Guarino

Final Post

I wish to leave readers with several thoughts as I bring this blog to a close:

1. I have already begun a new weekly column at the Greensboro Guardian-- the local conservative online newspaper. Check its website periodically.

2. There are several local blogs to which I wish to call readers' attention. These are all blogs that post new items nearly every day on various issues including local and regional matters of interest to conservatives:

• Triad Watch features posts written by Keith Brown and George Hartzman. It provides extremely helpful insight into our corrupt local politics, and how it varies from the way things ought to be.
• The Troublemaker, Ben Holder's blog, holds the leaders of the city of Greensboro accountable because they continuously seek to politicize our police department.
• Piedmont Publius, Sam Hieb's blog sponsored by the John Locke Foundation, offers conservative commentary on a wide variety of local issues and events.
• The Last Embassy, the blog authored by Bill Heasley, discusses various issues from an economic perspective.

I suggest that you visit them frequently.

3. My plan is to leave up this blog for a period of time, but ultimately to take it down. However, I will continue to have access to the blog's contents. If any reader later wishes to regain access to a specific post, I should be able to provide that by e-mail upon request.

4. It would be fitting to close the blog with the following YouTube provided to me by Fred Gregory. I suggest that you go to full screen:

Time to Move On

I cranked up this blog more than 7 years ago. It has been quite a ride. It is a huge investment of time, and of intellectual and emotional energies. I hope we have made at least somewhat of a difference.

When I started the blog, the local media was relentlessly liberal; and there was little conservative media voice on a daily basis. Local conservative and Republican opposition to the daily media juggernaut-- and to our corrupt Melderec con Simkins political culture-- tended to be anemic and sparse. We sought to help change that. We sought also to be a local voice for the pro-life, pro-family cause.

Since that time, there have been "ups" and "downs". But I am most heartened by the emergence of the new local group, Conservatives for Guilford County; the media presence they have had; their activism; and their identification and support of conservative candidates. An allied publication, the Greensboro Guardian, is off to a good start. We now have a significant, engaged, industrious group of workers advancing conservative goals locally, and spreading the message.

I am pleased that this makes my blog less needed.

It is time for me to reshuffle my own activities and efforts, and to move on from this blog. I expect to take it down in the future.

Will be commenting at other sites, and paying more attention to some of the other avenues of service in which I have been engaged. I want to thank readers and commenters for participating here over the years, and for your support. There are many rewarding memories and friendships that have arisen from doing this blog; and I appreciate all of you very much.

Regards,

Joe

Update: I will be doing a weekly column with the online Greensboro Guardian beginning real soon.

The C4GC Primary Endorsements

Conservatives for Guilford County has posted on its website the group's endorsements for the May 8 primary election.  The endorsed candidates are as follows:

 

State Senate District 26: Phil Berger

State Senate District 27: Trudy Wade

House of Representatives District 59: Sharon Kasica

Board of County Commissioners District 4: W. Douglas Williams

Board of County Commissioners District 5: Jeff Phillips

Board of County Commissioners District 6: Jeremy Williams

County Board of Education At-Large: Pat Tillman

County Board of Education District 5: Paul Daniels

Superior Court Judge District 18E: Susan Bray

Lieutenant Governor: Dan Forest

State Auditor: Fern Shubert

Commissioner of Agriculture: Steve Troxler

Commissioner of Insurance: Mike Causey

Secretary of State: Michael Beitler

Superintendent of Public Education: John Tedesco

State Treasurer: Frank Roche

 

C4GC's press release regarding the above endorsements reads as follows:

Conservatives for Guilford County (C4gc) has released the list of C4gc endorsed candidates for the May 8th primary. The C4gc research team, through background research, candidate questionnaires and interviews, has identified the most fiscally and constitutionally conservative candidates in key races across the county and state. The focus of C4gc is to connect the people of Guilford County with politics at every level of government. Our concern is the growth of government, debt, taxing and spending. We will work to influence the election process by supporting the most conservative candidates through grassroots networking efforts.
The state of North Carolina is struggling with high unemployment rates, crippling taxes and a growing government bureaucracy. Strong leadership is needed on the county and state level to bring spending under control, reduce taxes, and put citizens back to work. To accomplish this, our elected officials must put special interests aside and come up with creative solutions to the problems that threaten the citizens of North Carolina.

 

The endorsements are posted here.

With Apologies to Sammy...

(HT: Bill Heasley)

Biased Coverage of NC Democratic Scandal: It Must Be Nice

An Associated Press article appeared in the News and Record this morning regarding the North Carolina Democratic Party scandal.  The issue is alleged harassment of a staffer.

The article does identify the alleged perpetrator as the party's executive director. 

However, notably absent are two important aspects of this story: first, that the harassment was alleged to be sexual; and second, that it was alleged to be same-sex.

I have noted for many years that the Associated Press is heavily biased toward the liberal point of view and the Democratic Party; and heavily biased against the conservative point of view and the Republican Party.  This is nothing new. 

However, one cannot help but be astonished when it is so thoroughly blatant.

If this were a conservative or a Republican, the media would be quick to report the most salacious allegations.  If it were a family-values conservative, they would take joy in doing so because it would illustrate hypocrisy-- which is viewed as a bigger offense than the actual behavior in question.

It must really be nice to have the mainstream media on your side.

Update: Via Ed, the News and Observer reports the alleged harassment was sexual, but does not mention the same-sex aspect.

They Really Don't Want "Safer Schools"

An organization formed in Guilford County called "Safer Schools". It has a blog that discusses issues of school safety, and how to achieve improved conditions in our county schools.

In any event, this organization has sent packets of information to various parties including county and city law enforcement; school board members; the Guilford County Schools superintendent; county commissioners; state legislators; and the local and state leadership of the North Carolina Association of Educators.

These packets of information included information on proposed legislation to enhance school safety; and also local measures that can be taken. They are interested in implementing a Violence Risk Assessment procedure; Conscious Discipline; and a paradigm for Restorative Practices/Justice. Information on these matters can be accessed through links provided on the left sidebar at the blog cited above. Various other community initiatives are also being sought including more frequent police reports when violent crime occurs.

A small handful of local elected officials are supportive of the organization's efforts, and serve on its board. But otherwise, when the group has sought help, they have been stymied for the most part-- especially by the school system itself.

Barbara Leland, a Safer Schools team member, asks the following questions:

Why would community leaders and elected officials not want to enact legislation, policy, procedures with accountability to safeguard students, school personnel, and SROs?

What is the hidden agenda?

North Carolina Candidate Questionnaires

The Civitas Institute prepared questionnaires that were circulated to candidates for statewide office; and also to candidates running for seats in the state legislature. Some of the responses are interesting. Many of those running for the State Senate and the State House from Guilford County responded.

Check out the questionnaire responses here.

Answering Marriage Amendment Critics

The North Carolina Family Policy Council has published a brief document that responds to some of the disinformation that has been circulated regarding the marriage amendment.  This document provides answers that set the record straight. 

Take a look.

Does Greensboro Need a City-Wide Curfew?

Some of you will recall the recent incident during which a local resident, Mike Sussman, had an anti-Semitic message sprayed on his house. 

Mr. Sussman is now calling for a city-wide curfew for kids younger than age 15.

If parents are not willing to take responsibility for monitoring their kids' activities, then perhaps we need such a curfew.  And the benefits of such a curfew ought not be confined to the downtown elites. 

Want to see "Monumental"?

Kirk Cameron's new movie, Monumental, has a limited distribution.  If you would like to see this movie come to Greensboro, click here and then enter your zip code and e-mail address.

(HT: Jim Lewis)

Civic Literacy Exam

From the Intercollegiate Studies Institute, here is an exam that tests your civic literacy.  Takes only ten minutes or so to complete.  It would be interesting to see what your score is.

HT: Tony Grapes 

More Gingrich

HT: C4GC

Newt Gingrich in Greensboro, NC

We had a Tea Party in Greensboro today. C4GC sponsored yet another great event.

New Gingrich was the featured speaker. He was introduced by Nathan Tabor. I was standing on the side of the Governmental Plaza closest to city hall when the portly Gingrich's shock of white hair exited the county courthouse and made his way to speak, accompanied by Secret Service agents.

I think it is fair to say that Gingrich has attained folk hero status in Republican/conservative circles because of his achievements during the 1990's. He is a major historical figure, at least from the standpoint of our modern politics.

He gave his stump speech. He told the crowd that he was in the presidential nomination race until the convention in Tampa. His speech covered the topics of domestic energy production and debt reduction, among other issues. The crowd was very responsive and appreciative. He was interrupted by applause and cheers many times.

I would estimate that between 1,000 - 2,000 persons were present when he spoke. If any other readers were present and have a better estimate, please feel free to offer it.

It was fascinating to watch Gingrich speak live. He is a compelling presence.

I have previously shared my reservations regarding Newt, but I would be glad if he remains in the race until the convention. I think he is preferable to Romney. It would be great if he runs hard in North Carolina. It is not unthinkable that he could carry this state. It would certainly help the cause of the marriage amendment if he spends a lot of time here. More Gingrich visits to the Piedmont Triad over the next few weeks would be very welcome.

I think Gingrich's degree of conservatism is roughly comparable to that of Rick Santorum; and greater than that of Romney. Before the general electorate, both Gingrich and Romney would have challenges with respect to likeability and reaching the female voter. My opinion is that Gingrich can be trusted with Supreme Court nominations to a greater extent than Romney. But Gingrich, of course, has some personal baggage.

Fred Gregory shared with me some of his photographs from today's Tea Party. One of the photographs shows Councilwoman Trudy Wade presenting the "Key to the City" to Newt Gingrich. It is surprising that the 8-1 liberal majority on the city council allowed her to make this presentation.

I learned an interesting factoid at the Tea Party. The 6th Congressional District Republican Convention took place earlier this week. This is a meeting, according to my understanding, that selects delegates to the Republican National Convention in Tampa. A straw poll was taken. It turns out that, for the congressional primary, Bill Flynn won the straw poll over Howard Coble, 53% - 32%.

In any case, here are the photographs. Just click to enlarge. The last one features Fred sharing Newt's slogan: "All the Way to Tampa!"

 

NC Democratic Sexual Harassment

It is unclear whether this story will be a big boost for the groups aligned against the marriage amendment: (HT: Fred, Bubba)

At least one Democratic Party official in North Carolina revealed apparent concerns about the same-sex nature of the allegations going public, which could pose a political conflict with the party’s attempts at defeating an anti-gay-marriage ballot amendment.

The Survivor

Americans Elect on the Ballot in North Carolina

The News and Observer has reported that the new Americans Elect party has secured the required signatures to get on the ballot in North Carolina for the presidential race.

The state of North Carolina has steep barriers to ballot access.  This new party had to secure 85,379 signatures to get on the ballot.  They made it past an enormous hurdle.

Parties like the Libertarians, the Green Party and the Constitution Party had been complaining for years about the difficulties getting on the ballot in North Carolina; but this group made it on its first attempt.

This raises a number of questions:

1. How did they do it?

2. Did they pay individuals to secure the signatures?

3. How has Americans Elect been funded?  Where is it getting its money?

The organization's web page lists some of its principals, but does not really answer these questions.  It has been reported that former Republican Louisiana Governor Buddy Roemer will be seeking the Americans Elect nomination and the Reform Party nomination.

Is it likely that this organization's presence on the ballot will redound to the benefit of Barack Obama or Mitt Romney?

Gingrich on Fox News, Republican Party

Newt Gingrich will be speaking at the Tea Party to be held in Greensboro on Saturday. The festivities begin at 1:00. The location will be the Governmental Plaza behind the Old County Courthouse in downtown Greensboro.

Check out what he just had to say about Fox News:

“I think FOX has been for Romney all the way through,” Gingrich said during the private meeting -- to which RealClearPolitics was granted access -- at Wesley College. “In our experience, Callista and I both believe CNN is less biased than FOX this year. We are more likely to get neutral coverage out of CNN than we are of FOX, and we’re more likely to get distortion out of FOX. That’s just a fact.”

And he also had some words about the Republican Party:

The former speaker also took a direct shot at the political party whose presidential nomination he continues to seek, calling the GOP “a party that’s inarticulate.”

“The Republican Party is a managerial party that doesn’t like to fight, doesn’t like to read books,” he said. “This is why the Tea Party was so horrifying. Tea Partiers were actually learning about the Declaration of Independence. They wanted to talk about the Federalist Papers. It was weird. They could be golfing.”

Pro-Marriage Amendment Campaign Fairly Invisible Thus Far

While I do not watch much TV, I have yet to see a significant organized campaign in favor of the marriage amendment except for a web presence by certain groups.

The view in Greensboro is skewed.  There are rallies and forums being scheduled in opposition to the amendment.  We have heard much from the liberal church (and the liberal synagogue)-- again in opposition to the amendment.  Ed Cone has been trying to drum up opposition daily over at his blog; and of course the local MSM plays its own role in opposition.

Greensboro is not representative of North Carolina.  It is much more liberal; and has bought wholeheartedly into the cultural relativism and sexual liberationism that lies at the root of opposition to the amendment.  My hope is that the common sense and decency of the people of North Carolina will ultimately prevail.  But many will perceive that the presidential primary season has been brought to a premature close.  That will cause less conservatives to turn out for the primary.

I hope that we will begin to see some semblance of an organized campaign in favor of the amendment.

National Republicans: What Are They All About?

Conservative Richard Viguerie's scathing commentary on the national establishment Republican Party:

Now completely dominated by acolytes of the Bush family, the Republican Party at the national level has no real philosophical core – it is merely about holding onto power.

But this is not power as it is understood in high school civics classes – the ability to use the levers of government by holding elective or appointive office. The power that the insiders of the national Republican Party seek to protect is the power to receive a share of the spoils from the looting of beyond-the-Beltway America.

The dirty secret of Washington’s inside culture is that the lobbyists, influence peddlers, access sellers and professional political operatives who make-up the inside elite of the national Republican Party will get paid no matter who is President.

Indeed, it may even be more lucrative for them if Obama is re-elected while the House remains in Republican hands. While there would be no ambassadorships handed out to bundlers and major donors, imagine the vast fees that can be generated through lobbying and the constant political warfare that are the hallmarks of divided government.

An Inquiry to the City Attorney on "Shovel-Ready" Economic Development Proposal

I am told that George Hartzman sent the following e-mail to the Greensboro Interim City Attorney, which contains some important points of information and questions on Mayor Perkins' role:

Please detail what our water sewer infrastructure use and capacity is in eastern guilford county.

How is this not a major conflict of interest if Roy Carrolls Birch Creek Park etc… stands to gain from the water sewer?

How many listings does Mr. Perkins have in the 9000 acres?

How many listings does Mr. Perkins stand to gain if the water sewer goes through?

I believe Mr. Perkins has lobbied for a project he will personally financially benefit from.

If Mr. Perkins needs to be excused from Roy's incentive pass thru, how can he not be excluded from this?

How is this process not tarnished, as Mr. Perkins has already lobbied for the measure?

Note - some info on this is still stuck in legal per Andy Scott.

Is Mr. Scott trying to prevent anyone from getting info on this?

Please provide the maps Robbie showed the Commissioners.