Don't tread on me | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's Note: This article originally appeared in the Beaufort Observer.

    We posted an article 6-25-12 entitled The GOP is in trouble Down East. Wow did it get a reaction. In fact, we've never gotten so much response from a local article that did not have to do with religion or guns. And it was, with two exceptions, a positive and complimentary reaction. Consequently, we are prepared to announce that this issue of politicians in Raleigh meddling in local primaries is THE major issue in our market. And to the two calls we got that were attempts to stifle the story, we'll kindly say: No way.

    For those who have not been keeping up, here's the story. House Speaker Thom Tillis is reported (by Jonathan Brooks in Walter Jones' campaign) to have recruited and is supporting Arthur Williams for House District 6. Williams was a longtime Democrat who got beat by both the Republicans (Bill Cook) and the Democrats (Stan White) and thus switched to run as a Republican. When he announced he would file he bragged that he had been recruited by "the leadership in Raleigh." That caused an explosion among local Republicans. Most local GOP activists believe, some very strongly, that the leadership in Raleigh should stay out of local primaries.

    As we reported in the earlier article (linked above), the disenchantment with the Raleigh GOP Leadership is actually much wider and deeper than the Arthur Williams fiasco. It turns on a broader disenchantment that the Republican legislative leadership is operating in much the same manner as did Democrat Godfathers Marc Basnight and Jim Black (before he went to prison on corruption charges). Couple that with disenchantment about what many local Republican and TEA Party people see as sacrificing principles in the "compromises" made by the leadership and you have a broad and wide frustration and disenchantment that threatens to sink the Republican "ship of state" in November.

    As we reported earlier, we have been told by numerous conservative Republicans and TEA Party people that they will simply sit out the November election if they think Republicans have sold out on their principles. In the East, if those people simply do not get out and work to turn out the vote the margin of victory will shift to the Democrats in some critical races.

    For example, Beaufort County has a very active Republican party. Not just registered Republicans but Republicans who get out and work to support candidates and get the vote out. There are two very active GOP clubs in the county that meet on a regular basis. There is also a strong Executive Committee. But not one Republican from Beaufort County attended this year's State Convention. That was not intentional in that it was not organized. It is rather that there was a absence of motivation to attend as there had been in years past. Meanwhile, the Beaufort TEA Party has over 400 people signed up with it and receive regular communications from the TEA Party and it works closely with neighboring TEA Party groups. Most of those, many of whom are registered as Unaffiliated, do not like meddling in local primaries by the "Raleigh Machine." It is a hot issue.

    So we put up an article that reports some the related recent events and immediately we get hit with attempts to stifle our coverage. But it is not working. Both the Observer and Beaufort County Now both with a combined readership of over 25 thousand per day, will continue to report the truth as we see it regardless of political pressure.

    We're not boasting about the number of readers we have. But rather, what we are saying is that what the Observer and Beaufort County Now, along with Truth or Dare, The Daily Haymaker, and an even larger number of TEA Party websites represent is the "New Media" in North Carolina politics, and particularly in Republican politics. If the GOP Leadership believes the way to deal with this phenomenon is to try to stifle our reporting, and dictating to the local groups, then we would suggest they are in for a rude awakening.

    As Hood Richardson has written in his Observer and BCN the day of a handful of political bosses in Raleigh dictating who will run and who will not be allowed to win at the local level are gone. No more. And we think that is a good thing.

    Commentary

    Of this we are convinced: At the local, state and national levels, many people are fed up with "politics as usual." There have always been some people who were disgusted with each political party. But what is different now is that these people have a voice. In fact they have many voices and it is impossible for any group of "leaders" to control those voices. That is the essence of the TEA Party movement.

    These grassroots groups have no unified structure. And while they may express their beliefs in different ways there is a common thread that is present in all of them. We would suggest that this common message is: Govern on principles, not politics. That is, tell us what your fundamental principles are when you ask for our vote and support (time, energy and money) and then if you are elected, govern by those principles. Don't say one thing when you are running and do something different once you are elected. And don't spend a lifetime voting as a Democrat and then try to tell us you are all of a sudden a true Republican.

    No better example of this "corruption of principles" can be found that Arthur Williams. Given his most recent mailing it is obvious he will do and say anything to try to win. And the fact that Williams has no problem taking money from people who donate to him and then turns around a donates that money to other politicians simply shows that winning if more important than principle.

    Don't tell us you believe in the constitution and then not defend us from warrantless searches and indefinite detention. Don't tell us you favor voter ID and then vote to accept a light bill as adequate identification. Don't tell us you favor smaller government and then pass a budget that increases government spending. Don't run as a supporter of the Second Amendment and then accept so many restrictions on our inalienable right to bear arms that the right is meaningless. And don't stand idly by while our Constitution is raped by believers in World Government.

    You get the picture. Just hear what Bubba said when he said at a recent TEA Party meeting: "Don't pee on my foot and try to tell me its raining." Tell us what your principles are and then live by those principles. We'll take care of the rest of it. And don't ever forget: When it comes to our fundamental, inalienable rights, a "half loaf" is NOT as good as no loaf at all. Such rights are not negotiable. They are indeed inalienable. Many things are negotiable, but not our fundamental constitutional rights. If they need to be changed, there's a way we can do it. Otherwise, support those rights or tell us before we vote that you can't.

    That is what is going on with the Arthur Williams imbroglio. It's not about Arthur Williams. It's about trusting We The People to decide who will represent us. Don't try to tell us you were just being polite before he filed and that you just needed "somebody to run." Let We The People decide who that somebody will be.

    That is what these people are saying to the Power in Raleigh.

    And we will give voice to those People as they speak Truth to Power.