The funny thing is, in most every single state where they have had a taste of the Koch brothers agenda being imposed regardless of local factors and interests you have seen massive implosions in the GOP's popularity and strong/spirited bids to take them over by Democrats.
Voters don't want the schools dismantled and sacrificed at the alter of the almighty tax cut. It used to be that Conservatives opposed the teacher unions so that we could reform and improve the public education system. We were dismayed at the federalizing of education but almost overnight the GOP switched back to state based education. Of course, somewhere along the line (probably when a bunch of money started to get sloshed around), the goal posts for those state Republican Parties shifted to dismantling the public school system instead of reforming it.
Take a whole crap ton of money, throw it at a radical proposal that will in turn make you a lot of money (because you just so happened to have invested in some private-for profit schools, which are just one step above a con job or a diploma mill at that), and then force every Republican to go along with it and brand anyone who doesn't "TRAITOR to be executed for heresy" and then thrill as the voters rise up in rebellion and maybe possibly elect a Democrat in OKLAHOMA and KANSAS!!! Nah its probably just Trump's twitter feed!
Baker is safe and Scott is somewhat safe because they have not tried and have no hope of succeeding if they did, to pass any of this nonsense in their states. They were elected to minimize tax hikes, make things work efficiently and keep the trains running on time, not to experiment with utopian social experiments pushed by billionaires who couldn't care less if society descended into anarchy.
Conservatism should be about respecting the constitution and historical traditions in a state, not trying to circumvent them to implement an outside agenda and strip an inconvenient officeholder of power just because he is in the wrong party. This is arbitrary governance, it is at the core a fundamental violation of what should be the first principle underlying anything that can legitimately be styled as conservative. This radicalism is anathema to conservatism and it is destroying the Republican Party. It wrecked them in Louisiana and it wrecked them here in North Carolina.
Conservatism should be about empowering individual decision making and free will and the only way to do that is with an effective and meaningful education provided to everyone as a civic obligation. If the public school system is broke "FIX IT!" don't use it as convenient excuse to strip mine it and be like "oh look we have some money over here, lets cut taxes again".
Conservatism should be about promoting a strong business environment, that means yes a competitive tax code but taxes aren't the miracle elixir. Business also needs a trained workforce, suitable infrastructure accommodations and a healthy workforce that isn't going to drop dead from diseases that could have been prevented rather cheaply if only they had been provided access to such preventative medicine and screenings when it would have made a difference.
Going further on that business environment, supply side economics does not work in commodity based economies (if it works at all in a non-stagflationary economy). What these economies need is economic diversification and responsible investment. If you cut taxes and commodity prices drop, you are just hitting the thrusters into a giant black hole, which is what Kansas did.
Remember this, and I say this to every Republican, Conservative or libertarian minded poster on this forum, whatever happens tonight and whoever ends up losing in these Governorships and state legislatures, be it here in NC, or in KS or in OK or yes even in NH, they earned these defeats with the best think tank generated stupidity the Koch Brothers could buy.
All very very very well said, old friend.
So riddle me this then. Why are you still a republican when literally everything you just espoused here is directly diametrical to the party at large and absolute anathema to your own State party?
And before you justifiably point fingers, I've given up on the party. Officially. I'll change my avatar when my registration officially changes when I either next vote in a Democratic primary to change my registration, or don't run for reelection as Precinct chairman in a couple years, whichever comes first. Either way I think it's in 2020.
Exactly because of this reason that, well I'm going to vote for a friend who is the county party chairman and city council president of a nearby City who is running for County Commissioner, as he is a grown up and been on city council long enough to no the practicalities of having to run a city and being some holy Warrior like you described, I'm probably otherwise voting straight Democratic in all contested races.
