Endorsements 2012: Mitt & Pat | Eastern North Carolina Now

   Publisher's note: Brant Clifton makes a few endorsements in his "bare knuckles" Conservative online publication known as The Daily Haymaker.

    The GOP nominees for the top two posts we'll be voting for on November 6 can really vouch for the old theorem about "right place, right time." Some members of the establishment may see the impending victories by Mitt Romney and Pat McCrory as approval of those two men and an endorsement of the GOP brand. They would be mistaken.

    2012 brings an electorate angry with Washington and -- especially -- the occupant of 1600 Penn. There's an equal amount of vitriol being aimed at Madame Bev in Raleigh. There's a lot of dissatisfaction with the state of things in both locales. Voters are looking for SOMEONE who can send Barry packing and wipe away the stain left by Bev & co. Mitt & Pat are both long-time Republicans. Both are giving lip service to conservative issues this year. But, back in 1994, Mitt was racing Ted Kennedy to the left side of the political spectrum.

    Pat's record as mayor featured a lot of teamwork with Democrats to raise taxes and grow government. McCrory has been pinning his election on doing for the state what he did for Charlotte. He's been gone from the mayor's office for four years. Charlotte NOW has a Democrat mayor and Democrat majority on the council. The city manager recently declared Charlotte to be a city "in decline."

    Back-slapping, good-ole-boy smoke-filled-room deal-cutting on how to best micromanage this grant program or that bloated agency is NOT what the voters are seeking. We are not interested in throwing out big-government meddlesome Democrats to exchange them for a new set of big-government RINOs. The people see the precarious position our economy, our state and our country are in -- thanks to the political establishment -- and are screaming for 180-degrees of change. The establishment and the governing class need to see that warning for what it is, and HEED it.

    Voting for Mitt Romney for president and Pat McCrory for governor is a good step toward turning our state and nation around toward a more positive direction. Voting for ANYONE ELSE in those elections will result in extending the stay of those responsible for our current catastrophic mess in positions of power for at least four more years. Our state and our country cannot afford THAT.