Link-of-the-Day – Page 21 – Democracy North Carolina

LOD: Old Law’s Lasting Value

For anyone thinking the Voting Rights Act of 1965 is no longer needed, consider the crucial role it has played in beating back measures to make voting harder in several states covered by VRA’s Section 5 pre-clearance provision. Without such protection, a federal judge might listen to evidence of the clear discriminatory impact of a [...]

By Bob Hall| 2012-09-04T21:30:47-04:00 September 4th, 2012|Civic Engagement, Link-of-the-Day, Voting Rights|0 Comments

LOD: Labor Day on Working NC

Labor Day brings a special report from the NC Justice Center entitled The State of Working North Carolina, 2012. The executive summary explains: “North Carolina working families lost financial ground and experienced diminished opportunities through the decade of the 2000s due to several economic trends, including a dramatic increase in income inequality and the decline of [...]

By Bob Hall| 2017-01-03T12:05:26-05:00 September 3rd, 2012|Civic Engagement, Ethics, Link-of-the-Day, Money in Politics|0 Comments

LOD: Judicial Restraint

You expect judges to follow the rules, especially when it comes to public accountability. Unfortunately, it looks like NC Supreme Court Justice Paul Newby selected a campaign treasurer who is having a hard time abiding by simple campaign finance disclosure regulations. For months, the State Board of Elections has struggled to get the Newby campaign [...]

By Bob Hall| 2017-01-03T12:05:26-05:00 August 31st, 2012|Disclosure, Link-of-the-Day, Money in Politics|0 Comments

LOD: Steel Workers v. Stealing Votes

You may not think of the United Steel Workers Union as a likely place to learn about the dangers of voter suppression measures around the nation, but they’ve gotten involved big time in the past couple of years. Their special website has a load of information, including the latest news stories from around the country, [...]

By Bob Hall| 2012-08-30T14:11:14-04:00 August 30th, 2012|Civic Engagement, Link-of-the-Day, Voting Rights|0 Comments

LOD: Updating Public Financing

Despite the flood of self-serving money swamping the 2012 elections, better souls are not giving up: They're taking the long view, looking for an alternative to elections as auctions among billionaires. One component of any long-term strategy involves creating new streams of clean money for campaign financing. Even if a constitutional amendment reversed the worst of [...]

By Bob Hall| 2017-01-03T12:05:26-05:00 August 28th, 2012|Citizens United Case, FENA, Link-of-the-Day, Money in Politics, Voter-Owned Elections|0 Comments

LOD: The Return of Jim Black?

It looks like Speaker Thom Tillis’ squeeze on lobbyists and PACs (described in the LOD two days ago) is working very well. Thanks to his aggressive approach, Tillis is on track to break all records for raising big money from special-interest groups, according to research released today by Democracy North Carolina. Senate President Pro Tem [...]

By Bob Hall| 2012-08-24T01:54:50-04:00 August 24th, 2012|Link-of-the-Day, Lobbying, Money in Politics, Pay to Play, Voter-Owned Elections|0 Comments

LOD: The Face of Poverty

The Truth and Hope Poverty Tour visited all parts of North Carolina and helped bring attention to the impact of poverty on people’s daily lives. You can take part of the tour with this new video from Cash Michaels, the first cut of a documentary about a world that is present yet unseen.

By Bob Hall| 2017-01-03T12:05:26-05:00 August 22nd, 2012|Civic Engagement, Ethics, Link-of-the-Day|0 Comments

LOD: Tillis Shakes Down Lobbyists

Despite campaign promises to stamp out “pay to play” politics in Raleigh, House Speaker Thom Tillis is in the middle of what can only be called a shakedown of lobbyists for campaign cash. His political director sent an email to many lobbyists with a clear message: get your PAC to send us a check by [...]

By Bob Hall| 2017-01-03T12:05:26-05:00 August 21st, 2012|Ethics, Link-of-the-Day, Lobbying, Money in Politics, Pay to Play|1 Comment

LOD: Fractured Ethics

The NC General Assembly created a new commission to develop the rules for how hydraulic drilling of natural gas (fracking) can proceed in North Carolina and it gave most the seats to the mining and energy industry. That’s bad enough, but it turns out Speaker Thom Tillis filled a seat reserved for an environmentalist with [...]

By Bob Hall| 2012-08-17T09:29:33-04:00 August 17th, 2012|Ethics, Link-of-the-Day, Money in Politics, Pay to Play|0 Comments

LOD: 250 Years of Scandal

Mother Jones magazine has boiled the history of political money deals in the United States into a clever annotated timeline and a highly readable article, starring a host of shady characters in “a dramatic battle between the forces of reform and influence that goes back more than 250 years before the birth of the super-PAC."

By Bob Hall| 2012-08-14T09:44:02-04:00 August 14th, 2012|Citizens United Case, Disclosure, Link-of-the-Day, Lobbying, Money in Politics, Pay to Play, Voter-Owned Elections|1 Comment