Moore County’s Richard Morgan set the standard for hard-nosed vindictive political tactics during his tenure in the NC House. If a legislator dared to “cross” him, Morgan would personally seek out a primary challenger for said legislator. One example was the GOP primary for NC House District 98 in 2006. The incumbent, John Rhodes, had been making headlines by pointing out ethical issues and other malfeasance by Morgan and Morgan’s compatriot, Democrat Jim Black.(Rhodes’ efforts led to the imprisonment of Black and Morgan’s own primary loss in 2006.)

That year, Morgan publicly sought out primary opponents for his GOP critics in the NC House. Early in that effort, a fresh-faced challenger named Thom Tillis “mysteriously” popped up District 98. Morgan and Black aided and abetted the anti-Rhodes effort, and Tillis ended up winning the primary.

It appears Tillis learned well from his political mentor. There has been some uproar over Tillis’ involvement in GOP primaries in eastern North Carolina (particularly the races of former Rep. and now-Senator Bill Cook).

In May, a dispute between Tillis and state Rep. Robert Brawley went public. Brawley leveled a number of ethics accusations against Tillis, and ended up leaving his committee chairmanship post. (A recent court decision added credibility to some parts of Brawley’s case.)

McClatchy broke the story last night about a Mooresville businessman’s announcement he would primary Brawley in 2014. (It’s interesting The N&O got it before the candidate’s hometown paper did. Clearly, someone was sending an implicit message to a very specific audience in our state capital.)

The challenger, John Fraley, hits Brawley — surprisingly — on the issue of ethics:

“It’s time to put an end to old-style, backroom politics and instead work to solve problems. That’s what my candidacy is all about, to run a vigorous campaign to win.” Fraley said he is providing $75,000 to his campaign as he begins raising funds. Fraley leveled a criticism at Brawley for introducing legislation to remove the ban on lobbyists giving gifts to lawmakers. “My opponent’s bill to allow lobbyists to give gifts to lawmakers would benefit only one resident of Iredell County: Him,” Fraley remarked. “I’m running to help create jobs, enhance education for our children and improve the lives of all the citizens of Iredell County, not just a chosen few.”

Hmm. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say Brawley wants to legalize bribery. Let’s give Brawley a chance to speak up about that legislation: