Our Issues – Page 11 – Democracy North Carolina

LOD: Supremely Disappointing

Here’s the National Journal's real world analysis of what today’s US Supreme Court decision means regarding the Voting Rights Act – plus one pro-Court overview and a video report from WRAL-TV. The Court’s 5-4 conservative majority did not rule directly on the constitutionality of Section 5’s requirement of preclearance. Section 5 says certain jurisdictions with a history of discrimination must get pre-approval [...]

By Bob Hall| 2017-01-03T12:05:18-05:00 June 25th, 2013|Civic Engagement, Link-of-the-Day, Media Feed & Press Releases, Redistricting, Voting Rights|0 Comments

LOD: Mistake or Lie, Damage Done

More details are coming out about how Art Pope intervened two weeks ago to kill the judicial public financing program. To stop Rep. Jonathan Jordan’s amendment that would have saved the program, it’s now apparent that Pope misled Jordan with a crucial falsehood - some might say a lie, although perhaps Pope was misinformed himself. [...]

By Bob Hall| 2013-06-25T09:10:58-04:00 June 25th, 2013|Ethics, Judicial Elections, Link-of-the-Day, Money in Politics|0 Comments

LOD: Light and Darkness

As Duke Energy travels to Winston-Salem and other parts of the state to justify its rate hike request, NC WARN has obtained the records behind the request – and they include hundreds of thousands of dollars for Duke expenses that should be charged to its stockholders, not to customers like you. Expenses like $270,000 for [...]

By Bob Hall| 2017-01-03T12:05:18-05:00 June 20th, 2013|Civic Engagement, Environmental Issues, Link-of-the-Day, Money in Politics|2 Comments

LOD: Kiss for Cash?

Imagine speed dating adapted to the world of political fundraising and policymaking. It’s happening here in North Carolina routinely, thanks to the courtship of lobbying firms with wealthy clients and politicians eager for their cash. In identical front-page stories, the Charlotte Observer and Raleigh News & Observer described one such event on May 10, 2012: [...]

By Bob Hall| 2017-01-03T12:05:18-05:00 June 19th, 2013|Disclosure, Link-of-the-Day, Lobbying, Money in Politics, Pay to Play|0 Comments

LOD: Profitable Loans

The consumer lending industry in North Carolina finally achieved its goal of raising interest rates and fees on small loans, despite opposition from the NC Banking Commissioner, NC Attorney General, and numerous consumer groups. The Associated Press says the industry paid about $1.5 million for an army of 20 lobbyists to sell its message to General [...]

By Bob Hall| 2017-01-03T12:05:21-05:00 June 14th, 2013|Link-of-the-Day, Lobbying, Money in Politics, Pay to Play|0 Comments

LOD: The Pope’s Intervention

Wow! Yesterday, Art Pope personally intervened to stop an amendment that would have saved the judicial public financing program from certain death. He came to the House Speaker’s office, pretending to act on behalf of the Governor in his role as McCrory's Budget Director. But the amendment had NO impact on the state budget. Pope [...]

By Bob Hall| 2017-01-03T12:05:21-05:00 June 13th, 2013|Ethics, Judicial Elections, Link-of-the-Day, Media Feed & Press Releases, Money in Politics|0 Comments

LOD: Speaking of “Outsiders”

After the biggest crowds yet attended Moral Monday, Gov. Pat McCrory told Republicans at their convention in Charlotte that the protestors are mostly outsiders trying “to change the subject, and I’m not going to let them.” Apparently, he doesn’t want to be held accountable for his actions – or face the truth. WRAL just released [...]

By Bob Hall| 2017-01-03T12:05:21-05:00 June 12th, 2013|Civic Engagement, Link-of-the-Day, Money in Politics, Pay to Play|1 Comment

LOD: Too Strong to Ignore

State legislators and the governor had very little to say about the Moral Monday rallies and arrests during April and May. At most, they told reporters they acknowledged people’s First Amendment right to speech and assembly, but firmly said the crowds would not sway their positions or deter them from their agenda. As the crowds [...]

By admin| 2013-06-11T16:55:04-04:00 June 11th, 2013|Civic Engagement, Link-of-the-Day, Our Issues|0 Comments

LOD: Political Tug of War

The American Prospect magazine features a collection of articles about the South's changing political dynamics. Bob Moser, once with the NC Indy and now AP’s editor, writes the lead essay about the “End of the Solid South.” Chris Kromm and Sue Sturgis of the Institute for Southern Studies have a timely article about North Carolina’s [...]

By Bob Hall| 2017-01-03T12:05:21-05:00 June 7th, 2013|Citizens United Case, Civic Engagement, Environmental Issues, Judicial Elections, Link-of-the-Day, Money in Politics, Redistricting, Voting Rights, Youth Vote|0 Comments

LOD: Let Judges Be Judges

In a bold move, 14 current NC Court of Appeals judges - Republicans and Democrats - have sent a joint letter to General Assembly leaders and Gov. Pat McCrory declaring their firm support for the judicial public financing program. In the letter, the judges note that the public financing system "helps restore public confidence in [...]

By admin| 2013-06-05T16:13:47-04:00 June 5th, 2013|Judicial Elections, Link-of-the-Day, Money in Politics, Our Issues|0 Comments