It's not the party; its the principle of the thing that will control the future of this county, | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's note: The Beaufort Observer's Editorial Team succinctly explains what it means to govern as a conservative. Few people in Beaufort County could adequately write this excellent opinion piece.

    Hood Richardson, conservative Beaufort County Commissioner, wrote an editorial here last week in which he challenged the local, state and national Republican parties to return to the principles of conservatism.

    Completely unrelated except by coincidence of timing, former Beaufort GOP Chairman Larry Britt penned a Letter to the Editor in the WDN that also extolled the virtues and imperative of the county, state and nation returning to conservatism.

    In these two positions we see very clearly what the problem is with not only the Republican Party, but indeed our government today.

    We say that because we think "the problem" with our government today is that there is little or no difference between the two major political parties. The difference is way less than the distinction of labels. As a result, We The People have become jaded by politics and government. Way too many people today believe that whether they vote and especially whether they become involved in the political system, particularly at the grass-roots level, will make little or no real difference in what our government does or does not do.

    That is why we have voter participation below half of the registered voters and the registered voters make up only a fraction of those eligible to vote. That is why at the recent precinct meetings (of both parties) several precincts were not even represented and those that were had only minimal attendance. People just don't think it makes much difference who is elected. The way delegates to the district conventions were selected, by including everyone who volunteered to fill the available slots, is but another example of what we're talking about.

    So that is why Hood's call for a return to principles is so important. And likewise, that is why Larry's exhorting the local GOP to "return to Reaganism" is so irrelevant.

    Reagan is dead. Most people, particularly the younger generation, could not tell you what Ronald Reagan stood for. Sure the senior citizens who were active in politics in the 80's might be able to, but very few under forty could. And even those who could articulate some of the principles Reagan stood for would likely have a difficult time explaining how those principles would apply to current conditions.

    For example, "the deficit" to Reagan was not the same deficit that we have with Barack Obama. National security issues Reagan confronted (The Cold War) were a far cry from the surge of radical Islam today. How many people do you think right now understand the difference between Reagan's bombing Libya and Obama's bombing Libya last week? (Reagan bombed Libya to punish Gaddafi for killing Americans while Obama says he did it to "protect innocent civilians" but it is only Libyan "civilians" he chooses to protect but chooses not to in Syria, Iran, Yemen etc. So what is the principle operating in each instance?)

    And locally, we see the same fog of principles. Beaufort County has spent like a drunken sailor for the last five years. The facts: In 2003 our fund balance, or savings account was $9.2 million. We spent less than we took in until 2006 when fund balance reached $16.7 million. Every year since we have spent more than we took in; such that we now effectively have no fund balance to rely on to get us through the current downturn in revenue. In other words, we are now broke. But here the salient fact: In 2003 Beaufort County spent $39.5 million. In 2009 we spent $52.4 million.

    But here's the point. The current membership of the Beaufort County Board of Commissioners has remained constant while this major shift in fiscal policy has taken place. Moreover, the votes that drove this depletion of fund balance were constant. It was always a 5-2 vote. But there was, during this time period, a majority on the board that was Republican. However, among the four Republicans, Jay McRoy and Al Klemm voted with the liberals (Robert Cayton, Jerry Langley and Ed Booth) to spend more even while our savings account was shrinking.

    If being "conservative" means being fiscally conservative (i.e., not spending more than you have) then there were only two conservatives on the Board of Commissioners. The other two "Republicans" voted just like the Democrats voted.

    So anyone knowledgeable about how the county has operated knows that which party a member was elected from made no difference in how the votes were cast....except for the three Democrats. You could always count on them voting to spend more and you could count on two of the four Republicans to vote the same way to spend the savings.

    So as a voter if you are fiscally conservative you could not count on two of the four Republicans to vote conservatively. Indeed, it did not make any difference if you voted for a Republican or a Democrat if you wanted fiscally conservative county government. Unless you voted for Hood Richardson or Stan Deatherage you got more spending, regardless of party affiliation.
    Commissioners Richardson and Deatherage find one thing to laugh about.

    At the recent county Republican Convention the new chairman, Greg Dority, said his goal was to see that "Republicans continue to hold a majority on the County Commission." A "new" Republican (who had just switched from Unaffiliated to Republican) attending the convention for the first time was overheard to remark "what difference will that make?" in response to Dority's goal of keeping a majority of Republicans on the Commission. And the answer is obvious: It will not make any difference unless the liberal/moderate Republicans are replaced by conservatives.

    And that is our point here. Principle is more important than party. And the corollary is: "The Republican Party has lost its way in terms of the principles the voters can count on it advancing."

    You hear people say "I don't vote for the party, I vote for the individual." When we hear that what it means to in most cases is "I vote by name recognition." And it is this same person who laments later that the "individual" they voted to elect did not vote the way they believe they should have voted. Al Klemm and Jay McRoy may be fine gentlemen but if we believe in conservative principles we want them, or anyone we vote for, to vote conservatively while they are in office. We do not expect them to run as a conservative and then vote to spend more money than we have or to raise taxes, whether it be via re-valuation or a "Hospital tax." And we believe most people in Beaufort County think that way. They expect the person they elect to stick to their principles. And that is what Hood was saying. Principle over (partisan) politics.

    Indeed, Hood Richardson and Stan Deatherage, like Jessie Helms and Ronald Reagan, illustrate what we are saying. Hood is not liked by many people. He is loved passionately by many others. Same personality viewed by different groups very differently. But what is seldom if ever in doubt is which side of any issue he will come down on when it comes time to vote. You know where he stands. Not where he stood but where he will stand on any issue of principle that comes down the road in the future. And that, I would suggest, is why he leads the ticket every time he runs for county commissioner. People know what to expect from him. The same is true with Stan. He leads the ticket.

    And that (knowing they will vote on principle) is much more than one can say about Republicans who vote like Democrats. It is not that they vote like Democrats, but rather it is that you can't be sure how they will vote going forward. And that is why we hear: "what difference does it make who I vote for, or even whether I vote or not? They are all the same."

    The answer here is to return to electing people and then those elected officials voting according to principle and not partisan politics. No, Larry, we do not need to elect personalities. We do not need to campaign as adjective Republicans. We need to clearly articulate our principles and then apply those principles to any and every decision that confronts us down the road.

    And no Greg, we don't need to just elect Republicans. We need candidates who will tell us what their principles are, be them Republican or Democrat, and then live according to those principles in office. We do not need to elect four Republicans with two of them voting contrary to the applicable principle involved.

    When the issue was presented asking the Board of Commissioners whether the taxpayers should fund dental care for a small segment of the population there was a principle involved. Something's wrong if two "Republicans" vote one way and two vote the opposite. The same is true with corporate welfare. The same is true with spending $39.6 million on a $33 million school bond issue. And if you don't know the difference between the conservative approach and the liberal approach just look at how the Democrats voted.

    Democrats, as liberals, always vote to spend more. So if Republicans vote with Democrats they are liberals, regardless of what they say. And when they say one thing and then vote the opposite the voters don't know what the principle is and eventually become jaded and apathetic.

    What we are saying can be simply stated: We need to elect officials who will vote according to the principles they ran on. And Republicans need to run on conservative principles. Democrats need to run on liberal principles. Both need to be clear about what principles they believe in. Then let the people decide.

    Then whenever an issue comes up and a vote is taken the elected official should vote according to the principles upon which they ran.

    If Republicans don't soon come to understand this, the Tea Party is going to annihilate the Republican Party.

    But the same is true of the Democrat party in Beaufort County. Neither party has enough of a base that it can guarantee a winner in a competitive election. The unaffiliated voters control the balance of power in this county. And what we are suggesting is that the unaffiliated voters will respond most positively to candidates who campaign on clear principles and then stick to those principles once elected. And whichever party comes to understand this best will be the one that controls the future of this county.
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