Thursday, January 05, 2012

Under Cover of Night


Approaching 1 a.m. this morning, the new Republican leadership in the NC House rammed through an override of a Bev Perdue veto in order to single out and punish the North Carolina Association of Educators (NCAE). Two House Democrats helped the Republicans in their project.

Associations of state workers routinely have their dues deducted from their state pay checks. The State Employees Association (SEANC) operates this way. So does the NCAE, at least they did until the dead-of-night vendetta against them played out in Raleigh early this morning.

The bad blood goes back to the passage last summer of the state budget which severely cut education funding. Teachers fought back, yes they did, by the means afforded them in their advocacy group, the NCAE, which mailed flyers blasting the five House Democrats who played traitor in voting for the Republican budget. At the time, the Republican Speaker Thom Tillis accidentally left a microphone on which broadcast to the entire legislative building that Republicans intended to punish the NCAE by eliminating their “check off” privileges: “The reason we’ve decided to do that is the NCAE has gone into all five districts [of the traitor Dems] with mailers hammering these Democrats,” Tillis said. “We just want to give them a little taste about what’s to come.”

Ah, the high-minded statesmanship of the morally superior!

Mark Binker today has written the best and most complete accounting of the midnight shenanigans in Raleigh.

The reason Gov. Perdue is calling the House’s action “unconstitutional” this morning is because the state’s founding document says that a veto-override session can only take up the veto in question, and Gov. Perdue called the Honorables back to Raleigh to consider only her veto of their repeal of the Racial Justice Act ... which, incidentally, they failed to achieve, throwing in the towel around 7 p.m. last night. The Republicans adjourned the session but called for a whole new session to convene at 12:45 a.m. this morning to take up new items. They clearly also intended to override the governor’s veto of the fracking bill and the voter photo ID law, but they couldn’t gather the votes. They had to settle for just crippling the teachers’ association. So ... it could have been worse, O my brethren.

Incidentally, the two Democrats who helped the Republicans out in attacking the teachers:  Reps. William Brisson of Dublin and Jim Crawford of Oxford, both members in good standing of The Five Goobers.

15 comments:

  1. Anonymous12:12 PM

    Good Job, N.C. House!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. It's too bad we couldnt overide the other vetoes as well.

    Way to go NC Legislators! Next year, when we have a decent governor in the gov mansion, we can accomplish much more!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous12:57 PM

    YEAH! Screw public school teachers in the dead of night and unannounced! WAY TO GO!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous4:35 PM

    School teachers aren't screwed. They can give as much money to the teachers union as they want to. They just can't put the burden on the taxpayers of NC to collect it from them and pass it on to the union.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous10:10 AM

    There is no burden to taxpayers in collecting the money from the paycheck. That is complete bs and right-wing garbage.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous12:01 PM

    Not to mention that there is no Union in NC, get your facts correct before you debate

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous12:01 PM

    Are you really so naive as to actually beleive there is no cost involved in a bill paying and bookkeeping service? If so, it's frightening that your vote counts as much as that of anyone else.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous3:42 PM

    http://wataugarepubs.blogspot.com/2012/01/teachers-we-liketeachers-unions-not-so.html

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous4:02 PM

    All the teachers need to do is open an account with NCSECU and have funds sent to credit union who then will move funds To the NCAE - no problem -

    ReplyDelete
  10. Liberal POV8:27 AM

    Mr Jordan and Mr Dan Soucek are very big on fixing problems that don't exist. Does anyone believe NC school teachers are over paid, have too many benefit or too much political power?

    What problems do these arrogant and pompous politicans think they fixed with the midnight veto override?

    ReplyDelete
  11. Nice debate between all the anonymous people here.

    No one with the courage to take a stand with their own name?

    And as a Republican, you are anonymousy cheering a clearly unconstitutional act?

    Holy cow. What is this world coming to? One would think the Tea Party would be all over something so clearly illegal. But nope, silence.

    That is because they are NOTHING but partisan. It's all about getting Republicans into power so that they can do whatever they want. Duh.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anonymous8:29 PM

    "Does anyone believe NC school teachers are over paid, have too many benefit or too much political power?"

    Yes, most people.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Liberal POV11:35 AM

    Anonymous

    Do you think you could get the Mr Jordan and Mr Soucek to state as openly as you that they think NC school teachers are over paid, have too many benefit or too much political power?

    Is the official Republican position going into 2012 that they are openly anti education and openly anti public school?

    Is it the Republican position that education has a liberal bias, as does history, math, science, journalism, issues of clean water, clean air, worker safety, anti usury laws and child labor laws?

    ReplyDelete
  14. Anonymous3:53 PM

    Lpov, i am glad you admit that you think Jordan and Soucek represent most people.

    Do you think you could get the Mr Jordan and Mr Soucek to state as openly as you that they think NC school teachers are over paid, have too many benefit or too much political power? _ I don't know. Do you? Have you asked them if they agree with the majority that think teacher are to politically involved to benefit themselves instead of education?

    Is the official Republican position going into 2012 that they are openly anti education and openly anti public school? - No, quite the contrary.

    Is it the Republican position that education has a liberal bias, as does history, math, science, journalism, issues of clean water, clean air, worker safety, anti usury laws and child labor laws? - If it isn't, it certainly should be. Education has turned into a propaganda outlet for the left.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Anonymous10:10 AM

    Sadly, ignorance breeds ignorance. Remember, Sen. Hise of Spruce Pine led the charge on this bill and he works for Mayland Community College.

    ReplyDelete