Dakota Beacon

Forwarded from Gary Emineth

Opinion and ignorance, lack of facts and truth. That’s all that exists in today’s “news” reporters. The days of factual news has gone to the wayside of opinion-based reporting. We see this on television, on the internet, and unfortunately in our local newspapers. Case in point, an article that was written in the Fargo Forum entitled Port: There is a campaign within the NDGOP to take out Republican incumbents written by Rob Port who is described as, and I quote, “a news reporter, columnist, and podcast host for the Forum News Service with an extensive background in investigations and public records. He covers politics and government in North Dakota and the upper Midwest.” by the Fargo Forum itself. In the article Port, goes on a tangent regarding how the new conservative leadership in the ND GOP is alienating Republican lawmakers, while at the same time calling for Unity. 

In the opening of the article Port states how current Chairwoman of the North Dakota Republican Party, Sandi Sanford narrowly won her seat “thanks to the vote of the Trump-aligned populist wing of the NDGOP, doesn't enjoy a lot of trust from elected members of her party.” Here is the first example of opinion. Without the facts Port links everyone that voted in favor of Chairwoman Sanford as a Trump-aligned populist. This writer for one has yet to decide on who he supports for the republican ticket in 2024 and I am sure there are many in the ND GOP that feel the same way. That is what is so amazing about our Republic and is often forgotten in the current state of politics, the fact that WE THE PEOPLE have the right to make up our own minds and choose. I cannot speak for my fellow elected officials in the ND GOP, but I for one will support whoever the candidate for the Republican Party may be. As for the narrow margin of votes in Chairwoman Sanford’s win, that happens throughout the political realm. That’s why we have elections. It has nothing to do with as one lawmaker is reported to have said, "It is bizarre to me that the members of the [local party] committee who got a few dozen votes think that they should be driving policies rather than the thousands of constituents that they were elected to represent," 

I find it ironic that the name of that lawmaker making that statement wasn’t reported in the article, but non the less, All NDGOP members, from Sate Committee members to Committee members at every district level are elected by the people to represent them in the NDGOP. The Republicans of each district are aware and agree with the conservative values of the “local party committees” or they would not have been elected to represent “the thousands of constituents” they were elected to represent. 

Ideology is a system of ideas and ideals, especially one which forms the basis of economic or political theory and policy. I would argue that enforcing the ideals of those who elected them to office is the job of lawmakers. Using words like ideology and factions is just another piece of the leftist agenda trying to divide the Republican Party.  So, for Port to use the comparison of the Conservative movement to the Communist party in China, just goes to show his true lack of humanity and values.

As far as trust, trust is earned not given, that goes in everyday life. So, for Port to suggest that the current Leadership in the NDGOP lacks trust from its members is again opinion. Again, this statement was reported, allegedly, by unnamed elected members of the Republican Party. Chairwoman Sanford, like any new executive, must earn the respect of her peers.  

Unity is what Chairwoman Sanford and District Representatives want. But, for some reason those that have held power of the NDGOP for so long don’t seem to want to be a part anymore. Hmmmm…. Isn’t that interesting, people who for years have shouted from the rooftops that they are Republican have pulled their financial support and attendance from the party they claimed to be so passionate about. If you run and hide every time you don’t get what you want that says a lot about you and where your support lies. That is the plain fact and truth folks, and the facts and truth don’t care about your feelings. 

When it comes to meetings and fundraisers, attendance is down statewide and has always been except by those who held power. This again is just fact. We see this not just in the NDGOP, but in all organizations, I am the Senior Vice Commander of VFW Post 756 and am also involved in various other organizations. People seem to be interested in being members of organizations they support but are willing to step up and go to meetings, fundraisers, and other events. This may be due to the limited time people have in their daily life, or maybe it’s because they are just lazy.  I make no assumption of the reason why, all I know is that those who are stepping up are sick and tired of the “same ole, same ole” mentality in local and federal government. If those who do not “show up” keep themselves informed and show up on election day and cast their vote fine. However, we as leadership need to adapt to the trends of the times and adjust how we get the information out. So, Mr. Port, the lack of physical bodies at an event proves nothing.

Now to The Sons of Liberty Organization. Those on the left and unfortunately some of those within the NDGOP, like to use the Sons of Liberty as the scapegoat when it comes to different beliefs on how our country government should operate. Yes, the organization is a bunch of like-minded individuals that support the 2^nd Amendment, states rights, voter ID, limited big government, poll watchers, fair media, lower taxes, keeping the country open, and closing the southern border. If that sounds extreme to you as a republican, then I’m sorry, you are so far from the Republican Platform that you need to step back and take a look in the mirror and think about what you truly stand for. This organization is no different than the House Freedom Caucus, the American Conservative Union, and other Grassroot organizations that support and defend the Constitution of the United States. Just as anything else conservative, the left makes accusations and innuendos without the facts and truth. As I said earlier, the facts and truth doesn’t care about your feelings. So, to use the Sons of Liberty as the main reason for the alleged separation in the NDGOP is nothing less than asinine.

Looking into the voting record of your law makers is not a new thing. It is done throughout the political realm. What is so wrong with researching the voting record of our elected officials, even those within the same party? According to an Article by Asher Schecter at promarket.com, Academic studies have long noted that politicians frequently deviate from the will of the voters, regardless of whether they are motivated by special interests or their own preferences. The idea that elected officials only represent their own interests once they are in power contributed significantly to the rage and disillusionment that drove the global crisis of representational democracies and aided Trump's ascent. 76 percent of Americans, according to a 2016 Quinnipiac University poll, concur with the statement "Public officials don't care much what people like me think."  Keeping an eye on your elected officials is the duty of all Americans. Because WE THE PEOPLE are responsible for their actions.

When it comes to politics today, the silent majority of conservative Christians is proving that they are tired of what is going on in their states and federal government. In a pew research study in 2022 it was found that, A combined 86% of voters from the Progressive Left and 85% of Faith and Flag Conservatives cast ballots in the 2020 election. Turnout gradually declines as one moves from either end of the typology toward groups with higher ideological diversity. Additionally, those who identified as Progressive Left and Faith and Flag Conservatives were more likely to have reported having given money to political campaigns and organizations in 2020, as well as having supported them on social media and in person at political events. The don’t rock the boat supporters need to acknowledge this change and understand how the country is changing. The people want results, they want change, they want morals and values back in both their states and in Washington, D.C. 

And finally House Bill 1309 was about more than just increased retirement benefits for law enforcement officers. If you are not familiar with HB 1309, which either Port is or just picks and chooses which part of a bill he wants to discuss instead of the bill as a whole, click on the blue link and read it. What a crocked conniving little man Port must be.

For an obvious leftist to even right about what he believes is going on in a party that he doesn’t support is as moronic as a one-legged man in an ass kicking contest. But I guess Rob Port is doing what he is good at, printing opinion and non-truth. So, I guess kudos to him.