First of all, folks, do you remember the hubbub in the 2022 School Board Primary Elections when the Rogue Republicans Robert Queen, Dennis Bailey, Ron Humphries, Greg Taylor Kevin Whisnant, Rodney Fitch, David Allen. Pam Keller, Guy Smith, Joel Shores and others recruited unsuspecting candidates to run against Danny Blanton and Ronnie Grigg. Then, when Blanton and Grigg won in the Primary Elections by wide margins, The SOS (Stuck On Stupid) Rogue Republicans even recommended two Democrat Candidates in the 2022 General Elections in their SECOND failed attempt to beat fellow Republicans Blanton and Grigg. All to no avail as once again Blanton and Grigg were in a statistical tie for first place, along with Aaron Bridges. The Rogues got creamed badly in their failed efforts to get rid of Danny Blanton and Ronnie Grigg at the ballot box.
Also, the State GOP officials, after many complaints, refused to discipline or sanction the Rogue Republicans for all the many NC GOP Plan of Organization rules that had been broken by the Rogue Republicans in their ill fated and illegal shenanigans against Blanton and Grigg. Later, a slate of CCGOP candidates led by Sherry Yocum defeated the Rogues at the Cleveland County GOP “Convention” to taker over the CC GOP leadership positions instead of the Rogue Republican favorite, Kevin Whisnant. Whisnant, knowing he would be defeated by Yocum refused to allow his name to be put up for the CC GOP President. Then, the fool CC GOP elected some of the Rogues to serve as delegates to the NC State Republican Convention. Thusly allowing the Rogues to stay in control of much more than they deserved.
This is the fatal flaw in the lazy CC GOP leadership of today. They always fail to fully clean house of all of their collection of trashy leadership. A cancer that if not completely removed will come back and spread with a vengeance. It is a habit they adopted back in the mid to late 1990’s when the CC GOP Executive committee could hold their meetings in a phonebooth. And leadership fell to only those that could be cajoled into taking the vacant and thankless positions. Over 20 years later and this is most often still the case. And certainly, the case that is described in the rest of this article. And don’t forget all the recent foolishness of School Board Chairman Robert Queen and his waterboys as they flagrantly flaunted their power as a majority (achieved by the lies they told in the 2020 Elections regarding transparency) by foolishly “censuring” Blanton and Grigg on made up false and bogus charges. For exercising their First Amendment rights of freedom to speak.
Now, we are at the June CCGOP monthly meeting that was being held at the Oak Grove Volunteer Fire Department and the CCGOP President Sherry Yocum is leading the meeting. Apparently blissfully forgetting the Rogue Republicans that have come back out from under their rocks where they have been hiding and hoping that their 2022 messes have been forgotten enough to have another go at it. And, the Rogue Republicans did have another go at it. Preying on the ingrained weaknesses of the CCGOP’s leadership of NOT strictly sticking to the Rules of their Plan of Organization.
During the meeting, President Sherry Yocum correctly recognized some of the Elected Republicans in attendance and asked them to speak. Unfortunately, Yocum was not prepared enough for the dirty Rogue Republican trick that was about to be pulled on her.
After several elected officials spoke, School Board Chairman Robert Queen stood up to be recognized, and after all the hubbub with Queen censuring Danny Blanton and Ronnie Grigg for speaking about their own opinions to the media and others, Yocum correctly snubbed (ignored) Queen by not recognizing him. Queen then moved more toward Yocum and Yocum still snubbed him. Then fellow Rogue Republican Dennis Bailey spoke up asking “Are we NOT going to hear from the School Board?” Then Yocum recognized Queen and he spoke in total violation of the exact same thing that Queen and his waterboys on the School Board censured Danny Blanton and Ronnie Grigg for. Basically, Queen and Bailey had just weaponized the CCGOP. AGAIN!! All on top of Robert Queen already weaponizing the CCS School Board, The Cleveland County Commissioners, Cleveland Community College Board of Trustees by trying to enlist them to censure CCC BOT Member Kenneth Ledford for correctly stating that he was also concerned about the vandalism at Burns High School. And NOW, Queen and his fellow Rogues have succeeding in weaponizing the CCGOP!! Note that the rest of the CCC Bot have NOT censured Robert Queen for weaponizing them to go against Kenneth Ledford. Not yet, anyway!
It seems that Robert Queen, Dennis Bailey, Kevin Whisnant, Ron Humphries, Walter Scott Spurling, Greg Taylor, Joel Shores, Rodney Fitch, Pam Keller and others are content with causing mayhem and discontent everywhere they go. And people like Sherry Yocum are ill-equipped in handling the situation. Not necessarily because they are Rogues too or are just as bad as the Rogue crowd. But more likely because their parents taught them good manners at an early age. But the results are the same. People like Robert Queen, Dennis Bailey, Kevin Whisnant, Ron Humphries, et al, are divisive and weaponizing vulnerable people wherever they go.
There is no public trust now in the CCS School Board, The CCC BoTs, the Commissioners as well as the CCGOP because of these Rogues and their slimy tentacles intertwined in all of these organizations. The registered conservative Republicans in Cleveland County, like Robert A, these days mostly don’t pay much attention to the CCGOP, the Commissioners, the School Board and the CCC BoTs. The conservative Registered “unaffiliated” and any conservative folks that are still registered Democrats don’t either.
Robert A has concluded that any serious conservative candidate running for local offices in Cleveland County, these days, needs to be a registered Republican and seek Conservative voters from the non-CCGOP crowd Republicans, the Conservative registered Unaffiliated voters and the Conservative Democrat voters.
Also, after Robert A heard about this latest Rogue Republican Robert Queen and Dennis Bailey dirty trick, the very next morning he travelled on down to the Cleveland County Board of Elections Office and picked up a number of copies or the various forms that need to be filled out by those that need to be running for the School Board and Commissioner’s offices in 2024. Although the signup dates are December 4th 2023 (noon) thru December 15th, 2023 (noon) any serious candidate might want to get started with his or her campaign right now. Cleveland County surely needs to know enough about who is running for office so we won’t make again the mistakes we made in 2020 with the election of Robert Queen and his waterboys on the School Board. And, it is about time for a new majority on the Commissioner’s Board too.
Stay tuned folks, the 2024 Election-Year fun is about to begin.