North Carolina
Related: About this forumIn North Carolina, unimpeded GOP drives state hard to the right (GREAT Washington post article)
Last edited Sun May 26, 2013, 02:28 AM - Edit history (1)
For Sunday's Post, Michael A. Fletcher has this wonderful profile of the right wing takeover of NC state government:
The states hard turn to the right comes less than five years after people took to the streets here to celebrate the 2008 victory of Barack Obama, the first Democratic presidential candidate to capture the state since Jimmy Carter in 1976. The win prompted Obamas supporters to crow about the growing influence of progressive and minority voters not only in North Carolina but across the South.
But that euphoria is now a distant memory. Since the recession hit, North Carolina has been saddled with one of the nations highest unemployment rates. The bad times helped prepare the way for a carefully executed strategy, with big financial support from a major conservative activist, that helped the GOP win control of both chambers of the state General Assembly in 2010.
Those victories were capped last year when Republican Pat McCrory was elected governor, giving the party control of all levers of state government for the first time since 1870.
And who is the NC equivalent of the Koch Brothers? You guessed it...ART POPE.
One of McCrorys first acts after being elected governor was to install Pope, a former legislator, as the state budget chief. (The governors office declined to make Pope available for an interview.) And now, GOP lawmakers are moving swiftly to enact a long list of legislation they say is largely aimed at limiting government debt and snapping the states economy out of a years-long malaise.
What kind of legislation would that be?
Mike Malloy (an alum of NC State) commented about the NC unemp. insurance cuts on Feb. 14:
Another wacky idea from the new NC legislature: for the May 15 edition of The Young Turks, guest host John Iadarola (substituting for Cenk Uygur) commented about NC wanting to ban Tesla:
By the way, as the linked Raleigh N&O story reports, the NC Senate Commerce Cmte UNANIMOUSLY passed the proposed bill! UNANIMOUSLY - so even DEMOCRATIC Tarheel legislators are buying into the right wing Art Pope agenda?
I am glad that NC progressives are getting active!
Unfortunately, NC doesn't have recall elections for governors, unlike Wisconsin where an unsuccessful one was held against Scott Walker.
DCKit
(18,541 posts)Critical thinking skills are not taught in the rural areas.
Unless we change that, we're finished.
hollysmom
(5,946 posts)My sister moved down there 30 years ago, she says they can't win over the preachers who tell their flock to vote republican no matter how they feel about them. She has a few good friends and does not want to push them on things, but more like nudging them. Blame it on the money given to preachers to preach republican. and start taxing those churches!!!!
life long demo
(1,113 posts)the things I take away is how really, really bad the 2010 election was all around the country when the repubs took control of at least one section of the state(s) government. Almost all of these horrible actions taken by state governments stem for this one election.
freshwest
(53,661 posts)NC_Nurse
(11,646 posts)I just moved back here and I am horrified by our new gov and legislature. It's been really depressing to see the regressive bullshit they are proposing/passing weekly. Guess I'll have to leave the South completely to retire. Sad.