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JohnnyZ,

I would much rather have a legislature being run by a Republican majority. Internal squabbles have too much importance right now. Until NCGOP and its staunch supporters can understand that, NC Republicans will continue to be in the minority.

The proof is in the tasting of the pudding. Our trash may be hauled to the street, but the footings on our mobile home have given way.

I just don't see any justification for the poor excuse for leadership we have had in Bill Cobey, Ferrell Blount, and Bill Peaslee in our NCGOP. As long as there are those who see things as "more conservative" or "less conservative", "RINO" or "Non-RINO", regardless, we will all be losers. I offer the past 20 years in North Carolina politics as "the proof".

The infighting has got to stop. The self-serving name calling has got to stop. NCGOP needs focus like Bill Peaslee needs a job.

On retrospect, maybe I misspoke when I said you're friendly with the Daves? (It's hard to tell from your posts.)

TaxRelief,

I don't know the Daves. Suffice it to say that based on what you have said, it is unlikely I would support Linda Daves for NCGOP Chairman. Keeping the same people who created the mess we are in back in charge doesn't make very much sense to me.

My point was that because most of the State Executive committee is nothing but a bunch of old farts and sycophants, Daves will probably get elected to fill the Chairman slot.

The only saving grace at this point is that Peaslee is out of the picture and that is GREAT! Hopefully his replacement will be a little more polished, NICE to people, won't secretly work on gubernatorial Primary campaigns on NCGOP time, etc. The list could just go on and on...

And if you think Republicans lost in 2006 because of RINO hunting ..... well, I think that indicates a real blind spot on your part, to say the least.

Not at all. Defeating Richard Morgan and his cabal was the number one priority of NCGOP this year. Period. There is no denying that. It was even more important than getting Republicans elected. NCGOP HQ coordinated volunteers for Joe Boylan's primary campaign but did NOTHING ... I mean absolutely NOTHING for any other NC legislative candidate this year. Those poorly designed "House for Sale" signs don't count because the signs obviously didn't vote.

And lets not forget the THOUSANDS of dollars of NCGOP funds that were spent in Eastern North Carolina on NCGOP television ads that prominently featured our fearless leader Ferrell Blount. Word is that Ferrell wants to run against Walter Jones. Well now that Blount has resigned, can NCGOP have its money back that was spent to promote his image?

Don't misunderstand me, I am in no way supporting Morgan or his friends. That was indeed a legitimate problem. However, that problem took precident over the reason NCGOP exists ... to elect Republicans. THAT is a problem too.

Then there is the whole "just who is and who isn't a RINO" thing. Who decides? The whole "my way or the highway" mentality of NCGOP HQ is a major part of their problem. We have to grow beyond that petty name calling everytime some Republican disagrees with another Republican on one issue or another. Not everyone is going to agree with everyone else all the time. There needs to be some flexibility. 4th District Chair Bill Carraway is the worst offender of this type of behavior/mentality.

Check around with people you know that work at NCGOP headquarters. They will tell you what the priorities were ... and the priorities were NOT about electing Republicans.

Who might possibly be elected by the Executive Committee other than Daves?

There are two other announced candidates. Andrew Brock and Marcus Kindley. Kindley is cut from the same cloth as Vernon Robinson. Brock seems to have a fresh approach and isn't a part of the "establishment".

Ultimately, I fear you are correct though. Many of the regulars on the State Executive Committee are staunchly loyal to Blount, Cobey, and their ilk. Daves will likely get the appointment with very little to no discussion about other candidates. Even in their day, corrupt leaders like Blount, Peaslee, and Cobey had to be propped up and supported by someone. The State Central Committee probably needs to be purged as well.

I can't tell you how many horror stories I have heard about Bill Peaslee. Whether it be kicking grassroots activists out of the NCGOP booth at the NC State Fair for promoting 2004 gubernatorial candidate Patrick Ballantine or whether it was rudely speaking to individuals wanting to help, the list is long and embarassing.

I don't wish Bill Peaslee ill-will. I am just glad he is going away. Hopefully whatever line of business he gets into next will not involve any interaction with people. PR is just not his forte'.

I am hopeful that NCGOP will change its direction. This whole business of labeling everyone one disagrees with as a RINO is self-defeating (as if that isn't obvious this year). The Bill Cobey/Bill Peaslee/Bill Carraway/Ferrell Blount mentality of RINO hunting has got to be put out to pasture if the Republican and Conservative cause is going to take root in North Carolina.

I agree. This news is much more significant than Ferrell Blount resigning. Bill Peaslee's poor leadership and complete lack of people skills hurt NC Republicans in so many different ways. His presence at NCGOP headquarters contributed to the aire of entitlement and corruption that has plagued the past few NCGOP Chairmen including Bill Cobey and Ferrell Blount.

Good riddance Bill Peaslee and don't let the door hit you on the way out!

Maybe now NCGOP will change its priorities? Maybe beating up on Democrats will become more important than beating up on other Republicans?

Peaslee, who also served as special legal counsel and often a party spokesman, said he stepped down in the interests of helping the party prepare for the next election cycle and to put a fresh face near the top.

Republicans fared poorly in the legislative elections this month _ losing as many as seven seats total _ and lost their majority in the congressional delegation with the defeat of Rep. Charles Taylor, R-N.C.

The job can be a difficult one, with decisions that can generate bad feelings among party activists, Peaslee said.

"There's somebody that has to say no to requests," Peaslee said. "Those people can garner some ill will, and for the party to move on it's best that I stand down."

Peaslee was chief of staff as the Elizabeth Dole won a U.S. Senate seat in 2002 and Richard Burr won the other seat in 2004. But at the same time conservative and moderate Republicans fought in the state House over the party's direction.

Linda Daves, interim party chairman, said in a news release announcing the resignation: "Bill has faithfully served the Republican Party beginning as a college student and working in all levels of grassroots. On behalf of the North Carolina Republican Party I thank Bill for his distinguished service and extend our best wishes for success in his future endeavors."

There was no immediate word on a replacement for Peaslee. Efforts to reach Daves or a GOP spokeswoman were unsuccessful Monday evening.

The state GOP's executive committee is slated to meet Dec. 2 to choose the next chairman.

Berry, 68, was convicted of swindling customers of his jewelry business in Cobb County, Ga., out of $285,000, according to articles in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. In 1997, Berry was sentenced to 30 months in prison and ordered to pay restitution during 7 1/2 years of probation. Berry was accused of taking gold and silver he never paid for. Berry was already in prison on charges related to a money order scam in Muscogee County, Ga., and replacing a diamond on a customer's ring with a fake stone, according to news accounts.

Berry said he is innocent and that the charges were politically motivated. Berry said he pleaded no contest to the charges because he had health problems and his wife and sister had recently died.

Under North Carolina law, a person convicted of a felony in another state cannot vote here until his probation has ended in the other state, said Gary Bartlett, executive director of the State Board of Elections. Bartlett said it is a felony to give false information on a voter registration application. Anyone who registers to vote in North Carolina has to swear that if they have been convicted of a felony, their rights of citizenship have been restored.

Some confusion exists about when Berry's probation ended on those charges, and therefore when he was able to vote again.

Yolanda Thompson, a spokeswoman for the Georgia Department of Corrections, said Berry's probation related to the Cobb County charges ended in April, but his probation on the Muscogee County charges does not end until Nov. 19.

On Sept. 22, Berry's probation officer, Janice Duncan, wrote a letter to Marshall Tutor, an investigator with the State Board of Elections. Duncan's letter lists two case numbers, without identifying the county of conviction, and states, "the listed cases were closed on April 28, 2006 in Cobb County, Georgia and the defendant has no further obligation to the court in these cases."

Berry has given varying statements about when his probation ended, and his account of when he first voted here conflicts with voting records.

Wake County voting records show Berry registered to vote on June 7, 2004, and has voted since that fall's general election, which was the first time his wife ran for the state Supreme Court.

Initially, Berry declined to discuss when his probation ended, saying, "You're trying to get me to say something to incriminate myself."

Then Berry wrote in an Oct. 3 e-mail to The News & Observer that he had a court order showing his probation ended a year ago. He said Georgia officials had screwed up the paperwork.

On Friday, Berry wrote in another e-mail that the Muscogee County sentence was to be concurrent to the Cobb County sentence. Berry wrote that he did not vote until after he received an order from Cobb County officials showing it was OK.

"I did not vote until May of this year .... when I receive the order from Cobb that I was clear," Berry wrote.

When asked Monday about why voting records differ from his account, Berry wrote in an e-mail that he has an explanation and plans to speak at a press conference Thursday.

Staff writer Andrea Weigl can be reached at 829-4848 or aweigl@newsobserver.com.

Interesting indeed.

Check this link out to the Wake County Board of Elections. Either the Raleigh News and Observer has made a mistake or Connie Mack Berry, Jr. is well on his way to another conviction in yet another state. He has been voting in NC since 2001.

Cary, NC blogger John Barbara has been covering the issue quite well for those who are interested. He actually received a death threat from Connie Mack Berry, Jr. because he called Rachel Lea Hunter a "crackpot".

Imagine that.

Rachel Lea Hunter's website is http://www.rachelforjustice.com/ in case anyone wants to catchup on moonbat mania and complete psychopath ramblings from a self-styled "progressive Democrat".

Rachel Lea Hunter has been denounced by both the North Carolina Democratic Party and Republican Party. In fact, she is so reviled that NCDP State Chairman Jerry Meek endorsed her Republican opponent (and incumbent).

This story keeps getting better and better.

It would seem that Connie Mack Berry, Jr. has indeed been voting. Cary, NC resident John Barbara has field complaints against Berry with the State Board of Elections and the Cary Police Department.

More details on his blog at:
http://johnforcary.livejournal.com/46094.html

Berry is active in his wife's unconventional campaign. She has been disowned by state Democrat Party leaders for describing a black Republican candidate as a slave, rebuked by former UNC basketball coach Dean Smith for claiming he endorsed her, and rebuffed in an effort to get her nickname, "Madame Justice," on the ballot. State election officials said the nickname would mislead the public because Hunter has never been a judge.

Hunter, a Cary lawyer, is running against an incumbent, Mark Martin, who has been an associate justice since 1998.

Berry was convicted in Georgia in 1997 of bilking 27 customers out of $285,000, according to newspaper reports. He was sentenced to 30 months in prison and ordered to pay restitution during 7 1/2 years of probation. Berry was accused of taking gold and silver he never paid for. Berry was already in prison on charges related to a money order scam and replacing a diamond on a customer's ring with a fake stone, according to news accounts.

In 1983, Berry faced charges in Florida for swindling 37 customers out of $75,000, according to news accounts. He pleaded no contest to four misdemeanors for failing to fill orders for precious metals. He was fined $2,500 and given a year's probation.

In e-mail to The News & Observer, Berry explained that at the time of his pleas in Georgia, he was sick with cancer and had recently lost a wife and sister to brain aneurysms.

"Under the advice of my attorneys, it was easier to enter a plea and not incur any additional intense stress in a complicated and complex case," Berry wrote.

In an earlier interview, Berry said the Georgia charges were politically motivated. Berry had several failed runs for public office in Marietta, Ga., where he was a businessman.

"I had an empire," he said. "I made a lot of enemies."

Ms. Hunter is no slouch at getting her name in print. Not long ago she managed to get her picture taken with former Tar Heel basketball coach Dean Smith and posted it on her Web site as an endorsement. It wasn't, Coach Smith said.

A former Republican, Ms. Hunter characterized GOP congressional candidate Vernon Robinson -- a publicity hound himself, we might add -- as "a good slave returning to the plantation" for his allegiance to the Republican Party. (Mr. Robinson, a black conservative, once campaigned with the motto "Jesse Helms is back, and this time he's black.") Responding to complaints, Ms. Hunter changed her description of Mr. Robinson, calling him "Uncle Tom."

She also called state Democratic Chairman Jerry Meek "Der Fuhrer." That came after Mr. Meek announced the party would not endorse her in the race against GOP Associate Justice Mark Martin because she "lacks the judgment and temperament" for the job. State GOP Chairman Ferrell Blount noted that Republicans and Democrats finally have something to agree on.

All this reminds us of an episode a decade ago when we poked some fun at a Mecklenburg candidate for state office. Jack Daly, an unsuccessful candidate for state auditor who got more votes than most other Republicans on the ballot, issued a press release saying, "I sure shut the critics up! People who said I wasn't old enough to run are now practically worshiping at my feet. It's been amusing to watch the party naysayers begging for forgiveness."

We especially liked his admission that calls for him to run for governor or party chair were a bit premature. "I'm not necessarily the Wonder boy people are making me out to be," he said.

No, indeed, we agreed. Wonder Boob was more like it.

Maybe in addition to Democrats and Republicans, North Carolina needs a new party for people who like the Comedy Channel style of politics. They might not win anything, but candidates such as the Wonder Boob and Madame Loony Tunes sure would provide comic relief.

She has just temporarily landed on the Democrats for now. I can't muster much sympathy for them, but that's another story. Given this latest development, I expect she'll be moving on to the ranks of the unaffiliated soon. Or maybe she'll flit back over to the GOP. She tried out the Libertarians for a while, but they wouldn't have anything to do with her, so I expect she won't be going back there. Maybe she'll go trouble the Greens for a while.

In other words, she wants to get elected and will say or do anything in order to do so. How else can a "Conservative Republican" transform themselves into a "Progressive Democrat" in less than one year?

Rachel Lea Hunter has no choice but to go "unaffiliated" now. The Greens and the Libertarians are no longer officially recognized parties in North Carolina. In fact, I don't think the Greens have ever been officially recognized in North Carolina, thank goodness.

The Democrat controlled NC Legislature changed the NC Supreme Court races to be Non-Partisan so that it would be easier to get liberals voted into office. The rationale being that voters would be confused as to which candidate is the more conservative candidate without a "D" or a "R" next to their name.

Rachel Lea Hunter ran for NC Supreme Court in 2004 as a Republican. She changed her party affiliation last year to Democrat after her candidate for NCGOP Chairman, Vernon Robinson, didn't win.

Hunter did not return a phone call Tuesday seeking comment. Her husband and campaign adviser, Connie Mack Berry Jr., took offense at Blount's description of Hunter as "unstable."

"Rachel Hunter will be glad to submit herself to any psychiatric evaluation, any place, any time, anywhere, by the best psychiatric personnel in the country," he said.

Last week, in a post on her Web site, Hunter criticized congressional candidate Vernon Robinson for running for office as a Republican, even though the staunch and outspoken conservative lost his bid for state GOP chair at the party's convention in 2005.

"Like a good slave, he has returned to the plantation," Hunter wrote about Robinson, who is black.

On Tuesday, Hunter revised that statement on her Web site, calling Robinson's behavior like that of an "Uncle Tom" -- considered to be a contemptuous term for a black whose behavior toward whites is regarded as fawning or servile.

"While I don't have a high regard for Vernon Robinson, I would never characterize him the way she did," Meek said.

Hunter also ran for a seat on the Supreme Court in 2004, finishing third to winner Paul Newby.

"She's not stable," Blount said. "I would applaud Jerry Meek, calling it the way he sees it. If she was still a Republican, I would have done the same thing."

Hunter has about 20 years of legal experience, mostly as a law clerk. She has worked as an attorney in Durham for the past five years.

Last month, she implied on her Web site she had won the endorsement of former North Carolina basketball coach Dean Smith. But while Smith said he met Hunter and had his picture taken with her, he said he had not endorsed her candidacy and didn't remember saying what Hunter attributed to him.

Berry said then he didn't want to "argue with the greatest legend in college basketball."

The state Board of Elections in February ruled against Hunter's request to appear on the ballot with the nickname "Madame Justice," a moniker Hunter has said she adopted in 1998.

Links related to this article: Rachel Lea Hunter campaign: www.rachelforjustice.com

Last Tuesday, Jerry Meek announced that he will recommend that the State Democratic Party withhold an endorsement of Rachel Lea Hunter after Hunter, a registered Democrat, compared an African-American congressional candidate to a slave returning to the plantation. Meek said Hunter’s comments show that she “lacks the judgment and temperament necessary for a Supreme Court Justice.” (“NC Democratic Party Chair Repudiates Rachel Lea Hunter’s Racist Comments,” NCDP Press Release, June 6, 2006).

In response, Hunter she said that her comments were misunderstood. However, rather than retract the statement, Hunter called Jerry Meek “Der Führer” and changed her terminology by comparing the candidate to an “Uncle Tom,” a term originating during slavery where slave owners gave well-liked and trusted slaves less physically demanding duties to perform.

“Clearly, the actions of Rachel Lea Hunter are beyond reprehensible,” said Ferrell Blount, Chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party. “Comparing Jerry Meek to Hitler is not only unfair to Jerry but it is also unfair to those who suffered under Adolph Hitler’s tyranny. Using such outlandish comparisons when unwarranted trivializes the sacrifices of those who paid the ultimate price to remove Hitler from power.”

The North Carolina Republican Party has endorsed Justice Mark Martin in his re-election bid for the State Supreme Court. Justice Martin is a veteran judge with over 13 years of judicial experience, and he is the only member of the N.C. Supreme Court who has worked on both the N.C. Court of Appeals and the N.C. Superior Court.

“I am happy that some things, and some people, can still bring Republicans and Democrats together,” added Blount. “Jerry Meek and I do not agree on many of the solutions to the problems North Carolina faces, but we most certainly do agree that Rachel Hunter is unfit to serve on the North Carolina Supreme Court.”

Wasn't Rachel Lea Hunter posting here for a while?

No, not really. Her husband and campaign manager, Connie Mack Berry, Jr. trolls the internet blogs posting generally offensive messages. He will use the alias of "Max" or even "Madame Justice".

According to Hunter's own website, she doesn't have the time or inclination with computers or blogs.

The district leans Democrat and Robinson is not a candidate who can draw much beyond a committed base, to be diplomatic.

The one aspect of District 13 that not many people have mentioned is its demographics. There is a large African American population in Person and Caswell Counties. Robinson is no doubt aware of that fact.

Who will African Americans vote for? A white Democrat (Brad Miller)? or an African American Republican (Vernon Robinson)?

Which candidate will African Americans be able to identify with? I bet more African Americans share Vernon Robinson's values than Brad Miller's.

Check out her latest press right here. The media isn't being kind.

Hunter's latest stunt involves our own Vernon Robinson, the former city-council member and current Republican candidate for the 13th Congressional District.

In a rambling e-mail that she signed and distributed Tuesday, Hunter writes about Robinson's decision to remain in the Republican Party despite being soundly beaten last year in his quest to become the state party chairman.

"Like a good slave, (Robinson) has returned to the plantation," wrote Hunter, a registered Democrat who is white. "I am sorry to use that metaphor, but his actions are like that of a slave saying 'I'll be good from now on, Massa.' A real leader would have told the NC GOP to shove it and would have resigned from the party after how he was treated."

Unwelcome at the party

Not that it was a surprise, but the N.C. Democratic Party wasted no time responding. Party officials said they would withhold any endorsements for Hunter.

Jerry Meek, the state Democratic Party chairman, said that the "racial epithet has no place in any political dialogue, even directed toward someone as contemptible as Vernon Robinson."

Hunter's statement is so offensive that it rendered Robinson nearly speechless. Reached by cell phone yesterday, Robinson was uncharacteristically quiet.

"It was forwarded to me a couple times," Robinson said. "I'm not worried about it. I'll worry about talking to voters in the district, and that's about it."

Imagine that -Vernon Robinson taking the high road.

Connie Mack Berry Jr., Hunter's husband and campaign manager, shrugged off the whole thing, attributing it to partisan politics. He said that state Democratic officials have been angling to boot Hunter out of the party for months because she is a lightning rod who tells it like it is.

"If you'll look, Hillary Clinton said the same thing about Republicans on Martin Luther King Day," Berry said. "Everybody jumped on her, and it lasted about a week.... Jerry Meek, he tried to make us out to be racists. Hell, Rachel's Jewish.

"That really hacked us off."

If Rachel Lea Hunter sounds vaguely familiar, here's why:

First, she attempted to get the nickname "Madame Justice" printed on the ballot. The State Board of Elections shot that one down in March.

She drew attention again last month when her campaign used a photo of her with Dean Smith under the quote "As a loyal Democrat to another loyal Democrat. Win Rachel! Win!"

There was just one problem. Smith didn't remember meeting Hunter or saying anything remotely resembling an endorsement.

It can get worse

Berry said yesterday that hackers caused that whole mess by altering Smith's quote on Hunter's Web site. "There is an investigation into that, and we did put a call in to the authorities," he said.

Alrighty.

We have an amateurish attempt to use a goofy nickname, dragging the good name of Dean Smith into a judicial campaign and a racist slap at Vernon Robinson.

So what's next? How about some homophobia?

Don't laugh. It happened in an e-mail exchange last month when Nathan Tabor, a religious conservative from Kernersville, wrote Berry to tease him about the Smith fiasco.

"Is it true that you and Vernon have made up and sleeping with other as brokeback repub buddies?" Berry wrote back.

Justice Martin couldn't have asked for a better foil if David Duke moved here from Louisiana to run. And this is only June.

• Scott Sexton can be reached at 727-7481 or at ssexton@wsjournal.com