Is "conservative" a dirty word? | Eastern North Carolina Now

    It is only natural that political candidates like to characterize themselves as being something that appeals to the voters. Advertising companies make a lot of money defining products from tooth paste to politicians with a few innocent sounding, catchy words that stick in peoples minds. Easy to remember, means easy to buy, easy to accept and easy to identify.

    The word conservative, over many decades, has come to give a lot of comfort to the voting public. Indeed, when properly and accurately used it will get the vote almost every time. The implication is that a conservative will spend less of your tax money, reduce the size of government, and not impose new and radical regulations on the public. There is a lot of comfort in electing true conservatives to office.

    Those who are not conservative, call them liberals or progressives or whatever, are very much aware of what the public wants. But, they have their own agenda. This agenda is always hidden. If they were to tell the public the truth, they would not get elected. They would not even come close to getting elected. So, they call themselves conservatives. One of the ways to spot a phony conservative is the phony works real hard to call himself conservative but he rarely takes a well defined stand on any issue. He avoids being specific about anything. If you look at his voting record, if he has one, it can easily be seen that he is not conservative.

    Republicans, Democrats and Independents are gagging on the brazen use of the term "Conservative Republican" by candidates Jay McRoy, Jerry Evans, Arthur Williams and Larry Britt. Voters, be aware, the use of the word conservative" has to be earned. True conservatives have the scars to prove it.

    Jay has a voting record that proves he is a liberal. Only a liberal could give $267,000 of county money to the Reverend Moore's health clinic with no strings attached. Jay supported the OLF and voted for it at every opportunity. He supported the twenty million dollar school bond over spending while not enough class rooms were built at Chocowinity. He voted for the two hundred million US 17 by pass, a useless road. Jay served on the hospital board more than 15 years and watched it go broke without lifting a finger other than to publicly assure his fellow RINO's that everything was fine. He, then, voted to give the hospital to UHS. During that time his daughter worked in the finance department. She still works there. He is one of the biggest boosters of the failed Economic Development Commission. Jay is a supporter of increasing the sales tax. He has voted for every tax increase put in front of him.
Beaufort County Commissioner Hood Richardson, showing up, and telling his story on his county can be better governed: Above.     photo by Stan Deatherage
    Jerry Evans, candidate for the NC Senate, does not have a political record other than flip flopping form one party to the other looking for what he thinks is an easy win. The Republican machine politicians in Raleigh have endorsed him because flip floppers do not have a commitment to principles and will do as they are told. He says he is a conservative Republican. He was a Democrat last year and now he is a Republican. That is not much time to establish a record of being anything. Vote for the conservative record, vote for Bill Cook.

    Then there is Arthur Williams. While sitting in the House he gave statement after statement to the press vowing that his mutual loyalty, gratitude and friendship with Democrats like Jim Black, and Marc Basnight would never die. Jim Black went to prison for selling influence and Basnight ran out of string deciding he could not bear to sit on the back row in a Republican controlled Senate. Williams arrived in fine style at the First District Democrat Convention to hand pick his dear friend Marc Basnight's successor. Guess what, Basnight had finished using him and they picked Basnight's closer friend, Stan White. Those who were there that evening reported that Williams was inconsolable and that is when the bad blood began between Williams and the Democrat Party. How can you have the history of being a Democrat soldier all those years and then morph into a Conservative Republican. The list of supporters for Williams recent fund raiser is a Who's Who of his supporters when he said he was a Democrat. That list proves principles do not matter. Vote for Mattie Lawson, she is a principled Republican with a record of supporting conservatives.

    Now comes Larry Britt, the former Beaufort County Republican Party Chairman. Britt has a record too.

    He used is position as party chairman to publicly criticize sitting Republican Commissioners, Hood Richardson and Stan Deatherage. Britt wrote letters to the Editor in which he advocated giving the hospital to UHS. Britt's actions as Chairman supported a split in the Beaufort County Republican Party. Britt is closely allied with Jay McRoy. It is one thing to have disagreements within political parties, it is another to use your position of party leadership to openly attack publicly elected officials in your party. Is that party disloyalty?

    Some apparently disagree.