Plan outlined for a GOP super majority in Raleigh

Jul. 7—MAGGIE VALLEY — In the first of a what will be a statewide series of rallies, the N.C. House Freedom Caucus rolled out plans to elect enough conservatives in November to dominate the state Supreme Court and gain a supermajority in the General Assembly to override governor vetoes.

N.C. Rep. Keith Kidwell, R-Beaufort, said the caucus grew from five members to 27 in the past session, and now has enough votes to influence legislation. He described the caucus as "the strong freedom arm of the Republican Party."

"We gained our strength last session. Just imagine what we can do when you give us a super majority in November," Kidwell said, noting the magic numbers are three additional Republicans in the house, two in the senate and one on the Supreme Court.

"That's all we need in this state to shut Cooper down," he said, referencing N.C. Gov. Roy Cooper.

He spoke of a commerce bill that was on track to pass this session but included a provision allowing cameras to read license plates. Caucus members met with House leaders to say the only way they could support the bill was if that provision was eliminated. They succeeded.

"Would we sacrifice a bill because it infringes on your liberties?" Kidwell asked. "Yes, we will, because it is the right thing to do."

The Freedom Caucus has an independent political action committee that raises funds to get "like-minded Republicans across the line," Kidwell said as he asked those in attendance to fill out donation information and contribute.

"We need to elect people who understand the Bible, who understand the U.S. Constitution and the state constitution," Kidwell told a crowd of about 50 at the Maggie Valley pavilion.

N.C. Rep. Mark Pless, R-Haywood, N.C. Rep. Mike Clampitt, R-Swain and N.C. Rep. Karl Gillespie, R-Macon are caucus members and were all at the rally.

Kidwell said the caucus would be endorsing true conservatives, not "wet noodle" Republicans. He said when he met Pless, Haywood's freshman Republican legislator, he could tell Pless was was a strong conservative, "not someone who would go along to get along."

In addition to present caucus members, Kidwell said the organization's endorsements include Maggie Valley governing board members Phillip and Tammy Wight, who won't be on the ballot until 2023; commissioner candidates Terry Ramey and Jennifer Best, N.C. Sen. Chuck Edwards for the 11th Congressional District and U.S. Rep. Ted Budd for U.S. Senate. Judges endorsed by the caucus include Trey Allen, Richard Dietz and Michael Stading.

Republican Commissioner candidate Tommy Long was not among those endorsed by the caucus. Many local Republicans were upset two years ago when Long voted in favor of a county budget two years ago that included a tax decrease, but not to the revenue-neutral level. All on the present board, which includes four Republicans, voted in favor of the budget which has the same tax rate as last year.

In an interview prior to the rally start, Kidwell said there isn't an accompanying N.C. Senate Freedom Caucus, but there will be one next year when North Carolina experiences "not just a red wave, but a red tsunami."

"The 2022 class (of new legislators) will be even better because America is waking up. We see It at the polls and we see it at the Supreme Court," Kidwell said.

He said Republicans lost the governor's mansion in 2020 because party members didn't do the hard work necessary to win, including telling friends about the need to vote, donating to the campaign, putting up signs or working the polls.

Questions from the floor offered a glimpse of what types of issues the conservatives would be pushing during the next legislative session. A partial list included outlawing transgender surgery for children, something Kidwell called child abuse, stripping the governor of executive powers, teaching critical race theory in schools and a nullification bill providing that anything not approved by the General Assembly is null and void.