Archive for the ‘NC GOP’ Category

Renew, Grow, Win was the theme of the Winter Meeting

CHARLOTTE: Friday, January, 25, 2013

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11:00 After a series of morning meetings and regional breakfasts, the meeting has been called to order by Republican National Committee Chairman (RNC) Reince Priebus.

Committeeman David Lewis of NC gave the Invocation.  Committeewoman Ada Fisher lead the Pledge of Allegiance.

This writer spoke with NC  Chairman, Robin Hayes this morning before the meeting.  Unfortunately, he had to leave and gave his voting proxy to Dr. Fisher.

The roll call is currently being conducted.

At 1:00 today, C-SPAN will broadcast live from this event.

Possible controversies:  Chairman Reince Priebus could be challenged by a Ron Paul follower from Maine.  NC Committeewoman Ada Fisher stated in an interview that she would support the re-election of Chairman Priebus.

NC Chairman Hayes mention that he did not have enough states to qualify to run in this race, will may hamper the Maine candidate’s chances.

Protesters:

Currently, there are about 8 people protesting outside the Westin Hotel.  Perhaps the extreme cold has kept their numbers down.  Meanwhile, there are a number of  college students in the audience who, instead of going to class this week, have chosen to follow the proceedings, here.  They appear to be interested in learning how the party works.

The Meeting has adjourned for lunch.  The election of officers, will take place after they reconvene at 1:00.

This concludes this post.  See Part II after lunch.

NC Delegates waiting for the bus to go to Tropicana Field in St. Pete.

ST PETERSBURG FL    The Tampa Bay Buccaneer cheerleaders danced, bands played, and there were even “diversity dancers” from Busch Gardens.  Yes, this Tampa welcome was everything and more than attendees to the 2012 Republican National Convention could ask for.  (Naturally, your blogger yelled “go Redskins” during the conclusion of the cheering.)  I can’t forget to mention the Cirque performance with elephants, which was fun.

As KCC writes, she is sitting in the middle of Tropicana field, watching a fantastic light show and listening to  music and having a great time with Margaret, a guest of the convention from Maryland.  It’s been fun meeting delegates from across the nation and we hope there is much more of this.

The North Carolina delegation shared a bus with the Minnesota crowd on the way to the baseball stadium.

Just outside, we witnessed a cage full of protestors in their proper place.  One held a sign that said “why are you so mean?”  Suddenly, KCC’s tiniest violin began playing “My Heart Bleeds for You.”  So sad to see the protesters in a cage in the wind and rain.

Aww.

Katy had the pleasure of sitting next to Mr. & Mrs. Art Pope and trading war stories.

Meanwhile, enjoy the photos below of people having a great time tonight.  Perhaps you’ll see someone you know. More to come later.  Frank Williams, wish you were here.  Ditto, Rob and Bobby Benningfield.  It’s not the same without you.

More to come!  Subscribe to our updates via email by clicking on the envelope at the top left of the page, or subscribe to the RSS feed.

The RNC is really putting on a nice show for their top activists and donors! Bravo!

Martha Jenkins and company

Dome of Tropicana Field. See the party going on beneath?

Fun Oklahoma delegates. KCC adored these delightful ladies. It’s been a pleasure meeting nice people
from all over the nation!

Happy NC Delegates happy to be in St. Pete!

Your faithful blogger is heading to Tropicana Field (home of the Tampa Bay Rays*) shortly with the North Carolina delegation to attend a “Welcome Event” for all Republican attendees of the Convention.  We plan to bring you photos of your NC delegation as they interact with members of those of other states.  KCC will be covering all the action.

Kim Gernado, the senior political reporter with NBC-17 in the Triangle, is here at the NC convention hotel and your blogger looks forward to working with her.  You could just might see an interview with your blogger, as happened earlier at the baggage claim area in the Tampa airport.  If not, watch them anyway, as they have the most fair coverage anywhere in the Triangle.

KCC will let you know about TV stations from other parts of the state later.

The major network are all but ignoring this convention.  Only hosting it in Charlotte would be a better way to get attention, it seems.  WRAL-TV in Raleigh couldn’t get enough of the now disgraced Johnny Edwards (his birth name) and now they are over-reporting Democratic activities in Charlotte.  This is despite the fact that the Charlotte DNC convention may be the most poorly attended in years.

Local Citizens

The local citizenry has been extremely nice to this blogger.  KCC just went to Publix, a large Florida grocery chain, and the staff and other shoppers were extremely helpful.  I told them I was one of their convention visitors and they bent over backwards to make sure we had a great shopping experience.  Kudos to the locals here in St Pete. and to the staff of Publix at Bay Pointe Plaza (Store #00259).

Further, the police are everywhere.  Most are dressed in brown and heavily armed (take that you protestors). KCC has thanked every one of them that she has seen.  Even the Publix had a private, armed security guard.  Kudos to St. Pete and the Tampa Bay area!

Finally, it is with sad news that we at KCC report that the revolution will not be televised.  That means that very little of the convention will be on network TV.  You can catch it gavel-to-gavel on C-SPAN or with commentary on Fox News Network.  We hope you do tune in.  America deserves better than the huge Federal Government that Barack Obama has given us.  It’s time to give the government back to the people and downsize, like we do with our own finances.

If a new team defunds Planned Parenthood, and it’s your favorite charity, then donate to them!

More to come, so keep checking back!

 Editor’s Note:   The Tampa Bay Rays are the Major League club of the Durham Bulls baseball club.  The Durham Bulls are the Rays’ Triple A affiliate.

Obama’s last day should be January 20, 2013

ST PETERSBURG FL  Schools are closed for Monday, the Port of Tampa closes on Sunday, and a Tropical Storm Warning is in effect.  Yet the 40th Republican National Convention will go on as planned, albet a day late.

Kyle Downey, spokesman for the Republican National Committee told media that Monday had been planned to highlight President Barack Obama’s failures.  Now that will be spread over the remaining evenings, he stated.

Personal Observations

This blogger had quite the day traveling to Tampa International Airport.  There were several people on the connection from Atlanta who were convention bound, but not all of them were happy and excited about making the trip.

As KCC was awaiting her van share ride to the North Carolina delegation hotel, a woman asked her why she was here.

KCC thought that to be a very odd question and replied “to attend and write about the Republican convention.”  The other lady made it clear that she and her large group were all here to protest.

With all the talk of bad weather on the way, the local news media is actually WORRIED about the protesters.  Apparently, they are all staying in tents, which could blow away, forcing shelters to open to accommodate the opposition.

Oddly, the protesters this blogger saw were worried about jobs and they were from union states like Wisconsin.  She wanted badly to educate them that unions were preventing new jobs, and in fact destroyed jobs.  Additionally, the best way for government to “create jobs” is to reduce regulations and then get out of the way.  Those people have no need to be so mean, as it’s a simple difference of ideology.

Saturday night, downtown Tampa is completely blocked off and the police presence is heavy.  Meanwhile, here in St. Petersburg seems to be the fun place to be.  We look forward to getting out and exploring, rain or not.   Unfortunately for this blogger, her back is acting up and has left her in a great deal of pain.

Sunday, we also look forward to dipping our toes in the Gulf for the first time.  Growing up at a beach, KCC’s parents didn’t exactly take vacations to other beaches.  So this will be a first for her.

Finally, we’d like to thank Rob Benningfield for all the love and support.  Without him, none of this would be possible.  I love you honey.

Back to the fun and more Sunday…

Hayes speaks to the NC GOP State Convention last summer, photo copyright KTCreations

After the Democratic National Committee urged any candidates considering entering the North Carolina Gubanatorial primary to strike hard against Pat McCrory, the North Carolina Republican Party is fighting back.

In an earlier post, your blogger reported that McCrory has been largely untouched thanks to the constant negative attention on Governor Beverly Perdue.  He was far ahead in the polls, due to her unpopularity.  Last week, she pulled out of the race, leaving a vacuum both in Raleigh and in Washington.

Robin Hayes, chairman of the NCGOP, had this to say:

“The last few days have been interesting to observe. After Perdue’s announcement, we have watched the Democratic establishment race to find a replacement.

“Out of all of the names being floated publicly, have any voiced opposition to the corruption and scandals that have plagued the recent leaders of Democratic Party? With one possible exception, the answer is “no.”

“This means that we can expect whoever their nominee is to be a card-carrying member of the same Democratic Machine that brought North Carolina Governor Perdue, Mike Easley, and Jim Black.

“Whoever emerges from their primary will have some very simple questions to answer:

1.)  As a member of the North Carolina Democratic Machine, do they condemn the past scandals and failed leadership that have plagued both the state and their party?

2.)  Do they want to raise the sales tax by 15% or more on everyone in North Carolina?

If they refuse to condemn the scandals that have plagued their party’s brass, how can we count on them to be any different? If their only solution to problems is to simply raise taxes, it shows that they have no regard for families in our state.

“The time is now to restore faith in the Executive Branch. North Carolina needs a Governor that they can trust, not someone propped up by the same Democratic Machine that created the mess that we have worked hard to clean up.”

State Sen. Jim Forrester, champion of social conservatives, has died at age 74.

Socially conservative state Senator, Jim Forrester (R-Gaston) died Monday at the age of 74.  He had been ill for quite sometime but told friends that he planned on going out fighting until the end.

North Carolina GOP Chairman Robin Hayes said,

“Jim was a dear friend who I respected and admired. He had a long and distinguished career serving the people of North Carolina. The thoughts and prayers of everyone at the North Carolina Republican Party are with Mary Frances and the Forrester family tonight.”

Your blogger would also like to specifically remember their daughter, Mary Paige Forrester, who now lives in the Washington, DC area.    She is a friend and KCC wishes for prayers and blessings for both her and her mother.

President Pro Tempore of the NC Senate, Phil Berger had this to say:

Forrester served in the United States Air Force as a flight surgeon during the Vietnam War and retired with the rank of Brigadier General.  He served in the North Carolina Senate for the past two decades, beginning in 1990.

“Dr. Jim Forrester’s life embodied the American Dream,” said Berger.  “Through the years, he received numerous awards from groups that covered the ideological spectrum recognizing his outstanding legislative work.  I will remember him most for his dedicated and thoughtful service as he worked to make sure his constituents had the chance to fulfill the American Dream.”

For more information about Forrester’s life, visit http://jimforrester.net/.

Not every obituary was a complmentary one, including that mentioned in Pam’s House Blend, written by Pam Spaulding, a friend of this blogger.  Pam is a gay activist and was disappointed in Sen. Forrester’s activites in working towards a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage in our state.  That amendment comes up for a May vote.

She wrote:

It’s tragic that the man didn’t leave this earth with a more compassionate view of humanity. Even in this terrible, emotional situation for Forrester’s family, his anti-gay wife, Mary Frances, made it publicly and politically clear with the “go out with his boots on and support the causes in which he believed to his last breath” comment that she was ensuring the public that there would be no deathbed conversion regarding the discrimination amendment or his views of the civil rights of LGBT North Carolinians.

At press time, funeral arrangements were not complete.

To this blogger, Senator Forrester reminded her a bit of the late U.S. Senator Jesse Helms (R-NC). You may not agree with him 100%, but you always knew where he stood. That is always refreshing in this day of shady politicians in both major parties.

Editor’s Notes: See also The Gaston Gazette  and the Denver News (of Lake Norman). Finally, see the story by Laura Leslie on  WRAL TV.

Read also the A.P.’s Gary Roberson’s take as it was printed in the Greensboro News and Record on Monday.

Saturday evening, about 30 protesters lined up on Raleigh’s  Hillsborough Street at the North Carolina AFL-CIO, and marched the half mile to the North Carolina

KCC File Photo, NC Republican Party Sign

Republican Party headquarters.  The union supporters then circled the front lawn, chanting slogans and demanding”justice”.  They wanted “union rights” and “rights for laid-off state workers” in North Carolina.  Oddly, no one was working in the Republican party office at the time.  Plus, very few workers have been laid off.

North Carolina liberals have been unhappy for most of the past year, when Republicans won control of the NC General Assembly for the first time since Reconstruction.  (After over 100 years of corruption lead by Democrats, this blogger never thought she’d see GOP control in her lifetime.)

In January, when the Legislature convened for its long session, Republicans went straight to work.  They were left $2.4 billion budget deficit thanks to over spending by their  Democratic colleagues.

GOP members had to make the tough decisions, and nothing was immune.  State Universitites, community colleges and even public schools shared the burden, but not to the extent reported by the mainstream media.  Even state employees, the apparent untouchables of budgeting, felt the heat.

Frankly, there was no point in their march.  The General Assembly recently adjourned after putting a marriage amendment to the NC Constitution on the May ballot.  Union supporters got very little mainstream media coverage.  Only WTVD covered it locally and it appeared to this blogger that the marchers were not state employees at all, but rather people paid to be out a cool, wet night.  Let’s hope our state government does not hire those with dread locks, like the gentlemen who spoke with the television station.

Others of note that attended were members of Code Pink, a socialist/Communist women’s organization.

They marched  NOT to save state jobs, but rather to push unionization in an otherwise anti-union state.

Unions have felt the heat, lately,

The State Employees Association of NC affiliated with SEIU a couple of years ago. That association is now buried on the SEANC website.

with the 2012 DNC Convention coming to Charlotte.  Leaders have been pressuring the Governor to support President Barack H. Obama’s anti-union measures here in the State Capital.  He visited the city last week, pushing his so-called jobs program.

Meanwhile, where does NC Governor Beverly Perdue stand on the issue?  She refuses to take a stand, thus bowing to pressure from her union buddies who contributed heavily to her 2008 election campaign.

Editor’s Note:  North Carolina’s State Employees Association (SEANC) is affiliated with The Service Employees International Union (SEIU).  State employees in NC do not have collective bargaining rights, but they continue to  pushing anyway.

UPDATE: 1:45 a.m. Sunday 9/18/2011  Turns out, Saturday was a “Day of Rage” for Liberals.

UPDATE: 1:47 p.m. Sunday 9/18/2011 The News and Observer weighed in today, with one activist calling the situation a  ”crime scene”.  They over reported the number of activists, at 100.

Democrats anxiously hit the road in the kickoff of their “Tax Me More Bus Tour” Monday. The NC-Democrats, inspired by and

KCC Graphic

emulative of President Barack H. Obama’s recent “Debt-End Bus Tour,” have decided to embark on a “fact finding” mission for job solutions.

Before last week’s legislative session, Rep Bill Faison (D-Orange County) held a press conference to announce his proposal for a $1.1 billion tax-increase on the people of North Carolina.

NCGOP Communications Director Rob Lockwood told KCC: “The Democrats plan for jobs, as evidenced by Rep. Faison’s proposal, clearly indicates their desire to raise taxes on North Carolinians.

Their motto for job-creation is clear, ‘READ OUR LIPS: MORE NEW TAXES for everyone.’ The Democrats fail to understand a simple concept: new taxes do not create new private-sector jobs.

People of all political affiliations have serious questions for Governor Beverly Perdue and her Democratic colleagues.

They want to know why the Governor has been silent on the issue of “right-to-work” in the Tar Heel State.

Perdue has metaphorically put up a sign that states, ‘North Carolina doesn’t want non-unionized jobs, take your business to South Carolina!’

What is clear is that if the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) can interfere in South Carolina, they can interfere anywhere with right-to-work laws, especially North Carolina.”

Former NC Democratic Chairman David Young declared Friday, “YES, NLRB v. Boeing Fight Hurts NC.” David Young’s feeling that it was important to speak out publicly on the issue highlights the bi-partisan call for action by non-elected citizens.

Governor Perdue, where are you and North Carolina Democrats on the NLRB v. Boeing issue?

Last Thursday, the entire NC Republican US House Delegation voted to overturn the President Obama’s NLRB’s authority to squash job

Rep. Bill Faison, Courtesy NC General Assembly

growth in right-to-work states. Their public stance boldly tells any company “We’ll fight for your right to employ in North Carolina.”

The actions of the House members only go so far when the Governor chooses silence over fighting for jobs.

EDITOR’S NOTE: In related news, Rep. Bill Faison announced on Friday that he will not challenge Governor Perdue in the Democratic Gubernatorial race. He told WRAL’s Laura Leslie that he WILL run if Perdue were to not run for re-election.  Earlier in the day, he would neither confirm, nor deny whether or not he would challenge the Governor, Leslie reported.

Welcome to North Carolina and Wake County, Mr. President.  How sweet of you to remember our 10 percent unemployment rate while hawking your most recent “jobs” bill.  Since Stimulus I and II didn’t work out for you, you are back to our important swing state for another try at selling more taxpayer-funded nothingness.

The North Carolina Senate Republican Caucus wrote yesterday that our state is “front and center in the 2012 campaign”.  This means we will have to “welcome” you a few more times before the election is done, but we certainly don’t mind reminding you what you’ve “done” for our nation.  Thank you for bringing us the largest debt in our nation’s history.   Thank you for preventing our nation from being energy independent.   Thank you for saddling us with “Obamacare”, an unconstitutional and anti-business heath care “reform”.

The “Caucus” and I are looking forward to the 2012 Democratic National Convention in Charlotte.  We welcome your hackneyed ideas about more big government power grabs, like you’ve been doing lately with the FCC.  North Carolinians love to give up their freedoms, especially when it comes to the Internet.  I’m sure we won’t mind all the nice moves your communication czars are making, under your watch and with your approval.

Honestly, if I weren’t recovering from a sinus infection, I’d be in the crowd at NC State University, cheering you on.  Enjoy your private event in Apex, formerly known as the “peak of good living”…until you came to town.

Finally, Mr. President, enjoy this short video that my friends over at “the Caucus” made…just for you.  Until next time…

Your blogger usually takes part of the summer off from politics and blogging to avoid burnout.  After 27 years in the political game, it can get tiring, and KCC has found that all work and no play can make for a dull blogger.  We are now on our way back and with election season kicking back in North Carolina and municipal elections just around the corner, look for more to come.

Retired Army Colonel, Brenda Formo has contributed another in her series of Legislative Updates.  Brenda provides these for the North Carolina Federation of Republican Women, but she has graciously given exclusive permission to Katy’s Conservative Corner to post.