Link-of-the-Day – Page 40 – Democracy North Carolina

LOD: She Knows the Evil They Do

Donna Clark gives a first-person account of what it means to be without health insurance in North Carolina. She expresses the hope of millions for a better system - and the outrage of seeing insurance companies overtake and rig the new system against her. She recognizes the unethical behavior of NC legislators colluding with the [...]

By Bob Hall| 2017-01-03T12:05:39-05:00 May 24th, 2011|Link-of-the-Day, Lobbying, Money in Politics|0 Comments

LOD: State of Emergency

The NC Senate is rolling out its version of the 2011-2013 state budget this week – and it cuts many vital programs even more than the House version. Legislative leaders say there’s not enough money, but that’s because they won’t close tax loopholes for wealthy special interests that are protected by big campaign donations and [...]

By Bob Hall| 2011-05-23T21:44:59-04:00 May 23rd, 2011|Link-of-the-Day|4 Comments

LOD: NC House Votes Against Voting

5/19/2011 - The NC House voted to slice a week off the Early Voting period by a surprisingly close 60 to 58, with six Republicans joining the Democrats’ unanimous opposition to the bill (H-658). Backers of the bill said it would save tax money and not inconvenience voters, but after the vote the State Board of [...]

By Bob Hall| 2011-05-22T11:08:18-04:00 May 22nd, 2011|Civic Engagement, Link-of-the-Day, Voting Rights|4 Comments

LOD: Special Interests’ Idea Factory

Where do the conservatives and right-wingers in the General Assembly get their worst ideas for legislation? Some of the nutty ideas come from their own heads and a fair number from right-wing outfits inside North Carolina, like Art Pope’s Civitas Institute and John Locke Foundation. But many of them come from the American Legislative Exchange [...]

By Bob Hall| 2017-01-03T12:05:40-05:00 May 19th, 2011|Environmental Issues, Link-of-the-Day, Money in Politics, Voting Rights|1 Comment

Little Governor Sent to Prison

5/17/2011 - Ruffin Poole earned the nickname “Little Governor” because he was former Gov. Mike Easley’s patronage gatekeeper and often seemed to act on his behalf. Federal investigators targeting Easley eventually flipped some campaign donors in the patronage orbit, but the donors had more damning evidence against Poole than Easley – and Poole would not, [...]

By Bob Hall| 2011-05-17T21:37:33-04:00 May 17th, 2011|Link-of-the-Day|0 Comments

Advocacy Award

5/16/2011 - The NC Justice Center holds its annual “Defenders of Justice” awards dinner this Thursday in Durham. Democracy North Carolina is honored to receive the award this year for Policy Advocacy - for “fighting to protect voting rights, increase voter participation and reduce the influence of big money in politics.” It’s a wonderful tribute to [...]

By Bob Hall| 2011-05-16T21:12:45-04:00 May 16th, 2011|Link-of-the-Day|2 Comments

Oil Guzzlers, Early Voting

5/13/2011 - The Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill Triangle has gained a new distinction: Biggest gas guzzling metro area in the nation, according to Forbes. The Triad and Charlotte metro areas are also in the top 10. As Big Oil profits soar and gas prices approach $4 at the pump, more people and politicians are wondering how the [...]

By Bob Hall| 2011-05-13T10:33:37-04:00 May 13th, 2011|Environmental Issues, Link-of-the-Day, Lobbying, Money in Politics, Voting Rights|1 Comment

IRS, Donors and Faculty for Sale?

5/11/2011 - After Citizens United, big donors have poured money into a growing number of nonprofit Section 501(c)(4) organizations to finance political attack ads while remaining anonymous (e.g., Karl Rove’s Crossroads conduit). Now comes this irony: The anti-tax, anti-government donors may eventually get hit with a tax bill, courtesy of the IRS applying its gift [...]

By Bob Hall| 2017-01-03T12:05:40-05:00 May 11th, 2011|Citizens United Case, Disclosure, Link-of-the-Day, Money in Politics|0 Comments

Examining Citizens United Fall-Out

Here are two insightful columns related to the fallout from the Supreme Court’s Citizen United decision in January 2010. One by Nick Nyhart and Tova Wang points out that the decision became a green light for a beefed-up assault on democratic values, particularly the right to self-organize, the right to vote, and the right to [...]

By Bob Hall| 2017-01-03T12:05:40-05:00 May 10th, 2011|Citizens United Case, Disclosure, Link-of-the-Day, Money in Politics, Voting Rights|0 Comments

Coal Money Stops Safety Bill

The Los Angeles Times and Center for Responsive Politics have produced a model expose of the mining industry’s use of campaign money and high-dollar lobbyists to kill mine safety legislation in Congress. The story documents the close correlation of campaign contributions and votes by Members of Congress, and the timing of when the donations were [...]

By Bob Hall| 2011-05-09T19:51:20-04:00 May 9th, 2011|Link-of-the-Day, Lobbying, Money in Politics|1 Comment