Moderate Republican Senator Targeted for Extermination

NC Sen. Stan Bingham

Denton, NC, Republican Sen. Stan Bingham is one of the last Republicans in the NC General Assembly who might justifiably receive the label of "moderate." For example, he originally voted against the cruel and unusual anti-abortion bill passed last year, the so-called "Women's Right to Know" act (part of which has already been struck down by a federal judge). Bingham was the only Republican in the Senate to vote against the law. At the time of the bill's passage over his objections, he told reporter Mark Binker: “I’ve got four daughters and I have never imposed on them. They are bright, smart young women and I trust the decisions they make. I’ve got one’s a doctor, one’s a lawyer and two engineers,” Bingham said, adding that he raised his daughters to think for themselves.

But after Gov. Perdue vetoed that odious law, Bingham "left the building" just as the veto-override vote was coming up. Taking a powder at that particular time looked like cowardice, or at least a failure of nerve in the face of the theocrats who've taken over the NC Republican Party. So he earned zero points for ducking that vote from either his own party or from the opposition Democrats.

On the anti-gay amendment, there was some speculation that Bingham might vote against that bill to put discriminatory language into the NC Constitution (based on some past statements and actions of his on non-discrimination in employment).

But Bingham voted for marriage discrimination against gays, along with all the rest of his caucus.

Which makes this published statement by his Republican primary challenger an outright misrepresentation: "During the current session, [Bingham] voted against the traditional marriage amendment and a bill aimed at lowering the number of abortions in this state. How can we call someone a conservative Republican when they are for higher taxes but against traditional marriage and protecting the life of our unborn?”

Even more surprising, Bingham did not bother to correct the lie when he spoke to the reporter from the Lexington Dispatch. It's almost as though he's given up fighting for principle against the far right forces that are taking his party down the rabbit hole.

Cave-Ins and Pay-Backs

The spectacle of Democratic members of the NC House lying down with dogs in order to override a string of the governor's vetoes -- with one notable exception -- is now matched by the spectacle of a couple of those Democrats being evidently awarded by having their districts redrawn in a way that might save their sorry behinds in the next election.

The only possible bright spot in the whole Raleigh debacle is being provided by two Republican senators, both of whom are not promising at the moment to override the governor on the passage of the insulting and intrusive abortion restriction bill. If one of them caves, Perdue's veto will be overridden. At least one of the two, Sen. Stan Bingham, R-Davidson, is holding firm: "I really don't intend on changing my position," he said today. "I still feel strongly it's not a decision government should be involved in."

Republicans in Raleigh have provided the road map for setting this state back a generation and for worsening the environment and the economy, but it's been Democrats down there who've actually allowed them to do the worst of it ... and to weaken our governor in incalculable ways for 2012.

The anger in this state could spark a #FuckYouRaleigh movement to rival the #FuckYouWashington phenom.

The Lone Republican Who Voted Against His Party's Anti-Abortion Bill

Stan Bingham, the NC Republican Senator who represents Davidson and Guilford counties, was the lone GOP vote against the new anti-abortion law that has now landed on the governor's desk.

He spoke to Mark Binker at the Greensboro News&Record about why, and he actually sounds like a human being:

“I’ve got four daughters and I have never imposed on them. They are bright, smart young women and I trust the decisions they make. I’ve got one’s a doctor, one’s a lawyer and two engineers,” Bingham said, adding that he raised his daughters to think for themselves. He said that Senators who were doctors spoke against the bill and swayed him. But, he said, it was mainly thinking about the women in his life that caused him to side against the bill. “I leave it up to them to make decisions about their own bodies,” Bingham said. “It’s just like if I were going to be castrated, I wouldn’t want them to make that decision for me.”

Gosh. An elected Republican who actually respects women enough to trust their own decision-making. Does that rock your world?

One of those medical doctors in the NC Senate, Bill Purcell (D-Laurinburg), whom Bingham listened to, said this (also via Mark Binker):

“Those of you who are trying may succeed in stopping legal abortions in North Carolina, and I believe that is your goal…

“I began practicing medicine when there was no legal way to terminate an unwanted pregnancy in the United States. Those who had money could fly overseas for the procedure, but there was no choice for the poor who could not afford the expense of overseas travel.

“During one of those years when I was working on obstetrical service in a city hospital … I personally cared for two young women – one about age 18 and one about age 19 – who came to our emergency room on separate days. For whatever reasons – it could have been fear of their father or whatever, I don’t know the reasons – both of them found their pregnancies to be so threatening that they had to terminate them and both attempted to do it using coat hangers.

“I watched as both of them bled to death right in front of me as we pumped blood and did everything else we could to save their lives. I shall never forget the look of despair on their faces as they died. You can say they shouldn’t have done that, and I agree. But you know they will do it again across this state if you succeed in making it extremely expensive, difficult, almost impossible to have a pregnancy terminated by placing more and more barriers in her way.”