The very, very, very small tent (Durham Indy re: NC GOP)

The state GOP still caters to its Bible base, alienating moderates
17 JUN 2009
by Bob Geary

Coming off the escalator to the top floor of the Raleigh Convention Center, site of the state Republican party convention last weekend, one of the first people to greet you was a delegate from New Hanover County with literature for one of the candidates for state party chair. He was a genial gent who made a good first impression for his man, Guilford County Republican Chair Marcus Kindley. And his name? "It's Ollie Schreiber," he said easily, quickly adding as his political identifier: "Like Ollie North" ...

On the eve of the convention, Public Policy Polling of Raleigh reported that a higher percentage of conservatives in the state identify as Democrats (26 percent) than moderates do as Republicans (20 percent). "As long as that's the case," said PPP analyst Tom Jensen, "it's going to be very hard for the GOP to turn around its recent losing streak at the polls" ...

African-Americans were a rare sight among the 1,600 delegates, perhaps numbering a dozen in all. But two were candidates for party chair and vice chair, respectively. Bill Randall, a retired Navy veteran, ran a distant third behind Fetzer and Adams. After rejecting any comparisons to Colin Powell, Randall said he prefers to be likened to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. "Where's the courage to say there's nothing wrong with the Confederate flag," was one of his most applauded lines. (Powell's name elicited unfriendly murmurs.) ...

Timothy Johnson, though, was elected vice chair despite the late-breaking — but nonetheless widely disseminated — news that he was convicted of felony assault on his first wife, 13 years ago in Ohio .... He hadn't revealed his conviction previously, "Because it's nobody's business. It's like asking, Did you have sex with your wife last night?" he said, equating a felony with an activity that's not a crime ...

http://www.indyweek.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A396727