What I'm Thankful For

 

Watching Trump pick the people who'll help him loot the treasury and subvert the Constitution could -- and actually does -- depress the hell out of the sunniest Little Mary Sunshine, but Watauga County said no to Trump in a resounding way. Kamala Harris won Watauga by almost 2,000 votes. In fact, every Democrat on the statewide ballot won easily in Watauga, from the more than 7,000-vote winning margin for Josh Stein to the 338-vote margin for Sarah Taber, that astoundingly qualified woman who ran for Agriculture Commissioner. Congresswoman and Elevator Monitor Virginia Foxx lost her home county (as usual!) by over 2,800 votes.

It was a clean sweep for Democrats in Watauga. Seeing that blue dot in northwestern North Carolina on statewide voting maps is a framable memento to hard work and progressive vision.

The only offices Republicans could win here were Republican judges running unopposed and the three Watauga County Commission seats. The winning Republican commissioner candidates had big, corrupt help from Boss Hogg Hisownself, Ralph Hise, who obligingly gerrymandered the living hell out of our commission so that Republicans could take all three seats. If you're on a low-salt diet, you might want to avert your gaze from the salt those three are about to rub into that wound: For those three products of gerrymandering get to appoint the other two members of the commission (no kidding). That's what a Ralph Hise power-grab looks like.

But note this well: A local referendum to restructure the county commission back to something approaching fairness passed with over 71% of the vote, which was a massive rejection of Hise's gerrymandering. Hise took care of that in advance, putting a clause into his local bill that no changes can be made to his scheme until at least the next national Census.

And incidentally, Ralph Hise lost his senate race in Watauga by 1,700 votes. It was the other counties in his senate district that reelected him. Blame them.

Big Question: Why Did Rep. Ray Pickett Vote for S 382?

 

Rep. Ray Pickett

While three other mountain Republicans from Western North Carolina sensibly voted against the so-called "Disaster Relief" bill, which provided zero relief but crippled the offices that Democrats won in the statewide election, Rep. Ray Pickett voted for it. Why? S 382 offers rather actual real neglect for hurricane victims.

How much money [was appropriated in S 382] for the NC victims of the Hurricane Helene?

Zero.

No rental assistance.

No small business support.

No direct assistance to families.

Instead, 117 pages of the 131 page “Disaster Relief 3” bill is far less about hurricane relief and far more of an overhaul to move executive branch power away from recently elected Democrats to Republicans....

Here’s what the bill really does:

The Governor would no longer have the ability to appoint people to the State Board of Elections or Utility Commission.

The Lt. Governor would no longer chair the energy crisis committee or the Energy Policy Council which would also be eliminated.

The Attorney General would lose the ability to intervene in lawsuits to protect consumers and prohibits the AG from taking a position not authorized by the Republican majority.

And lastly, the bill would prevent the State Superintendent of public instruction from appealing decisions by a state board that reviews charter school applications. (Tales of an Educated Debutante)

Gov. Roy Cooper angrily vetoed S 382 yesterday and attached this message:

“This legislation is a sham. It does not send money to Western North Carolina but merely shuffles money from one fund to another in Raleigh. This legislation was titled disaster relief but instead violates the constitution by taking appointments away from the next Governor for the Board of Elections, Utilities Commission and Commander of the NC Highway Patrol, letting political parties choose appellate judges and interfering with the Attorney General’s ability to advocate for lower electric bills for consumers. Instead of giving small business grants to disaster counties it strikes a cruel blow by blocking the extension of better unemployment benefits for people who have lost jobs because of natural disasters. Finally, it plays politics by taking away two judges elected by the people and adding two judges appointed by the legislature, taking away authority from the Lieutenant Governor and the Superintendent of Public Instruction and more.”

So, in other words, Ray Pickett will have another chance to vote like his fellow mountain Republicans did the first time -- when the bill comes back to the House for veto-override.

Please tell Ray Pickett that we'll be watching his vote on S 382.

Ray Pickett's office: 919-733-7727

Ray Pickett's email: Ray.Pickett@ncleg.gov

The Silly Spectacle of Thom Tillis, Suck-Up

 

Sunday morning Thom Tillis published this photoshopped montage on his Twitter feed, with the title "January 20th," as though Trump were the dignified scourge of God marching toward Bethlehem to be born on Inauguration Day Number 2, intimating that the Trump retribution is exactly what the senior senator has been waiting for. The horse-laughs on Twitter that this post occasioned haven't stopped. For example: "Damn Thom, you are funny as hell this morning! You know we’re all laughing at your RINO ass!!!"

We chalk up Tillis's transparent attempt to impersonate MAGA to the fact he's already running for his seat in the 2026 Republican primary. I enjoyed Alexander H. Jones's take on Tillis's chances in that primary, published on his New Branchhead substack, titled "Thom Tillis Doesn't Stand a Chance in a Primary":

Thom Tillis’s political career has been built upon sheer serendipity. Hobbling into his first election with a severely battered image, he reaped the electoral windfall of an imaginary Ebola epidemic to upset Democrat Kay Hagan. He won reelection because his opponent was a cad. For the last ten years, the fates have compensated this unimpressive man for his complete lack of political talent.

It may be that Tillis’s best—or perhaps even only—hope to remain in the US Senate after 2026 will be for this long string of fortunate events to continue. That’s because he will face a primary from Mark Robinson or another MAGA fire-eater that the lackluster incumbent has minimal chance of surviving. Republican voters, always unsatisfied with Tillis, will have their first real chance to eject the man from office. In a Republican primary, Tillis won’t stand a chance.

3 Mountain Republicans Could Stop the Newest Power Grab

 

You know what power grab we're referencing in the title, right?

Reps. Gillespie, Clampitt, and Pless (l to r)

Three mountain Republican Reps in the NC House voted with all the Democrats against the so-called "Disaster Relief Bill" last Wednesday -- Mike Clampitt (Dist. 119, Jackson, Swain, Transylvania), Karl Gillespie (Dist. 120, Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Macon), and Mark Pless (Dist. 118, Haywood, Madison). The bill in question, S 382, "Disaster Relief and Various Law Changes," passed any way, of course, without these three, but the kicker is that any one of them could provide the veto-affirming vote when S 382 inevitably comes back with Cooper's VETO stamped on it, as it surely will. 

Why would Clampitt, Gillespie, and Pless go against their caucas? It's largely speculation, but the reason for those noes seems logical: S 382 offered almost nothing in the way of actual hurricane relief. It was just cover for sneaking in a sweeping power grab, reducing the powers of newly elected Democrats just before they take office. The bill is actually kind of an insult to hurricane victims since it offers little or no cash relief to devastated businesses and homes. Only 20 pages of the 130-page bill even touched on Hurricane Helene, while the rest accomplished the most callous and naked overturning of election results by depriving newly elected Democrats to statewide Council of States offices the duties they ran for and were elected to perform. Phil Berger was in a big hurry to pass S 382 because he's about to lose his super-majority in the House for overturning vetoes. 

In other words, Phil Berger and Ralph Hise (who's lead author on S 382) and the rest of the bastards are using the plight of disaster-stunned citizens as a stalking horse for doing real damage to constitutional norms and the separation of powers. 

So it's an effing big deal that Reps. Clampitt, Gillespie, and Pless bucked their caucus. And shouldn't they, for the insult this bill represents to their districts? And come to think of it, where the hell was Ray Pickett? Pickett was quite visible in Watauga and Ashe during the immediate aftermath of Helene, a helpful (or at least helpful-seeming) high elected official who had contacts up the ladder to get help. He surely knows that S 382 does not come close to helping right now the unresolved disaster in the western counties.

If even one of the three reps. votes to uphold the Cooper veto, then this power grab dies a stumbling death.

Prediction: The three will have their arms twisted sufficiently or be bought off somehow, someway. The newly elevated Speaker-to-be Destin Hall of Lenoir has too much riding on his first legislative crisis of leadership. He can't seem weak.

The Horse's Ass in Charge of the Bastards in Raleigh

 

Berger told reporters that he doesn’t think swapping political control of the elections board from Democrats to Republicans is about politics.

--Will Doran, WRAL 

Yeah, politics is disavowed. While naked power is in. And if you didn't give the horse laugh to the statement above by the chief horse's ass, then you've not been paying attention.

After the Republican-dominated General Assembly passed its newest power grab (details of which are here), Berger felt it necessary to cover his raw greed for autocracy with some wholly fictional rationalization, as reported by Will Doran:

Berger told reporters Wednesday he was concerned about the vote-counting process in North Carolina being rigged for Democrats .... Berger indicated Wednesday that he was concerned with how Riggs won. Griffin was leading on election night by about 10,000 votes when roughly 98% of the state's ballots had been counted .... Berger suggested not all the votes should’ve been counted, alleging the process was somehow rigged in favor of Democrats. He didn’t explain how .... "We're seeing played out, at this point, another episode of ‘count until somebody you want to win wins,’ ” Berger told reporters at the state legislature Wednesday.

The allegations of fraud certainly caught the attention of Karen Brinson Bell, the executive director of the State Board of Elections. (Berger's cynical lying ought to infuriate all 500 members of the 100 county boards of election, including the 200 Republicans who sit on them, who participated in all meetings where votes were counted and who signed off on the process and on the final numbers.) Brinson Bell wasn't having it. She wrote an outraged letter to Berger, calling him out for his potentially dangerous stirring of the (cracked) pot, offered to give him a refresher course in how NC elections actually take place, and she made the letter public. According to Doran:

“When you tell your fellow citizens that an election is being conducted fraudulently, they listen,” Brinson Bell wrote to Berger. "I fear for the people running elections in this state, including in your own community, that some misguided people will conclude from your statements that actions must be taken, perhaps through the use of threats or violence.” ...

...she reminded Berger that many people believe what he says and asked him to take back those remarks. “This is an accusation of wrongdoing that has absolutely no basis in fact,” Brinson Bell wrote. “You are a top leader of our state government. What you say matters.”

She used the 2020 elections as a cautionary tale, alluding to disproven accusations of rigged elections that fueled an exodus of seasoned elections workers.

Brinson Bell also told Berger she’d be happy to explain to him how elections work, if he’s feeling confused.

But of course the horse's ass leaders of the GOP in the Age of Trump do not take back anything, nor apologize, nor lose a scintilla of a half-step in their march toward total control over who gets to vote. 

Is Political Social Media a Paper Tiger?

“Digital spaces are not your friend anymore.”

--Leslie Mac, digital strategist and communications expert who works with grass-roots organizations

Political organizing on both Left and Right began to move online immediately after Facebook went live. Twitter, Instagram, Tik-Tok, and a host of other influencer networks soon followed. Came to pass quickly that no national party could survive without all brands of social media. We used it to raise awareness. Howard Dean taught us how to use it to raise money. Quickly. It was all about the speed of communication, the new efficiency of being in touch with dozens, then hundreds, then thousands, delivering intel, staging events, asking for money, recruiting volunteers -- people willing and wanting to do stuff to help. No individual candidate of either major party would dream of mounting a campaign today without social media. Why, our about-to-be President is wholly the creature of it.

But I'm hearing more and more from people smarter than me, that there is, however and of course, a big, fat, munching worm inside that digital cabbage. 

I'm a believer in the usefulness of social media (though I'm aware that its usefulness gets over-hyped). I experienced its rise and influence in political organizing as an incredible new tool to link the like-minded. to raise money, to raise a crowd, to get the attention of potential recruits who might recruit more people. Social media transformed all brands of community organizing -- and the old, antiquated, but totally effective drudgery of door-knocking, phone calling, elbow bumping began to atrophy. For too many of the new social media warriors, boots-on-the-ground activities became too much trouble, too time-consuming, too sweaty. So much easier to sit at our computers and move the world. 

Social media -- or rather the practice and habits of social media -- can exert a negative counterforce on mass movements because social media flatters the user, tickles their pleasure centers and ultimately creates the illusion that typing amounts to action. Hell! I do it too, press the "DONATE" button to seem like I'm doing something, and it is doing something. But money alone won't win it. It takes those boots-on-the-ground (a tired phrase, but I can't think of a more descriptive one) -- that old, antiquated, but totally effective drudgery of door-knocking, phone calling, elbow bumping. 

Fewer person-to-person interactions. More keyboard. It's a trap, warns Leslie Mac (quoted above). Mac was speaking specifically of certain social media oligarchs like Zuckerberg and Musk, who own many of the most influential social media sites and whose druthers might not be advantageous to the rest of us. Mac also points out that “social media turned activism organizing into a kind of public relations job, where your follower count and where you were quoted mattered as much as the tangible work that was being done.” 

More than two years ago we published an essay here by Jon-Dalton George, the 23-year-old (at the time) Mayor Pro-Tem of Boone, "Twitter Ain't Real," which offered pretty concrete proof that social media activity does not match up necessarily to winning a race. It's wise to be reminded of that from time to time. I say that as an 80-year-old hanger-on whose activism is pretty much limited these days to a keyboard. Just saying.

The Bastards in Raleigh

 

The elections which Republicans did not win in North Carolina -- governor, lieutenant gov, attorney gen'l, superintendent of public instruction -- have hardly been settled, including the one that broke the Republican veto-override super majority in the NC House, when Phil Berger & Co. realized they only had a month to pass a new law limiting what newly elected Democrats can do in office. They cleverly called the bill "Hurricane Relief," but those provisions aimed at recovering Western NC amount to less than 20 pages, while the bulk of the 130-page bill is blatant and unashamed power-grabs.

The most egregious of the power grabs applies to the governor's power to appoint the State Board of Elections, the agency which the GOP has been trying to take full control of for years. The new law, which passed the House last night and now goes to the Senate today -- fast-tracked, you betcha! -- takes the appointment power away from Governor Josh Stein and gives it to the newly elected Republican Auditor Dave Boliek, who's all too eager to carry partisan water for the bosses.

The new law also makes a project of dismantling the independence of our new Attorney General Jeff Jackson:

Republican lawmakers want to prevent the attorney general, an office that the GOP hasn’t won in an election for more than a century, from taking positions on state laws being challenged in court that are different from the position maintained by GOP legislative leaders. 

The bill also specifies that the attorney general can’t take positions in court that would lead to a state law being struck down. 

This proposal comes as outgoing Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein, who voters chose to serve as the state’s next governor in this month’s election, has recused himself or refused to defend the state against a number of high-profile political lawsuits involving abortion, elections, gerrymandering and other issues. 

Stein, who has served two terms as attorney general, has defended his decisions to refuse to defend laws passed by the Republican-controlled legislature that he believes are unconstitutional. 

GOP leaders have criticized Stein in those instances, and accused him of refusing “to do his job.” They have frequently intervened in lawsuits challenging the laws they’ve passed, and defended them in court. 

Liz Barber, the director of policy and advocacy at the ACLU of North Carolina, said in an interview Tuesday morning that the changes were an “unconstitutional, undemocratic power grab.” [NewsObserver]

In what crazy universe is it all right for the Republicans to be doing this? Reducing the dimensions of a public office only after they fail to win an election to that office?

Let the lawsuits fly.

GOP Attempts Again To Grab All the Access to Voting

 

Hilarious. No matter how much power you've got, you can always choke down some more. Kyle Ingram, reporting Tuesday morning, November 19

RALEIGH Draft legislation from North Carolina lawmakers proposes stripping incoming Democratic Gov. Josh Stein of all appointments to the State Board of Elections and giving them to a newly elected Republican official.

If I were cynical enough to make this up, I would have.

Till Us Do Part

 

North Carolina's senior senator Thom Tillis has been listed as one of six Republicans "who could sink Trump's nominations" for cabinet secretaries. Watching that play out will provide us with some tawdry entertainment and an index of just how big -- or puny -- are Tillis's balls.

After Trump nominated Matt Gaetz, Tillis told reporters, ominously, "The president deserves to put forth a nominee. [But!...] The president has an obligation to make sure that that nominee is gonna pass vetting and have the votes on the floor." He also said that the public "should not be shocked" if Gaetz is not confirmed.

"I will consider Matt Gaetz like I will anyone else, but if they don't do the homework, don't be surprised if they fail. Maybe they've already done that work," he added. "Nothing surprises me in politics, nothing. And I'm okay with this. But at the end of the day we have a process, and we'll just have to run through it."

Tillis added that he cares about "a defensible résumé, and a really clean vetting. Produce that, he's got a chance. Don't, and he doesn't."

We've seen those odd moments when Tillis has disappointed MAGA, but we believe that he, along with the other five senators who might vote against Trump's wishes, are weak reeds that will bend to the breaking point. After all, Susan Collins is a part of this doubtful cohort, and we certainly know how strongly committed to virtue she is!