Political earthquake in Raleigh and the grassroots conservative pushback against NCGOP

Published 9:47 am Wednesday, June 17, 2015

To the editor:

For several months I have been wondering if I had somehow missed an important news release on the merger of the Democratic Party with the Progressive (a.k.a. RINO) Establishment of the Republican Party. I did see the news on how Republican Speaker of the U.S. House, John Boehner, and Republican Senate Leader, Mitch McConnell, had surrendered our Constitution, our borders, and the future of American workers, taxpayers, and small businesses to the lawless direction of Supreme Executive Barack Obama.

I know there has been no official merger, but there seems to be some De Facto arrangement between the Democrat and Republican Progressive establishments to embrace Obama’s open border doctrines for the sake of cheaper labor costs and changing the electorate and culture to be more compatible with a progressive society free from the restraints of the Constitution and “old-fashioned” Scripture based morality.

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Many of the Republican progressives are also eager to abandon social-cultural issues like traditional marriage. Grassroots Republican voters are becoming increasingly outraged with Republican leadership at national and state levels for the above reasons. They also believe that the conservative principles declared by the Republican Party in former days are being abandoned for the sake of cheap labor profits for powerful special interest donors and trendy social aberrations that offend widely held and deep-seated faith in the teachings of Judeo-Christian Scripture. Conservatives are becoming very anxious and angry at the rapid abandonment of principle and simple patriotism among those they elected to establish and defend those principles.

On June 6, at the annual North Carolina Republican Convention, the delegates defeated the ‘establishment’ endorsed candidate, Craig Collins, and elected Hasan Harnett, the first black NCGOP Chairman in its history. Harnett, a conservative Tea Party activist, won by a vote of 700 to 562. A third candidate, A.J. Doud, a District Chairman with a reputation for anti-establishment conservatism, withdrew before the first ballot.
Collins, who was the runaway favorite two days before the convention, describes himself as a conservative activist and had been Gaston County Chairman and a District Chairman. According to observers at the convention, Harnett made a spirited conservative impression. In addition, a surprising 25 percent of the delegates were estimated to be members of the Republican Liberty Caucus, a libertarian leaning group, who had made 4,000 phone calls to potential delegates campaigning in support of Harnett. Many believe, however, that Collins’ status as the establishment endorsed candidate was what defeated him and elected Harnett.

Collins’ endorsements by U.S. Senators Burr and Tillis probably gave many delegates cause for concern. One of the leading fault lines between Republican conservative activists and the progressive establishment has been immigration policy.

A new special interest bill, HB 328, deceptively called a public safety bill, has resurfaced and is currently being considered in the NC House Finance Committee. HB 328 also undermines federal immigration law by ignoring it and making North Carolina an illegal alien sanctuary for cheap labor. All this essentially undermines respect for law, which is the absolutely necessary foundation for just government and public safety.

The Finance Committee will meet again on HB 328 on June 9 under heavy pressure from special interest donors. Yet over 80 percent of North Carolina voters oppose such amnesties and special favors to illegal immigrants and their employers, realizing such measures are a green light, welcome sign, and strong magnet likely to attract large numbers of additional illegal immigrants to North Carolina, which would have strongly negative consequences for North Carolina workers and taxpayers.

Deon Dunn
Columbus, N.C.