4.10.06 - Commissioner Bill James (R) responds to a plea to reverse his endorsement for Rep. Rhodes

North Mecklenburg, NC. - Commissioner Bill James (R) Mecklenburg BOCC responds to a North Mecklenburg town council member's recent criticism of Rep. John Rhodes reform work in the North Carolina House of Representatives.

"To the Town Commissioner:

"Thank you for the note. I think that perhaps we have a different view of what ineffective means. Given the 'money for votes' mentality going on in Raleigh and the reality that you all lost road money precisely because Rep. Rhodes refused to cut deals with Speaker Black (D) and Speaker Pro-Tem Morgan (R,INO) only points out that the solution to this culture of corruption is not to throw out one of the few guys up there that has stood up to these two and their cozy self-aggrandizing deals.

(NOTE: The N.C. Department of Transportation confirms in a separate letter that no legislative representative has the authority to influence the allocation or prioritization of road construction funds.)

Commissioner James continues:
"I am sure that there were some Republican politicians who played ball with the corrupt 19th century Democrat administration called "Tammany Hall" in NYC but there were also quite a few who refused to go along with that corruption and in the process lost "deals" for their constituents in the name of Democracy because they were in the minority and refused to keep quiet about that corruption.

"Rep. Rhodes seems to be one of a long line of such GOP standard bearers such Tom Dewey and Teddy Roosevelt (while serving in NY) who stood up against corruption and refused to do deals simply to enrich himself and his constituents at the cost of true democracy.

"My decision to endorse Rep. Rhodes had nothing to do with [his opponent's] positions but more simply stands on the principle that I know Rep. Rhodes, know he stands up for what I believe is right and can be trusted to continue to do the right thing (even if that thing involves personal sacrifice).

"To borrow another old political phrase "don't change horses in the middle of the stream" (or in the middle of a corruption investigation of Democrats started in part by Rep. Rhodes). The fact that most all County wide or greater GOP support Rep. Rhodes means that to us, we believe his willingness to fight against this corruption should be rewarded with re-election not derision or ouster.

"The Democrats will never support "de-consolidation" of CMS even if Bill Clinton represented the 98th district and advocated for it. It is naive to think otherwise. The Democrats will never support clamping down on illegal immigration because they get votes from them (hence their reasons for not clamping down on the fake drivers license scam and the registration of illegals with fake SSN's). Read the summary of Tammany Hall and the Democrats weakness for exploiting immigrants as part of the political machine to understand why they do what they do. In the previous, the immigrants were legal. In the current situation the exploitation is of illegal immigrants. The result is the same - political corruption and power.

"The State legislature operates on a plantation system with Speaker Black and other Democrats playing the role of plantation owner and Richard Morgan playing the role of "overseer" designed to keep uppity Republicans in the fields and in their place. Do what they say or you get a "whupp'n" (in this case the whupp'n is taken out on the Representatives constituents to force the elected official to play ball and become part of the corrupt system he or she professes to despise).

"Rep. Rhodes deserves credit for his willingness to take on that plantation system and to challenge those RINO's in Raleigh who undermine what the GOP stand for. Nothing will change until this culture of corruption and the RINO's that back it are removed from office which is why the State GOP is actively working to oust Richard Morgan.

"To end this culture of corruption means electing a real Republican majority to the legislature that does not have RINO's and those who are willing to trade their GOP birthright for a small bowl of pork. While [Rhode's opponent] may very well be a great candidate, I do not believe he has earned the right to oust someone who has brought about the first real challenge to Democrat corruption in a decade.

"If we were going to find someone to fight North Carolina's "Tammany Hall" I can't think of anyone better suited to do so than John Rhodes.

"Regards,

"Bill James"

Republican primary voters may vote on May 2nd, 2006 at their local precinct for Representative John W. Rhodes.

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