When sources reported to me that the “official” Cleveland County Republican Party and the “official” Women Republicans of Cleveland County (WeRoCC) were feuding, I laughed. What a Hoot! I thought. Knowing this had been going on for years. But when my sources reported further that both “official” groups were trying hard “to keep Robert Williams from finding out;” well, I decided, this deserves looking into and reporting to the people.
First of all, The Cleveland County Republican Party is an “official” organization under the auspices of the North Carolina Republican Party. However, every person that meets the qualifications to vote in Nort5h Carolina and registers with the Cleveland County Board of Elections as affiliated with the Republican Party is a member of the Republican Party. Every person registered as a Republican can attend the official meetings of the Cleveland County Republican Party free of charge. There are no membership fees. Every Republican can show up at the Republican Party meets to select their officers and nominate someone and vote as they please.
However, the Cleveland County Republican Party, over the years, has not been a party of the people. They don’t like to advertise the fact that the rank and file Republican can hold office in the party. They don’t advertise their meetings very well and it has been a long-time joke that Republicans “could hold their official meetings in a phone booth.” For those that are too young to remember phone booths, now that almost everyone has cell phones, a phone booth was a small 2 foot by 2 foot glass enclosure with a phone that had coin slots so you could pay to use it. I can remember when local calls were 10 cents with unlimited minutes.
On top of that the Republican Party in Cleveland County, I have heard that Cleveland County Republicans are the only county that does this, have an Executive Board that has to pay $100 per year to be on the board. This Executive Board being the ones who officially decide what actions the Cleveland County Republican Party will take. This $100 fee is like the Poll Tax of the Jim Crow South, levied to keep the blacks from voting. This CC Republican Party Executive Board fee does exactly the same thing, keeps the rank and file (riff-raff Republicans from having a vote or a say in how the Executive Board votes.
Maybe now I understand why the Republican Party and WeRoCC didn’t want Robert A. Williams from finding out about their feud? But stay tuned!! The news about the feud that is about to become a Civil War is coming up shortly.
But more background information is necessary to set the record straight.
Since Cleveland County was formed in 1841, the Democrat Party, with exceptions pretty much limited to the after the Civil War Reconstruction, has run Cleveland County and North Carolina for about 150 years. Under these circumstances, nobody much cared what the Republican Party did or was doing. The first Republican Cleveland County Commissioner since Reconstruction was the late Charlie Harry back in the 1990s. The late John Weatherly became the first NC House Representative for Cleveland County at about that same time frame. Dennis Davis was elected the First NC Senator since Reconstruction from Cleveland County in 1994, but was defeated in 1996 in what many, including myself, believe was a clear case of the Democrats “stuffing the ballot box” in November, 1996. Using blank ballots marked up in mass by selected members of the black community. Probably the first successful and necessary use of Plantation Politics in Cleveland County. A practice that has thrived and continues to this day to elect white Democrats. Although the Plantation Politics as used in the Re-elect Eddie Holbrook campaign in 2018 not only managed to defeat two good black candidates as well as “Massa” Eddie himself. In large part because many members of the black community became informed and were tired of being used and abused by white Democrat candidates. Anyway Holbrook and his Plantation Politics was defeated and disgraced, even though Holbrook spent $68,000 in his re-election campaign for Commissioner While winners Doug Bridges and Deb Harding spent less than $5,000.
So, when the Republican candidates across North Carolina began to be elected into various statewide elected positions in the early 1990’s the Cleveland County Republican Party found themselves stuck with a slate of officers and an Executive Board filled with leftovers from the old days when nothing the Republicans did mattered to anybody. This Old Guard Republican slate who would NOT support Republican candidates unless they bowed down and “kissed their asses” so to speak. The Old Guard Republicans who would rather have a Democrat in office than a Republican that would NOT kiss their asses. And that was how it was.
And, to a large part, that is how it still is. Down to this very day in 2019. Especially on the Cleveland County Republican Party Executive Committee. The $100 a year crowd that still call the shots.
Mostly, these holdovers from history in the Cleveland County Republican Party don’t get to do much. But, from the appointment of Ronnie Whetstine in 2017 to fill the unexpired term of the late Ronnie Hawkins as Commissioner and the appointment of Doug Bridges in 2017 to fill the unexpired term of the loser commissioner Jason Falls shows just how important the Executive Committee can be under such circumstances.
Now comes the Republican Women.
As the Old Guard Republicans held control of the Cleveland County Republican Party back in the early 1990’s and Republican candidates began to run and win, the Old Guard Republicans were proven to be lazy. They were used to getting by with only their $100 per person membership dues from the Executive Committee members (now around 24 members) and used to not having any candidates to support. And they are the same to this very day.
But the Republican women took up the task of fundraising for candidates. Although never raising large amounts.) The women had a choice. Form a Republican “Auxiliary,” under the regular official Republican Party-who never did anything. Or form under the “Federated Republican Women of North Carolina” as a group that was NOT under the control of the regular Cleveland County Republican Party. The original Republican Women’s group chose to be independent. To become “Federated” under the Federated Republican Women of North Carolina. To be independent of the Cleveland County Republican Party. To actually do something to support Republican Candidates running for elected office.
But problems soon arose. The lazy Republican Party didn’t want to raise any extra money to support candidates. So, they wanted the money that the independent “federated” women had raised. Sometimes the federated women would give the lazy Republican Party some money and sometimes they did not. When they did not, the Republican Party would always get mad. Thinking they were the “king” rulers of all Republicans and that they should always get other people, especially women, to give then what they had worked for too. While they were too lazy to work to raise their own money.
This took a toll on the women who ultimately just dropped out and became unfederated. But around 2013 the woke up and became federated again. They became the WeROCC crowd, the Federated “Women Republicans of Cleveland County.”
Now, fast forward to 2018-2019.
Incumbent Shelby City Council Member Dennis Bailey, the “Imperious” Dennis Bailey gets himself defeated by a young Democrat woman, Violet Arth Dukes. An embarrassment for Bailey so the Cleveland County Republican Party voted Dennis Bailey in as their President. An obvious blunder.
So, what is one of the first things Republican Party President Dennis Bailey do? He tells the WeROCC women that he wants them to provide him with their financial reports. They rightly and indignantly refuse. Who in the Hell does Dennis Bailey think he is? they are thinking. So, they start asking the State women what they have to do and the State Women say they don’t have to give Dennis Bailey anything. So, Dennis Bailey tells WeROCC that he can get their financial records through the Freedom Of Information Act. A threat that he makes, maybe even knowing that FOIA and North Carolina Public Records Laws do not apply to WeROCC. But a threat just the same.
Threats probably followed by more threats and then, most likely, dirty tricks. Even more dirty than trying to cause division within WeROCC. A totally foolish thing to do with the 2020 elections looming and the crazy Trump hating liberal Democrats trying to take back their power and control and turn the nation toward socialism. The same socialism that has failed everywhere it has been tried. Usually with large death tolls. 55-65 Million in World War II alone.
And here goes Republican Party President Dennis Bailey and his lazy allies starting an Un-Civil War with the hard-working Republican women. Is that stupid or what?