#ncpol: Luddy, Mitchell, and their money
Big-time GOP donor and conservative activist Bob Luddy generated a few tremors this week with THIS EMAIL:
Subject:House Budget, Major new spending and no Tax Relief
Dear House Caucus Members,
Since 2010, I’ve given consistently to help elect House Republicans. We now find that based on the Republican budget, special interests such as film producers, non-competitive solar energy manufacturers and out of state companies are favored over hard-working taxpayers and North Carolina businesses.
I had planned to donate $25,000 this year to the House Republican Caucus to help re-elect a conservative super-majority.
Unfortunately, after seeing the $1.3 billion in additional spending and no across the board tax relief in the proposed house budget I had to reconsider.
Today, I decided to give the $25,000 intended for the House Caucus to Americans for Prosperity NC to fight the Liberal House spending plan.
BL
Wilmington area donor and conservative activist Baker Mitchell also turned a few heads with an email:
[…] Thank You Dear Rep. Millis (R-Pender) and Donald Bryson (AFP-NC State Director),
As an educator and businessman in southeastern NC, I have been dismayed by the current actions at the NC House regarding the budget. I cannot fathom how Republican leadership under the direction of Speaker Tim Moore and Representatives Dollar, Saine and Lewis can possibly believe that increasing taxpayer spending by $1.3 billion is remotely in the interest of taxpayers.
The budget presented by Speaker Moore is bereft of vision and lacks any focus other than increasing spending at rates higher than previous Democrat led budgets. It is shameful, and there is no practical justification for it. I am proud that both of you are fighting for your conservative principles and those of the citizens of this state.
As such, I’ve decided to direct my donations to those that fight wasteful spending. I will personally be making a donation to you, Rep. Millis, and $20,000 to AFP for standing strong. That money could have been going to the GOP House Caucus and/or individual candidates, but the leadership has abandoned their principles. I also wish to sincerely commend the roughly two dozen other GOP House members fighting to stop this wasteful budget. Thank you both for the hard work you are doing for the citizens of this great state. […]
This kind of stuff does not sit well with the establishment. Normally, rich guys who give money are bad, bad, bad people. But now, rich guys withholding money because of a lack of cojones on the part of faux conservatives are even worse. State Rep. Jason Saine dismissed Luddy’s message as ”infantile.”
Bob Luddy is like us here at The Haymaker: American, conservative, and then — maybe — Republican. This guy has been at the forefront of advancing conservatism and its associated causes in North Carolina probably as long as Saine has been alive. Saine ought to be flatte
red he even gets acknowledged by someone of Luddy’s caliber.
The Charlotte Observer sees mafia-style shakedown tactics in Mitchell and Luddy’s moves. You could make a better case for that with this whole solar thing, or ANY major economic development negotiation. But Luddy is not asking for anything in particular, other than good, smaller, lower-cost government. He got told he was going to get it. He began to see he wasn’t going to get it. So, he decided he was no longer going to bankroll liars.
This is a Lexington and Concord, Fort Sumter moment for conservatism in North Carolina. We can sit on our hands, and keep getting abused by the RINOs in Raleigh. We can forcibly take over the NCGOP. Or we can go our own way, with our own organization — not unlike Jesse Helms’s Congressional Club.
This budget is immoral and the GOP led NCHouse are blatantly thumbing their noses at the voters who sent them their with a clear mandate to reduce government and exhibit fiscal Responsibility.
Grateful to these two conservatives for hitting them where it hurts, and despite their arrogant response, it will hurt. Praying more will follow.
#DefundTheGOP
What is needed is a state organization to back conservatives in primaries, like South Carolina’s state chapter of the Club for Growth. Saine, Lewis, Dollar, and Moore should be among the top targets for replacement in the primaries. They function more as Democrats than Republicans. Any candidate connected to Dee Stewart or Paul Shumaker also ought to be high on the target list.
There is a PAC run by True Conservatives and supported by Rep. Walter B Jones, Jr. It is a STATE SuperPac (meaning it does not involve itself in Federal Races, only state races) called Liberty Torch Pac. http://www.libertytorchpac.com
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqSNLxOfVLI
Todd Bennett
Farmville, NC
Walter Jones is one of the most principled conservatives in DC and has the backbone to stand up to Obama enabler John Boehner, and he is a good selling point for your PAC, however when I looked at the records at the SBOE, I was less impressed.
For the amount of money the PAC reports raising, the amount it actually put into races is not impressive. It engaged in no legislative races in 2012 and only three in 2014. Yes, it did engage in some county races.
Of the three legislative races it got involved in, I have no knowledge as to one and the other two had higher profiles.
Incumbent conservative Larry Pittman had a Tillis-recruited liberal primary opponent, a woman who had previously waged a campaign as a liberal independent in the general election against McCrory. This was a very key race for conservatives to target as Pittman has been one of the standout conservatives in Raleigh. The key was the primary, as the district is solidly Republican for the general, and this PAC correctly only spent money in the primary.
Another target was supporting Mattie Lawson down east. Her battles with the establishment which supported a warmed over liberal Democrat legislator in 2012 got statewide attention. This PAC got into her 2014 primary when her opponent actually had GOP bonafides, not the 2012 primary. Lawson has a reputation as being very solid on the issues and would likely make a very good legislator but is very short on campaign skills including fundraising to actually get elected. Her district is also a swing district for the general election. Thus it is very odd that while this PAC engaged in the primary, it left her high and dry in the general election where she lost.
There are lots of good targets for 2016 primaries, and conservatives need a PAC which will actively seek out primary opponents for them. For example Jason Saine has been a thorn in conservatives sides. Before snagging an appointment to a vacant House seat, Saine had been on long term unemployment checks. It would be great to send him back to the unemployment lines in the 2016 primary. Years ago, Saine was a partner in the consulting firm of the noxious Dee Stewart, so it is not surprising that he is one of the bad eggs in Raleigh.
Look for Luddy and Mitchell to be targets by the political class now. The charter schools of mr Mitchell will soon get that extra special look see by the special powers in Raleigh.
If the GOP House won’t even promote religious liberty, then why expect them to do anything right?