Making Republican Sausage | Eastern NC Now

Making Republican Sausage

BY: HOOD RICHARDSON

I have seen many people enter the political arena only to leave at the first opportunity. Their reason is the unethical, not necessarily illegal, behavior they see. Many of the public have the impression that politics is a dirty business. They are wrong. Our system is based on Judeo-Christian ethics which are derived from our Bible. Our money says, “In God We Trust”. There are people elected to public office who subscribe to these principles and strive to follow them. The late Representative Walter Jones is one that I can think of. There are others. Many are not that well known, they do not make the news flashes because they are behaving themselves.

The public impression that politics is a dirty business because there are “dirty people in politics” is wrong. Robert G. Ingersoll stated: “It is easy for the weak to be gentle. Most people can bear adversity. But, if you want to know what a man really is, give him power.” (This was gleaned from a comment on the online version of the Beaufort Observer) Ingersoll is correct. Those voters who subscribe to clean politics and Christian Ethics should shun any elected official who does not measure up. Even little things are very important, especially when measuring newly elected officials. Joe Biden and Barack Obama were never measured soon enough, or these unfit presidents would never have made it to the top.

I am not claiming to be pure and holy in the political arena. Every elected official, sooner or later, finds himself in a position he never thought he would be in. Being elected means that sooner or later some of the slop will splash onto you. When this happens to me, I try to stay in line with the Constitution and my Biblical teachings.

Now, to Republican Sausage making. There is continued infighting within the leadership of the Beaufort County Republican Party. There will always be disagreement. However, that disagreement with your own kind does not have to extend to vicious backbiting, false statements and constant maneuvering to defeat conservatives at any cost.

Within Beaufort County the conservative Republican wing has been quiet and not sought control of the party machinery until recently. Republican Party leadership has actively opposed and worked against conservative Republicans during primary and general elections to the point that alliances with Democrats have lead to Democrat control of local politics. This is why taxes continue to go up and the liberals (socialist-communist) (RINOs) control both the Boards of County Commissioners and School Board to this day.

This is why the Conservative Club was formed. The Club has been very effective in electing conservatives to office (and by accident a few RINOs). Although Beaufort County votes about 2/3 MAGA Republican, the party leadership insists on working against conservatives.

The most recent incident involves the Conservative Club and the scheduling of Don Brown, candidate for US Senate, at our meeting on December 18. He is running to fill the Tillis seat. Brown is no comparison to Tillis. Brown has a record of being conservative.

Carolyn Garris, Chairman of the Beaufort County Republican Party has not scheduled a meeting of the Executive Committee since early September. She does not want an Executive Committee meeting because of some serious irregularities that have taken place against Conservative Republicans running for Washington City Council. She scheduled a meeting for Thursday December 11. The Conservative Club always meets on the third Thursday of each month. She is very much aware of this because she deliberately schedules the Executive Committee to meet the same night as the Conservative Club when she has things she wants to cover up. Many Conservative Club members are members of the Executive Committee. This conflicting scheduling is prima facie evidence the Republican Party is not trying to be cooperative.

While the Conservative Club is majority Republican, we also have Democrats and unaffiliated (independents) who are members. Upon learning the Conservative Club was involved in the City elections, the Republican Party horned into the City of Washington elections by demanding that Republicans could not be on the same ticket (The Tax Cut Five) with an independent. In order to have five Republicans running, Ashley Woolard recruited his brother, Wiley Woolard, to run as a Republican. Wiley Woolard was not a viable candidate.

Greg Dority, a Republican gadfly, has been involved in several elections using either himself or others to split the conservative vote. He was Carolyn Garris’s accomplice in the City elections. Wiley Woolard ran only to split the conservative vote. Wiley Woolard never campaigned. He never showed up at a campaign event. However, Carolyn Garris along with Greg Dority and some of her inner circle campaigned every day at the polls for Wiley Woolard, claiming he was endorsed by the Republican Party.

Garris threatened the Conservative Club’s slate of candidates stating that if they supported independent candidate Joe Davis they would be thrown out of the Republican Party. Garris is living in LaLa land. She does not have the authority to do this. Only the Executive Committee has this authority. They have it only after the Executive Committee has specifically endorsed Republican candidates by name when running in nonpartisan elections. All municipal elections are nonpartisan.

The Executive Committee never endorsed candidates in the Washington City Elections. Although Queen Garris of the Republicans took it on herself to spend Republican Party money for advertising in the City elections without the approval of the Executive Committee.

Garris and Greg Dority attended a Conservative Club meeting and agreed to work with the Club in the City elections. Within a week Garris had public announcements made attacking our club member, Republican Adam O’Neal, saying he did not represent the Republican Party in any way.

The upshot of all of this was that two conservative Republicans lost the City Council race. Wiley Woolard got 345 votes. The combined loss of Sheri Clark and Andrew “Tex” Melton was 121 votes. Garris and the Beaufort County Republican Party defeated two conservative Republicans.

According to the rules of the Republican Party, those who serve on special committees are supposed to resign if they run for public elective office. That is, they cannot use their position in the Party as an unfair advantage against their primary election opponents. Let us see if these elitists follow the rules.