Politics: Not a dime's worth of difference | Eastern North Carolina Now

Editor's Introducation:  There’s not a dime’s worth of difference between the D and R “Leadership”

It not about ideology.  It is not about principles.  It is not about good government vs. poor government.

It is purely about power…who has it and who does not have it.  The name of the game is gaining power and keeping it.  Usually, it is about expanding power by those who have a toehold on some bits of power. 

And power can be equated to one simple descriptor:  money.  Money produces power and money allows power to grow.  Power produces money and power allows more money to flow.  That’s it.  Pure and simple.

Now the above is purely the thoughts of our Observer Editorial Team.  But if you are not convinced then we commend to you the wisdom of probably the smartest person in North Carolina politics these days.  Brant Clifton at the Daily Haymaker plugs the names into this equation and what comes out is:  There is not a dime’s worth of difference in the Democrat and Republican Leaderships in Raleigh.  Vote however you wish, but what you’ll get is the same old junk if we send the same ole junk to Raleigh. 

Is it any wonder that the rolls of “unaffiliated” voters continue to grow? 

We’ve seen this game being played out right here in Beaufort County.  On one hand we have the “conservatives” and on the other hand we have the RINO’s in the GOP.  The marbles they fight over is who controls the local GOP Executive Committee.  And in the end, no matter who wins any given battle, when the dust settles nothing changes.  The battles are so vicious because the stakes are so low.  In other words, who controls the Executive Committee makes no difference because the Executive Committee makes no difference.  Show us a candidate for either party that was elected who would otherwise not have been elected but for the party’s Executive Committee.  Show us a candidate who was defeated solely because of the opposing Executive Committee.  You get the point.  D or R does not matter.  There’s not a dime’s worth of difference between them.

Hold that thought as you read what Mr. Clifton chronicles about the Power Game on Jones Street:

Yep.  That’s exactly what the tubby little guy did during the pep rally welcoming newly-minted Republican Tricia Cotham to the, um, “family.”

Some more of Timmy’s comedy from the presser?  He claimed that he tells all of his caucus members to vote “their conscience, their district, and then their caucus.”  He may have said that a few times in front of the press, just for giggles. In both Jones Street chambers and in both parties, your committee assignments, office assignments, staff allotments,  and your campaign funding are all threatened on a near-daily basis. Great “reminders” on the *importance* of loyalty to your party leaders. 

(For what it’s worth, lil’ Tricia has said she left the Democrats because they got mad about the emojis she used on her social media. Seriously ????  No irritation with liberal extremism?  Just a tantrum over social media nonsense?

One has to wonder if she will continue with her abortion extremism as a Republican.  Or her support of Planned Parenthood and its side gig of peddling dead baby parts?)

To those of you not as educated on political doublespeak (known in some quarters as bullshit), ‘the new moderate Republican Party’ will stand for whatever the Charlotte bagmen – who first saddled us with Speaker Thom Tillis – and the DC money folks tell us it will stand for.

If this doesn’t make things clear for you out there, I don’t know what will.  The Raleigh elites DO NOT GIVE ONE DAMN ABOUT CONSERVATISM. (Not a single one.)

Never mind that the party’s conservative image gave the GOP all of the power and perks it has enjoyed in-state since 1994. You can lay that squarely at the feet of Jesse Helms and Ronald Reagan.  Helms’ name is the one-that-shall-not-be-spoken.  And you barely hear any mention of Reagan.  

If you hear the Raleigh crowd tell it, it’s all Thom’s doing.  Seriously.

I can remember when the Holshouser – Broyhill crew ran the NCGOP show.  Nearly the entire NCGOP in-state footprint could be contained within portions of the 704 area code. 

They didn’t stand for much of anything.  And the party didn’t control much of anything either.

When you govern as 95 percent of what the Democrats are, why wouldn’t people take the Democrats’ 100 percent offering?

What’s being done now is a conservative-sounding campaign, which, if successful, becomes Democrat-lite governance.  In the real world, telling someone one thing and having the truth be something else, is lying.  Or even “better” — FRAUD.

In the Tim Moore-Phil Berger era on Jones Street, the GOP has thumbed its nose at just about every aspect of the party platform.

The Tillis-Jones Street mafia has copied and applied the the formula used to water-down the legislative branch to our congressional delegation.  (With the election of Ted Budd, we’ve apparently replaced the last two Rs [Burr]with two Ds [Budd].). The gang used Chuck Edwards to get rid of Madison Cawthorn.  Now, Dan Bishop is all we have left.

Now, the sights are being set on the state’s executive branch.

State senator Danny Britt, former Tillis aide Ray Starling, and Tillis crony Andrew Murray are being mulled over for attorney general.  Any of those three would be owned by the Tillis-Jones Street mafia.

Word is that state Rep. Erin Paré is being groomed for a lieutenant governor run.  Apparently, Tillis is still pissed at Hal Weatherman for helping Madison Cawthorn. (Actually, Hal ran a horrible campaign.  Tillis & co. should thank him.)

Jon Hardister — the House majority whip – has his eyes on Labor commissioner.  He’s been a good soldier for Timmy.  Should be no different if Hardister wins and takes over at Labor.

Tillis crony and state Rep. John Bradford is being bandied about to replace Dale Folwell at treasurer. Bradford has been a good soldier for the mafia, and would be expected to reverse everything Folwell has done in his two terms.

Word is also there that Tricia Cotham is being groomed for a run at DPI superintendent, currently held by RINO Catherine Truitt.

In the governor’s race, it’s become clear that the Berger political machine has sunk its claws into Mark Robinson.  Those expecting a repeat of his first year as LG will probably be unpleasantly surprised.  The Berger crew sees the fundraising potential and the cash-flow. Tons of money is already being raised off of Robinson’s girth.  If he wins in May and November 2024, he’ll likely be faced with two choices: (1) play nice with the folks (Tillis, Blaine and et. al.) who got him across the finish line, or (2) get sat in the corner and ignored – like he has been for most of his current term as LG.

There you go.  We’ve got a formula for a state party – and the governance of our state — being fully controlled in smoke-filled rooms in Raleigh and Charlotte.  Total control of our executive and legislative branches as well as our congressional delegation.

We can keep applauding like trained seals and showing up to perpetually re-elect these clowns. Or we can wake up. 

We’re clearly being told that we, as conservatives, don’t matter and aren’t wanted. We brought the party the success it’s enjoying, and are now dismissed as fringe extremists.

We can go on a war footing and take the GOP back, or we can go our own way and let them rediscover their irrelevance circa 1969.

Editor’s comment:  This pitiful excuse for governance will continue until we adopt a constitutional amendment that says that campaign contributions may be spent only for the campaign expenses of the recipient of the contribution.

Eventually, the public will work through all of this BS and there will be a “Conservative Party” made up of real patriots.  Voltaire wrote, “History is only the pattern of silken slippers descending the stairs to the thunder of hobnailed boots climbing upward from below”.  The best approach is building foundations of truth and real history to create that respect of families and real patriotism needed to bring our Nation back on course.