Republicans Sharing Power with Dems in N.C. House

Jim Black, Democratic Speaker of the N.C. House, appointed committee chairs yesterday, and though Democrats hold a 63-57 majority in the body, Black appointed 26 Republican committee chairs among the total of 82 appointments he made. The smart part of this maneuver is that all 26 Republicans have close ties to former Republican co-speaker Richard Morgan, the man the state Republican Party booted last year. So Black is not only continuing a coalition with a faction of the Republican Party that seemed to work well for him in the last session; he's also exacerbating the division among the Republicans.

According to the N&O, "Black also put moderate Democrats in several key posts, which suggests he might continue to take a cautious approach on divisive issues."