#NCGA: Pay-to-play in living color, in your email inbox
An awful lot of Republicans here in Moore County found the item below in their email inboxes this morning:
“I must raise money in order to help the Republican Caucus and to maintain my leadership.”
I’ve heard whispers about this, but I’ve never seen it this blatant. Boles makes it pretty clear that — if he wants to keep his committee chairmanship — he better cough up some bucks. Notice how checks need to be made to his campaign committee — and not to the House Republican Caucus or the NCGOP. Also notice that Boles is running unopposed this year.
We heard previously about a legislator from Forsyth complaining about the pressure to fundraise when she was unopposed. Republicans took over on Jones Street in 2011 promising to be different than the Democrats who ran the place for eons.
This is not a partisan thing — it’s an institutional problem kept alive by the political establishment. Committee chairmen need to be the best and the brightest, with experience and ideas that can best benefit the people of North Carolina and promote the party’s conservative agenda. Having to pay up — Soprano or Corleone-style — so you can help your constituents and remain relevant at the Legislative Building is disgusting.
I wish some of these unopposed GOP legislators would kick in some bucks to help the judicial candidates out. You know, lower taxes, opportunity scholarships, voter ID, etc., are great, but they won’t be around much longer if we elect a bunch of Robert Hobgoods, Sonia Sotomayors, and Stephen Breyers to our NC Supreme Court and Court of Appeals.
NorthCrack34
A great start would be to ask the State GOP why they don’t support partisan elections for judicial candidates. After you receive your answer a great follow-up would be to ask why it’s never been voted on it as part of the party platform. Their answers might be surprising the truth is eye-opening.
There are a number of folks on the NCGOP I’ve talked to who are in favor. I think some of the judges are kind of iffy due to wave years. NC elected Judges Donna Stroud (R), Bob Hunter (R), and Bob Edmunds (R) in Dem years (06, 08, and 08, respectively).
No candidate I’ve ever talk with likes to ask for money although they tell me it’s an essential part of the job. I’m sorry to say but elections have become more about how much money you can raise to beat the other side. More often than not the team that raises the most money wins the election. Although I do have a question for Mr. Boles why would you only asked for $10 each from all them Romney Republicans in Moore County.
Just one more indicator that the Republican Party is a walking cadaver.
Who the hell has bucks to give Jamey Boles, so he can have walking-around money? Who does he think he is, Carl Rove?
It’s the JUDGES, of both parties, who don’t want partisan election identifiers!!
If you’re bothered by the pay to play mess in Raleigh, you’d better sit down. In our corrupt nation’s capitol, the freshmen legislators have to pony up $17,000!!!!! when they go to caucus. The big cheeses pay around $170,000!!!!! and that’s PER YEAR! They’re expected to spend 4 hours each day making phone calls to constituents for fundraising. It’s no wonder they get very little done to improve our government.
We are only too glad to contribute to Jamie Boles’ campaign. He doesn’t have an opponent, but plenty of conservative candidates do have opposition. By giving to Jamie, which we have done, we’re helping others around the state to get elected. To be sure the judicial candidates need support, and we give to them and go hear and see them on every occasion we can. Jamie Boles does untold good in his community, in the Second District and statewide.
Respectfully, let’s aim our negatives at those who really deserve it – and get Conservatives like Jamie Boles elected in 2014!