The Center for Responsive Politics (aka Opensecrets.org) has this report on the National Rifle Association’s political intimidation machine. It has loads of links to other reports and the major players in the gun-fetish debate. Meanwhile, Chris Fitzsimon of NC Policy Watch has this review of Art Pope’s selection today as North Carolina’s next State Budget [...]
Here’s a link to a short and powerful video that documents the impact of the Supreme Court’s Citizens United (“corporations may buy elections”) decision on North Carolina politics – and what North Carolinians can do about it. The video was produced in conjunction with Duke University’s Center for Documentary Studies. Speakers are available to show [...]
Scott Mooneyham, a veteran Associated Press reporter and now editor of the daily Insider report about NC politics, has written an important column about two factors that fuel overheated partisan politics – big money and gerrymandered political districts. Those factors need attention to give reasonable politicians a chance to survive polarizing posturing and wealthy narrow interests. [...]
Here’s an essay from the Center for American Progress about the need for reforming how judicial elections are financed. It features North Carolina’s public financing program and discusses ways it could be improved with a new provision that said qualifying candidates could receive supplementary public funds to match small donations they raise from voters, up [...]
Governor-elect Pat McCrory promised to end the pay-to-play culture in North Carolina. You can hope that he will not be as crazy as current Democratic transportation officials who last week named a bridge after Lanny Wilson of Wilmington. Mr. Wilson is the mega-developer/fundraiser in the middle of the 2009 Mike Easley scandal that involved illegal [...]
For the latest analysis of electioneering groups spending money to influence the outcome of North Carolina’s gubernatorial, Supreme Court and other elections, see this updated report from the Institute for Southern Studies released today. WRAL reports that the volume of Republican Party money spent on ads to elect Paul Newby to the Supreme Court puts [...]
An update from the Institute for Southern Studies asks, “What do Big Tobacco, insurance interests, and a D.C. group that's spent millions to help Republicans draw political lines all have in common? In North Carolina, they've all put big money into a pair of super PACs that want to re-elect Justice Paul Newby and maintain [...]
A concise column by veteran reporter and former Raleigh city council member Barlow Herget begins: “There are two, fast-moving major trends in the United States that are changing society and government. And they are connected. The older trend is the increasing inequality of income in the country. It started in the 1960s when CEO’s were [...]
The group that spent $1.5 million in 2010 to help Republicans win control of the NC General Assembly is back again this year. New reports show Real Jobs NC has spent nearly $700,000 so far on a handful on state legislative races and the governor’s contest. More spending is expected, most of it for nasty [...]
Here are a couple in-depth stories that look at the money involved in a North Carolina state senate race (from the Independent Weekly) and the money involved in this year’s presidential contest (from NPR). A lot more money is expected to flood into the state senate race profiled here (Doug Berger vs. Chad Barefoot), much of it [...]