Rules? We don’ need no steenkin’ rules!
Another night, another NCGOP conference call.
Monday evening, Michael Whatley herded many of his County and District Chair minions onto a statewide conference call during which he pushed through another violation of the 
state Plan of Organization.
Whatley advocated for and secured a vote to postpone the GOP’s district elections until after the state’s General Assembly (and possibly the courts) are finished redistricting the state later this year.
The Party’s Plan of Organization, sections VII.C.1.(a) and VII.C.2.(a) and (b) clearly call for April conventions and elections in the odd numbered years. 
While delaying the elections until after redistricting this year may sound like a smart move, it can be viewed as problematic for a number of reasons:
1. The GOP Rules CLEARLY stipulate that all District conventions and elections are to be held in odd numbered years in the month of April. Delaying those elections to later in the year directly violates the party’s rules, just one more direct violation Whatley has orchestrated over the past four years. His past indiscretions in calling illegal meetings and bypassing the party Executive Committee — the party’s official action arm — on budget matters are already legendary.
2. Delaying the elections of district chairmen and officers disenfranchises prospective candidates for party office (particularly those seeking a seat on the Central Committee), who, thanks to the delay, cannot serve a full two-year term of office in party leadership once they are elected later this year. That doesn’t concern Whatley because the lap dogs he already has on the Central Committee rubber stamp his misbehavior.
3. Delaying the elections ensures Whatley can control the agenda and activities at the NCGOP’s Annual Convention in early June 2023. Whatley’s cronies can more handily shut down the changes to the party Platform, the party Plan of Organization, and the emerging grassroots resolutions that Whatley finds objectionable (i.e., the imminent resolution to censure Thom Tillis; the resolution to Close the GOP Primaries in 2024).
4. Delaying the elections means that some districts (the ones not experiencing substantive redistricting changes) will lose continuity of leadership all the way through their respective congressional elections in 2024. Rather, some districts will likely be electing new leadership within weeks of the early 2024 party primaries– too late to plan and support events for future congressional candidates.
5. Delaying the elections directly impacts the constituency of members who can attend the party’s Executive Committee Meeting to be held the morning of June 11th, immediately following the convention. The composition of the party’s Executive Committee will change fairly dramatically once District Conventions are held and elections determine which district republicans can serve as voting members on the state’s Executive Committee. The delay assures that Whatley will have a more stable ExCom, one that is: (a) unlikely to pass resolutions or changes that Whatley does not support and (b) almost sure to rubber stamp the Chairman’s choices for party leadership for the next two years.
Is it any wonder that members of the NCGOP rank-and-file are retiring to the sidelines? Republican Party registrations are falling off — now sitting at just under 30.3% of the voting population and diminishing each year.
Donor contributions to the NCGOP are evaporating. Moreover, the party’s performance in recent elections has been far from optimal. While the NCGOP is now winning all its appellate court races, the NCGOP lost the Governor’s race and the Attorney General’s race in 2020. Republicans lost ground in their federal congressional delegation during the 2022 election cycle, now sitting at just 50% Republican with only seven Republicans in the narrowly divided U.S. House of Representatives.
Whatley was woefully unsuccessful in seeking a paying job as Co-Chair of the RNC last week, so the NCGOP is unfortunately left to suffer Whatley’s failed leadership for another six months (or longer).
Surely, the NCGOP recognizes that (a) Whatley has no reverence for the state’s grassroots conservatives, and (b) that he most desires moving up the RNC ladder or securing a paying job elsewhere. Perhaps if enough GOP mega-donors quit giving and enough County Chairs begin boycotting the NCGOP’s events, Whatley will get the message or be ousted from office, á là Hassan Harnett).
I would like to publicly commend the 3 District Chairs — Wickersham, West and Jarvis for standing firm on the Plan of Organization.
It is not lost on me that having the district conventions under current maps that will indeed change is inconvenient, BUT we have rules and a plan that should be followed.
We must decide – Are we going to follow the Plan of Organization? Are we going to adhere to the Platform? Or are we going to do what is most “convenient?”
The NC Democratic Party — they are having their district conventions and elections in May and getting to work!
Sounds to me like we have a party that is let’s just roll over, put our feet up on the table and say nah, we don’t have to do anything…I mean why bother now….they haven’t done anything the past couple years at least some counties have sit and twiddled their thumbs as if things are just going to magically do it themselves. Wake up people we don’t live in a fairy tale world of sugarplums and unicorns and pansies or maybe we do and the Republicans are outnumbered here and we just don’t realize we have lost, I mean those of us still fighting with our last damn breathe are getting exhausted here trying to fight the nats and the blood sucking mosquitos at the same time.
We need a “AN OF THE PARTY, NOT IN The PARTY independent plan like they have in AR, AZ, TX, & Fl. and luckily, you can join me and participate this Saturday. Reps from several states are descending on Charleston, SC Sat, 2.11.2023 for an 11-6pm training and best practices review and support gathering. stating with lawsuits, maybe we need one on this blatant move of breaking the rules on OUR MEETINGS!.
On Saturday folks who haven’t quit and refuse to be ignored by state party leadership are meeting to solidify independent efforts to Precinct reOrg.
Highlights are found at mySCGOP.com, study up and come on down where the paid RNC co-chair job went to Mkinnsik of SC after he behaved like Whatley to keep power.
Seriously, I would like a name of every county Chair and Vice Chair that voted in favor of doing this. As a member of the NCGOP I demand a copy of it as it is in CLEAR VIOLATION OF THE STATE PLAN OF ORGANIZATION. If the REPUBLICANS OF THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA, can’t stand up to the leadership in their party to stand FOR THE REPUBLICAN PARTY PLATFORM and on their morals, values, and principles, then what in the hell are they good for? ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! They are then in turn no better than the people they are calling out on the other side of the isle for doing the exact same things, CORRUPT AS THE DAY IS LONG! This folks is at best your finest in leadership? BULL CRAP! I emplore every RED BLOODED AMERICAN REPUBLICAN to go back and READ YOUR REPUBLICAN PARTY PLATFORM, READ YOUR OWN RULES and understand where the hypocricy lies and where the individual disloyalty and disenfranchisement lies and where you can see the true corruption lies where you can’t seem to get anything done in this nation as a whole. Hand in Hand they walk amongst us! Top to Bottom! WHATLEY MUST GO AND EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THE CHAIRS AND VICE CHAIRS ON THAT CALL THAT AGREED TO BREAK THE RULES, not bend BUT BREAK AND VIOLATE! Hold them accountable and call for their removal from the executive party membership that remains in place as that is YOUR DUTY as executive party members and those sitting members have that responsibility.
Let me clarify my statement above to say it was not meant to say county chairs and vice chairs it was meant to say District Chairs and the Central Committee Membership along with those clubs that were involved in that meeting. My apologies for those that read that and may get upset, but if it brings the attention of the county chairs and vice chairs to the table then so be it…at least they will have read something that they possibly should have been able to acknowledge and been involved in and privy to in the first place and had a say on. Maybe they should have been able to have known what was going on and maybe just maybe this kind of thing should have not taken place at all if they were following the rules that they themselves adopted and set forth and expect the counties to follow and then emplore volunteers within the communities to follow as guidelines. Maybe just maybe.
This is what happens when the NC GOP State Chair loses an RNC election after supporting Ronna. He turns on his own grassroots and shows his true colors. Who’s surprised? Not me.
The NC GOP is in for some hard times. They’re not reading the room. Loyal republicans will not donate to people who feel entitled to act like democrats and change the rules to fit their narrative.
We have a state chairman who is out of control and engaged in gross abuse of power to the detriment of the party. He did not even give proper notice of his Monday Central Committee telephone meeting, and the action taken is grossly in violation of the state Plan of Organization. If we had a NCGOP General Counsel who was not under Whatley’s thumb they would have brought up a point of order that this was improper. The PoO does not give the Central Committee power to do what Whatley has demanded, but he demanded it anyway.
There are already provisions in the state Plan of Organization to deal with redistricting situations. This is nothing but a Whatley power play and he should not be allowed to get away with it.
We do not need to give dictator Whatley any more control. He is already spending party money he has no authorization to spend and is doing nothing to get a proper budget passed by the Executive Committee. This is another instance of gross abuse of power.
We need to start circulating petitions for impeachment of Whatley. We do not get a dictator abusing power. No thinking person should give NCGOP a dime until Whatley is G-O-N-E. If anyone wants to bring a lawsuit, they can also bring Whatley to heel on his illegal acts.
Districts should go ahead and hold their conventions and tell Whatley to get stuffed.
One of these days, conservatives will grow frustrated with the complete futility of their petitions, censures, failed ouster attempts and utterly hopeless crusades to reform the ncgop, and they’ll realize I was right all along that conservatives must leave the ncgop and form a new a North Carolina Conservative party that forces the RINO elected officials to dance to our tune if they want to stay in office.
Districts need to hold their conventions as specified by the Plan of Organization. Then we need to impeach this lawless, ethics-less scoundrel of sabotage masquerading as our party chairman. Kick his arse to the curb. He’s gone too far.
Mess like this and Tillis is exactly why I quit the GOPe after Romney. If all they have to vote for is Tillis, or a Burr-look-alike, or McCrory, then I’ll quit voting.
But they still send me mail begging for money. I add that to the trash.
Bring me a Jesse Helms and I’ll vote again.
Bye.
PS- and this fred smith is NOT the rino from Johnston County. i dont have or pay illegals in my company.
Thanks for that clarification!!
The decision to not have Congressional District Conventions is Poor leadership. Makes no sense to show the base, Party Rules don’t matter. If respect is lost the foundation crumbles. What was the reasoning for not having a second Convention after the final maps are drawn? What a slap in the face to candidates running Statewide races. Did Wake County cave? Sounded like it from an email we all received. Steve Bergstrom running for Wake County Chair would stand by the rules. Can’t wait to vote for him.
Our district chairman has shared with party leaders the justification of this move. They cite Article VII.C.1.b of the Plan of Organization, which in its last sentence provides for the state chairman to set later dates for district conventions “in years requiring reapportionment”. The general counsel gave an opinion that the prospect that the legislature is going to redistrict in “a reapportionment” and therefore this section applies.
Having served five years myself as NCGOP General Counsel, I find this interpretation extremely strained. First of all, the term “reapportionment” is very distinct from “redistricting”. Reapportionment comes every ten years after the census, and is a process where the division of Congressional seats is redetermined among states based on population shifts, and then district lines are shifted within the states based on gain or loss of House seats and on population shifts within the states. At no other time does a redistricting constitute “reapportionment”. That is a very specific term that comes from the US Constitution. In addition, the only years in which drawing new lines is normally required is the year following the census. While “redistricting” can at other times be required by a court order, “reapportionment” would not be.
Moreover, the precedent within the NCGOP when there is a redistricting outside of the reapportionment process, as there was in 2022, that is NOT handled under the reapportionment clause of the Plan of Organization. A competent reading of the actual language of the Plan of Organization and party precedent both indicate that this opinion of the current situation being a “required reapportionment” to be faulty.
What is the actual situation currently? At the time this project to move district conventions started, it was merely the desire of our legislators (concurred with by every party activist I know) to undo the judicial gerrymandering we had imposed on us and to take some steps toward redistricting to do that. There was a motion for a rehearing of the redistricting cases pending before the NC Supreme Court that had not even been heard yet. Shortly before the Central Committee teleconference, the court granted that motion for a rehearing, which will be held in March. So, as of now there, is only a desire for a redistricting and a rather promising move by the court to revisit the issue, but no legislation or court rulings involving redistricting. That is a far cry from even the redistricting (which is not even reapportionment) being “required”.
The Supreme Court could actually, if it chose to go that route, resolve this matter without even submitting it back to the legislature for redistricting. It could simply reconsider its prior ruling and rule that the prior districts established by the prior legislature are valid. If they do that, and it may be the path of least resistance, then there would not even be a court ordered redistricting, much less a reapportionment.
I am flabbergasted, to say the least, that the current NCGOP General Counsel gave the opinion he did on this issue. It just does not add up.
Absolutely