The End of Democracy in North Carolina

 

If it's not the end, we can see it from here.

There will be no two-party give-and-take in North Carolina until further notice. The Republican Party of Phil Berger will own it all, from steerage to stateroom, even if the other Republican Party of Mark Robinson wins the governorship, because Phil Berger and his boys have stripped this governor and any subsequent governor of much of their former power. (Robinson will have to be content as just a video sensation.) The courts, of course, will be no help to the rest of us looking for simple fairness. Justices Newby, Berger Jr., Barringer, Dietz, and Allen drove the final nail into fairness -- their ruling very recently that overturned the previous court's decision that partisan gerrymandering inherently violates the rights of voters. Unleashed by the Newby Court, Berger-Moore did (and will continue to do) as they pleased. 

They made themselves -- named in the law as "President Pro Tem of the Senate" and "Speaker of the House" -- heads of a super-secret investigative arm of the legislature known as "Gov Ops." Why do Mr. Berger and Mr. Moore get their own secret police? They also slipped it into the budget that each member of the General Assembly gets to decide which of their communications to hide and which to reveal -- the need to hide kinda screaming incipient corruption. 

They can be petty in their punishments: "Attorneys who work for Legal Aid of North Carolina—which helps low-income people navigate civil courts—can no longer participate in NC LEAF, a state program that helps public-interest lawyers pay their law school debt." They can be (and were) grandiose with their singular innovations: "The General Assembly also gives itself the ability to pick 10 special superior court judges, whom Newby can appoint to hear challenges to General Assembly laws and legislative districts." (Quotes from Jeffrey Billman) Berger-Moore also solidified their control of the commission that is hounding Democratic Justice Anita Earls. Bottomline: They will punish you if you're a problem for them. Hence the sudden interference in how Watauga elects its county commission.

Did I say corruption? It's actually out in the open. Under new provisions in the Republican budget, lobbyists in Raleigh can pay $2,000 each for the privilege of  “expedited entry” into the Legislative Office Building and State Legislative Building. Lobbyists for state agencies pay a reduced $1,000 for that privilege. Please exit through the gift shop. 

When Democrats held absolute power, they also became corrupt. It's an inevitable development for any group that gets so powerful and dominant that they have no credible, let alone organized, challenge to their dictatorial power, no guardrails of a vigilant court system, no debates or the informed backing of the people. Who can resist the corruption, that tickling of flattery and tinkling of coin? And how do you fight it, when its power is unchecked and apparently limitless?