SoreLoser Berger: *The Democrats beat me!*

Posted on by

The General Assembly is back in session. So, what is arguably the boss-of-bosses on Jones Street up to?  *Pushing through important government-shrinking agenda items?  Working to build unity in his party and aid the party’s new nominee for district 26? *

*Naaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh.*

Stuff more like THIS:

Democrats voting in the Republican Party took him out?   (*Seriously?*)

In light of that allegation, let’s look at a few things:

  • If he really thought outsiders meddling in the GOP primary was a problem, why have he and his minions spent YEARS blocking efforts to close Republican primaries to ONLY registered Republicans?
  • He’s overseen redistricting at the congressional and legislative levels for fifteen years. One would think that he’d have gerrymandered a can’t-lose district for himself.  (In fact, that’s what we heard he thought he did.) Back in March, he lost his home county of Rockingham to Sam Page by 2-1. Where folks knew him the best.  If Democrats managed to pull off a hijacking like that, the NCGOP has a hell of a problem. 
  • Sam Page raised less than $100,000.  Third parties spent about $750,000 opposing Berger.  It’s been estimated that PACs from across the country with interests in front of the state legislature, doled out $12 million to prop up Berger.  And he STILL lost.
  • The senate district in question is split pretty evenly between Rockingham County and Guilford County.  Both Page and Berger are from Rockingham County.  Page won Rockingham — overwhelmingly Republican — by a margin of 2-1.  Democrats are normally not a factor in Rockingham races.  Berger kept it closer than it should have been by winning the portion of Guilford County in the district– where you are more likely to find left-leaning voters.  Looking at these facts, you’d have to argue that left-leaning voters preferred Berger much more than Page.  After all, Sam Page was Donald Trump’s state chairman in 2016, while Phil and the boys were fooling around with Marco Rubio.  Democrats would get a better deal with keeping Berger.
  • The drive-by media has also downplayed the fact that Phil’s son Kevin Berger lost his majority on the Rockingham County board of commissioners in March.  (The same election where dad lost his senate seat.) As of the end of the year, he will no longer be chairman. If you want to blame THIS on Democrat hijackers as well, the NC Democrats are looking scarier.  The NCGOP is in yuuuuuuge trouble.

The real story?  Phil Berger spent years elevating his children into key political positions in Raleigh and back home.  Former Berger aides and current Berger lieutenants were elevated into positions like district attorney, district and Superior Court judges, Rockingham GOP chairman, and county board of elections and commissioner seats.  If you didn’t go along with the Berger grift – if you criticized the Berger machine in public – the machine would come after you with a vengeance.  In a much more fierce manner than they’d ever exercise against Democrats.

Kevin Berger demanded investigation after investigation of Sam Page by the SBI. (All starting after it became clear that the county sheriff would be running against his daddy.).

Phil Berger-supporting PACs aired nasty ads that included one nasty allegation that Page impregnated an inmate in the county jail.  (I’m sure a defamation suit is forthcoming.)

People just had enough.  Just enough to outlast the special interest juggernaut powering the Berger campaign.

I’m hearing that Berger dug into a lot of the cash reserved for caucus members with tight races in November.  (*WHAT an unselfish leader.*). I’m also hearing that a vengeance campaign is underway.  One that may also target the voters in his home county.

We’ve got a long way to go to fumigate the legislature and state government.  But this was a good start.