Sens. Tillis and Budd deliver the ultimate insult to Beaufort County | Eastern North Carolina Now

By:  Hood Richardson

The battle to replace liberal Democrat school board member Mac Hodges with a conservative Republican was hard fought.  Hodges had held this elective office for 40 years.  The need to replace Hodges became apparent with the recent change in public sentiment toward education and school boards. School boards, nationally, started going after parents because of their objections about what the education system has become during the last couple of decades.  The public and activist groups began asking why children were not educated.  There were issues about boys in girls bathrooms, boys asserting their sexual preference was to be a girl, cursive writing was no longer taught, the new math is obviously no math, text books are gone, students exposed to the LGBTH+ club on school grounds, etc.

The Beaufort County Conservative (Republican) Club began, more than two years ago, to lobby for changes in the school curriculum, and more conservative school board members who subscribed to the more tried and proven classical forms of education.  During the 2022 election the Club succeeded in replacing three of the nine school board members.  During the 2024 elections four Republicans were elected.  This means that six of the 9 school board members are Republican.  This does not mean Beaufort County School Board is dominated by conservatives.  Several of these Republicans are openly liberal.   I am reserving judgment on all School Board members until we see how they vote on critical education issues in the coming months.

Another example, five of the seven County Commissioners are Republicans, however liberal Democrats still control the Board.  The 2024 election went forward without the Beaufort County Republican Party supporting all the Republican school board candidates.  Visitors at the Republican Headquarters and at the polls were told to vote for Democrat Mac Hodges-not Stacey Davis who was the Republican Candidate.

The Beaufort County Republican Party gave no direct support to School Board Candidates. All support in the form of money and volunteer effort came from the Beaufort County Conservative (Republican) Club.

The School Superintendent took it upon himself to take sides in the Republican Stacy Davis versus Mac Hodges campaign by threatening her with a lawsuit for using a logo used by the Beaufort County Schools.  His demand was that she remove all her signs and have them reprinted without the four by five-inch logo.  It is interesting that his Beaufort County School Board lawyer helping with this effort is also Chairman of the Durham County Democrat Party.  Sounds almost like Biden weaponizing the FBI to go after Trump.  Superintendent Cheeseman, the Big Cheese, is well aware that he will have to change almost all of his ways if a truly conservative school board majority is elected.

Hodges' political standing was hurt by not attending meetings regularly. He missed about 30 percent of the meetings but was always there for liberal votes when the Big Cheese needed his vote.  Another factor was that he had been on the School Board for 40 years and the quality of education has deteriorated.  Hodges has never stood up for conservative principles in education.  His votes were to support the Big Cheese who pushes woke education and lenient discipline.  Hodges should have been aware of his precarious situation as the majority of voters in his school district shifted from Democrat to Republican and unaffiliated.  He had an uphill fight against any Republican candidate unless he had actively presented a conservative voice to the public.

Today, there is a lot of confusion in the Republican Party about conservative and liberal ideology.  Beaufort County votes majority conservative.  This happens because the Republican and unaffiliated votes are combined.  The leadership of the Beaufort County Republican Party, the State Republican Party and until the 2024 election the national party are all liberal.  Under Trump the national party has no choice but to be conservative.  It is because of the dominance of RINOs (Republican In Name Only) in the Beaufort County and State parties that the Beaufort County Boards of Commissioners and Schools are run (policy is set)  by Democrats.  Voters are confused and sometimes make the wrong ballot choices when their hearts are pulling one way and that RINO at the Republican Party is telling them not to believe their lying eyes.

Republican Senators Budd and Tillis made a major contribution to Republican political confusion when they, together, sent representatives to a November School Board meeting to present a flag that flew over the nation’s Capitol to Democrat Mac Hodges with no acknowledgement to the Republican winner and her supporters who defeated this liberal.

I certainly agree that anyone who has survived in a political position for 40 years deserves all of the accolades and presentations he can get.  For the Republican Party to bestow these honors on a Democrat without acknowledging the hard work done by Stacey Davis and her supporters who fought the Republican Party to get her elected is a gross insult.

This issue is important now because there are huge differences among Republicans, RINOs and Democrats.  Many times, political parties tend to merge their dogma, and elections are determined by the personality of candidates.  This is not true today.

Senators Budd and Tillis should ask where they are going to get their money and workers in their next primary election.  Was this act to support Hodges put together without the support of the Big Cheese and the Beaufort County Republican Party?  I think not.

During March of 2025 and again during this summer Republicans have opportunities to change our weak and misguided leadership.  The Beaufort County Republican Convention will be held on March 22, 2025 near Bath.  Every registered Republican may attend.  There will be a District and State Republican Convention before the summer.  The State Republican Party has major leadership problems.  They failed to properly vet Mark Robinson and did not support Dale Folwell for governor. When is the last time they won a majority of the Council of State offices? Again, RINO leadership allows the Democrats to run State and County Governments. Let us make our party conservative again.