Richard Morgan Falsely Blames Republican Party for 2004 Election Losses Morgan Proclaims Himself Great Leader Despite Giving Control of NC House to Democrats Richard Morgan recently sent out a letter and statement trying to defend his coalition with the Democrats and blame the "NCGOP Establishment," and critics such as myself, for the Republicans not winning a majority of the House seats this year. One would assume from Morgan's statement that he tried as hard as he could to elect a Republican majority to control the NC House. Morgan's argument lacks believability from the start because of the simple fact the Republicans did elect a majority in 2002. But, rather than stay united with that Republican majority, Richard Morgan, Mike Decker and their allies in 2003 joined the Democrats to form a Coalition with Morgan as a Co-Speaker, and leaving the Democrats in control. Morgan now wants us to forget his 2003 defection, and believe his latest statement when he says he wanted a Republican majority to win in 2004 and control the House for the 2005-2006 Legislative session. But, once again, Morgan's own words and the news reports refute his claim that he wanted a Republican majority in control of the House in 2005. As recently as October 25, 2005, the Winston-Salem Journal quoted Morgan as saying: "Nothing has changed," Morgan said. "The coalition's here to stay. There's no question about that." The Charlotte Observer reported on October 27, 2004: "Also, Morgan and Democratic Co-Speaker Jim Black of Matthews have a casual agreement, according to Raleigh insiders, not to fiercely challenge legislators who went along with their 2002 coalition." Of course all the incumbent House Democrats were part of Morgan's Coalition. Yet, when Morgan sends statements to Republicans, he claims he wants a Republican majority in control? No, Morgan just wanted the results close enough so that the Democrats would still need him, since he knew he would never have the support of the Republican Caucus to be Speaker. The following addresses the specific points raised by Richard Morgan in his recent statement and letter, titled: "Republican Opponents To Speaker Richard Morgan, Not Redistricting, Reason for Republican Losses In North Carolina House of Representatives." Morgan: "1. Loss of Legislative Seats is Directly Attributable to Failed Recruitment and Lack of Funding by the NCGOP Establishment." When Republicans get a majority of the vote, but Democrats get a majority of the seats, it is obvious that is because the gerrymandered House District lines were drawn in favor of the Democrats. The enacted Morgan-Democrat packed Republicans in districts, making them less competitive overall. Candidate recruitment and funding is always a factor. Normally, the Republican House leadership takes the lead. But in 2004, the self-proclaimed "Republican leader" Richard Morgan, and elected Republican Leader Rep. Joe Kiser, made no effort to help all Republican candidates, either before or after the primaries. Joe Kiser did not even call a single Republican House Caucus between the 2003 Session and election day. As reported above, many believe part of Morgan's deal with Jim Black was that Morgan would not oppose incumbent Democrats. But now Morgan and Kiser blame the "NCGOP Establishment" for not recruiting House candidates against Morgan's Democrat Coalition members? Morgan: "The Daughtry/Blount/Pope Redistricting Plan Ignored the Mandate of the North Carolina Supreme Court to Minimize Splitting Counties When Drawing District Lines." Morgan went on to claim that the NC Supreme Court "made up of a Republican majority - ruled it [the 2004 redistricting plans] was constitutional." This statement is blatantly false. The NC Supreme Court never ruled on the constitutionality of the Democrat-Morgan enacted plan or the proposed Republican "Remedial 14" plan. The reason the NC Supreme Court never ruled is that Morgan and the Democrats passed the "venue" provision to stop the original Stephenson lawsuit. While the venue section was held unconstitutional in part, the NC Supreme Court expressly held that it would take a new motion or lawsuit "to challenge the constitutionality of those [2004] plans." Stephenson v. Bartlett, 358 NC 219 , 226 (2004). In short, rather than being vindicated by the NC Supreme Court, Morgan worked with the Democrats to delay judicial review of their redistricting plans for the 2004 elections, the very plans which elected Democrat majorities to the state Senate and House, despite Republicans getting the majority of the statewide vote for legislative candidates. Morgan: "3. The Daughtry/Blount/Pope Redistricting Plan Targeted Loyal Republican Legislators." Another false statement. First, the Remedial 14 plan was drawn by experts from the Republican National Committee, experts that Morgan, Joe Kiser and Rick Eddins refused to meet with despite repeated requests. Second, Morgan complains about the shapes of three districts. But the Democrat-Morgan plan put nine Republican incumbent Republicans in five districts with each other or a Democrat. [Creech v. Daughtry, Mitchell v. Holmes or Howard, McMahan v. Connie Wilson, Rayfield v. McHenry and Sexton v. Cole, a Democrat.] A November 30, 2001 interview with Richard Morgan in The Pilot stated: "Morgan frankly admits there are some Republicans he would like to see defeated in GOP primaries next year . . . . He [Morgan] sees some hope for personnel changes as a result of the redis tricting of the House . . . ." An article in the July 20, 2003, Raleigh News & Observer reported: "Morgan is candid that he also plans to punish some old enemies". Daughtry is at the top of Morgan's hit list, along with Sam Ellis of Raleigh and Frank Mitchell of Iredell Co." The article quoted Morgan: "To me, loyalty is more important than competence even. They're either your friends or they're not." Morgan: "4. The Enacted 2003 Redistricting Plan Gave Republicans the Best Chance in Decades to Gain Control of the North Carolina General Assembly." The numbers show that the Remedial 14 plan, which Morgan opposed, would have been better for Republicans using any race as a criteria. Using Les Merritt's' 2000 State Auditors race, which was almost even, the Democrat-Morgan plan would have elected only a minority of 54 House members, while Remedial 14 would have elected a majority of 64 House members. Morgan also falsely claimed the House was divided 60-60 during the Redistricting Special Session, but in fact Rep. Mike Decker had switched back to Republican. But despite a 61 seat Republican majority being elected in 2002, and being restored for the November, 2003 Redistricting Session, Morgan, Kiser and Decker preferred to pass the Democrats' redistricting plan that gave the Democrats a majority of the seats despite Republicans getting a majority of the votes. Also note Richard Morgan complimenting himself in third person, "Richard Morgan showed great leadership . . . ." What is so great about voting for the Democrats plan? The simple fact is that under Morgan's "leadership," Republicans lost control of the House in 2003 Session, and lost their majority in the 2004 election. Morgan: "5. Daughtry/Blount/Pope Redistricting Plan Targeted Republican Incumbents in the 2004 Primaries." A repeat of the previous false statements and new false statements. Again, the NC Supreme Court never ruled against the Remedial 14 plan. The NC Republican Party was neutral in primaries. As noted above in the Pilot interview, it was Richard Morgan who planned to use redistricting and primaries to defeat Republican incumbents. As early as March 9, 2004, the Insider reported:"The chief political consultant for House Co-Speaker Richard Morgan is making no bones about the fact that he is gunning for Morgan's rivals within the Republican Party. Paul Shumaker recently told those attending a breakfast sponsored by NC FREE . . . . that Morgan will runs ads leading up to the primary election targeting House Republicans who have opposed his leadership" Check the campaign finance reports to see how Morgan, and his allies like David Miner, far outspent their opponents in the Republican primaries. Despite this, based on the issues of betraying the Republican Party and voting with the Democrats tax hikes, Morgan only won by 51%. Republican voters did oust five Republican incumbents who were members of the Democrat-Morgan Coalition: Baker, Decker, Gorman, Miner, and K. Williams. On the other hand, traditional Republicans such as Russell Capps and Sam Ellis withstood challengers financed by Morgan. I regret the necessity of primaries, but I make no apologies for supporting traditional Republicans and helping defeat the members of the Democrat-Morgan Coalition. Morgan: "[T]he Daughtry/Blount/Pope contingent put over $1 million into the lawsuit fighting the plan. This money could have been much better used to recruit and fund candidates instead of fighting the plan merely because I supported it" More and more false statements. But for the successful Stephenson lawsuit, the elections would have been held under the Democrats original 2001 "Sutton 3" plan, where the Democrats would have won close to 70 seats. The Stephenson lawsuit was not paid for by Republican Party funds that could have gone to candidates. It was paid for separately by private donations, Most of the money was spent over turning the Democrats earlier plans, which made it possible to elect a Republican majority in 2002. It is ironic that but for the Stephenson lawsuit which Morgan opposed, there would not have been a Republican majority elected in 2002, which put Morgan in position to sell out to the Democrat minority in exchange for being Co-Speaker. Meanwhile, Morgan and the Democrats used our tax dollars to fight the Republican lawsuit and defend the Democrats redistricting plans, which gave the Democrats the majority of the seats in 2004, even though Republican won a majority of the votes for the State House in 2004. Morgan: "Although a united effort would have resulted in Republican control of the House under the 2003 plan, the Daughtry/Blount/Pope faction set about their personal mission to divide and destroy the Republican Party as we know it today. Furthermore, they were willing to sacrifice Republican seats to do so." This statement is probably Richard Morgan's most ludicrous statement. It brings us back to the starting point. Republicans did win a majority and control of the House, in 2002! It was Richard Morgan, Mike Decker and their allies who literally divided the Republican Party by joining the Democrats in 2003. And Richard Morgan had stated before the 2004 elections, that even if Republicans were in the majority, he preferred to continue the coalition with the Democrats. Of course he would, since the Republican House Caucus never has and never would nominate him for Speaker. Yet in Richard Morgan's world, it is the NCGOP Establishment, his critics or opponents who divided the Republican Party. Republicans do need to unite and move forward together. The question is will Richard Morgan and his RINO allies renounce their coalition with Democrats, and rejoin the Republican Party and Republican House Caucus? By: Art Pope, November 23, 2004. Art Pope is a Raleigh businessman, former Special Counsel to Governor Jim Martin (1985); former four term Republican House member (1989-1992, 1999-2002) and Joint Caucus Leader (1991-1992); and a plaintiff in the Stephenson litigation. He has served the Republican Party at every level from precinct chairman, to chairing the Republican State Convention, and as a former volunteer Legal Counsel to the NC Republican Party. ############# The full text of Richard Morgan's statement and letter are below, so you can read it for yourself in context: ----------------------------------------------------------- Statement by House Speaker Richard Morgan Letter from Speaker Richard Morgan ----------------------------------------------------------- _______________________________________________________________________________ REPUBLICAN OPPONENTS TO SPEAKER RICHARD MORGAN, NOT REDISTRICTING, REASON FOR REPUBLICAN LOSSES IN NORTH CAROLINA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Morgan Opponents Put Self-Interest Ahead of Party in Legislative Races Statement By: Speaker Richard Morgan 919-715-3010 1. Loss of Legislative Seats is Directly Attributable to Failed Recruitment and Lack of Funding by the NCGOP Establishment. With the numbers clearly in favor of Republicans, the question that remains is how and why did Republicans fail to win the North Carolina House of Representatives in a year when Republican candidates did very well? Political wisdom indicates two primary factors: 1) a lack of candidate recruitment and 2) a lack of financial support. The Daughtry/Blount/Pope prophets of doom want us all to believe that the only way to win control of the General Assembly is through a redistricting plan that gives Republicans an absolute advantage. This is a misguided fantasy with a hidden excuse designed to avoid the effort of a campaign and providing resources to candidates. When the Republicans won control of the North Carolina House of Representatives in 1994, 1996, and 2002, we out-worked and out-spent Democrats. In 2004, control of the House was "there for the taking." Thus, the only plausible conclusion is that the NCGOP establishment and the Republican Executive Committee became the pawns of the Daughtry/Blount/Pope contingent. Together they sold out our candidates for their own political and personal self-interest, and in the end, failed us all. 2. The Daughtry/Blount/Pope Redistricting Plan Ignored the Mandate of the North Carolina Supreme Court to Minimize Splitting Counties When Drawing District Lines. The critics of the 2003 North Carolina House of Representatives Redistricting Plan are upset that the plan fully complied with the North Carolina Constitution. Our own North Carolina Supreme Court expressly held that the State Constitution requires the General Assembly to keep counties whole, to the maximum extent possible, when redrawing district lines. The enacted plan splits only 47 counties while the critics' plan would have split 50 counties resulting in a clear violation of the court's mandate. Moreover, in the only challenge to the plan, the North Carolina Supreme Court - made up of a Republican majority - ruled it was constitutional. The Daughtry/Blount/Pope contingent was willing to ignore the mandate of the North Carolina Constitution to advance their own political and highly personal agenda. 3. The Daughtry/Blount/Pope Redistricting Plan Targeted Loyal Republican Legislators. Shamefully, these critics wanted Republican incumbents to lose through redistricting in both the primaries and the general election, and it was their redistricting plan that specifically targeted supporters of Speaker Morgan. For example, Representative Debbie Clary, a five term loyal Republican Legislator from Cleveland County, was to be placed in a district so reconfigured that many of her long-term precincts were actually moved to another district. In an even more egregious example, they attempted to redraw the district of the first Republican Speaker in over 100 years, Harold Brubaker, by removing the precincts he had held for over 14 terms. Finally, in a manifestation of their personal animosity towards Speaker Morgan, the Daughtry/Blount/Pope redistricting plan would have realigned his district to such an extent that most of his home county of Moore would have been placed entirely in another district. 4. The Enacted 2003 Redistricting Plan Gave Republicans the Best Chance in Decades to Gain Control of the North Carolina General Assembly. Contrary to the misinformation spread by a few dissidents with personal agendas, the enacted plans are better for Republicans. The non-partisan organization, NCFREE, quoted often by each side in this dispute, has produced an analysis of the districts showing Republicans with a clear chance to win a majority of seats in the North Carolina House of Representatives. In fact, the numbers from NCFREE show that the enacted plan represented Republicans' best chance ever to win control of the North Carolina House of Representatives. For example, look at the chart below: Year # of Districts # of Districts Favoring Favoring Democrats Republicans 1999-2000 41 47 2001 Plan 59 47 2002 Interim Plan 52 49 2003 Enacted Plan 51 55 The unmistakable conclusion is that the enacted plan favors Republicans more than any other in recent history. Critics of the plan also conveniently ignore the fact that when the plan was enacted, the House of Representatives was evenly divided, 60 Republicans and 60 Democrats. The propo nents of the Daughtry/Blount/Pope plan are indulging in sheer fantasy to think that a plan that heavily favored Republicans would have ever passed the evenly divided House and the Democrat-controlled Senate. Redistricting is a highly personal, contentious and emotional process. Individual legislators care most about how a proposed plan affects their own districts and they worry about their party's fortunes. The critics of the 2003 plan know this, but attempt to obfuscate reality with pie-in-the-sky assertions regarding the so-called Remedial 14 Plan. In reality, Speaker Morgan showed great leadership in engineering and negotiating a plan that was favorable to Republicans. No other legislator could have achieved such an accomplishment under these circumstances. 5. Daughtry/Blount/Pope Redistricting Plan Targeted Republican Incumbents in the 2004 Primaries. Even though the North Carolina Supreme Court overruled the critics' plan, they were not dissuaded from their mission to tear down and permanently fracture the Republican Party to advance their own political and personal ambitions. When Daughtry/Blount/Pope were unsuccessful in persuading the North Carolina Supreme Court to declare the 2003 redistricting plan unconstitutional, they decided to target loyal incumbent Republican Legislators in an effort to make their predictions about the plan come true. Using an endless supply of money and with the backing of the NCGOP establishment, the Daughtry/Blount/Pope group funded challengers to unseat several long-term loyal Republicans. Although a united effort would have resulted in Republican control of the House under the 2003 plan, the Daughtry/Blount/Pope faction set about their personal mission to divide and destroy the Republican Party as we know it today. Furthermore, they were willing to sacrifice Republican seats to do so. ________________________________________________________________ Office of the Speaker Richard T. Morgan North Carolina House of Representatives _______________________________________________________ November 18, 2004 Because I know of your ongoing interest concerning the issue of redistricting, I am delighted to offer you some information which you may find helpful. This information provides the truth that will dispel a great deal of misinformation spewed over the Internet. 1. You should know that at the time this historic session elected co-speakers, the North Carolina House of Representatives was evenly split (60 Republicans and 60 Democrats), and this is a fact that critics of the redistricting plan blatantly ignore in their propaganda. Because of this even division, it would be impossible to "ram through" any plan that absolutely gives either party a distinct and clear advantage. 2. According to independent sources, the 2003 House Redistricting plan gave Republicans a better chance to gain a majority in the North Carolina House than any district alignment in more than a century. When Republicans won control of the House in 1994 and 1996, we did so by working hard and adequately funding our candidates. But the NCGOP leadership opposed me and the 2003 plan, and they failed to put forth the effort necessary to win in 2004. 3. Once the failed leadership at the NCGOP decided they did not like the plan, however, they set out to make it a self-fulfilling prophecy. Instead of recruiting enough candidates for all the races and raising money to support them, the Daughtry/Blount/Pope contingent put over $1 million into the lawsuit fighting the plan. This money could have been much better used to recruit and fund candidates instead of fighting the plan merely because I supported it. 4. The Remedial 14 plan cited by the dissidents was unconstitutional. It also targeted incumbent Republicans, including the first Republican Speaker in over 100 years, Harold Brubaker. Additionally, their plan would have moved me to a district containing all of Chatham County and less than one-half of Moore County. My letter is an effort to respond to you promptly and provide even more detailed information that you will find attached. I trust this information will help you begin to set the record straight. Please feel free to share this with anyone you wish. Kindest regards, Richard T. Morgan
Richard Morgan Falsely Blames Republican Party for 2004 Election Losses Morgan Proclaims Himself Great Leader Despite Giving Control of NC House to Democrats
Richard Morgan recently sent out a letter and statement trying to defend his coalition with the Democrats and blame the "NCGOP Establishment," and critics such as myself, for the Republicans not winning a majority of the House seats this year. One would assume from Morgan's statement that he tried as hard as he could to elect a Republican majority to control the NC House.
Morgan's argument lacks believability from the start because of the simple fact the Republicans did elect a majority in 2002. But, rather than stay united with that Republican majority, Richard Morgan, Mike Decker and their allies in 2003 joined the Democrats to form a Coalition with Morgan as a Co-Speaker, and leaving the Democrats in control. Morgan now wants us to forget his 2003 defection, and believe his latest statement when he says he wanted a Republican majority to win in 2004 and control the House for the 2005-2006 Legislative session. But, once again, Morgan's own words and the news reports refute his claim that he wanted a Republican majority in control of the House in 2005.
As recently as October 25, 2005, the
The following addresses the specific points raised by Richard Morgan in his recent statement and letter, titled:
When Republicans get a majority of the vote, but Democrats get a majority of the seats, it is obvious that is because the gerrymandered House District lines were drawn in favor of the Democrats. The enacted Morgan-Democrat packed Republicans in districts, making them less competitive overall. Candidate recruitment and funding is always a factor. Normally, the Republican House leadership takes the lead. But in 2004, the self-proclaimed "Republican leader" Richard Morgan, and elected Republican Leader Rep. Joe Kiser, made no effort to help all Republican candidates, either before or after the primaries. Joe Kiser did not even call a single Republican House Caucus between the 2003 Session and election day. As reported above, many believe part of Morgan's deal with Jim Black was that Morgan would not oppose incumbent Democrats. But now Morgan and Kiser blame the "NCGOP Establishment" for not recruiting House candidates against Morgan's Democrat Coalition members? Morgan: "The Daughtry/Blount/Pope Redistricting Plan Ignored the Mandate of the North Carolina Supreme Court to Minimize Splitting Counties When Drawing District Lines." Morgan went on to claim that the NC Supreme Court "made up of a Republican majority - ruled it [the 2004 redistricting plans] was constitutional." This statement is blatantly false. The NC Supreme Court never ruled on the constitutionality of the Democrat-Morgan enacted plan or the proposed Republican "Remedial 14" plan. The reason the NC Supreme Court never ruled is that Morgan and the Democrats passed the "venue" provision to stop the original Stephenson lawsuit. While the venue section was held unconstitutional in part, the NC Supreme Court expressly held that it would take a new motion or lawsuit "to challenge the constitutionality of those [2004] plans." Stephenson v. Bartlett, 358 NC 219 , 226 (2004). In short, rather than being vindicated by the NC Supreme Court, Morgan worked with the Democrats to delay judicial review of their redistricting plans for the 2004 elections, the very plans which elected Democrat majorities to the state Senate and House, despite Republicans getting the majority of the statewide vote for legislative candidates. Morgan: "3. The Daughtry/Blount/Pope Redistricting Plan Targeted Loyal Republican Legislators." Another false statement. First, the Remedial 14 plan was drawn by experts from the Republican National Committee, experts that Morgan, Joe Kiser and Rick Eddins refused to meet with despite repeated requests. Second, Morgan complains about the shapes of three districts. But the Democrat-Morgan plan put nine Republican incumbent Republicans in five districts with each other or a Democrat. [Creech v. Daughtry, Mitchell v. Holmes or Howard, McMahan v. Connie Wilson, Rayfield v. McHenry and Sexton v. Cole, a Democrat.] A November 30, 2001 interview with Richard Morgan in The Pilot stated: "Morgan frankly admits there are some Republicans he would like to see defeated in GOP primaries next year . . . . He [Morgan] sees some hope for personnel changes as a result of the redis tricting of the House . . . ." An article in the July 20, 2003, Raleigh News & Observer reported: "Morgan is candid that he also plans to punish some old enemies". Daughtry is at the top of Morgan's hit list, along with Sam Ellis of Raleigh and Frank Mitchell of Iredell Co." The article quoted Morgan: "To me, loyalty is more important than competence even. They're either your friends or they're not." Morgan: "4. The Enacted 2003 Redistricting Plan Gave Republicans the Best Chance in Decades to Gain Control of the North Carolina General Assembly." The numbers show that the Remedial 14 plan, which Morgan opposed, would have been better for Republicans using any race as a criteria. Using Les Merritt's' 2000 State Auditors race, which was almost even, the Democrat-Morgan plan would have elected only a minority of 54 House members, while Remedial 14 would have elected a majority of 64 House members.
Morgan also falsely claimed the House was divided 60-60 during the Redistricting Special Session, but in fact Rep. Mike Decker had switched back to Republican. But despite a 61 seat Republican majority being elected in 2002, and being restored for the November, 2003 Redistricting Session, Morgan, Kiser and Decker preferred to pass the Democrats' redistricting plan that gave the Democrats a majority of the seats despite Republicans getting a majority of the votes.
A repeat of the previous false statements and new false statements. Again, the NC Supreme Court never ruled against the Remedial 14 plan. The NC Republican Party was neutral in primaries. As noted above in the Pilot interview, it was Richard Morgan who planned to use redistricting and primaries to defeat Republican incumbents. As early as March 9, 2004, the Insider reported:"The chief political consultant for House Co-Speaker Richard Morgan is making no bones about the fact that he is gunning for Morgan's rivals within the Republican Party. Paul Shumaker recently told those attending a breakfast sponsored by NC FREE . . . . that Morgan will runs ads leading up to the primary election targeting House Republicans who have opposed his leadership"
Check the campaign finance reports to see how Morgan, and his allies like David Miner, far outspent their opponents in the Republican primaries. Despite this, based on the issues of betraying the Republican Party and voting with the Democrats tax hikes, Morgan only won by 51%. Republican voters did oust five Republican incumbents who were members of the Democrat-Morgan Coalition: Baker, Decker, Gorman, Miner, and K. Williams
More and more false statements. But for the successful Stephenson lawsuit, the elections would have been held under the Democrats original 2001 "Sutton 3" plan, where the Democrats would have won close to 70 seats. The Stephenson lawsuit was not paid for by Republican Party funds that could have gone to candidates. It was paid for separately by private donations, Most of the money was spent over turning the Democrats earlier plans, which made it possible to elect a Republican majority in 2002. It is ironic that but for the Stephenson lawsuit which Morgan opposed, there would not have been a Republican majority elected in 2002, which put Morgan in position to sell out to the Democrat minority in exchange for being Co-Speaker. Meanwhile, Morgan and the Democrats used our tax dollars to fight the Republican lawsuit and defend the Democrats redistricting plans, which gave the Democrats the majority of the seats in 2004, even though Republican won a majority of the votes for the State House in 2004. Morgan: "Although a united effort would have resulted in Republican control of the House under the 2003 plan, the Daughtry/Blount/Pope faction set about their personal mission to divide and destroy the Republican Party as we know it today. Furthermore, they were willing to sacrifice Republican seats to do so."
This statement is probably Richard Morgan's most ludicrous statement. It brings us back to the starting point. Republicans did win a majority and control of the House, in 2002! It was Richard Morgan, Mike Decker and their allies who literally divided the Republican Party by joining the Democrats in 2003. And Richard Morgan had stated before the 2004 elections, that even if Republicans were in the majority, he preferred to continue the coalition with the Democrats. Of course he would, since the Republican House Caucus never has and never would nominate him for Speaker. Yet in Richard Morgan's world, it is the NCGOP Establishment, his critics or opponents who divided the Republican Party.
Republicans do need to unite and move forward together. The question is will Richard Morgan and his RINO allies renounce their coalition with Democrats, and rejoin the Republican Party and Republican House Caucus? By: Art Pope, November 23, 2004. Art Pope is a Raleigh businessman, former Special Counsel to Governor Jim Martin (1985); former four term Republican House member (1989-1992, 1999-2002) and Joint Caucus Leader (1991-1992); and a plaintiff in the Stephenson litigation. He has served the Republican Party at every level from precinct chairman, to chairing the Republican State Convention, and as a former volunteer Legal Counsel to the NC Republican Party. ############# The full text of Richard Morgan's statement and letter are below, so you can read it for yourself in context:
-----------------------------------------------------------
Statement by House Speaker Richard Morgan
Letter from Speaker Richard Morgan
_______________________________________________________________________________
REPUBLICAN OPPONENTS TO SPEAKER RICHARD MORGAN, NOT REDISTRICTING, REASON FOR REPUBLICAN LOSSES IN NORTH CAROLINA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Morgan Opponents Put Self-Interest Ahead of Party in Legislative Races Statement By: Speaker Richard Morgan 919-715-3010 1. Loss of Legislative Seats is Directly Attributable to Failed Recruitment and Lack of Funding by the NCGOP Establishment. With the numbers clearly in favor of Republicans, the question that remains is how and why did Republicans fail to win the North Carolina House of Representatives in a year when Republican candidates did very well? Political wisdom indicates two primary factors: 1) a lack of candidate recruitment and 2) a lack of financial support. The Daughtry/Blount/Pope prophets of doom want us all to believe that the only way to win control of the General Assembly is through a redistricting plan that gives Republicans an absolute advantage. This is a misguided fantasy with a hidden excuse designed to avoid the effort of a campaign and providing resources to candidates. When the Republicans won control of the North Carolina House of Representatives in 1994, 1996, and 2002, we out-worked and out-spent Democrats. In 2004, control of the House was "there for the taking." Thus, the only plausible conclusion is that the NCGOP establishment and the Republican Executive Committee became the pawns of the Daughtry/Blount/Pope contingent. Together they sold out our candidates for their own political and personal self-interest, and in the end, failed us all. 2. The Daughtry/Blount/Pope Redistricting Plan Ignored the Mandate of the North Carolina Supreme Court to Minimize Splitting Counties When Drawing District Lines. The critics of the 2003 North Carolina House of Representatives Redistricting Plan are upset that the plan fully complied with the North Carolina Constitution. Our own North Carolina Supreme Court expressly held that the State Constitution requires the General Assembly to keep counties whole, to the maximum extent possible, when redrawing district lines. The enacted plan splits only 47 counties while the critics' plan would have split 50 counties resulting in a clear violation of the court's mandate. Moreover, in the only challenge to the plan, the North Carolina Supreme Court - made up of a Republican majority - ruled it was constitutional. The Daughtry/Blount/Pope contingent was willing to ignore the mandate of the North Carolina Constitution to advance their own political and highly personal agenda. 3. The Daughtry/Blount/Pope Redistricting Plan Targeted Loyal Republican Legislators. Shamefully, these critics wanted Republican incumbents to lose through redistricting in both the primaries and the general election, and it was their redistricting plan that specifically targeted supporters of Speaker Morgan. For example, Representative Debbie Clary, a five term loyal Republican Legislator from Cleveland County, was to be placed in a district so reconfigured that many of her long-term precincts were actually moved to another district. In an even more egregious example, they attempted to redraw the district of the first Republican Speaker in over 100 years, Harold Brubaker, by removing the precincts he had held for over 14 terms. Finally, in a manifestation of their personal animosity towards Speaker Morgan, the Daughtry/Blount/Pope redistricting plan would have realigned his district to such an extent that most of his home county of Moore would have been placed entirely in another district. 4. The Enacted 2003 Redistricting Plan Gave Republicans the Best Chance in Decades to Gain Control of the North Carolina General Assembly. Contrary to the misinformation spread by a few dissidents with personal agendas, the enacted plans are better for Republicans. The non-partisan organization, NCFREE, quoted often by each side in this dispute, has produced an analysis of the districts showing Republicans with a clear chance to win a majority of seats in the North Carolina House of Representatives. In fact, the numbers from NCFREE show that the enacted plan represented Republicans' best chance ever to win control of the North Carolina House of Representatives. For example, look at the chart below: Year # of Districts # of Districts Favoring Favoring Democrats Republicans 1999-2000 41 47 2001 Plan 59 47 2002 Interim Plan 52 49 2003 Enacted Plan 51 55 The unmistakable conclusion is that the enacted plan favors Republicans more than any other in recent history. Critics of the plan also conveniently ignore the fact that when the plan was enacted, the House of Representatives was evenly divided, 60 Republicans and 60 Democrats. The propo nents of the Daughtry/Blount/Pope plan are indulging in sheer fantasy to think that a plan that heavily favored Republicans would have ever passed the evenly divided House and the Democrat-controlled Senate. Redistricting is a highly personal, contentious and emotional process. Individual legislators care most about how a proposed plan affects their own districts and they worry about their party's fortunes. The critics of the 2003 plan know this, but attempt to obfuscate reality with pie-in-the-sky assertions regarding the so-called Remedial 14 Plan. In reality, Speaker Morgan showed great leadership in engineering and negotiating a plan that was favorable to Republicans. No other legislator could have achieved such an accomplishment under these circumstances. 5. Daughtry/Blount/Pope Redistricting Plan Targeted Republican Incumbents in the 2004 Primaries. Even though the North Carolina Supreme Court overruled the critics' plan, they were not dissuaded from their mission to tear down and permanently fracture the Republican Party to advance their own political and personal ambitions. When Daughtry/Blount/Pope were unsuccessful in persuading the North Carolina Supreme Court to declare the 2003 redistricting plan unconstitutional, they decided to target loyal incumbent Republican Legislators in an effort to make their predictions about the plan come true. Using an endless supply of money and with the backing of the NCGOP establishment, the Daughtry/Blount/Pope group funded challengers to unseat several long-term loyal Republicans. Although a united effort would have resulted in Republican control of the House under the 2003 plan, the Daughtry/Blount/Pope faction set about their personal mission to divide and destroy the Republican Party as we know it today. Furthermore, they were willing to sacrifice Republican seats to do so.
________________________________________________________________
Office of the Speaker Richard T. Morgan North Carolina House of Representatives _______________________________________________________ November 18, 2004 Because I know of your ongoing interest concerning the issue of redistricting, I am delighted to offer you some information which you may find helpful. This information provides the truth that will dispel a great deal of misinformation spewed over the Internet. 1. You should know that at the time this historic session elected co-speakers, the North Carolina House of Representatives was evenly split (60 Republicans and 60 Democrats), and this is a fact that critics of the redistricting plan blatantly ignore in their propaganda. Because of this even division, it would be impossible to "ram through" any plan that absolutely gives either party a distinct and clear advantage. 2. According to independent sources, the 2003 House Redistricting plan gave Republicans a better chance to gain a majority in the North Carolina House than any district alignment in more than a century. When Republicans won control of the House in 1994 and 1996, we did so by working hard and adequately funding our candidates. But the NCGOP leadership opposed me and the 2003 plan, and they failed to put forth the effort necessary to win in 2004. 3. Once the failed leadership at the NCGOP decided they did not like the plan, however, they set out to make it a self-fulfilling prophecy. Instead of recruiting enough candidates for all the races and raising money to support them, the Daughtry/Blount/Pope contingent put over $1 million into the lawsuit fighting the plan. This money could have been much better used to recruit and fund candidates instead of fighting the plan merely because I supported it. 4. The Remedial 14 plan cited by the dissidents was unconstitutional. It also targeted incumbent Republicans, including the first Republican Speaker in over 100 years, Harold Brubaker. Additionally, their plan would have moved me to a district containing all of Chatham County and less than one-half of Moore County. My letter is an effort to respond to you promptly and provide even more detailed information that you will find attached. I trust this information will help you begin to set the record straight. Please feel free to share this with anyone you wish. Kindest regards, Richard T. Morgan
Office of the Speaker Richard T. Morgan North Carolina House of Representatives _______________________________________________________
November 18, 2004
Because I know of your ongoing interest concerning the issue of redistricting, I am delighted to offer you some information which you may find helpful. This information provides the truth that will dispel a great deal of misinformation spewed over the Internet. 1. You should know that at the time this historic session elected co-speakers, the North Carolina House of Representatives was evenly split (60 Republicans and 60 Democrats), and this is a fact that critics of the redistricting plan blatantly ignore in their propaganda. Because of this even division, it would be impossible to "ram through" any plan that absolutely gives either party a distinct and clear advantage. 2. According to independent sources, the 2003 House Redistricting plan gave Republicans a better chance to gain a majority in the North Carolina House than any district alignment in more than a century. When Republicans won control of the House in 1994 and 1996, we did so by working hard and adequately funding our candidates. But the NCGOP leadership opposed me and the 2003 plan, and they failed to put forth the effort necessary to win in 2004. 3. Once the failed leadership at the NCGOP decided they did not like the plan, however, they set out to make it a self-fulfilling prophecy. Instead of recruiting enough candidates for all the races and raising money to support them, the Daughtry/Blount/Pope contingent put over $1 million into the lawsuit fighting the plan. This money could have been much better used to recruit and fund candidates instead of fighting the plan merely because I supported it. 4. The Remedial 14 plan cited by the dissidents was unconstitutional. It also targeted incumbent Republicans, including the first Republican Speaker in over 100 years, Harold Brubaker. Additionally, their plan would have moved me to a district containing all of Chatham County and less than one-half of Moore County. My letter is an effort to respond to you promptly and provide even more detailed information that you will find attached. I trust this information will help you begin to set the record straight. Please feel free to share this with anyone you wish. Kindest regards, Richard T. Morgan