NC Political Connections By News 14 Carolina reporter Tim Boyum
(At my house, I cannot get this channel anymore, as we were forced to give up cable due to poor bandwidth issues and move to the better performing Directv. Sorry Tim.)
Fern Shubert Speaks for Us Published by admirers of former Senator Fern Shubert. Shubert served the ole' North State well, until stepping down from her office to make a run for Governor in 2004. While she is greatly missed from office, she knows where the "bodies are buried" and is still found digging up the truth.
Mike's Nether Land The greatest conservative blogger in the state of Maryland. Check him out!
ARRA News Service News for social, fiscal & national security conservatives who believe in God, family & country. We seek to uphold traditional family values, Republican principles & ideals, limited government, free markets to promote innovation, & individual freedom. The ARRA News Service is an outreach of the Arkansas Republican Assembly.
Crystal Clear Conservative Blogger Krystal Weeks writes about N. Virginia and DC metro area politics, as well as national issues. Check her out!
Cuba Generation Y This 30-something blogger publishes at great risk to show readers outside Cuba what everyday life is like inside the oppressive, Communist nation. Think you like Communism...read this blog and think again!
Smart Girl Politics Conservative Women bloggers, and a few men, who are here to refresh you when you are thirsty.
LadyBlog A modern take on traditional women. Classier than tea service. Like Fight Club but with better hygiene. Sightly more aggro than a cucumber sandwich.
Peach Girl Politics Conservative mother of one. Blogs in the peach state of Georgia!
Top Conservatives On Twitter The top conservatives on Twitter. If you are conservative, you should follow these people. KCC is on the list and moves up and down, depending on the day.
The Political Byline One of my fellow Top Conservatives on Twitter. Check him out! He's not afraid to speak his mind. Based in the Motorcity.
Capital Letters Jordan Schrader covers North Carolina government for the Asheville Citizen-Times.
Sister Toldjah National conservative blogger who tells it like it is. She loves North Carolina and occasionally picks up items from KCC on her blog.
Called 2 Action Check out this site, run by Steve Noble. He's a member of the religious right and he tells the truth as he sees it. He calls himself an equal opportunity offender. Check out what he has to say!
Conservative Oasis A fellow TCOTer. Fellow conservative blogger. Get your drink today.
Inside Charm City A conservative writes about all things Baltimore. He has plenty of fodder!
The Repurblican Political News and commentary for urban Republicans
NC Politics New Bern native (and your blogger's fellow high school classmate -NBSHS '85) Steve Hale writes from Pitt County about his take on the North Carolina Political scene. Check out his blog and offer up your comments.
Dateline Obamastan Cary's John Byrnes writes about national, state, and local politics. He currently serves in the Army National Guard.
Driving With One Hand Kevin LeCount is apparently driving with his LEFT hand, as this blog is written by my good friend who works for SEANC, the union of the NC State Employees. His wife, Heidi, works at my alma mater, Meredith and are good folks, despite their political leanings. Check them out.
Due to the amount of walking and standing involved on Saturday, your blogger will not be able to bring along the ole laptop and live-blog the event in Washington. Thus, she will be providing updates on the website Twitter.
You don't have to have an account to follow KCC on Twitter. Just log on to http://www.twitter.com/katys and keep refreshing your screen. You can read anything your blogger is posting out.
The @name-of-user tweets are to a specific person, but you can still read and get in on the conversation.
The # signs are called hashtags on Twitter and they refer to a specific subject being discussed. Sometimes they are silly, such as #obamadoesNOTcare or #hrc , which refers to health care reform.
One of the more common is #tcot, which refers to a group known as Top Conservatives on Twitter, a group to which your blogger belongs. Another is #sgp, which is Smart Girl Politics, another of your blogger's favorites.
Have fun and set up your own acct by going to http://www.twitter.com. It's pretty self-explanatory. You came this far, didn't you?
You may write to this blogger directly by placing @katys at the beginning of your post. Remember, we have only 140 characters to say what we mean, so use all the abbreviations necessary.
Conservatives happen to rule Twitter. A recent study showed that we make up the majority of all Twitter users. If you can't be in DC, read all about it, on Twitter.
It's time to RALLY. This time, the Americans for Prosperity, with other groups, is leading the charge to Capital Hill to let our Members of Congress know exactly where we stand bill ironically known as OBAMACARE. It's ironic because, this blogger feels as if Obama does not care.
KCC is signed up to be on the Raleigh bus, and hopes people across the Ole' North State will join her in this adventure. The official announcement from the NC AFP is below and get your tickets as early today as possible.
If you can't make it, your blogger will be tweeting it live. Subscribe to our tweets at http://www.twitter.com/katys or just log on and refresh your screen, if you aren't a twitter subscriber. It's all free!
Photos will be posted later on this site.
May God continue to bless us all and God bless the United States of America!
Americans for Prosperity and Friends
Invite You to make a
Last Stand
Against the Health Care Takeover
Emergency Bus Trips Planned Across North Carolina
for Rally/Congressional Visit
Saturday, March 20
Time: 12:00 noon
Location : To Be Determined
Washington, DC
$25 per person
Democratic leaders are considering perhaps their most gutless move yet: a bill with unpopularity matched only by its high cost could become law without even requiring House members to vote for it! We must get back to Washington to fight this most recent assault on the American people and our system of government.
Simply put this bill is a disaster that will raise taxes, cost jobs and destroy the best healthcare system in the world. We need to take the U.S. Capital by storm, and make our voices heard!
We reserve the right to cancel if not enough interest from any of these cities. Your money would be returned to you if cancellation occurs.
Departure information
Bus 1
4:15 am Southern Pines
Depart Southern Pines from parking lot at Carter Bank and Trust (old Peoples Bank, 42 Pinecrest Plaza, Southern Pines, NC 28387)
4:50 am Sanford
Depart Sanford from parking lot at Food Lion ( 2581 Hawkins Avenue, Sanford, NC 27330)
5:25 am Dunn
Roses Store 1915 West Cumberland Street, (Highway 421) Dunn
6:25 am Smithfield
Rest Area: Johnston County I-95, Northbound Location: Milepost 99, 3 miles northeast of Selma on I-95
7:30 am Rocky Mount
Rest Area: Nash County I-95, Northbound Location: Milepost 142, 3 miles north of Dortches on I-95
Bus 2
5:00 am Jacksonville
Depart Jacksonville from parking lot at Walmart-SuperCenter 561 Yopp Rd., Jacksonville, NC 28540)
Bus 3
5:00 am Wilmington
Depart from Sea-Comm Media (Big TalkerRadio, 122 Cinema Drive, Wilmington, NC 28402)
6:30 am Goldsboro
Depart from the Little River Shopping Center at Big Lots (1312 West Grantham Street, Goldsboro, NC)
Bus 4
6:30 am Raleigh
Depart Raleigh from District Drive Park-and-Ride (Parking lot near Blue Ridge Road and I-40, Raleigh, NC 27612)
Bus 5
7:00 am Wake Forest
Depart Wake Forest from Lowes Food parking lot at 12524 Capital Boulevard. This shopping center is north of intersection with 98 Business and also contains Cruisers and CiCis Pizza. Park near the service drive across from Cruisers.
Bus 6
4:30 am Charlotte at the park and ride lot Central Church of God 5301 Sardis Road Charlotte, NC 28270-5294
5:45 am Greensboro parking lot at Wal-Mart Supercenter (121 West Elmsley Street, Greensboro, NC 27406)
We must leave as promptly as possible Saturday morning. Don't get left behind.
You will need to bring a lunch and drinks for the ride to DC. There is a bathroom on each of our chartered buses. We will also make restroom stops. Wear comfortable, weather-appropriate clothing and walking shoes. It is necessary to walk several blocks.
Hand-made signs are encouraged for the rally but keep in mind they may be lost if you go into any of the buildings. Bring some cash for a fast food dinner on the way home. You will get back to your car late Saturday night.
For more information, please go to our website at www.afpnc.org
Our planning time is short but Email [email protected] or call 919.839.1011 with questions and we will do our best to get them answered before departure.
Hat Tip:
David Higgins for encouraging KCC to give up a beach weekend for this important cause!
When your blogger was a young girl in the late 1960s and 1970s, her only career options consisted of the following: secretary, nurse, or teacher. These were the traditional roles that women took in the work place and a woman was supposed to give up this role as soon as she was married. Afterall, that's what our favorite girl, Barbie, did and KCC's mom was a hardworking young secretary, too.
Your blogger didn't realize until she was in 7th grade, that she could do anything she wanted to. In 1979, couple KCC babysat for, told her to go for it in life and not be held back by anything. That was the first your blogger had heard of this.
By this time, KCC was winning her Jr. High School's science fairs, and was doing well in science classes. But she had never considered going into anything science-related. When she attempted to study biology in college, it was too late.
Today's little girls don't have those limitations. They even have toys that grow up to participate in careers once thought of as traditionally male. Take Barbie for example. The 126th career for Barbie is Computer Engineer (above, left).
KCC's husband is also an engineer, and says that companies located in the US often complain that domestic engineering schools do not turn out enough native born graduates. Thus, they have to turn to imported talent, which involves more red tape and is thus more difficult to work with. Companies today are working hard to help recruit young ladies into engineering schools.
Your blogger's husband encourages young girls to study math, as early as possible. Boys are not naturally better in math, as previously thought. Girls were just never before encouraged, as popular thought was that they would not need it. KCC was once such a girl and today is very weak in her math "skills".
KCC applauds Barbie's latest career and hopes that she will bring more girls into the field. Gosh knows, we need them!
Liberal website Salon.com caught up with disgraced and censured Gov Mark Sanford (R-S.C.) as he was leaving the speaker's room at CPAC. Sanford did not appear on any invitee list and your blogger wondered how he managed how to get back there, although your blogger had access. Your blogger hates any corrupt politician and Sanford is no exception.
KCC doesn't appreciate Salon's hack-job coverage of our top political meeting of the year. Sure, we conservatives are working out growth problems but we have growth! That's always a good thing.
Here is Sanford trying to leave the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Georgetown, the same hotel where your blogger stayed, compliments of Salon.com:
Was there a preacher in the house? There had to be, but that voice, it was unmistakably that of TV personality Glenn Beck.
The popular Fox News host started by saying how Rush Limbaugh and Ronald Reagan are his personal heroes.
He admired Reagan's optimism. Like Reagan, Beck believes "it's still morning in America", though, he said, we may have to wake up with a hangover puking in the toilet first.
He warned that progressivism "is the cancer eating up America, and that it unfortunately not only infects the Democrat Party, but many Republicans as well."
Beck even condemned President Theodore Roosevelt (who I admire) as an early progressive. Beck argued:
"it's not enough for Republicans to just suck less than the other side. The GOP must admit its mistakes (an addiction to spending and big government) and reform itself".
He compared the GOP's failings to those of golfer Tiger Woods. Beck asserted that, like Woods, all addicts will continue their behavior as long as they do not get caught.
He then asked the same question everyone has been asking Woods, to the GOP: "You got caught! Are you sorry?"
Beck says he'd be more than happy to support the Republican Party if they only admitted their mistakes and showed genuine contrition. He wants them to do honest soul searching.
Then Beck noted that progressives are a political minority in this country, yet they keep advancing their agenda. How? Because they know how to package and sell their ideas. They've got Hollywood's help, too.
Beck stated that we have a right to fail.
Without failure, how do we learn and grow and improve? Why should a company be "to big to fail", so that it gets a taxpayer-funded bailout?
Beck cited his own battle to overcome alcoholism and the long way back. . He asserted conservatives believe everybody has the right to *pursue* happiness or success, not to be given happiness or success by the government. He insisted you don't have a right to free food, free housing, free higher education, or free medical care. You have to work for it and earn it.
Beck noted he couldn't afford to attend college, so he educated himself. He said there's no shame in being a self-made man, in showing ambition and working hard to become successful, so government shouldn't punish small businesses for working hard to be successful. Beck reminded the Marriott Ballroom crowd that business creates jobs, not the government.
Beck ended his sermon by promising that the future is not cast in stone. Our best days are not behind us. Our grandchildren do not have to have a lower standard of living than we have.
Watch Glenn's speech, as he delivered it on Saturday evening:
Editor's Note: This post, like all others at CPAC, was brought to you by our sponsor, RedState. RedState provided the Blogger's room and gave KCC the ability to cover the conference in a unique way. Not every blogger who applied received credentials, yet there were over 100 different conservative blogs represented, with a few liberals amongst us, as well. We all had a great time, and many thanks go to our fearless leader, Erick.
Katy's Conservative Corner has discovered that there are spies (gasp in sarcastic horror) in our midst here at CPAC. Turns out, your blogger has run into on of her favorite liberals at CPAC, here on media row.
The Back Story
Last August, your blogger arrived in Pittsburgh, where the lefties were having their NetRoots conference, described on their website this way:
"It's about taking the passion, activism and attention that we drum up each year during the convention to an area that will be a crucial region in upcoming progressive policy fights."
Your blogger was in town for another conference. The Americans for Prosperity (AFP) decided to take the same passion to conservatives and sponsored an opposing event known as RightOnline. Organized by AFP's Erik Telford, RightOnline is, each year, a great place for bloggers and newbies to get together, exchange ideas, and flood the Internet with information about the conservative movement. Both events are held in the same city. RightOnline exists, in part, to "drown out" the "progressive" calls.
In the taxi on the way to the hotel, your blogger shared the ride with a nice lady named Adele Stan. In our conversation, we realized we were both in Pittsburgh for "the conference" and chatted about it. It several minutes before we realized that we were going to different events.
At CPAC
Fast forward until now. A nice lady asked to plug into your blogger's power strip and KCC gladly agreed. She recognized your blogger immediately as Katy "from Pittsburgh". She handed me her card and I realized who she was. Adele Stan is the Washington Bureau chief for AlterNet.
Naturally, much of the lamestream media here are pretty liberal, but not all. For example, KCC is sitting next to Fred Lucas, senior writer at Cybercast News Service.
Editor's Notes
- There are no pure Libertarians (with a capital 'L') here, to our knowledge, but there are plenty of libertarians who have joined the Republican party.
- Conservatives often refer to NetRoots, affectionally, as "NUT roots". Not this blogger. :-)
-You can follow Erik Telford on Twitter. His user id is JoeTaxpayer You can also follow your blogger on Twitter, who goes by Katys Her tweets also appear in the right bar of this page.
More On RightOnline
-RightOnline, hosts a Twitter contest and the attendee who tweets the most about the conference, during the event, is declared "the winner". No prizes were awarded, to KCC's knowledge, as she "won" and didn't received anything.
-RightOnline, like NetRoots, will be held in Las Vegas August 2010. Your blogger hopes to attend, should the budget allow. If you are interested in starting a blog, learning to Twitter, or just meeting some of the top conservative bloggers in the nation, this writer strongly encourages you to attend. You will leave with a level of expertise on how to organize a cause via the Internet from the very best.
Watch CPAC 2010 here on Katy's Conservative Corner, North Carolina's official CPAC blogger. As long as activies are taking place, this feed will be live. Enjoy. We'll keep this post at the top of the page through Saturday evening and individual stories will be posted beneath.
Senator Richard Burr (R-NC) is posting information regarding his re-election run on Twitter. The popular micro-blogging site, used by millions, is most popular amongst political conservatives, but your blogger "follows" and has "followers" that share all of her interests.
Check out Burr's site here and log on, to follow him. If you don't already have a Twitter account, simply follow the instructions and create one. As your blogger's father would say, "it's as easy as falling off a log."
Even the liberal "news" paper, the Los Angeles Times admits it. Republicans virtually own Twitter. It may have been developed by Silicon Valley leftists, but there are more of "us" than "them" communicating in 140 characters or less.
Two years ago, about the time your blogger joined Twitter, conservatives created a group called Top Conservatives On Twitter, (TCOT) and any conservative was welcome to become a part of it. All one had to do was put the hashtag, #tcot at the end of a tweet.
Conservatives could then click on the hashtag and be taken to a "Twitter Room" and see all activity of users with that hashtag. They could then follow one another. Twitter, amongst conservatives and Republicans, took off!
Today, other hashtags are popular, such as #iamthemob (referring to the liberals' derogatory name for conservatives at Town Hall meetings), #HHRS (Hugh Hewitt Radio Show - not heard in the Triangle area, but wildly popular on the web and nationally), and others.
Twitter and other such technologies change so fast, that few books have been written about them. Who knows how long the phenomena will last?
KCC is just glad to be able to take advantage of it. She just wished more of her local Republican party activists did. It's great fun to attend political conferences and meet your Twitter "friends" in person. Your blogger only uses twitter to discuss politics, and sports.
Therefore, she doesn't follow the liberals that follow her. There is no need to pollute her brain with the same garbage that she sees in the the lamestream media.
Important Twitter Tip: If you decide to sign up for a Twitter account, please download Tweetdeck, if you use a PC. Tweetdeck allows you to run multiple accounts, keep up with replies to your comments, and any mentions about you, all in neat columns. You can even follow your Facebook feed.
Tweetdeck is only getting better, so your blogger highly recommends it. She even uses it on her iPhone.
If you aren't on Twitter, you are missing out on the biggest news source on the Web. Recently at the RightOnline Conference, in Pittsburgh, your blogger met for the first time, many of her friends from Twitter.
These people are some of the most in-tuned politically active people. Their ranks include everything from the state government and congressional insiders, opinion makers, the unemployed, senior citizens, housewives, stay-at-home moms, bankers, and those from every walk of life imaginable. Yet they break stories faster than you can say "Fox News." How do they do it? They dedicate their time to the research necessary to further the conservative cause;.
Being on Twitter isn't really an option. It's an absolute necessity. It's a political junkie's dream!
The news services closely follow Twitter and then go out and confirm what they learned. Only later does it make the news wires and television.
Your blogger chooses to follow mostly conservatives, bloggers, and fellow sport addicts.
Contrary to what those on the left would have us believe, conservatives actually STARTED the online movement. We have to look back, 10 years ago, to the beginning of the primary for the presidential race of 2000. John McCain was running against George W. Bush, among others.
McCain's staffers realized a need for something different, something new, and something bleeding edge. It worked to some degree and he raised amazing amounts of money online, for the time. However, four years later, the Democrat campaigns picked it up and claimed the idea as their own, as Democrats do. The media, eating out of the liberal trough, began feeding the public a line about how far "advanced" the left was.
Conservative bloggers then came forth to balance the mistruths being spoken by the likes of Katie Couric and her ilk at NBC and MSNBC. The same happened with Twitter. If blogging is fast, Twitter is even faster. Yes, we feel behind in 2008. There seemed to be no stopping that train. However, even liberals are regretting their mistakes. The Democrats, especially the NC teachers union (aka NCAE) worked hard to elect Beverly Perdue, but she cut them off at the knees when budget time came around. Conservative Tweeters around the state made sure this was well known.
Having a twitter account is no-longer optional to keep up with the breaking news. If you want to know what will be shown on your 24-hour news channel, in an hour, look for it on Twitter right now. Chances are, some one in the know, has posted it on a blog and then posted it to Twitter.
WHAT IS TWITTER?
Twitter is similar to the blog you are reading now. However, instead of unlimited space in which to make your point, Twitter limits you to 140 characters. Abbreviations are common place. Hash-tags (#) are used to categorize your topic (#tcot is saying Top Conservatives On Twitter. Your blogger is one. Another hashtag might be #liberals to signify the post is about liberals.)
How do you find people to read, or follow on Twitter? Simple.
Find one person that you really like on Twitter. They usually have lots of like-minded followers that they also follow and that follow them back. Sort of like Facebook's friends, go through their list and follow those that interest you. Take a look at the person's most recent tweets. If the person doesn't follow you back within about two weeks, go back and "unfollow" them and move on. I try not to follow people who won't follow me.
Other super celebs like cyclist Lance Armstrong, that I greatly admire, may only follow 17 people, but have millions of followers. They are different and I can give them a pass, just to know what they have to say.
How do you get followers? It's simple. Tweet away. Keep your comments pithy and interesting. Be sure to comment back when you agree or have something to add. If you agree with something your blogger just said, you'd write @katys Your comment on public schools was right on. etc...
Just be sure and remember that Twitter is a two-way street. Re-tweet someone's post if you like it. Talk back to them.
Additionally, don't go on Twitter to try to sell your latest idea. You'll be marked as a spammer and people will tell their friends to "unfollow" you. It happens quickly. There is nothing good tweeters hate more than a self-serving jerk who just wants to sell, sell, sell.
Further, beware of the person that calls themself a "social media expert". This blogger thinks that sounds a bit like identifying yourself as a snake oil sales man! People will laugh, right before they delete you.
At the Sign Up page, enter the desired information and you can begin entering your Tweets.
When tweeting, to direct your tweets to a specific person (or tweeter), put the @ symbol in front of their twitter name, and type. For example, if you want to send a direct message to your blogger, you'd enter @katys and include something like great blog. I really liked what you had to say about xxx.
Next, the most important thing to make using Twitter easier is to download TweetDeck.
TweetDeck does so much more than plain Twitter on the Web. Tweetdeck lets you use multiple accounts. For example, your blogger Tweets both for herself (@katys) and on behalf of the Wake County NC Republican Party (@WakeGOP) .
KCC can use Tweet Deck to use one or both. TweetDeck can also have Twitter post to a Facebook account as well. Just read and follow the directions and it's quite simple. If you don't understand, shoot us an email though we are quick to point out that we will not act as technical support!
This past weekend, your blogger was at the RightOnline Summit, where we discussed everything from issues, to web 101, to using blogging and Twitter as community building. Twitter, at the moment, is THE big thing, and conservatives have made it happen. In fact, there are more conservatives on Twitter than any other type of group. it won't last forever, but while it lasts, we should stick with it.
Your blogger doesn't waste her time following liberals. It's too much trouble and the same old debate gets old and tiring.
Give it a try. For more information, KCC recommends the book "Twitter, Tips, Tricks, and Tweets" by Paul McFedries from Wiley Publishing.
Your blogger has done so much more tweeting more than blogging these days. But, to have a decent following on her blog, she has to tweet and vice versa.
Here is a video that describes Twitter, but not TweetDeck. I highly recommend Tweetdeck and wouldn't Twitter without it, but this video offers easy-to-understand information.
The website will allow activists to sign letters and emails to North Carolina legislators stating their principled opposition to the $1 billion in new taxes already proposed by Gov. (Beverly) Perdue and the North Carolina General Assembly.
“There are no tax increases that will not hurt our economic recovery. These will be job-killing tax increases,” said Americans for Prosperity State Director Dallas Woodhouse. “Our legislators need to know that citizens are taxed enough already and will not stand for a $1 billion tax increase.”
The website was created by Americans for Prosperity because of the attempts by both Gov. Perdue and the General Assembly to increase taxes on sales, income and everything from automotive repairs to downloading music.
Other activities under serious consideration for dramatically increased taxation include digital properties, warranties, alcohol, cigarettes, as well as tangible personal property services such as plumbing repairs.
Editor's Note: Your blogger has long been active with the Americans for Prosperity and she finds it one of North Carolina's most valuable groups regarding fiscal issues. Don't miss their fall national conference in Washington. Watch this space for details. Your blogger will be there.
Have you received as many messages in your email in box from Tagged.com as I have, lately?
Tagged.com is an actual social networking site, and it's okay to click on it and join. However, you must give up your email address and your email password. Then, Tagged.com takes all your email addresses of all the people you've ever written to, and sends them an invitation. I never give up any passwords to a third party site, and neither should you!
It's not a complete scam, but their invasive processes have invited many complaints.
Katy's Conservative Corner proudly Endorses Tom Fetzer for Chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party.Below, your blogger, a self-described Republican since the age of 9, offers her personal perspective:
Your blogger first met Tom Fetzer (left) in 1985, while an 18-year-old freshman at Meredith College. He was a handsome young 34-year-old, brought in by our club chairman to help increase attendance at our College Republican meetings.
He told of his work with Senator Jesse Helms, the Congressional Club and how he had learned from Tom Ellis and Carter Wrenn. Ellis was the man who saved Ronald Reagan's Presidential campaign in 1976 and paved the way for his election in 1980.
He also told us of his work on the 1984 infamous campaign between Senator Helms and Governor Jim Hunt. Your blogger volunteered on that campaign as a senior at New Bern Senior High School that year. She loved the line "Where do you stand, Jim", which pointed out Governor Hunt's many inconsistencies.
In 1988, Fetzer ran for Congress in the elusive 4th District against David Price. He raised a record $800,000 in that race.
Tom's most remarkable achievement, in the opinion of this blogger, came in 1993. A large group of conservatives were angry with the Raleigh City Council over their spending $52,000 of OUR tax monies for an "art tower" (left) on Capital Blvd. The thing was ugly, at best, and no one understood what it was. Most thought it was a cell phone tower.
Tom Fetzer made this art tower the albatross to hang around the necks of the liberals on City Council. He lead the charge, and solidified the conservative vote (both Democrats and Republicans) in Raleigh, swept into office and brought a conservative City Council with him.
He served three terms, before handing the job off to another great conservative, Paul Coble, the nephew of Senator Helms. Those were heady days in Raleigh.
Tom Fetzer has served as a board member with the John Locke Foundation for a number of years. He believes in the principles of a smaller government, lower taxes, and opposes government corruption on every level. He is a true conservative as he supports socially conservative issues, too. He believes in traditional marriage, is pro-life, and backs gun rights.
Your blogger supports Fetzer for State Chairman because he is a PROVEN FUNDRAISER, and understands the GRASSROOTS. He has knocked on thousands of doors and has made many more phone calls. He understands organization at that most basic level. He believes in utilizing new technologies, (just as your blogger has been preaching, for two years).
Additionally, your blogger has heard from numerous sources, that North Carolina Democrats are shaking in their boots at the prospect of a Tom Fetzer chairmanship. He's well known, dynamic, and can take on the media, with one hand tied behind his back.
Because Tom Fetzer has all of the critical attributes, Katy's Conservative Corner proudly endorses him for State Chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party.
The Wake County Republican Party has joined Twitter. Twitter is a popular "microblog" with posts of 140 characters or less. Virtually taken over by conservatives, Twitter is extremely popular with people of all ages, and allows users to quickly communicate ideas and thoughts.
It's a two-way communication, with users responding to each other by placing the @ sign in front of the user name of the person with whom the micropost is directed.
Editor's Note: In a note of thanks, your blogger appreciates Brian Lehrschall has given up his personal user id of WakeGOP and his followers. His new Twitter user ID is @blehrschall -- Follow Brian by clicking on http://www.twitter.com/blehrschall He's a good guy and now needs followers!
If your North Carolina conservative group is on twitter, email us and tell us about it. We'd like to follow you and share you info with our fellow conservatives. Don't be surprised if you find a few Liberals following you, too. They are some of the more frequent readers of KCC.
One of the many lessons of last November is that if the Republican Party is to remain competitive, we can't afford to do things the same way ever again. The Digital Age has brought about an unprecedented revolution in politics, empowering people like never before by giving them the tools to organize quickly and influence policy. The old "top down" paradigm of political authority and party structure we have so long relied on has been replaced by a very effective "bottom-up" form of activism.
When the average person can put up a Facebook page and create a vast network of like-minded "friends" or communicate to thousands of people instantly using technologies like Twitter, political movements can be quite literally created overnight.
The bottom-line here is that people don't need to rely on political parties or their often outmoded authoritarian structures the same way they did in the past. They don't need to wait to be told what to do or how to do it by responding to orders from above; they can make a real difference all by themselves.
To adapt to this new world, our party leadership should focus on empowering our folks --- rather than trying to control and micromanage everything they are trying to do to further our shared Republican cause. The world is far too interconnected now and things move far too quickly. We need to encourage this new spirit of individual activism as a Party by lending our support, our resources, our experience, and our wisdom...and then get out of the way.
By embracing these new technologies, we will be well-positioned to communicate our time-honored Principles as a party to a whole new generation of voters. We don't need to change what we believe as Republicans; we just need to be able to explain our message in ways that younger people will listen.
Editor's Note:Stephen G. Duncan is the chairman of the 11th Republican Congressional District. That district includes Buncombe, Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Polk, Rutherford, Swain, Transylvania, and Yancey Counties.
For a complete schedule of upcoming Republican meetings across the 11th District, please visit their website.
Luckily with Michael Steele as the new head of the Republican National Committee (RNC), we shall see just these things happen on a national basis.
Will they happen statewide? The jury is out. Currently, the NC GOP has zero budget for any technological advancements. Your blogger believes that members of the NCGOP budget committee, the members of the NCGOP Central Committee and the NCGOP Executive need to be dragged, kicking and screaming, into the current decade.
Those spots are plumb ones that usually go to the older, wealthy, members of our party, and not to the younger members, or to activists as often. Thus, such members don't always see the need for bottom-up management or technology.
Additionally, we MUST elect a state chairman who believes in these same values.
Please enjoy this live feed, when available, of CPAC 2009, compliments of UStream and Katy's Conservative Corner.
CPAC 2009 runs from Thursday until Saturday of this week and the streams will be made available during actual conference times. The conference agenda is also available. (If you are receiving this blog post via e-mail or RSS feed, you must go to the blog post to see the actual live feed.)
Saul Anuzis, Chairman of the Michigan Republican Party and a Huge Supporter of Technology in GOP politics. A Twitter friend and follower of your blogger.http://twitter.com/sanuzis
Dr. Linda Petrou, Asst Professor, Wake Forest University and a fellow member of the North Carolina Federation of Republican Women. She works hard in North Carolina for our cause!
The Schedule for the Summit:
9 a.m. - Noon: Grassroots Activism, Social Networks, Blog Outreach Noon - 1 p.m.: Lunch on your own or stick around for further discussion 1 p.m. - 3 p.m.: Online Fundraising, Online Advertising, SEO/SEM 3 p.m. - 5 p.m.: Website Development, Databases, Mobile, Widgets 5 p.m. - 6 p.m.: Email Strategies 6 p.m. - 7 p.m.: Other & Wrap-Up
Check out this little video that is making the rounds on the conservative circuit. This man is exactly right and funny. That's the thing about we conservatives: we are right and we have fun, simultaneously!
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