DINOs for McCrory

Apparently never satisfied with how much they can stab the Democratic Party in the back (and in the front, the side, the hands, the feet, the pancreas), a couple of General Assembly Democrats (members of the Five Goobers, who notoriously gave the Republican majority their veto override margins to defeat Gov. Perdue during the last two years) are bragging today about being "Democrats for McCrory."

Whatever. These guys haven't been actual Democrats for many years and presumably only hang on to the label because great-granddaddy would roll over and start barfing up cotton bolls if they changed their party affiliation to reflect both their philosophy and their voting histories.

Go in peace. Or go to pieces. We really don't care.

The Democratic Sell-Out on Fracking

Rep. Susi Hamilton of New Hanover County, who was bought off with tax-credit favors for the Wilmington film industry. Worse ... the way she was trying to cover her tracks with WRAL's Laura Leslie. Advice to Rep. Hamilton: if you're going to sup with the devil, better use a very long spoon.

The tipping vote on the fracking override was actually Meck Dem Becky Carney's, who says it was a complete and total mistake. Good to know that putting our state's drinking water at risk was purely a slip of the finger. That makes it all so much easier to take!

Other Democrats in the NC House who voted for fracking on the veto override were Kelly Alexander and Rodney Moore of Mecklenburg; Bill Brisson and Dewey Hill, two of the original Five Goobers, who usually vote with the Republicans; and the newly notorious Susi Hamilton.

Gawd, it would be nice to have an actual Democratic Party in North Carolina.

Gov Perdue To Veto Republican Budget

That's good news.

It'll now come down to the veto-override vote in the NC House. One of the Five Goobers who voted last year to override Perdue's veto of the last Republican budget told the News&Observer, “They don’t have the votes to override, and they know it,” without enunciating, by the way, exactly how he might vote.

WRAL is running a "veto override watch," paying particular attention to the Five Goobers and other Dems who voted for this budget before it went to Perdue.

Race Has Many Uses

Because North Carolina redistricting is covered by federal statute for past racial discrimination (which is obviously still quite alive and active in the Old North State), the new Republican majority in the NC General Assembly are required to first release their plan for "minority" districts under the Voting Rights Act of 1965 ("VRA districts").

Those maps started rolling out yesterday, and it became abundantly clear that under cover of creating more black voting districts, the Republican majority was actually "packing" those districts with as many gerrymandered Democrats as possible in order to weaken other Democrats and strengthen the reelection prospects of their own sainted crew.

Duh.

At least three of the Democrats thus targeted are all strong women. Linda Garrou (D-Forsyth) has been drawn completely out of her NC Senate district. Rep. Pricey Harrison (D-Guildford) and Rep. Maggie Jeffus (D-Guildford) have been put into the same district. (Laura Leslie's coverage for WRAL.)

On the bright side, two of the Five Goobers from Demsville, Rep. William Brisson and Rep. Dewey Hill, have apparently had their political bases jerked away from them via the same VRA districts. That's what pal-ing around with Republicans will get you. (Fayetteville Observer has that story and also delves into the whole issue of "packing" minority districts to the detriment of adjoining districts.)

All Eyes Now on the Five Goobers

Gov. Beverly Perdue has vetoed the Republican budget. Laura Leslie's reporting:

Perdue said the state budget "is more than a roadmap. It’s a reflection of our values. It’s a reflection of what we believe in."

"For the first time, NC has a legislature that’s turning its back on our schools, our children, our longstanding investments in education."

Perdue said the cuts in the GOP's "ideologically driven" $19.7 billion dollar plan would harm classrooms, turn kids away from preschools, and close college programs, causing "generational damage" to the state's schools.

And she stressed that cuts in other areas would be damaging, too, from emergency response to law enforcement to the courts - "not just education, but our communities, our environment, our public safety system, and our ability to care for those that need us the most.” ...

All eyes now turn to the five House Democrats who voted for the Republican budget when it first passed. They're pictured above, and perhaps their own constituents know them as sterling gentlemen. We know them only as ... well, Republican chumps, not to put too fine a point on it.

They are, left to right:

William D. Brisson, who represents Cumberland and Bladen counties
James W. Crawford, Granville & Nash counties
Dewey L. Hill, Brunswick & Columbus counties
Bill Owens, Camden, Currituck, Pasquotank, & Tyrrell counties
Timothy L. Spear, Chowan, Dare, Hyde, & Washington counties