The Man in the Silly Clothes Backs Down

 

Less than a week ago, Rep. Jeff McNeely (R-Iredell) led two other members of the NC House Freedom Caucus (Rep. Bobby Hanig, R-Dare, and Rep. Larry Pittman, R-Cabarrus) in an unthought-out press conference in which Mr. McNeely put the Durham County Board of Elections on notice that he and other members of the Freedom Caucus would be coming through their doors very soon and that they would be wanting to inspect the innards of Durham County voting equipment for any illegal modems which they claim is the source of most North Carolina voting fraud.

Modems are illegal on North Carolina voting equipment, by law, as is any machine connection to the Internet.

McNeely, dressed like Aunt Bee's best friend, caught some blow-back, including on this site, and according to Laura Leslie, by the time McNeely got back to his office later that day, and had a chance to catch up on the news that he had made, he quickly changed his tune, "saying he would simply drive by the building where the Durham County Board of Elections keeps its voting machines to see for himself whether the machines were secure."

Hahahahahahaha [can't catch my breath] hahahahaha.

Like so much else that comes out of the Bully Caucus, this is all political theater, and the Trumpists do plum love it, every bit of strongman, authoritarian trash-talk that comes out of the mouths of politicians who sold their soul so long ago, they're now the walking dead.

Yesterday, the Raleigh GOP Clown Car Went Over a Cliff

 

Good God Almighty! The Trumpiest Trumpists in the NC House intend to bring their own law force to bully elections officials in Durham County. Ain't making this up. As recorded by Rolling Stone:

A group of Republican lawmakers in North Carolina who call themselves the House Freedom Caucus are conducting their own investigation into election fraud, saying they will do “whatever it takes” to inspect voting machines in Durham County, even if they have to use police to force the inspections.

Rep. McNeely at the press conference yesterday 

State Rep. Jeff McNeely and other conservative lawmakers claimed at a Thursday news conference that they are acting on behalf of constituents who believe fraud and “machine tampering” took place in the 2020 election. McNeely said the group plans to conduct their inspections by “randomly pick[ing]” counties from across the state and then examining voting machines used in the presidential election to see if they have a modem that can connect to the internet. North Carolina state law prohibits voting machines from having modems.

During the news conference, McNeely selected the first county the legislators plan to investigate. Using an incredibly scientific method — pulling a county name from a sequined, USA-themed hat covered by a napkin — McNeely chose a slip of paper and announced it would be Durham County, which voted overwhelmingly for President Biden.

“I expect full cooperation from the good people in Durham because I feel like they have nothing to hide,” McNeely said. “We look forward to working with them, proving that our elections were true and were valid and there was nothing wrong with them. If that’s not the case, then we look to do an investigation. And if there need to be criminal charges, they will be filed also.”

A Durham election official told The Charlotte Observer that the county will not let the inspection take place. “We have no plans to allow anyone, as noted by law, to inspect our voting equipment,” Derek Bowens, Durham County’s director of elections, told the paper, adding that none of the voting machines in the county has a modem because they are prohibited.

This past summer the executive director of the North Carolina State Board of Elections, Karen Brinson Bell, also denied the lawmakers’ request to inspect voting machines. “The State Board has received no credible evidence that the certified results are not accurate, and elected officials from both sides of the aisle have stated that the 2020 general election in North Carolina was conducted fairly,” Bell wrote in a letter.

In a Thursday speech on the statehouse floor, Democratic state Rep. Zack Hawkins expressed his objection to the inspection. “The people in Durham County take elections very seriously,” he said. “You are not welcome in Durham County, and I’m not sure if you want to step foot in Durham County and try to inspect the machines. You will not be greeted as liberators, let me be clear.”

But at the press conference, McNeely said that he intended to go to Durham County Thursday night with a roll of red evidence tape to “secure the spot” where the machines are kept “so that nothing can go forward from here.”

When a reporter asked McNeely how he thinks the legislators will be able to inspect the machines without the permission of the county or state election board, he said that lawmakers from the legislative branch have a right to ask questions about elections. But if they are not allowed, McNeely said they will have escorts from the North Carolina General Assembly Police, which polices the North Carolina state Capitol grounds.

“So we will start with that,” he said. “And if we have to use, like I said, our escorts and the [General Assembly] police to help us, we will do whatever it takes to go about our mission.”

The North Carolina "Seven": New Black Sheriffs Elected Last Tuesday

Paula Dance, Pitt County

Paula Dance, Pitt County, became the first African-American female sheriff in the state of North Carolina and only the fifth in the entire country. She was already a major in the sheriff's office, running for an open seat. She has 28 years of law enforcement experience, 26 of those in the Pitt County department.

Quentin Miller, Buncombe County, 25-year veteran of the Asheville Police Dept., won with over 61% of the vote against both a Republican and a Libertarian. It too was an open seat, and the Libertarian had been jailed on a stalking charge in September.

Ennis Wright, Cumberland County, was already serving as an appointed sheriff following the retirement of a fellow Democrat. Wright won on Tuesday with more than 63% of the vote.

Bobby Kimbrough Jr., Forsyth County, defeated 5-term Republican incumbent Bill Schatzman with 53% of the vote. Kimbrough is a retired agent with the Drug Enforcement Administration. “People are ready for change,” Kimbrough said. “This race wasn’t about me, and it wasn’t about him [Schatzman]. It’s about building some bridges.”

Gerald Baker, Wake County, "in a stunning upset," defeated 4-term Sheriff Donnie Harrison. The 55-45 winning margin made it doubly stunning. Baker had worked for the Wake County Sheriff's Department for 28 years, 15 of those under Harrison. Harrison had partnered in and defended a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement program that meant transferring people to federal custody who have been arrested and were believed to be in the U.S. illegally. Baker was critical of the program.

Danny Rogers, in Guilford County, ended the 24-year reign of Sheriff B J Barnes, a politician so powerful he was considered unbeatable. (That was Monday. Wednesday, people were thinking otherwise.) Rogers took 53% of the vote.

Clarence Birkhead, in Durham County, had virtually won the office back in the primary, taking some 69% of the vote against an unpopular white incumbent, and faced only write-in votes last Tuesday.