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It can be challenging to remain completely objective when addressing deeply ingrained prejudices and beliefs. The primary necessity within the Local Republican Party should be to set aside minor personal conflicts and concentrate on the actual needs and improvements required for local governance and the methods through which we can implement them.
The Republican Party should prioritize what benefits the people, free from personal bias. Morality, integrity, honesty, and truthfulness are often missing in national politics. While the local party can't control the national scene, they can uphold these values locally.
"Trust but verify," "Consider the source," and "We the people" are essential principles that should be kept in mind for future endeavors of the Local Republican Party.

Commented: Sunday, April 6th, 2025 @ 11:36 am By: Buzz Cayton

Mr. Steve (Rader): I totally agree with you on placing a strong sense of urgency in pushing the policies of President Trump, minus the administration's obsession with pushing AI, as well as utilizing Sun Tzu strategy to achieve the end goal we all desire to reach.

We've all been guilty of burning ships to the water when it comes to confronting incompetent officials about their lack of intestinal fortitude on past matters but, moving forward, we eventually learn to focus on the bigger picture and pick our battles

SD: Hypothetically speaking, if the Executive Committee were to be stacked with a sizeable "Dream Team" roster, would it be possible to override the lesser performing players and force a certain outcome OR would it cause gridlock?

With that being said, I believe I've heard The Hood say: "Gridlock is good"😎.

I'm just throwing some thoughts out here. If anything sounds ridiculous, don't hesitate to offer constructive criticism.

Commented: Saturday, April 5th, 2025 @ 3:10 pm By: John Valley

John Roberts has been shown for many years to be a worthless poof.

Commented: Saturday, April 5th, 2025 @ 3:44 pm By: Conservative Voter

My wife and I got a bunch of those postcards trying to paint Judge Griffin as a liberal. We knew better and did not fall for them. However, the fact that Griffin underperformed the statewide GOP ticket shows that too many of our voters DID.

I looked up this radical group that Riggs helped run, and wonder why this was not brought up in Griffin's campaign. She is the sort of extreme left wing radical that we do not need as a judge.

Commented: Saturday, April 5th, 2025 @ 2:07 pm By: Rino Hunter

This is great news! That pool of questionable voters is largely Democrat. The violations ruled on by the Court of Appeals have been pointed out repeatedly to the state Board of Elections, but its Democrat majority and Democrat staff refused to take any action to correct the errors before the election.

Commented: Saturday, April 5th, 2025 @ 10:26 am By: Steven P. Rader

Steve: The problem in Beaufort County government at all levels is the Beaufort County GOP. I was asked that question in a podcast, and that was the first thing that my brain told my mouth to say ... so it must be correct.

Commented: Saturday, April 5th, 2025 @ 8:30 am By: Stan Deatherage

It seems like the tone of things is still anti native, anti-conservative and exclusive. I just don't see these control freaks sharing anything.

Commented: Friday, April 4th, 2025 @ 9:11 pm By: Van Zant

John, it is a pure mess up there and has been for far too many years.

Now that Hood, Dave, Steve, Stan, Charles and so many others are on the Executive Committee, it is time to confront a few truths on the the BC GOP will conduct itself in Beaufort County going forward.

Commented: Friday, April 4th, 2025 @ 8:37 pm By: Stan Deatherage

The climate alarmists and their idiotic demands are responsible for much of the inflation we face in our economy. It is good to see Trump reining in this nonsense.

Commented: Friday, April 4th, 2025 @ 1:33 pm By: Concerned Taxpayer

I am not a fan of fiction myself and rarely read it unless required to. I can appreciate good satire for what it is, and whoever this so-called Avenger is, he does make a point. If healing wounds and advancing the cause of the party is a top priority and true concern, I’m of the opinion that limiting the ability for people who want to participate to do so, excluding certain members of the party because their viewpoints differ from those of others, using the Executive Committee as a PAC instead of a collaborative group of all party members, and attempting to consolidate power and control among a select few stands completely counter to that position.

I did attend the county convention and witnessed first-hand Keith Kidwell dictating to people how to vote and yelling at them when they chose to vote against his wishes. I witnessed Kidwell attempt to limit, not expand, the ability of our citizens to participate and serve on the Executive Committee and then explain that America is not a democracy. He is correct to some extent because we are a constitutional federal republic. However, at the lowest, grassroots beginning of our political process, each person who chooses to vote does so in a democratic process where each voice is heard. So, in my opinion, the U.S. is a democracy because we, the people, hold the ultimate political power. We aren’t a “direct democracy”, however, we are a “representative democracy.” That’s because we exercise our political power in a different way: by voting in elections to choose our representatives. That is what makes us a “representative democracy”. The Constitution doesn’t use the term “democracy” but notable Americans such as Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Noah Webster and Chief Justice John Marshall all used the term. Those men understood representative democracy – the American variety – to be democracy all the same.

When a motion to allow anyone who wished to volunteer to serve on the Executive Committee was made, Keith Kidwell made a motion to not only prevent this but to limit the number of individuals who could serve on the committee from what previously had been 21-24 seats to a smaller number capped at 15 seats. Limiting control of government to a few cronies as opposed to opening it up to anyone who wants to participate is elitist and the type of politics we see coming from New Jersey and New York...remember your history and Tammany Hall. Furthermore, Joseph Knox made a motion to try and prevent an open discussion/debate of the issue. Fortunately, both of these attempts failed, and the Executive Committee is now composed of approximately 45 individuals. While Keith Kidwell may vote conservatively on issues when in Raleigh, he is no true conservative or friend to the Beaufort County citizen. He actively endorses the RINOs in our county that have corrupted our county government, allowing for a weak School Board and County Commission. These are nothing more than power plays so that a few can remain in power and share power for their own personal benefit. That's the same type of corruption we saw in politics in Iraq and Afghanistan during my 14 years of military service to these United States. We deserve better.

It's possible that some party members are offended that these details are being made public as they don’t reflect well on the messaging that has been coming out of the Executive Committee and senior party leadership in the county for years. But let’s face it, these folks are already up to their same old shenanigans. Why else would Carolyn Garris need to appoint a “Chairman's Advisory Committee” stating the members of this “esteemed committee” are Keith Kidwell, Ashley Woolard, Sandy Hardy and Paul Varcoe? Why does she require a personal committee more limited in size than the Executive Committee as a whole? What makes this committee “esteemed”? This was not announced to or voted on by the Executive Committee as we haven’t had the first meeting yet. Remember that these same folks voted against expanding the size of the Executive Committee. Additionally at a previous convention, it was Kidwell who filed a false report with the Sheriff that Mr. Richardson had slapped a woman at the convention. Also, Paul Varcoe harassed Hood Richardson to the point that charges were brought against him for pushing Richardson at the same convention. This is dirty politics at its best.

Concerning the first meeting of the new Executive Committee to be held on April 10th, why is it being held in Aurora? This location is not centrally located as Washington is. Is this an attempt to make it more difficult for everyone to attend? Also, why is there a $10 fee to attend, supposedly for refreshments? That’s a high price for a few refreshments and what should be a relatively short meeting. Remember the price to attend the county convention was only $5, a meeting which lasted close to six hours with only refreshments being offered that ran out well before the meeting was over.

One last question would be why Gail Breed is listed as “Acting Secretary”? Who appointed her? This wasn’t brought to the attention of the Executive Committee as a whole or voted on by said committee. I believe it was April Holloway who was elected at the county convention to serve as Secretary. Why isn’t she attending or involved? Could it be she received severe criticism or backlash because she chose to remain neutral and abstained from voting on issues regarding the Executive Committee during the convention. She should be applauded for her courage and fortitude.

The observations and concerns that I mention here appear to me to be a violation on the part of several members of the Executive Committee to abide by the 2024 North Carolina Republican Party Platform document which states: “ARTICLE V. STATE GOVERNMENT 1. We believe that in a free society, power should rest in the hands of the people. We believe in a limited government which serves the people, rather than one that burdens them.”

The people of Beaufort County are waking up to what has been going on. If our goal really is to heal wounds and advance the cause of the party in our county, then an environment that is inclusive to all, welcomes and facilitates open discussion and eliminates centralized control and back-room meetings is the first step toward achieving that goal.

Commented: Friday, April 4th, 2025 @ 12:36 pm By: David Hudson

SHe is just another of the political hack Obama and Biden jduges who are Democrat activists or donors and abuse their judgeships to play blatant politics. Their abuse of power for political purposes is the reasons a huge number of Americans no longer trust their couts.

Commented: Friday, April 4th, 2025 @ 7:21 am By: John Steed