| Shockingly, Wake County, North Carolina has become ground zero for the Tea Party effort to dismantle and destroy public education. Who would have ever dreamed of such an agenda making its way right here into our back yard?
Why would big national money and special interests pick Wake County for their assault on the fundamental American - and North Carolinian - promise of public education?
Jesse Helms' legacy, for one.
One would hope that North Carolina had moved beyond the sad history of the Helms organization but, evidently, that hope is overly optimistic. Even now, Jesse Helms' legacy as a right-wing opinion maker remains part of the fabric of our dialogue. I still remember my father's disgust every afternoon when Helms would invade our living room through his bully pulpit and begin spewing hate on "Channel 5" in Raleigh.
Jesse Helms joined with the infamous Koch Brothers in the early days of his US Senate tenure in 1973 as a leader of the "American Legislative Exchange Council" ("ALEC"), the group that has written so much of the GOP's destructive legislative agenda both here in North Carolina and across the nation. And one of the primary funders of ALEC? The Koch Brothers -- who hold a seat on the ALEC "Private Enterprise Board" through one of its companies, Koch Companies Public Sector, LLC.
The agenda from the Wake County GOP is driven, in large part, by Paul Coble-the Chairman of the Wake County Commission, a 2012 candidate for Congress and the nephew of Jesse Helms. Coble has continued Helms' legacy here in Wake County. As a result of his efforts, the Helms agenda is alive and well in Wake County.
This destructive agenda is hurting our schools, our community and our economy. This brand of vicious fanaticism is damaging our quality of life and eroding generations of progress that Wake County residents have made.
We must put an end to it-our community deserves better.
When my father's family moved to Wake County in 1795 and settled in St. Mary's Township, they did so because Wake County was a vibrant, progressive town and they saw the opportunity that this community holds-we must reclaim that optimism.
The effort to reclaim that promise starts with you and me. It starts with sending a signal to the Tea Party and its allies that we will not tolerate their brand of extremism and intolerance in our communities, our schools and our businesses.
Though the Tea Party's national quest to turn the clock back has managed to make its way here to our community, their agenda can be defeated. Starting right now, with our schools and with these elections.
If you want to fight back please support the Wake County Democratic Party's efforts. You can donate HERE or you can volunteer your time HERE to stop the destructive Helms/Coble/Koch agenda dead in its tracks.
Join us in retaking Wake County for all of our people.
David Parker Chair, North Carolina Democratic Party | 
