Thoughts about Tuesday (UPDATED!)

 

 

A lot of you have already run to your polling places to cast your votes.  Good for you.  Now,  what do you do if the pol you voted for: (a) says or does something really stupid between the time you voted and Tuesday; (b) gets arrested or indicted on or before Tuesday; or (c) passes on to the Great Beyond (either  up above the clouds or deep beneath us)?

Nevertheless,  we here at TDH have some suggestions / words of wisdom for those of you who are waiting until Tuesday. We are not opining on ALL the races on Tuesday’s ballot.    For housekeeping purposes,  this post is divided into two parts:  Moore County and Everybody Else.  If you don’t live in Moore County,  feel free to skip over that part.  If you do live in Moore County,  BOTH parts apply to you.

 

MOORE COUNTY

 

District Attorney

 

Hands down,  the only choice here is Mike Hardin.  He DID NOT give money to Barack Hussein Obama or Adam Schiff.  His opponent,  Arthur Donadio,  DID.

 

 

County Commissioner

 

We recommend Ron Jackson here.  Louis Gregory has kept a seat warm in Carthage for four years.   That’s about the extent of it.  Ron is the kind of guy who shakes up the whole business-as-usual climate.  We have a deep, sincere appreciation for that kind of thing.

 

Board of Education

 

Hands down,  your choices here are Bob Levy and Philip Holmes.  These two Republican are facing off against sycophant incumbents who have been little more than lap-dogs and yes-men for the public schools bureaucrats who have busted the budget and redistricted / relocated / bused  your kids all the way to Timbuktu.  Every incumbent on this  board needs to be removed.   The sobbing superintendent needs to be checked, monitored and properly supervised.  Electing Levy and Holmes will be a good start toward that goal.

 

North Carolina House of Representatives

 

Are you voting for a best friend or a leader in this race?  Both combatants — Bob Temme and Jamie Boles — are great people.

 

Jamie has been in Raleigh for TWELVE years.   As time has passed,  his voting record has shifted further and further to the left. It seems Boles places greater importance on pleasing Speaker Tim Moore than he does on actually representing the people back home.   People have been infuriated as he has sat on his hands, allowing fellow Republican state Rep.  David Lewis to abscond with lottery money meant for Moore County schools without penalty or the least bit of protest / resistance.  Thanks to Jamie’s lack of effort /  surrender, we got a tax increase.

 

His meddling on behalf of the big spending / budget-busting Moore County schools superintendent and school board has also not helped him.  Jamie has had a ball in Raleigh for the past twelve years.   Unfortunately,  it hasn’t been much fun for us.  This time, it might be worth giving Bob Temme a shot.  

 

 

EVERYBODY ELSE

 

 

President

 

Trump.  (Did we REALLY have to say it?)

 

 

US Senator

 

That slug Thom Tillis is back and he’s seeking six more years in DC from us.   He’s mouthed a lot of alleged support for the president.  Lest we forget — in April 2019 — ol’  Thom was all over TV and the driveby media stabbing the president in the back on the border wall and amnesty.   Right now,  he’s working out a deal to bring MORE folks across the border.   Every conservative organization in DC has rated him as one of the most liberal Republicans in the Senate.  He failed to achieve 50 percent of the vote in the primary AND general in 2016, and SHOULD be a prime victim for an upset.

 

 

But he and his minions have done a great job of shaking down special interests for cash and intimidating credible potential opponents.  He’ll likely win the GOP primary this year.  But we CAN send him a message by keeping him under 50 percent one  more time.   There are three other lesser-known, underfunded candidates in the GOP race.  We recommend casting your vote for Larry Holmquist in this one.  At least you’ll feel better about yourself and be able to sleep at night.  (Larry is a good guy genuinely worried about the state of the party, conservatism, and the country.)   

 

Governor

 

Dan Forest is the choice here.  He has token opposition in this race from state Rep.  Holly Grange — a liberal Republican  who fits the stereotype of every mean-spirited, snobby mother-in-law character  you’ve ever seen in the movies.

 

Lt.  Governor

 

There is a heck of a crowd running on both sides of the aisle in this race.  We can give you THREE to say HELL NO to:  Renee Ellmers,  Mark Johnson, and Greg Gebhardt.

 

One candidate you can cast your vote FOR,  and feel good about it,  is John L. Ritter from  Moore County.  Ritter,  a young country lawyer,  is making his very first run for political office.    He has yet to be touched by the filth that taints the game of politics.  He’s a church-going, family man with a  solid set of conservative principles.   Ritter has run  a low-key,  low-budget campaign.  So, he hasn’t made a lot of headlines or waves.   

 

In  a crowded race like this,  he COULD sneak into a runoff or the general.

 

Insurance Commissioner

 

Re-elect Mike Causey.  ‘Nuff said.

 

Labor Commissioner

 

Chuck Stanley,  legislator Josh Dobson, and Pearl Burris-Floyd are running for this open seat.   Josh Dobson, during his time in the legislature, has shown himself to be a lapdog and a yes-man for the special interests and their lobbyists.  I mean, “International Travel for Legislative Business” ????  (Give me a break.)

 

Dobson, at the behest of the lobbyist corps,  also led the fight to block treasurer Dale Folwell’s healthcare cost transparency efforts.  President Trump has since taken Folwell’s idea nationwide.

 

So,  if you are  a Dale Folwell fan,  Josh Dobson is NOT your man.    Pearl Burris-Floyd is a much better choice.  

 

Attorney General

 

Three candidates —  Sam Hayes,  Jim O’Neil,  and Christine Mumma — are running for this office.    Mumma is a liberal who gave money to incumbent Josh Stein in 2016.  O’Neil,  the Forsyth county DA,  has been accused of being too close to then-AG Roy Cooper as well as his county’s “sanctuary” sheriff.    Hayes appears to have left the staff of the state treasurer’s office in a not-so-heroic fashion.   (Hayes and O’Neil are both from  Forsyth County.  Some of our friends from  Forsyth have praised O’Neil’s prosecutorial performance in the county.)

So, it looks like we have three, um, interesting choices here.  Mumma is a no-go.   It looks like there needs to be a little soul-searching between O’Neil and Hayes.   

 

Secretary of State

 

Mike LaPaglia blew his chance in 2016 as the  GOP nominee amid a Trump wave.   It’s time to give someone else a shot.  And that someone else is E.C. Sykes.

 

 

MISCELLANEOUS

 

 

Mike Speciale’s state House seat

 

Developer Steve Tyson,  Guy Smith, Eric Queen, and Jim Kohr are running to replace the conservative stalwart.  Folks in that area tell us that — if you LIKE Mike Speciale — you’ll LOVE Jim Kohr.   

 

Coastal judges

 

Fans of our site who live in this stretch of the state  need to throw their support behind Andrew Wigmore and William Shanahan  in two very key district court races.