Republicans took the bait
Published April 15, 2016
By Tom Campbell
by Tom Campbell, Executive Producer and Moderator, NC SPIN, April 15, 2016.
As a TV talk show moderator my job is to ask questions. Lately, I’ve been fielding them, mostly about HB2. People want to understand how North Carolina got into this mess and how we get out of it.
We may never know all the facts but here are several conclusions I’ve reached, understanding some might be wrong.
First, contrary to what some might believe this isn’t really about bathrooms or about LGBT persons. This is political gamesmanship and pandering to constituencies.
Charlotte deliberated its anti-discrimination ordinance for more than a year, had several options, but decided to include the bathroom provision with the encouragement of and prodding by national political and special interest groups. The effective date of April 1 was set with the full knowledge that the legislature was coming back into session April 25th. This clever strategy was designed strategy to bait Republicans while stirring the Democratic base into action.
Republican legislative leadership took the bait, swallowing it hook line and sinker. Governor McCrory wouldn’t call them into special session, suggesting they wait for Charlotte’s ordinance to become effective, acting only seeing its impact. The legislature refused, not only overturning the bathroom provision, but going much farther, pandering to their political base. Did they know the uproar their actions would create or just not care?
They didn’t care because they didn’t have to. 90 percent of the legislators who voted for HB2 either face no opponent this fall or come from districts so gerrymandered they won their last elections by more than 10 percentage points. 42 percent of all legislative candidates are running unopposed this fall. If you ever needed proof why we need redistricting reform this should provide it.
There are three primary parts to HB2. We think lawmakers were on pretty solid ground on two of them. North Carolina is not a “home rule” state. Local governments are the creation of and under the control of the state. The legislature has the constitutional authority to overturn any ordinance established by any local government. Agree or disagree with their actions but legislators were well within their authority to overturn Charlotte’s bathroom ordinance. They were similarly justified in overturning local government attempts to raise minimum wage levels in their municipalities above the state proscribed level.
Where lawmakers outran their headlights was in denying EEO and discrimination lawsuits from being filed in state courts, a deliberate attempt to eliminate or greatly curtail the numbers of these suits. Most folks have neither the money nor the patience to pursue them in the lengthy proceedings in federal courts.
How do Republican leaders extricate this big, sharp fishhook they swallowed? Governor McCrory’s Executive Order 92 was an acknowledgement of the damage done, but may have come too late. It allows the private sector and local governments to establish employment, bathroom and locker room policies as each sees fit and expands North Carolina’s employment policy to include sexual orientation and gender identity. McCrory will also urge the legislature to rescind the provision refusing discrimination cases in state courts.
Seldom do politicians admit they are wrong but a failure to fix this could cost Republicans a U.S. Senate seat, the Governor’s office, many down-ballot elections and some big Republican fish could end up being served on Democratic tables come November 8th.
April 15, 2016 at 9:42 am
Donald Pierce says:
IMHO calling it "took the bait..." is a bit disingenuous. Politicians all (Charlotte included) are representatives of and responsible to their constituency. Every law enacted exposes them to that fact. The Governor suffers from forgetting Matthew 6:24 "No one can serve two masters. Either you will ..." Pandering to your base sometimes results in your pandering being exposed.
April 15, 2016 at 11:39 am
Jane Albright says:
I hope your predictions in the last paragraph come true!
April 16, 2016 at 6:34 am
Albert Blackshaw says:
Boy did they ever. As calculated as the move by the Charlotte City Council may have been, there's no way they could have guessed the firestorm would have grown so big so quickly.
You're right though that as gerrymandered as the state remains, the "will of the people" that the current regime claims as their mandate will in fact continue to be subverted.
April 17, 2016 at 7:49 am
Terry Sprinkle says:
The HB2 bill is right. The Charlotte bill pushed for by a Sex Offender was wrong. The politicians got it right this time. What everyone is asking for is immorality to be approved and accepted. Well, I will not accept it and hope the politicians don't either. For every decision there will be side effects (by people), but more importantly you will answer God's judgements and righteousness. There is a difference of people some believe and some don't so, you need to decide which side are you on. God has already told us you are for Me or against Me. Where are you?
April 19, 2016 at 8:05 pm
Norm Kelly says:
Demons pander to their constituents, Tom and most other media types ignore it. Most even suggest this was a good move. Most ignore the harm it could cause or the overreach that it was.
Republicans respond to this overreach and most media types respond negatively. And, as expected, the N&D claims Republicans not only overstepped their authority, but are purposely discriminating and bigoted.
Why is it that bending to the will of such a small minority, while opening the rest of us up to so much potential hazard, is considered proper? When did it become an issue for private business to manage their business on their own? Why is it appropriate for Charlotte to force private business to take on the additional expense of bending to this small minority? What harm has been done, real, actual harm, to this small minority of confused individuals that it was necessary to force private business to make potentially expensive changes? When did it become 'politically incorrect' to claim that a mental disorder is actually a mental disorder? When people are asked what about the 5ft 8in white guy who wants to identify as a 6ft 5in Chinese person why do they have so much trouble simply stating that the white guy IS a white guy regardless of how he feels, what his mental state is, or how it impacts anyone besides himself? The white guy is obviously not mentally stable, but do the rest of us have to bend to his self-identity because it's politically correct?
I hope your last paragraph does not come true. I hope enough people see the common sense in most of what HB2 does, and the ridiculous arguments in support of Charlotte. I hope enough people have enough intelligence to see the hypocrisy of those like PayPal, and the outright ignorance of those like The Boss!
April 26, 2016 at 10:39 am
Pat Kelley says:
God made us all, and Jesus loved us all. Why can't we just accept that we are different but deserve equal treatment? Isn't that what true Human Rights are all about? Mr. Campbell issued a fair warning in his last paragraph to those who trample on Human Rights, but it doesn't have to be that way if only we treat people fairly regardless of their circumstances. Do I need to remind you how the legacies of George Wallace and Jesse Helms turned out? Hatred and bigotry are never the answer ... please remember that in dealing with others. Following The Golden Rule would appear to be a good starting point for us all.
