By Dallas Woodhouse
Carolina Journal News Service
RALEIGH — N.C. GOP Chairman Michael Whatley says former President Trump will inevitably cast a long shadow in North Carolina politics for the foreseeable future. He believes the policies Trump championed are still winning policies for 2022 and beyond.
“We had 82% Republican turnout,” Whatley said. “We set a record with 2.758 million votes for Trump. I think that has staying power. I think that anybody that is going to run is going to have to adopt his agenda.”
Whatley spoke about the complexity of the vote on Capital Tonight with Tim Boyum of Spectrum News.
“For the party to say we disagree with this particular vote does not mean we hate (U.S. Sen.) Richard Burr. It does not mean we think he is a bad senator. It means on this particular vote we disagree with him,” said Whatley
While Burr’s vote to convict shocked many, those who know him best say they weren’t surprised.
“If you watch Richard over his career, he always tried to do what he thinks is right, and he does not care what the political consequences are,” said Doug Heye, a former Burr communications director, in a televised interview.
“He will vote in ways that are counter to ways that people expect, added Heye. “Most notable his vote to allow gays in the military. If you follow his career you will see these examples that show he really is an independent thinker.”
Burr was first elected to Congress in 1994 and to his third term in the U.S. Senate in 2016. He issued a statement following his official rebuke by party leaders.
“It is truly a sad day for North Carolina Republicans,” Burr said Monday night after the censure. “My party’s leadership has chosen loyalty to one man over the core principles of the Republican Party and the founders of our great nation.”
Burr announced in 2016 that he would not seek re-election in 2022. He previously voted to dismiss the impeachment trial on the basis that it was unconstitutional to impeach a president who was no longer in office.
But in a move that startled and confused members of his own party, Burr joined six Republican senators in finding Trump guilty of “incitement of insurrection.” He then explained in a statement that once the Senate voted to proceed with the trial, a precedent was established.
“I do not make this decision lightly, but I believe it is necessary,” Burr stated. “By what he did and by what he did not do, President Trump violated his oath of office to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
NCGOP Central Committee party members described the meeting to Carolina Journal as “somber” and “difficult.” One member is said to have become emotional in explaining his yes vote for censure while acknowledging the many positive contributions Burr has made to the N.C. Republican Party and America through his work on the intelligence committee.
The NCGOP Central Committee is made up of about 30 voting members including the party chair, vice-chair, legal counsel, treasurer, 13 congressional district chairs, and leaders of various GOP clubs across the state were unanimous in their condemnation of Burr’s vote and unified in their vote to censure Burr. Several county GOP groups including Wake, Cherokee, Graham, and Clay passed resolutions of their own condemning Burr’s vote with more planning to do so.
Tina Forsberg, 6th District congressional chair, told Carolina Journal her vote to censure Burr “is not about Trump, it is about the voters of North Carolina. If the voters of North Carolina do not think the Republican Party stands with them, then I think we are going to be in trouble.”
The 11th District chair Aubrey Woodard said “the vast majority of activists in my district are in favor of censuring Senator Burr to send him a message, and I think we have to stand with those activists and show we will fight with them, for them and for the party.”
What kind of question is that? “Whats next after Trump”… uhhh, Biden? Our current President?
I’ll take a trained monkey over Biden anyday
“I think that anybody that is going to run is going to have to adopt his agenda.”
What is his agenda? Golf, grift, and cry like a snowflake on Twitter? He’s an epic failure, like every business venture before his presidency.
I’m no D… but it would be nice if the current iteration of the GOP had any regard whatsoever for moderates. Embracing Trump trash ensures someone like me doesn’t cast a vote for a R any time soon.
Conservatives need to get their party back. Trump and his circus sideshow freaks aren’t true conservatives. I think anyone here that isn’t a hyper-partisan, party-over-country hack could agree on that. But hey, cults are cool, right?
So I can see that you think that you’re beeter off with the RINO Swamp rats & the Liberal Communist Party. Go ahead and help yourself ..
Yeah much “beeter” off.
Let’s play a game: I give a moment of Trump being an absolute embarrassing clown, and you counter with an instant when he wasn’t. Let’s see who has more material.
I’ll go first, obviously: remember when he retweeted that conspiracy theory that was a plot point from Sicario: The Day of the Soldado? Like, he thought that movie was a documentary.
Good grief, even the bottom of the barrel should agree that our country deserves better.
Okay now you go.
Gee, let’s count the ways,
America gained 7 million new jobs – more than three times government experts’ projections.
Middle-Class family income increased nearly $6,000 – more than five times the gains during the entire previous administration.
The unemployment rate reached 3.5 percent, the lowest in a half-century.
Achieved 40 months in a row with more job openings than job-hirings.
More Americans reported being employed than ever before – nearly 160 million.
Jobless claims hit a nearly 50-year low.
The number of people claiming unemployment insurance as a share of the population hit its lowest on record.
Incomes rose in every single metro area in the United States for the first time in nearly 3 decades. Unemployment rates for African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans, Native Americans, veterans, individuals with disabilities, and those without a high school diploma all reached record lows.
Unemployment for women hit its lowest rate in nearly 70 years.
Lifted nearly 7 million people off of food stamps.
Poverty rates for African Americans and Hispanic Americans reached record lows.
Income inequality fell for two straight years, and by the largest amount in over a decade.
The bottom 50 percent of American households saw a 40 percent increase in net worth.
Wages rose fastest for low-income and blue collar workers – a 16 percent pay increase.
African American homeownership increased from 41.7 percent to 46.4 percent. Created more than 1.2 million manufacturing and construction jobs.
Put in place policies to bring back supply chains from overseas.
Small business optimism broke a 35-year old record in 2018. The DOW closed above 20,000 for the first time in 2017 and topped 30,000 in 2020.
The S&P 500 and NASDAQ have repeatedly notched record highs.
Shall I continue?
What’s your wonder boy & crew accomplished since they took office. I can tell you right off the bats, gas prices are up & they’ve opened the border to illegal immigrants again,
What you got there, cupcake?
Fantastic, trends followed Obama-era policies. Little to nothing mentioned was from Trump implementing policy. Happened in spite of him, not because of him.
He had a worse jobs record leaving office since Hoover. First post-WW II president to see employment fall.
Gas prices? You don’t know much about that other that the big numbers at the pump, obviously. BuT BLamE BiDen!!1!!1! That borders quip also requires a bit more nuance. It’s like I’m communicating with a live version of a boomer’s Facebook meme.
Remember when Trump mocked a disabled reporter? Lost whatever respect I had for him at that moment. No man does that garbage, and that isn’t the action of a “leader.”
Biden. Biden is what’s next (and already has been for some time), and anyone who says otherwise is kidding themselves.
Yeah, Anit-America Joe & Company .. already putting America’s citizens in last place
ShaolinShadowboxing said above “No man does that garbage, and that isn’t the action of a “leader.”
You say this but yet, you side with the Liberals who censor Free Speech, condone rioting, looting & destruction of cities and look the other way & ignore the antics of ANTIFA and BLM that are the very mirror image of the Brown Shirts in 1933 Germany?
I’m done conversing with you .. if I can block your profile I will.
Is this Lou Dobbs burner account? Nothing of what you wrote has to do with countering how much of a disgusting mess of a “leader” he was. Your defense is moving the goalposts? Deflect and blame… familiar tactic.
You know nothing of what I side with other than my disclosure of affiliating with neither D’s nor R’s. You post far-right buzzwords with no content, facts, or nuance. Free speech? Who is censoring that? Let me guess, it is another buzzword boogie man: Big Tech. Right, private enterprise with their own set of guidelines for user access. Can’t say it there but go outside and yell the same thing. You can.
A mirror image of anti-fascists are fascists? Odd. But to generalize that liberals condone rioting and looting is disingenuous and an outright lie. Anyone who encouraged such actions should be held accountable. Same for what happened with the storming of the Capitol on 1/6. And you know who didn’t do a thing about it and was in a trance watching it on the television. Disturbing.
You don’t like censorship but want to block me. Huh. That’s fine, it seems like you don’t like dialogue with anyone that dare challenge your view. You aren’t alone, there are plenty like you on both sides of the political spectrum, so go crawl back to your echo chamber. I know, it is safe for you there.
I’ll tell you who I do tend to side with: people that read, learn, and think. Strange, that.
Have a great day, and stay healthy, safe, and happy.