The politics of power grabs

by Thomas Mills, Politics NC, December 15, 2016.

After the sweep of yesterday’s special legislative session to weaken Governor-elect Roy Cooper’s hand, everybody needs to take a breath. Certainly, the GOP is doing a lot bad stuff from the perspective of Democrats. Some of it is also bad for our democracy and state, but some of it is just inside political baseball that’s been going on since the beginning of the Republic.

First, a brief and incomplete history lesson. One of the most audacious power-grabs in recent history occurred in 1988 when the state elected its first Republican lieutenant governor of the century. Back then, lieutenant governor was easily the second most powerful position in state government and arguably the most powerful.  The LG had a four-year term and ran the senate including doling out committee chairs and making appointments to various boards and commissions. The governor, at that time, lacked the power of the veto.

In 1988, when Republican Jim Gardner became lieutenant governor, the state Senate, still controlled by Democrats, stripped him of all his power and gave it the President Pro-tem. Lieutenant Governor became largely a ceremonial seat. When Democrat Dennis Wicker won the seat in 1992, Democrats who controlled the Senate decided they liked the power they’d gained and declined to restore it to the lieutenant governor. That’s how we got Phil Berger. Of course, the alternative would be Dan Forrest.

In 1992, Jim Hunt returned to the Governor’s Mansion from an eight-year hiatus to begin the third of his of four terms. He came into office with an ambitious plan to reform public schools and focus on early childhood education. To help Hunt out, the legislature shifted power that was with the Superintendent of Public Instruction, Democrat Bob Ethridge, to the State School Board, a body controlled mostly by gubernatorial appointees.

Later, after voters amended the constitution of the state to give the governor veto power, the legislature made sure that the governor had no such power over redistricting. Democrats, in their own arrogance, wanted to make sure that a GOP governor couldn’t interfere with their plans to slice up the state. It came back to bite them in the redistricting of 2011.

As the party controlling the legislature in a state with a relatively weak executive branch, the Republicans are going to grab more power and they will almost certainly overreach. They always do.  Democrats should figure out where to fight and where to shine lights and not get distracted with the less important matters.

The assault on the courts is important. Restructuring boards of elections matters. Those actions can weaken protections for people who are vulnerable while solidifying power at the expense of democracy. Democrats need to push back hard.

The UNC Board of Governors and Board of Trustees is important. The university system is huge and an important part of our economic development and our national reputation. It needs representatives of both parties to reflect the state. It should not become just a perk for GOP donors.

The deregulation bill is bad but it was probably going to happen anyway. Some of the worst stuff was taken out of it. Still, it’s not good and legislators, environmental groups, and the press should let the public know.

On the other hand, the 1,000 jobs that will become protected instead of at-will may seem big, but that will sort itself out. Republican appointees who choose to stay will likely find life at work pretty uncomfortable. They can expect to see their offices shrink as well as their responsibilities. If they’re happy just collecting a paycheck waiting for another Republican administration, they’ll be fine. If they want to actually make a difference in their jobs, they’ll probably be gone in the not-to-distant future.

Stripping power away from Cooper was inevitable. Democrats did it to Republicans and they’ll do it again someday. What protestors and the press need to assess is which moves are going to most impact the people and which are going to most impact politicians. Further reducing the power of voters is bad. Jeopardizing the rights of citizens is bad. They might not be able to stop the GOP legislature, but they can make their moves political liabilities by explaining how the measures harm the lives of voters. Screaming about a generic naked power grab is probably going to fall on deaf ears.

http://www.politicsnc.com/the-politics-of-power-grabs/