Is the heavy hand of Thom Tillis reaching into Cabarrus County politics?
Think back to 2006 with me. We had a conservative firebrand GOP legislator, representing a district near Charlotte, who was making headlines by criticizing the leadership of the state House (at the time, Democrat Jim Black and “Republican” Richard Morgan). Those leaders, desiring to shut up this outspoken legislator, sought out a stalking horse candidate to primary said legislator in his safe GOP district. Black and Morgan found their stalking horse: a local pol and retired businessman from Cornelius named Thom Tillis. With money and backing from the political establishment in Raleigh and the Charlotte area, Tillis knocked off incumbent Republican legislator John Rhodes in the GOP primary that year.
Recent developments in Mecklenburg County have many observers thinking that the events of 2006 may be about to repeat themselves. Representative Larry Pittman (R-Cabarrus) recently made headlines with some frank criticism of Tillis’s stewardship of the House that, somehow, found its way onto YouTube. In a matter of days, the mainstream media received a written statement from Pittman — sounding as though it was written under extreme duress — where he apologized for any “damage” he may have caused to Tillis’s reputation.
Now, sources in Mecklenburg County — ground zero for Team Pat and Theam Thom — tell me that county GOP vice chairman Jonathan Sink is floating the idea of resigning his post and moving to Cabarrus County for the purpose of challenging Rep. Pittman in the May 2014 primary. My sources tell me this plan was discussed at a Mecklenburg GOP board meeting on Tuesday evening. *Hmm. I wonder what might have inspired this idea.*
Tillis took some heat prior to the 2012 elections for reportedly meddling in GOP primaries across the state. Congressman Walter Jones and his staff outed Tillis’s involvement in the House District 6 GOP primary in Eastern North Carolina. In some of our earlier reporting, one GOP activist claimed Tillis told her directly that, yes, he had been involved in some GOP primaries, and he planned to get in the middle of some more.
If Comrade Stalin . . . err, Tillis, did that, then conservatives all over the state need to go to all out war with him in the GOP US Senate primary.
Tillis is leaving the legislature and the Speakership. Why would he be that petty to try to exact revenge?
I cannot see how a carpetbagging Tillis sock puppet from Mecklenburg would have a chance in Cabarrus. People in the Carbarrus GOP ought to start calling out Tillis on this right now.
I used to like Thom Tillis, but now I think he’s a snake. Larry Pittman is a good man of integrity… Thom wishes he was half the man Larry was. If Thom runs for senate, he’ll end up being a flip flopping liberal “conservative” just like Richard Burr.
Agree, Velvet – he’s gone too far and it’s sad to see others walking away from positions because of his heavy-handed behavior. We need better leadership. He must consider his attitude and overbearing manners.
Thom Tillis is a snake!
Think maybe Thom needs to go?
It’s time for Republican leaders in Raleigh and at the local level to push back on his bullying tactics. We are fed up and not gonna take it anymore.
It’s clearly evident now, Tillis represents a continuation of the Jim Black and Richard Morgan days in the legislature. You can dress up a pig in a leaner fancier suit but at the end of the day, it’s still just a pig dressed in a fancier leaner suit. He is everything that is bad about politics and represents why the public has such distrust of elected officials. Thankfully the Department of Justice still has a healthy appetite for bacon at breakfast. When Humpty Dumpty (Tillis) has a great fall, they can have a side of scrambled eggs to go with their bacon.
Who polices corruption for the State House? Please reply on this thread so that any one of us can contact them for an investigation. Why is Tillis pushing corporate-owned tolls when the people don’t want them? Word has it that there are personal gains for him if the tolls go through.
maybe Rhodes can run for his old seat in 2014
Yesterday, I corresponded via email with Brad Overcash, the Chairman of the Mecklenburg County Republican Party. He confirmed that at the last meeting of the Meck GOP Executive Board, Jonathan Sink announced his resignation as County Vice Chairman and signaled his intent to move to Concord in order to primary Larry Pittman.
Overcash noted that he and the rest of the Meck GOP Exec Board were unaware of this intention prior to the announcement and were taken off guard by the sudden move. Sink had only served as Vice Chairman since his election in March.
Is this the same Karl Rove establishment candidate Thom Tillis that is running for Senate in a Republican primary why is he fighting against so many Republican conservatives? Does the GOP not like conservatives anymore? Hmmmm.