The Daily Haymaker Guest Editorial
Our GUY IN CHARGE - editor and publisher Brant Clifton - has marched to the beat of a different drum from very early in life. The grandson of a Democrat party machine boss, Mr. Clifton registered Republican at 18 and campaigned for Ronald Reagan and George Bush. He worked for the late U.S. Senator Jesse Helms in Washington during and right after college.
Mr. Clifton took on the liberal media as an analyst with The Media Research Center, then jumped into a lengthy career with the "drive-by media". His work has appeared in local newspapers in The Carolinas. He has done on-camera work for ABC's Good Morning America, and print work for national publications such as US News & World Report and People magazine. Mr. Clifton has also worked as a correspondent for AP, UPI, Reuters and Agence France Presse.
 |
What does it mean to be Republican? Ronald Reagan and Barry Goldwater established the national party as a force for shrinking government and cutting taxes.
|
What does it mean to be Republican? Ronald Reagan and Barry Goldwater established the national party as a force for shrinking government and cutting taxes.
 |
SNL mocked her accent. She talks “funny”, so she must be an idiot — Just like George W. Bush. You know, THAT guy from Texas with the degrees from Harvard and Yale. Bill Clinton talks “funny” too, but he’s OK because (1) he agrees with us and (2) he’s married to our hero Butch Rodham.
|
SNL mocked her accent. She talks “funny”, so she must be an idiot — Just like George W. Bush. You know, THAT guy from Texas with the degrees from Harvard and Yale. Bill Clinton talks “funny” too, but he’s OK because (1) he agrees with us and (2) he’s married to our hero Butch Rodham.
 |
It's quite a rarity to find myself agreeing with Chris Fitzsimon. But I'm in one of those moments. (What's next? Cats and dogs living together?)
|
It's quite a rarity to find myself agreeing with Chris Fitzsimon. But I'm in one of those moments. (What's next? Cats and dogs living together?)
 |
We've been told -- since the November 6 election -- that North Carolina experienced a "conservative revolution."
|
We've been told -- since the November 6 election -- that North Carolina experienced a "conservative revolution."
 |
Now that the smoke has cleared -- and they are safe from the voters' wrath for at least two more years -- Republicans in Raleigh and Washington appear ready to toss supply-side, low-tax, deregulated economics under the bus.
|
Now that the smoke has cleared -- and they are safe from the voters' wrath for at least two more years -- Republicans in Raleigh and Washington appear ready to toss supply-side, low-tax, deregulated economics under the bus.
 |
Businesses have been downsizing, closing facilities, implementing employee layoffs, and instituting hiring freezes in anticipation of the impending fiscal and regulatory nightmare known as ObamaCare.
|
Businesses have been downsizing, closing facilities, implementing employee layoffs, and instituting hiring freezes in anticipation of the impending fiscal and regulatory nightmare known as ObamaCare.
 |
Pat McCrory, fresh of his rout of Walter Dalton in the governor's race, is putting out the word that we shouldn't expect "major personnel changes right away."
|
Pat McCrory, fresh of his rout of Walter Dalton in the governor's race, is putting out the word that we shouldn't expect "major personnel changes right away."
 |
It looks like we're going to get two more years of Thom Tillis in the House chamber's big chair.
|
It looks like we're going to get two more years of Thom Tillis in the House chamber's big chair.
 |
State House Republicans are meeting today to decide who will lead them through the next legislative session in Raleigh. A lot of the current leadership is running again, while a few challengers have jumped in.
|
State House Republicans are meeting today to decide who will lead them through the next legislative session in Raleigh. A lot of the current leadership is running again, while a few challengers have jumped in.
 |
Friday is the deadline for the states to let the Feds know if they will be setting up health exchanges -- Phase One in the implementation of ObamaCare.
|
Friday is the deadline for the states to let the Feds know if they will be setting up health exchanges -- Phase One in the implementation of ObamaCare.
 |
Republican Mark Meadows talked a tough, conservative game in his campaign for the 11th district congressional seat being vacated by Democrat Health Shuler.
|
Republican Mark Meadows talked a tough, conservative game in his campaign for the 11th district congressional seat being vacated by Democrat Health Shuler.
 |
The Obama administration has asked states to let them know by THIS FRIDAY their plans for setting up health care exchanges at the state level.
|
The Obama administration has asked states to let them know by THIS FRIDAY their plans for setting up health care exchanges at the state level.
 |
I chatted recently with a long-time NCGOP insider — and a friend of this site — about some of the conversations going on right now in the smoke-filled backrooms of Raleigh.
|
I chatted recently with a long-time NCGOP insider — and a friend of this site — about some of the conversations going on right now in the smoke-filled backrooms of Raleigh.
 |
Coleman, the former Democrat legislator and state personnel chief, was backed to the hilt this year by the state's powerful public employees union.
|
Coleman, the former Democrat legislator and state personnel chief, was backed to the hilt this year by the state's powerful public employees union.
 |
Brant Clifton wrote two short pieces on Friday, and I am writing one today. Does anyone really care?
|
Brant Clifton wrote two short pieces on Friday, and I am writing one today. Does anyone really care?
 |
The economy is in shambles. We are still coping with record unemployment.
|
The economy is in shambles. We are still coping with record unemployment.
 |
House Republican leaders are considering creating two majority leader positions for the next legislative session in which they will command a supermajority.
|
House Republican leaders are considering creating two majority leader positions for the next legislative session in which they will command a supermajority.
 |
Ayn Rand and George Orwell are starting to look like real prophets. We've got record unemployment, bankruptcies, foreclosures, and business closings.
|
Ayn Rand and George Orwell are starting to look like real prophets. We've got record unemployment, bankruptcies, foreclosures, and business closings.
 |
It's a quite common perception -- outside the Raleigh beltline -- that the NCGOP establishment is nothing but a tight clique of cronies.
|
It's a quite common perception -- outside the Raleigh beltline -- that the NCGOP establishment is nothing but a tight clique of cronies.
 |
The media is dismissing Steve Royal, the GOP nominee for state treasurer, as an also-ran -- an after-thought.
|
The media is dismissing Steve Royal, the GOP nominee for state treasurer, as an also-ran -- an after-thought.
 |
Overall, it's looking like a pretty depressing election day for the Democrat Party in-state and nationwide.
|
Overall, it's looking like a pretty depressing election day for the Democrat Party in-state and nationwide.
 |
I don't think there is anybody -- outside of Walter Dalton's immediate family -- who hasn't conceded that we will be spending the next four years talking about GOVERNOR McCrory.
|
I don't think there is anybody -- outside of Walter Dalton's immediate family -- who hasn't conceded that we will be spending the next four years talking about GOVERNOR McCrory.
 |
The Council of State races tend to get overlooked by the media in favor of the more glamorous presidential and gubernatorial campaigns.
|
The Council of State races tend to get overlooked by the media in favor of the more glamorous presidential and gubernatorial campaigns.
 |
The GOP nominees for the top two posts we'll be voting for on November 6 can really vouch for the old theorem about "right place, right time."
|
The GOP nominees for the top two posts we'll be voting for on November 6 can really vouch for the old theorem about "right place, right time."
 |
While North Carolina's economy continues to rot. and the unemployment lines get bigger, the Democrat Party only wants to talk about gynecology.
|
While North Carolina's economy continues to rot. and the unemployment lines get bigger, the Democrat Party only wants to talk about gynecology.
 |
I heard through the grapevine that John Hood thinks I don't like him very much. (For the record, all I know of him is what I read in his columns and what I hear him saying on NC Spin.)
|
I heard through the grapevine that John Hood thinks I don't like him very much. (For the record, all I know of him is what I read in his columns and what I hear him saying on NC Spin.)
 |
The political establishment -- and the state political media -- are coming around to the realization that, barring the discovery of a dead girl or a live boy in the McCrory residence, Mayor Pat will be getting a promotion at the end of the year.
|
The political establishment -- and the state political media -- are coming around to the realization that, barring the discovery of a dead girl or a live boy in the McCrory residence, Mayor Pat will be getting a promotion at the end of the year.
 |
The folks at Civitas did a great job of pointing out how many 112 year old North Carolina voters have cast ballots so far during early voting.
|
The folks at Civitas did a great job of pointing out how many 112 year old North Carolina voters have cast ballots so far during early voting.
 |
NC Dems and their muddled definition of 'extremism'
|
NC Dems and their muddled definition of 'extremism'
 |
What's been bouncing around the political gossip network for a few years has FINALLY made it to the pages of The N&O. The NCGOP establishment bent over backwards to force the highly-dubious Debra Goldman on the electorate.
|
What's been bouncing around the political gossip network for a few years has FINALLY made it to the pages of The N&O. The NCGOP establishment bent over backwards to force the highly-dubious Debra Goldman on the electorate.
 |
But when the conversation turns to races like Secretary of State, Secretary of Labor, and Superintendent of Public Instruction, eyes glaze over, yawns break out, and looks of confusion take over.
|
But when the conversation turns to races like Secretary of State, Secretary of Labor, and Superintendent of Public Instruction, eyes glaze over, yawns break out, and looks of confusion take over.
 |
Richard Hudson, the GOP nominee for the 8th congressional district, has been spending a lot of time raising questions about incumbent Larry Kissell's character.
|
Richard Hudson, the GOP nominee for the 8th congressional district, has been spending a lot of time raising questions about incumbent Larry Kissell's character.
 |
It's pretty typical for the media to wait until the weeks before a big election before doing profiles on the candidates.
|
It's pretty typical for the media to wait until the weeks before a big election before doing profiles on the candidates.
 |
Robeson County is about as yellow-dog Democrat as you can get. In 1972, while George McGovern was getting destroyed nationwide by Richard Nixon - he was winning comfortably in Robeson County.
|
Robeson County is about as yellow-dog Democrat as you can get. In 1972, while George McGovern was getting destroyed nationwide by Richard Nixon - he was winning comfortably in Robeson County.
