Editor’s Note: Despite all the talk now being about the COVID-19 Coronavirus, schools closed down for who know how long, Cleveland County and City of Shelby Declarations of Emergency although Cleveland County has just a very-very few cases, Dirty politics in the 2020 Republican Primary Elections have set the stage for continued political failures for Cleveland County for at least two more years.
The Cleveland County Republican Party so-called “Leadership” has a long, sad, and sorry history of pulling dirty tricks. Not necessarily on Democrats, but on other Republicans who choose to run for office without “kissing-ass” to those on the Republican Party Executive committee who would rather a Democrat got elected than a Republican that refused to kiss their collective asses.
No, Dennis Bailey, by a long shot, did not invent this Republican Leadership (lack of) dirty trick approach. This was happening long before Dennis Bailey came along. It is a learned behavior for Bailey, who, apparently, does not intend to change the practice.
This is how the dirty tricks often works. Kinda like the Democrats have their “Masses” in their Plantation Politics. The Democrat party dirty tricks are intended to minimize blacks in elected office; but the Cleveland County Republicans seek to minimize their influence in government by those who are independent (“uppity” as an independent black person would secretly be called by the Democrats) and refuse to stay within their social and financial standing within the Country Club Good-ole-boy Republicans!!!
This is what happened.
In the School Board 2020 Republican Primary Election five seats were open on the School Board and five good candidates could form a new majority the very instant they were sworn in. Matthew Canipe and Junie Barret were two of the several School Board candidates who signed up early in the filing period. But Matthew and Junie were Burns High School graduates. Second class citizens to the Good-Ole-Boy Republicans on the so-called Republican Party Executive Committee. A Committee where your only real criteria is to pay a $100 Membership fee. Matthew and Junie also did not cough up the $100 fee either. Heresy times two according to the mindset of the Good-ole-boys, who also secretly control the Shelby TEA Party.
But, to keep Matthew Canipe and Junie Barrett from being on the November General Election Ballot, the Good-ole Boy Republicans had to run additional candidates who are “thick” with the Good-Ole-Boys, cause a Republican Primary Election and defeat Matthew and Junie in the Republican Primary Election. But remember, all of this is common in politics at every level. This is where the dirty tricks come in.
Republican Party By-Laws say that the Republican Party officials are supposed to be “neutral” during Primary Elections. That the rank and file Republican voters decide who wins the primary election and every thing is “fair and square.” But, like many other things in Cleveland County what is fair and square for one person may not be fair and square for another person. That the color of your skin makes a difference. Who your daddy is and how much money he has makes a difference. If you are reading this, you know this is correct. And, on the School Board, living in Kings Mountain and going to Kings Mountain First Baptist Church makes a big difference too. As well as whether the five elected candidates would immediately change the dynamics of the present Democrat controlled School Board which favors Kings Mountain and Shelby schools over the County School-Burns and Crest. Especially Burns.
So, when the first five Republican candidates to sign up were reviewed by the Good-Ole-Boys and filtered through the lens of the Good-Ole -Boys standards of corruption as described above, the Good-Ole-Boys had to make sure Matthey Canipe and Junie Barrett did not get elected as the number one priority and split up the vote for two other candidates to bring down the nine total Candidates who had filed to five.
The Republican Good-Ole-Boys excluded Matthew and Junie from Republican Party major functions by simply not inviting them or not properly inviting them by using vague invitations that were seemingly junk emails that didn’t adequately express the importance of the function and the opportunity to meet potential voters and likely campaign donors. Even the longtime traditional “Lincoln-Day Dinner” was re-named the “Reagan-Douglas Day Dinner.” A Dennis Bailey scheme I am told. My choice would have been the “Donald J. Trump Day Dinner” and invite the President.
But the slickest dirty trick was to get the folks on the Shelby TEA Party to endorse the ones the Republican Good-Ole-Boys and the Democrat Good-Ole-Boys from Kings Mountain want on the Republican School Board General Election Ballot. And on Election Day in November, put Shearra Miller, Richard Hooker and Roger Harris back in office to maintain Democrat Control and water down any Republicans that might win to replace Jeff jones and Jo Boggs. The incumbent School Board members who did not file for re-election. But, in any event, to control the Majority on the School Board such that no changes are made to the Shelby and Kings Mountain domination of the Board majority and the tax dollar flow to Shelby and KM.
Folks, YOU have been had. Matthew AND Junie would have helped reduce waste, nepotism, inefficiency as well as reformed the personnel roster at CCS that have wasted so much money for so long.
Also, folks, all may not be totally wasted in the effort to reform CCS through the 2020 Elections. Stay tuned. Perhaps there is a Conservative Democrat running for the School Board who may see the light. We will let you know when the time comes.