Posted on 05/17/2005 1:05:41 PM PDT by MikeEdwards
This interview was offered to both candidates for North Carolina Republican Party Chairman: Councilman Vernon Robinson and NCGOP Chairman Ferrell Blount.
Dear Sirs,
Like most North Carolinians, I tend to focus on general elections, rather than primaries and intra-party races. However, I recognize the importance of party leadership. And, with our state convention swift-approaching, many activists have put forward some remarkably relevant questions. The following interview represents a handful of these inquiries, and I hope that you can both find the time to answer your friends and fans across Carolina.
Sincerely,
JTP
Interview for NCGOP Chairman’s Race
1. Many Republicans–many activists–are skeptical that NCGOP chairs have anything to do with the success or failure of their Party. Why are they wrong? As chairman, what power would you hold to help us achieve our ultimate goal, i.e., beat the Democrats?
Robinson: The chairman, more that any other person in the state other than a Republican Governor, has the ability to use the bully pulpit to move a conservative agenda. For example, had I been the GOP Chair when Sen. Tony Rand took the Bible and Cross out of the Senate Chapel, I would have been on a plane going from town to town holding press conferences until Democrats begged Rand to put the Cross and Bible back in the Chapel. The current Chair’s response was nothing. You can’t use a bully pulpit if you are afraid of the press and have an ineffective communications effort. . . . .
(Excerpt) Read more at canadafreepress.com ...
I live in Winston-Salem, where Vernon is a councilman (not mine though - more's the pity).
One of his main campaign issues last fall was illegal immigration. He has very strong views on the subject. It would be interesting to go back and read what he had to say then in light of recent developments, i.e., The Minutemen.
I'll see what I can find.
I am still not crazy about Virginia Foxx either.
He got beat because of that nasty anti-Muslim ad he ran.
I think he got beat because of the run-off laws:
He won the first primary, but the law required a higher percentage than he received. The next go round he had all 6 of his original primary opponents ganging up on him and uniting behind Virginia Foxx. Obviously he made each one of them angry.
What was the anti-Muslim thing?
I take it Linda and Carson Daves didn't have time to fill out Ferrell's questionaire?
It was an ad about that guy they caught down in Charlotte with the camera, remember that? It said something about "He's here to kill you."
It turned people's stomachs.
Simply put, he needs to understand when to shut up -- or, better still, when to go away. He's big on the Ten Commandments (including some silly grandstanding), but he evidently does not subscribe to Ronald Reagan's Eleventh Commandment: "Thou shall speak no evil about fellow Republicans." The anti-Muslim ad, tawdry as it was, pales in comparison to his vicious attacks on his fellow party members.
Given his history of attacks on fellow conservatives, his candidacy for State Party Chairman is particularly ironic. This will be at least his fifth electoral defeat (two Council of State losses, a loss in a run for the General Assembly, and the GOP Primary loss for the District 5 Congressional seat have preceded the current contest). Yet he still revered by many conservatives. Why?
Because unlike many others in the GOP who claim to be conservative, Vernon actually is conservative. Because unlike many in the GOP who think it's all about winning, regardless of what kind of vermin you end up putting in office by winning, Vernon still believes it's all about principle. Because unlike people like John McCain, Patrick Ballantine, Rudy Giuliani, and a host of other RINOs who are so revered by many on this website, Vernon is still dedicated to the principles and ideas that actually set us apart from the Democrats.
Most of us are hoping Vernon will lead the party if for no other reason than the whiners and invertebrates who mewl and whimper about those who take stands on issues being "one taco short of a combination plate" or about those who they think "need to understand when to shut up" will go find something else to do.
To set the record straight, Vernon has never, ever attacked a fellow conservative. He has, however, called numerous RINOs and liberals to task publicly. And that leads to the real reason we need Vernon: so that maybe some people will remember what a conservative really is and stop trying to pass off on us that which is not conservative and never will be.
Wow! Nicely put.
I saw this about Robinson at politics1.com (August 2004) (it's a good site, often has a liberal viewpoint but lots of good political info):
NC CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE PUBLISHED FAKE POLITICS1 STORY TO BASH OPPONENT. Controversial congressional candidate Vernon Robinson (R-NC) -- who describes himself as "the black Jesse Helms" (even though Helms endorsed an opponent) -- mailed out a "Voter's Guide" during the recent primary filled with fictional news articles attributed to various news sources. The phony articles bashed all of Robinson's primary opponents for a variety of sins from personal foibles (alcohol, arrests, etc.) to bankruptcy to "liberalism" and so forth. The only problem was that the sources cited in the booklet appeared to all be fictional. On one page, Robinson's guide carried an article by "Tyler Brooks" of Politics1.com. Who? Anyways, the article by Brooks was headlined "Lesbian Wedding Dogs Helvey" (note: Jay Helvey was a wealthy primary rival). Now, if any candidate took part in a lesbian wedding (or even a wedding involving lesbian dogs), we'd be the first to cover it. However, we didn't -- and Robinson's Politics1 article is a total fraud. According to the Rothenberg Political Report, all of the other articles in the booklet also appear to be fakes or major distortions. The Robinson campaign, meanwhile, refused to admit the falsity of anything published in their booklet. Robinson faces a run-off on August 17 against State Senator Virginia Foxx in the CD-5 race. While we're flattered that Robinson thought the Politics1 brand name had enough political street cred to use as a weapon against an opponent, the willful deceitfulness clearly shows that Robinson lacks the integrity to serve in Congress.
Rumor has it that Vernon's name will be placed in nomination for the GOP Chairmanship by none other than former State Senator Fern (2%) Shubert. I think his chances of winning just went from slim to none.
Actually, Fern Schubert has always been well respected and well received.
What was Robinson's response to these accusations? (Can you link the text of this 3-page voterguide or something?)
http://vernonrobinson.com/robinson_contents/news/
There are links to a lot of stories about Robinson here.
A couple of people I talked to were very impressed that Vernon plans to make Fern the executive director of the party. They had been doubtful about Vernon up to that point but are now planning to support him wholeheartedly.
Fern Shubert will be well-received at the convention, as she should be. I respect her too, and voted for her as State Senator -- but I was not among the 2% or so who voted for her in the Gubernatorial primary. I've heard some speculation that she might try to win her N.C. Senate seat back. I doubt that Eddie Goodall would voluntarily step aside, so we might have an interesting primary. Maybe she could get Vernon to manage her campaign. He'll be available, I'm sure.
Meow! That was positively catty, SNC. :-)
Is the executive director like a vice-chair, or is it a paid position?
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