What does it MEAN to be Republican?
Smaller government? Not necessarily. The Republican majorities in Raleigh and DC have been steadily increasing spending over the years 
they’ve been in charge. Our “team” in Raleigh continues to say YES to corporate welfare all in the name of economic development. And don’t get me started on the whole scam about “repeal” of ObamaCare.
Tax cuts? Not necessarily. There has been a bit of a shell game played with rates lately. But I know — and several of my non-Swiss bank account holding friends concur — that we’ve been sending more of our hard-earned money to Raleigh and DC lately.
Family Values? We just had the “conservative revolution” in Raleigh cave on the concept of barring men in drag from entering ladies locker rooms and restrooms. And we can’t get our “team” in DC to cut off the abortion factories at Planned Parenthood.
Second Amendment? We can’t get our “team” in Raleigh to back off the constitutionally-questionable concept of concealed-carry permits.
Many of us are old enough to remember when you could fit all of the North Carolina Republicans in a handful of phone booths. Charlotte and Greensboro would get their GOP congressmen on occasion. But Democrats had everything else. That was back in the day when there were some vestiges of conservatism left among Democrats. Republicans were basically Yankee carpetbaggers and interlopers. The homegrown Republicans were basically the social misfits.
What happened? Conservatism. George McGovern came around scaring people half to death. Richard Nixon at least paid lip-service to conservatism. Ronald Reagan and
Jesse Helms came along and provided music to the ears of so many conservative Eastern North Carolina Democrats. (Democrats’ golden boy, Jim Hunt, has thrived by putting on airs of being a good-ol’ Bible-readin’, flag-wavin’ country boy. You never saw him embracing Jesse Jackson, Ted Kennedy, or Bill Barber.)
Conservatism — or at least the pretense of it — has propelled the NCGOP to so much of its success over the last 40-some years. Yet, after seven years in charge in DC and Raleigh, some folks are getting way too comfortable. *It’s fun being in charge and having people call you ‘Mr. Chairman.’ It’s fun collecting big checks and favors and trips from lobbyists. Stuff is “getting done.” (*No. Not that killing ObamaCare nonsense or cutting government claptrap they fed the yokels at campaign time.*)
But, here we are. Seven years into an alleged revolution. And we’re faced with two groups who mouth diametrically opposing positions but govern like two crime 
families fighting over who gets to control the loot and run the neighborhood. The rest of us who just want to be left alone so we can make an honest living and look after our families are left footing the bill and standing out in the cold.
We got played, people.
Is the answer continuing to vote for these people, HOPING that they’ll start behaving eventually? There aren’t many situations where that kind of thinking works out for the best.
Do we go third party? That’s a long-term mission. Over time, it might fix things.
In the meantime, we can get ourselves educated. Not via the driveby media or inane political propaganda. There is a lot of good stuff out here on the Internet. Talk to your friends. Do a little research. Believe it or not, you CAN leave parts of your ballot BLANK on election day. Show up and vote for the handful of folks who are still serving their people and trying to do what’s right.
There are plenty of people — like those old time Eastern North Carolina Democrats — who will stick with the party label until the bitter end. But what about when the party leaves you?
The party is nowhere near as important as: the country, the state, your faith, your community, your family, and your friends. Parties die off. Talk to the Federalists, The Anti-federalists, and The Whigs and The Populists and The Bull Moose Party about that.
But this country has made it nearly 250 years through all kinds of turmoil and triumph. Conservatism and libertarianism embody the spirit that built this country, made it great, and kept it strong through the good times and the bad. Freedom has done a hell of a lot more good for people than government has. Governments (and parties) come and go. I say we stick with FREEDOM.
I ought not to hear a single complaint about the matters you’ve discussed from anyone who voted for Hayes for Chairman last month. The silence from NCGOP about the Republican Congress’ failure theater says it all. On the bright side, I’ve heard some pretty harsh language coming from coastal GOP organizations. At least SOME County and District Chairmen are laying it on the line with Tilis and Burr about their big Fail. As for the General Assembly’s cave on HB2, they get all the blame but it should be remembered that they were given cover by the previously trustworthy NC Values Coalition.
They were also shamerfully given cover by Civitas failing to rate on the most important liberal / conservative vote in the legislature this session, although I strongly suspect that this was on orders of Gaystapo cheerleader John Hood.
Well hell. I’ve gotten old enough to experience two parties leave me. Screw the parties. I’m sticking with freedom.
They will not change until every budgetary and monetary trick to finance this ponzi scheme is exhausted. Then we will all know what real poverty is. So unnecessary. Avoidable. But they love that enabler of all Largesse, The Fed, too much to address the core of the problems.
You are close. Solutions lie, not in another political party, but in an independent political movements. Collectivism can be killed by a thousand small cuts easier than the “one strong blow” approach favored by the wannabes and control freaks. The committee systems and Roberts Rules are control mechanisms. It gives us a place to vent, and little else.
Why is it difficult for those priding themselves as rugged individualism getting the job done without orders from headquarters. The tea party movement began as a thousand small independent movements. They accomplished so much in a short time. Then, the $ moved in and organized them into oblivion. Staying free is staying independent. So simple, it’s overlooked.
So how does taking your marbles and going home help elect conservatives to public office? What are you doing to recruit and back conservative challengers to the Big Government Republicans. either in the primary or as Unaffiliiated challengers in the general election? There are lots of these establishment types in the legislature whose records are a target rich environment for a conservative challenger in a primary. There will likely be quite a number of establishment Republicans with no Democrat opponent that an Unaffiliated conservative challenger could knock off in a two way race.
Conservatives do not need to sit and pout. We need to go to the mat with the fake Republicans.
/\/\/\/\/\ THIS!
Precisely. I’m already working with some friends to create a well-planned, boots-on-the ground primary to take out my current RINO. Hoping my district isn’t unique.
I hear what you are saying concerning sitting and pouting as opposed to fighting. Unfortunately, the internal party battles I’ve observed and been part of over the years have been comprised of too few activists really willing to oppose the establishment ‘safeguards’ (parliamentary obstacles, attorney obstacles, ruling things our of order that are not out of order etc.).
If the grassroots is to wrest its legitimate control of the state executive committee it will require a real fight. I’m not talking about a show fight, a principled fight or anything like that. It will take a real down and dirty fight fought with the mindset that we will not lose. Anyone that has been in a real fight knows the difference I am talking about.
Do enough of our activists have that mindset? So far, but with some notable exceptions, I haven’t seen it. Certainly not with enough committed numbers.
Then again after our last convention actually elected Hayes to lead us after all that has happened, maybe the infrastructure of the party is just too stupid to do anything of importance.
Perhaps our best bet is to recruit and work for candidates outside of the party structure. I don’t know.
This Ted Cruz video from Fox News is powerful on the treachery of those Senators who lied to the American people on their real position on Obamacare:
http://www.redstate.com/streiff/2017/07/28/ted-cruz/
I agree these senators lied, yes. But, the real matter is the GOP does not want to repeal obama care if thy did they could simply not fund it, McCain was used as a scapegoat because he will not be running for reelection. Basically, they all sat in a room and determined who could “pretend” to be against obama care and who had the political capital to spend, in this case it was McCain. If it looked like a repeal would indeed happen than more Rino’s like Tillis and Burr would have jumped ship. The GOP stsnds for absolutely nothing,
Anyone of us that remains registered Republican at this point is simply an enabler in my opinion. We’ve all clearly seen the folly in the lessor of two evils voting strategy. The above article hits the nail on the head. A couple of great resource sites are Kris Ann Hall and Mises Institute. These sites will lead to so many different areas it’s hard to convey.
In Liberty,
J. Tart
You CAN still write in candidates … I voted for Ted Cruz IN THE GENERAL
GU, no one advocates “taking our marbles home and sitting out”. It was independent movements that have elected most of the real conservative incumbents. Remember the “Jessecrats” ? Recall the unexpected election of Lee, Paul, Cruz and so many others. Whenever the people rise up, they have forced legislators to reverse bad decisions like Congress giving itself a raise that was reversed and some, but not enough, conservatives elected. No need to depend on crumbs from the GOP table. With independents organizing at the grassroots, we can “own the table”. When we stir, they tremble. When we rise, they fall. More than fifty years in the trenches, and still going.
A toast to the success of committed and organized independent movements.
Independent movements are organizing in my part of the state. Beaufort County has the Committee for Better Government (CBG). Craven County has the Coastal Carolina Taxpayers Association (CCTA).
It’s my understanding that the CCTA has been flexing their muscles for several years now.
The CBG grew out of a group of citizens that originally organized as the Stop the Jail Committee which successfully stopped a huge Beaufort County boondoggle. Since morphing into the CBG they have recently sued the Beaufort County Commissioners for constantly and blatantly violating North Carolina open meetings laws in order to govern out of view from the public.
The CBG is standing up to a Board of Commissioners where four of the five Republicans and the two Democrats have allied to ram their backroom dealings down the throats of hardworking taxpayers. Needless to say, the local Republican and Democrat Party Executive Committees are AWOL in this fight.
If you are an elected republican it generally means you have been castrated. As a politician you can talk a big conservative game but when it comes to action,you are MIA.
It is great\ to see Maine’s Republican governor Paul LePage forcefully blasting that state’s RINO Senator Susan Collins for stabbing them in the back in the Obamacare vote.
http://www.beaufortobserver.net/Blog-3931.112112-12462.112112-Maines-GOP-governor-blasts-RINO-Susan-Collins-for-Obamacare-betrayal.html
Where are the Republican leaders in Arizona and Ohio to do the same?
Will John McCain keep his chairmanship of the Senate Armed Services Committee? Of course!