need a chairman candidate, a vice chairman candidate, and candidates for all the offices elected by the state Exec Comm.
Steve Royal, Ed Goodwin, Mike Causey and Mattie Lawson could have used 1 or 2 mailings and they would have had the win. But as you stated, they spent over 3/4 million on one NC Senate seat but nothing on Council of State.
We all need to keep this in mind. The convention cycle starts in February. Please become a delegate so we can replace the current people running the GOP. We need to support the Liberty/Constitution candidates.
Keep that, and many other things, but February is too late. NCGA leadership will be taking shape over the next couple of months.
Regardless of the shape of NCGOP leadership, if the party machine shifts from enabler of bad behavior to force for reform, you will see a different tune from the NCGA.
Steve Royal publicly supported a tri-state currency. A claim that he publicly stuck to in October. That was an image killer.
Let me say this regarding ‘involvment’ and ‘takeovers’. I have switched my registration from independent to Republican after this campaign cycle. I have met with my county leadership, and the more I learn about this party system, the more it makes sense. If something is wrong, I ask questions instead of spreading gossip on a blog. I would encourage everyone on here to get involved and run for precinct/county leadership positions. Then you will get a first hand look instead of sitting on the sidelines complaining.