Link-of-the-Day – Page 45 – Democracy North Carolina

Monday, February 28, 2011

The pushback continues against the Republican plan to purge unwanted voters from North Carolina and other states. The Texas Observer features our day of action at the NC General Assembly in its short report about the GOP’s 20-state crusade; it also includes quotes from election administrators in Iowa and Wisconsin who explain the multiple safeguards [...]

By Bob Hall| 2017-01-03T12:05:41-05:00 February 28th, 2011|Link-of-the-Day, Voting Rights|1 Comment

Friday, February 25, 2011

How much did Art Pope and his co-conspirators spend to flip the General Assembly? The pro-business NC FreeEnterprise Foundation has crunched more numbers and concludes, “The total amount spent by 11 outside groups vying to influence the outcome of elections for the State Legislature was $2,635,297.86, with nearly 92 percent of those funds being used [...]

By Bob Hall| 2011-02-25T20:12:47-05:00 February 25th, 2011|Citizens United Case, Link-of-the-Day, Money in Politics|0 Comments

Thursday, February 24, 2011

You can listen to two 10-minute segments of a secretly taped conversation in which Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker gushes about his bust-the-union strategies with a prankster playing the role of David Koch, the billionaire patron of Americans for Prosperity and numerous politicians. Walker describes various plans to trick and pressure Democrats; he encourages Koch to [...]

By Bob Hall| 2017-01-03T12:05:42-05:00 February 24th, 2011|Ethics, Link-of-the-Day, Money in Politics|2 Comments

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

A poll of North Carolina voters indicates a large majority believe campaign contributions influence how judges rule in cases. By a 2.5-to-1 ratio, voters would also look unfavorably on state legislators who voted to eliminate North Carolina’s innovative judicial public financing program. The press release highlights a number of other questions in the poll sponsored by [...]

By Bob Hall| 2017-01-03T12:05:42-05:00 February 22nd, 2011|Judicial Elections, Link-of-the-Day, Voter-Owned Elections|0 Comments

Monday, February 21, 2011

A shocking investigative report in Rolling Stone answers the question, “Why aren’t the Wall Street swindlers who brought down the world’s economy in jail?” Answer: They’re protected by the completely corrupt relationship between the crooks and the cops. They’re getting away with the biggest theft in world history because of the political payoffs, revolving door [...]

By Bob Hall| 2011-02-21T20:25:20-05:00 February 21st, 2011|Ethics, Link-of-the-Day, Money in Politics|1 Comment

Friday, February 18, 2011

With the blessing of the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision, the US Chamber of Commerce has become even more aggressive in spending corporate money on political ads to tilt elections in its favor. Now it turns out the Chamber hired a group of reconnaissance experts to develop a plan to spy on and disrupt its [...]

By Bob Hall| 2017-01-03T12:05:42-05:00 February 19th, 2011|Citizens United Case, Ethics, Link-of-the-Day, Money in Politics|0 Comments

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Local TV stations featured reports about today’s “Stop Photo ID: Respect My Vote” Lobby Day in Raleigh and other developments in the debate over requiring North Carolina voters to show an ID each time they vote. WRAL-TV’s coverage included an interview with Rep. Tim Moore (R-Cleveland County) who said Republicans plan to introduce a strict [...]

By Bob Hall| 2011-02-16T20:55:53-05:00 February 16th, 2011|Link-of-the-Day, Voting Rights|1 Comment

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

The Census Bureau has begun delivering detailed population data to public officials involved in redrawing political district lines to meet the Supreme Court’s mandate of “one person, one vote.” About a dozen states have their numbers and North Carolina’s turn is not far off. Democracy North Carolina and others will be monitoring how political lines [...]

By Bob Hall| 2017-01-03T12:05:42-05:00 February 15th, 2011|Link-of-the-Day, Redistricting|0 Comments

Monday, February 14, 2011

What can be done about the unhealthy role of large private contributions in judicial elections? North Carolina led the nation by modifying the “clean elections” model of public financing to apply to judicial campaigns. In contrast to providing a positive alternative, New York is about to impose a new restriction on judges: you must not hear cases [...]

By Bob Hall| 2011-02-14T11:28:41-05:00 February 14th, 2011|Judicial Elections, Link-of-the-Day, Money in Politics, Voter-Owned Elections|0 Comments

Thursday, February 10, 2011

A Wall Street insider newsletter provides this useful profile of the wave of stockholder resolutions demanding that companies disclose their political spending, including their donations to trade associations (e.g., the US Chamber of Commerce) that shield a corporation's partisan activity from public scrutiny. Churches, pension fund managers, social investment funds and others are using their voting power [...]

By Bob Hall| 2011-02-10T21:05:43-05:00 February 10th, 2011|Citizens United Case, Link-of-the-Day, Money in Politics|0 Comments