#nc-03: A split decision on Paul Ryan
Walter Jones has clearly not had John Boehner as a part of his fan club. There’s been evidence that Boehner and sources close to him have been behind recent primary challenges to Jones.
Jones has also been credited with having a major impact on Kevin McCarthy’s decision to back out of the race for speaker. Now, Jones has tossed in his two cents on speaker-in-waiting Paul Ryan — using words like “bully.”
Jones has two primary challengers this year. One of them — Taylor Griffin — sounded off on Ryan on Facebook this week (Click image below to enlarge):
Bless his heart, Taylor has obviously graduated from the talking without saying anything school of political speak.
Conservative across the country will rally around Walter Jones for reelection. Taylor may be a nice guy, but he’s got all the wrong friends.
It is easy to connect the dots on Taylor Griffin..
Taylor Griffin ducked the question on WTIB radio about whether he thought Boehner should be removed. Then he had two of Boehner’s close associates host a fundraiser for him in Washington, DC. Now, he supports Boehner’s front man Ryan, who is more liberal than McCarthy or Boehner, as Speaker. Griffin is a Washington weasel.
A vote for Taylor Griffin is a vote for the Boehner mafia.
I see the “Stand with Walter” ad there in the margin, and think I’ll just have to make a contribution to Walter Jones’s campaign! Got enough weasels up in DC without adding another.
Agree with Walter Jones
Agree with Walter Jones
I think Walter writes his own stuff.
I think Taylor gets his stuff sent down to him from on high.
I will be donating to the proven commodity Walter Jones.
DC Establishment, DC Establishment equals Taylor Griffin.
The DC Establishment put Griffin down here from DC to run against Congressman Jones and we need to spread the word and send a message to the DC Establishment that Eastern NC can not be bought, spread the word and donate to Congressman Jones!
For, the record, I write my own material. I decided to run for Congress because I believe I can do a better, more effective job for Eastern North Carolina driven by deeply-rooted conservative principles. As the Haymaker has previously noted, Jones’ voting record has not been as consistently conservative as it should be, especially prior to my entering the race in 2013.
Look at Jones ratings for 2012 from conservative groups and you might get an idea of why I decided to run: 62% Heritage Action; 67% American Conservative Union; 68% Club for Growth; Most Liberal Republican House Member National Journal. In all the ratings, he was ranked bottom or near the bottom of the heap for NC Republicans. I urge you to look it up for myself.
Entering this race, for better or worse, was my idea. I’ve honestly never met John Boehner and I’m confident that as a party we’ll be better off now that he has stepped aside. We have an opportunity to unite as Republicans and start doing the things voters asked us to do: stop Obama and reverse the damage he’s done to this country. We cannot do that while fighting with each other.
I harbor no ill will towards Walter. When I lost to him in the 2014 primary, I campaigned for him in the general election. There are things on which Walter and I disagree: national defense, the speakers race, etc. If you disagree with me on those things, that’s fair. But, let’s dispense with the conspiracy theories.
Finally, I could have just ignored the question about Ryan. In fact, that would have been the politically expedient thing to do. I know that many will disagree with me. I chose to answer it, because I think the voters have a right to know.
There is a lot wrong with Washington right now and I’m not content to stand aside and blame someone else while our country goes down the tubes. Whatever you may think of me, the bottom line is that I’m trying to do something about it.
– Taylor Griffin
If you had wanted to run against a liberal Republican in 2012, you would have moved to the 2nd district instead of the 3rd and run against Renee Ellmers, I understand you gave up your rented condo in Craven County with rented furniture some months ago, so you still could run about anywhere, Walter Jones is NC’s most conservative congressman who has always been our state’s strongest budget hawk and strongest immigration hawk. National Journal;s rating is a joke, and is laughed at when it is even mentioned over at Red State.
Rather than choose to run against a conservative, you could run against a moderate like Pittenger or Hudson or McHenry, but who you chose to run against speaks volumes. You had no ties to the 3rd district.
Backing Ryan instead of Webster also speaks volumes, Ryan is Boehner’s guy and that makes him part of the problem instead of part of the solution. Ryan has voted for every one of Boehner;s cave ins to Obama, and his Heritage Action score puts him in the most liberal 25% of the House GOP caucus. Ryan is also extreme left on amnesty and immigration.
You are a creature of Washington, Taylor, and we in North Carolina want our Congressmen to represent US to DC, not DC to us. Walter Jones does that. From your background it is highly unlikely that you would,
I’m from Eastern North Carolina. I live in New Bern, where I am writing you now. I have no interest in representing anyplace but my home.
Your view of Walter Jones seems set, so I won’t attempt to convince you further. But, I’d suggest you dig a little deeper for yourself.
There are real issues at stake for Eastern North Carolina and our country. Issues I care about deeply enough to put myself through the frustration, of running for public office. For the sake of the voters and our country, I hope we can set aside the conspiratorial nonsense and talk about how to get our country back on the right track. We may not always agree, but I will always be honest with you. It’s not enough to just talk about what’s wrong with the country. We need to talk about how to fix it. I’m ready for that conversation when you are.
You carpetbagged to New Bern to challenge Walter Jones. You had never previously lived in the 3rd district. Before you graduated from high school, you lived in the old 2nd district. I am not sure which district your childhood home is in now, but it is NOT the 3rd and never was while you lived there and is not now.
Rather than this generic talk about ”eastern North Carolina”, why don;t you at least run in the district where your childhood home is actually located? Is it because your handlers in DC sent you down to take out one of the most grassroots oriented Congressman we have?
You want to represent eastern NC in Congress? Great! Wayne, Wilson, and Edgecombe counties are in eastern NC. Come on over to the 13th district, we’d be very interested in having a real conservative represent us for a change.
Wilson County is where Griffin grew up. It was in the 2nd district then. You indicate that it is in the 13th now, and that is where Griffin’s roots are. Why is he not running there? Is it because those who pull his strings in DC want him to run against a grassroots conservative, not an establishment lackey? From what I hear Griffin even had his voter registration at a relative’s house there for a while after his 2014 run in the 3rd.
I don’t know what Griffin running there would accomplish for conservatives. He is no different from Holding..
“There is a lot wrong with Washington right now and I’m not content to stand aside and blame someone else while our country goes down the tubes”
KUDOS to you Sir! At least you had the courage to reply.
Most of us in North Carolina are incredulous at what’s going on in Washington
(and praying for a 300 foot Tsunami to hit the Potomac Tidal Basin, real soon).
We contribute, we organize, we call our friends & relatives, we carry petitions and campaign, and even give shut-ins rides to the polls. We hope & rejoice, and celebrate the victories.
Then those we help elect dash our hopes and rub our faces in the dirt with the “same-old, same-old” Washington scum bag politics, and bend over and grab their ankles for Hussein.
All I’m saying, Mr. Griffin, is that we’ve heard it all before.
As the old saying goes: “Fool me once, shame on you! Fool me twice, shame on me!”
Anyway, thanks for your reply, sir.
Radagast, thanks. People are cynical, and they have good reason to be. Instead of working for the long term good of the country, our leaders chase the daily news cycle and obsessively update their social media. Out entire legislative process has been reduced to an excercise in pandering for short-term political gain.
It wasn’t always so terrible. I went to Washington to work for Senator Jesse Helms. The contrast with the kind of people we have serving now is stark. Helms showed that it is possible to focus on the people who elect you, remain true to principle, and accomplish something meaningful. That example, and my faith in this country, keep the cynicism from overwhelming me.
As I understand it, you did NOT work on Jesse Helms Senate staff. You were a PR guy for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Yes Helms was chairman at the time, but the way you phrase it deceptively makes it appear that you were on the Staff of Jesse;s Senate office.
And you have worked recently in a PR firm in DC, working for the special interests, just a shade different than a lobbyist.. Lately, I understand that you have been working in Raleigh at the legislature doing something but do not seem to be registered as a lobbyist there. You did once register as a lobbyist in DC.
Immediately after the 2014 primary, two of the most important national conservative commentators highlighted Walter Jones victory over Griffin as a major win for conservatives over the establishment. Rush Limbaugh commented at length about the importance of Jones’ victory on his radio show the very next day. A few days later, Pat Buchanan made similar comments in his syndicated newspaper column. Buchanan also pointed out that the notorious anti-conservative operative Haley Barbour had his fingers in Griffin’s campaign.
It seems very clear to me that those who follow politics know which side these two players are on.