In a blog post that went up on the Conservatist on Wednesday, political blogger and conservative activist Gary Coats makes a startling claim …
Last week, in a conversation with Spartanburg County GOP Chairman Rick Beltram, was the first time I have ever felt like I was being extorted. After sitting on this for a week, I have decided I should share what one individual plans to do if someone does not work with him.
That’s a bold claim, although it’s hardly the first of its kind to have been made against Beltram. The controversial GOP chair has been accused of a variety of ethically murky actions over the years, including multiple accounts of political favoritism within his own party.
So what’s Coat’s beef with Beltram?
Last week, I kindly shared with Rick Beltram that I would not be working on his campaign for State Chairman. At this meeting (which was supposed to be confidential), he shared with me the following information concerning my withdrawal from his campaign. … Beltram first told me a story about another individual who chose not to endorse him publicly. Simply, a current county GOP official will no longer be serving, they are “disloyalâ€.
Beltram then said (paraphrased), if you remain neutral, you will not be the nominee for Vice Chairman – North.
But that’s not the kicker. Coats appears to have Beltram on tape, recently uploaded to YouTube, explaining in no uncertain terms that Republican Senator Jim DeMint can expect no help whatsoever from the Spartanburg GOP during the 2010 elections.
To further make his point, he began discussing Senator Jim DeMint and his 2010 campaign. He told me that because Jim DeMint endorsed Kevin Hall [for state GOP chair], the Spartanburg County GOP will be sitting on its hands in 2010 if and when he asks for assistance.
Here’s the clip.
Potentially, this is damning for Beltram and his campaign. According to FITSNews, Beltram is “widely suspected” to be behind an e-mail bashing Hall and stirring up rumors about Karen Floyd, the other contender for the S.C. GOP chair.
Beltram is a regular reader of the Spartanburg Spark, so I’d like to ask him to officially comment on this video, and on the claims made by Coats.
Steve Shanafelt
Beltram also appeared on WORD radio on Friday supposedly to answer these charges–however the extent of the conversation between him and the host only dealt with Beltram saying that bloggers have an agenda and blog posts should not be reported by the media. He did not answer the allegations directly. I think Beltram is going to be on WORD again on Monday with Samuel Harms (Gville GOP chair) sometime between 3-6pm talking about the GOP precinct reorgs. I think they are going to take call-in questions, so maybe someone could call in to ask Beltram about these charges directly since he has thus far refused to answer them.
Blog posts shouldn’t be reported by the media? That’s rich. Blogs are the media.
Mr. Beltram, if you are reading, how about a few words about this audio clip?
Coats-The-Conservatist’s “story” appears to be full of holes and oozing with his own “impressions” and “feelings” versus fact.
Could he be taking out his own failure to usher in the “Ron Paul Revolution” on Rick? This rabid-attack mode is typical of a Ron Paul-cultist. These types of back-stabbing and often vicious personal assaults against an individual on the “so-called” behalf of Ron Paul sadly made many voters overlook him as a presidential candidate void of any legitimate ideas and that’s sad-because he had plenty. It is a tactic that often plays wells in the liberal-looney market but it often falls flat with grownups.
I have always found Beltram’s “tell-us-how-you-really-feel†style a refreshing change from the scripted phonies who run rampant in various levels of politics. I have worked diligently for many political campaigns and causes in my life but have always doubled the time spent on such endeavors when working with Beltram. I have found working beside Beltram not only encouraging but actually fun in lieu of the root canal-comparable events I’ve attended without him.
His decision to run has actually given me renewed interest in party activism. I guess the SCGOP will be getting membership dues from me for this year after all. SCGOP Convention, here I come!
As for DeMint, I’m a huge fan. I have fought tirelessly for not only his various campaigns over the years but also for his continued success in Washington-and I will continue to do so. Beltram-like myself-has worked hard for DeMint over the years. I can understand any frustration Beltram might feel over the endorsement. DeMint came out of the gate endorsing Hall before all the candidates for SCGOP Chair had even been identified.
Furthermore, who actually cares about a lousy endorsement? Should a voter-of any kind-seriously select a candidate because someone else tells them to or should they do so based on the voter’s own knowledge and the individual qualifications of a particular candidate?
I have a “feeling” that “Coats-The-Conservatist” is either a.) pouting b.) practicing what REAL writers call “yellow journalism.” This is done for shock appeal and to create an illusion of “exclusive” knowledge on a subject in one big sad attempt to draw attention to themselves personally or a blog OR c.) all of the above.
It all makes for great fodder for those sitting around sipping their Obama-approved Kool-aid and taking option “b.” Drink it up kiddies!
But aren’t you bothered by Beltram saying he’s going to cut off DeMint because of an endorsement? I mean, that’s beyond petty, not to mention violating his actual role at the Spartanburg GOP. Beltram’s ONLY JOB as chair of the Spartanburg GOP is to help get Republicans elected and give them the support they need to win elections, not to play favorites with those he thinks SHOULD win.
I don’t have an opinion on Coats or his politics, but even if he’s wildly biased, the tape still speaks for itself. And Beltram’s later claim that the tape was somehow edited — something I can’t see any evidence for, and that’s after years of working with interview tapes — rings really hollow.
The Obama reference confuses me as well. This has nothing to do with Democrats or national poltics. This is PURELY in-fighting between local Republicans. It’s a Republican-party conflict in a Republican-dominated state in Republican-dominated county being covered by Coats, who is a Republican — there’s no Obama or Democrats anywhere in the mix. So, maybe Mark Sandford or Howard Rich Kool-Aid would be more apt.