DISLOYALTY: Is *somebody* in Raleigh about to get ‘The Richard Morgan Treatment’?
Those of you who have been in North Carolina politics for a few decades — at least — are likely to
remember Moore County’s very own state Rep. Richard Morgan (R). In 2002, Morgan and a handful of GOP cronies in the House managed to turn an elected 61-59 GOP House majority into a 60-60 tie with the Democrats. Morgan and Democrat speaker Jim Black worked out a *co-speakership* arrangement.
Black and the Democrats went back to business as usual — gleeful over having snatched defeat away from a dumbfounded GOP almost-majority. Morgan and his cronies huddled up with Morgan’s then-consultant — Paul Shumaker — to start targeting Republican House members who resisted and protested the co-speaker arrangement.
State Republicans worked out an arrangement to basically kick Morgan out of the party. It kept him from being a party nominee or holding party offices. It also opened the door for GOP officials to go after Morgan at election time.
As many of you know, Jim Black departed the House for the greener pastures of federal prison. Morgan lost in the 2006 GOP primary. He passed away in 2018.
Some are seeing a scenario quite similar to the Morgan brouhaha in today’s Raleigh.
The NCGOP is Phil Berger‘s party. Raleigh is his town. Jones is his street. We’re allowed to visit every once in a while. (For fundraisers, that kind of thing.)
Some may seek limited government, lower taxes, or ethics in government. In Berger World, all that seems to matter is (1) the accrual of bureaucratic power and (2) monetizing said bureaucratic power.
Berger and his cronies have been identified as targeting conservative operatives who refuse to prostrate themselves at the pro tem’s feet. We uncovered an example where Berger went as far as endorsing a Democrat against a *problematic* conservative.
We’ve received word that — in advance of this year’s state convention — punitive resolutions about Berger and his team are being drafted and debated by local Republican organizations from Murphy to Manteo. From what we can tell, The Duplin County GOP is the first to pull the trigger.
Here are some of the highlights from the Duplin submission:
We’re hearing from folks who were involved in the Morgan affair. They’re telling us this Berger action is proceeding in quite a similar fashion as the move against Morgan. We’re also told that this submission from Duplin is just the tip of the iceberg.
Stay tuned.
What a trip down memory lane. Remembering the bag of money in the I Hops bathroom and such. The Uni-party nightmare.
Thanks to the Duplin County Executive Committee. Looking forward to other counties doing the right thing. I’m depressed about my county though. They’re eyeball deep in disloyalty themselves. No help coming from my occupied county saturated in corruption.
THe real question is whether the powers that be in the NCGOP will bring this issue in a timely manner to the NCGOP state executive committee, which is who rules on these matters. The facts here are open and shut. Berger clearly violated the PoO by committing party disloyalty in openly endorsing a very liberal Democrat judge running against a conservative Republican challenger. He should be punished the same way as Morgan by being excluded from party affairs for five years, the maximum amount provided in the Plan of Organization.