FreedomWorks falling in line with the RNC? | Eastern North Carolina Now

   Publisher's note: Brant Clifton takes realistic look at Republican politics in North Carolina in his "bare knuckles" Conservative online publication known as The Daily Haymaker.

    To paraphrase El Rushbo -- the closer you are geographically to DC, and the longer you stay there, the less conservative you become over time.

    I fear that piece of wisdom may be ringing true in the case of FreedomWorks. That organization attempts to position itself as the brains and the brawn behind The Tea Party movement. It sponsored the historic 9/12/09 march on Washington -- which was basically the big national coming-out party for the Tea Party. (I was a proud participant in that event.)

    At that time, the Tea Party was all about ripping power away from the Ruling Class and returning it to the people. It was about bringing the common sense approach to life -- practiced by so many hardworking, overtaxed Americans -- to governing. Freedomworks positioned itself as the voice of those seeking to inject more freedom into American society and to admonish those in both parties who worship at the altar of big government.

    Well, let's look at how things have gone in North Carolina's 8th Congressional District. Eric Cantor, John Boehner and the boys parachuted professional political flunky Richard Hudson into the district at the last minute to run in the GOP primary. He ended up in a runoff -- after a bruising multi-candidate primary -- with Scott Keadle, who was backed by The Club for Growth, RedState and a LOT of Tea Party supporters. Cantor & co. spent more than a half-million on the runoff to slander and destroy Keadle. Hudson ended up winning the runoff, and Tea Party folks went off to lick their wounds, after being so thoroughly routed and rebuked by the folks they helped gain a House majority.

    Fast forward to today. I got an email from Freedomworks North Carolina trying to line up volunteers to campaign door-to-door FOR Richard Hudson. So, the group supposedly so much in favor of removing career politicians from office and replacing them with average Americans is backing career political hack Hudson? Until late 2011, when he moved back to North Carolina, Hudson had been working as a staffer on Capitol Hill. His runoff victory was bought and paid for by Eric Cantor and John Boehner. I think those two need to get out in their Gucci loafers and campaign door-to-door for their Boy Wonder / future puppet.

    The establishment spent a ton of money during the primaries and runoffs stomping the guts out of Tea Party candidates. Now, they expect us to hang our heads, say "Yassuh, boss" and fall in line. As we've seen far too often since the elections of 2010, being a Republican and being conservative and pro-freedom are quite often mutually exclusive.

    I will admit that Kissell is undesirable and needs to go. But can't we do better than a political lapdog and career hack like Richard Hudson?