The folks on the right are reeling - and expanding their power
Published April 3, 2015
by Chris Fitzsimon, NC Policy Watch and NC SPIN panelist, April 2, 2015.
The big story in Raleigh and around country this week has been the attempt by religious conservatives to codify discrimination against gay men and women in the name of “religious freedom.”
The resulting backlash from corporate and community leaders from Indiana to Arkansas has slowed the march towards intolerance in those states and here in North Carolina, where Governor Pat McCrory has expressed reservations about the proposal and Speaker Tim Moore doesn’t seem too enthusiastic about taking it up in the house.
That’s the good news, that the homophobic defense of discrimination act is now on the back burner, though it’s far too early to celebrate given the way the General Assembly has operated in recent years, with unannounced midnight sessions and hastily called committee meetings to attach controversial proposals like limits on abortion rights to legislation about motorcycle safety.
Still, the reactionary, pro-discrimination forces are reeling a little this week and it’s about time. But while the public debate raged about the misnamed religious freedom legislation, House and Senate leaders completed a stunning partisan power grab in Wake County that didn’t garner enough attention and outrage despite front-page headlines and stirring speeches by its opponents.
The House voted to change the districts in Wake County Commission races to give Republicans a much better chance of winning a majority of the seats. The Senate already passed the proposal and since it is technically a local bill, it does not require Governor McCrory’s signature and he can’t veto it.
It became law with the final House vote that came 5 months after Democrats regained control of the board in November by winning all five seats that were up for election.
The Democrats won the election so the Republicans changed the rules. An analysis by the News & Observer showed that if the new district representation scheme had been in effect in November, Republicans would have retained control of the board even though Democrats received 30,000 more votes in the county than Republicans.
Voters clearly preferred Democrats in Wake County races last fall and the Republicans simply can’t stand for that so they are using and abusing their legislative authority to seize power back from the Democrats —and the voters.
It’s not merely a redistricting change, it’s a coup of sorts, seizing political control to thwart the will of the people.
And it’s not an isolated case. The Senate has also approved a bill that would change the way the Greensboro City Council is elected because there are too many Democrats in office there too. Bills to change the election rules and composition of several other local boards are also pending and Republicans redrew the Wake County School Board districts last session—after progressive forces successfully recaptured control of the board from the conservative majority in the 2011 election.
Voters don’t matter. Consolidating and expanding power is all that matters and despite the media attention and the best efforts of committed activists, much of the general public still hasn’t realized what has happened.
Headlines and television stories about changes to local election laws and districts and new voting patterns don’t stop people in their tracks. Local elections are not on most peoples’ minds in April. It sounds at first like arcane political maneuvering, not something that affects your life.
But it has serious implications for your schools, your parks, your environment, and the quality of life in your community. The Republican General Assembly just took away the right of people in Wake County to vote for all their county commissioners that make huge decisions on their behalf.
And there’s no indication that the power-grabbing is over. There are more signs that it’s just getting started. Wake County and Greensboro are only the beginning. Any local board controlled by Democrats is at risk.
In 2013 the General Assembly passed voter suppression legislation to make it more difficult for many people to vote. Now they are taking the next step when it comes to local elections. They are making it harder for people’s vote to count even if they cast it.
It’s all about power, and distorting democracy for their political gain. Never mind what the people want.
April 3, 2015 at 10:28 am
Buckley Strandberg says:
Hey Chris, a recent poll in North Carolina resulted in almost 80% of those polled supporting your so called "voter suppression" laws. Get over it.
April 3, 2015 at 2:26 pm
Richard L Bunce says:
Chris is for situational majority rule... only when the majority agrees with him.
April 3, 2015 at 10:59 am
Norm Kelly says:
It's quite normal for the premise of articles written by libs to be completely wrong. It's therefore normal for the premise of articles posted by Chris to be wrong also. This post is a perfect example of why it's not a good idea to finish reading the post. The opening paragraph is wrong, fabricated, not based on truth, so the rest of the post is useless. Let me demonstrate for those who don't already know better. I'll quote Chris so no one, not even die-hard libs, can accuse me of misrepresenting him. Of course, libs will accuse me anyway because facts matter not to real, true, die-hard libs. So, here goes:
So what's right about this opening? Since it's so much shorter to describe than to describe what's WRONG with this opening, I'll go for the 'whats right' first.
That was easy. Now, let's cover what's wrong with it.
Nobody is codifying discrimination against anyone. The law in Indiana does not do this. The law proposed, being debated, in Arkansas does not do this. And the discussions so far in Raleigh do NOT do this. Perhaps some history would do some good. But since this is factually based, libs will CHOOSE to continue to ignore it and simply attempt to destroy Republicans, hoping their uninformed base will simply accept their blatherings.
The US Constitution specifically states that no law will be created by the central planners that limits MY freedom to practice my religion. No questions about what this means. Yet for some reason, people who practice their religion are being specifically targeted by militant gays. The religious freedom of individuals is being over-ruled by central planners specifically for the purpose of discrimination - against religion- and against the U S Constitution.
Back in the 1990's, Bill Clinton of all people, signed a law re-affirming the religious freedom written into the U S Constitution. You know, the socialist who tried to give us socialized medicine through the illegal activity of his co-president. A socialist. Signing a law that prohibits central planners from stepping on the religious freedom of citizens. Re-affirming what the US Constitution already said. At the time, or since then, some 34 states (that's the stat I recall hearing, but my memory may be off, so please correct me!) have also passed state-level religious freedom laws, protecting individuals who choose to practice their chosen religion. Most of these laws were passed by DEMONCRATS!
What's changed since these laws were passed? Suddenly forcing gay-ness upon those of us who choose to practice our religion has become legal, even by the central planners who already have a religious freedom law on top of the U S Constitution. Intelligence and logic are not required to be a good die-hard non-thinking lib. Need proof? Just look at people like Billary and Warren. But I can give you more concrete proof. The head of Apple, a favored company of the left, refuses to do business in Indiana because of the new religious freedom law. Yet, Apple continues to do business in Arab/Muslim nations where gay-ness is cause for execution. Pass a law that says I am free from tyranny by my government to practice my religion and Apple goes nuts. Actually kill gays and Apple is OK with it. Is this the height of ignorance? Yes. Does it matter? Nope, because those who are showing their ignorance are libs. Therefore, ignoring facts and proving ignorance is acceptable.
And then along comes Chris to re-inforce the talking points of those who CHOOSE to be ignorant and ask that we follow them down this path.
Those who finish reading Chris's post will be less intelligent at the end, less informed at the end, and one step closer to drinking the cool-aide. Some of us choose not just to practice our religion, as guaranteed by the US Constitution, but also choose to be educated. Which means we leave some posts unread so we don't fill our minds with untruths and misinformation.
April 3, 2015 at 11:26 am
Richard L Bunce says:
Voters in NC Congressional and Legislative Districts clearly preferred Republicans last fall and the Democrats simply can't stand that...
Seems to me the Democrats last November were arguing that there are Democratic voters in the State that are not being represented in Congress and the State Legislature... so there must be no Republican voters in Wake County. IF all seats in the County are county wide and one party holds a 51% advantage then all seats will be filled by that party and that is OK with Chris?
