Of all the pressing questions facing the good citizens of North Carolina, it's hard to imagine that this most crushing intrusion into a person's very own identity would somehow rise to the top of the list of issues on the minds of the two most powerful men in our legislature. But there it is. Again.
Reginald “Reggie” Holley, the Republican lobbyist whose nomination was ultimately approved by the House, was asked by Moore to put his name forward and serve on the board, Jackson said — a fact Jackson said he learned from a conversation with Holley.
“How does a lobbyist — someone who depends on leadership for the movement of bills and policy — how do they say no when the Speaker of the House calls them and asks them to serve?” Jackson said. And how does the speaker, who has been rumored for months to be interested in the presidency of the 17-campus UNC system, not recuse himself from choosing the members of the Board of Governors who will ultimately make that decision? Jackson continued.
In a word--Hubris. We're talking about a man who made a joke about taking away powers from the Governor of NC. The term "ethics" is not in his vocabulary, making him the very last person who should be running the UNC System. Unfortunately, these people just don't think along the same lines as the rest of us:
Rep. Darren Jackson, D-Wake, and Minority leader, said he had been informed by Rep. David Lewis, R-Harnett, that there would be no votes taken in Wednesday’s morning session. Following Tuesday’s House floor session, Lewis texted a WRAL reporter “no votes 8:30” when asked about Wednesday’s session agenda.
“I know that (Rep Jackson’s) trust in me has been shaken, but I did not have the authority to conduct no votes,” Lewis said during Wednesday afternoon’s floor session when all members at the legislature were present.
If you'll recall, Lewis started out claiming that he never told Jackson "no votes at 8:30," and then he changed it to "no mini-budget votes will be taken." But now it's "I did not have the authority." The truth is, he was a critical element in a plot to deceive Democratic lawmakers, whether he was a "knowing" element or not. And if you're wondering why Lewis would allow himself to take so much flak over this issue: He is not an attorney. But Tim Moore is, and subject to potential actions by the NC Bar Association. And the ethical implications of this stunt are wide-ranging:
Batch underwent a mastectomy in early May after being diagnosed with breast cancer last year. She had planned to take at least three weeks off to recover, but was forced to come back to work early after she and other Democrats realized their GOP colleagues were trying to capitalize on her absence in order to pass this bill. “Moore is well aware of what’s happening with me and that I’m dealing with ongoing treatment,” she added. “I have not asked for a lot.”
Clemmons and Jackson, who is minority leader of the state House, said Batch, a working mother of two, was in pain and visibly shaking when she showed up for the last few House sessions. Clemmons has driven Batch to and from sessions since she’s still too weak to drive herself.
I hesitate to discuss the details (which I don't know), but odds are it's not just the surgery she's dealing with. There's Chemo and radiation to consider, both of which can be hell to deal with. Make no mistake, the scheduling and then postponing of this override vote is an attempt to wear her down physically, and Tim Moore should be ashamed of himself:
The phrase "Pig in a poke" actually dates back to mid-16th Century:
6 – number of proposed constitutional amendments placed on the November ballot by GOP legislative majorities during the final five days of the 2018 legislative session.
5 – of the six amendments passed by lawmakers in 2018, the number that lack implementing language that would allow voters to know precisely what they are voting on (the sixth – which simply lowers the cap on the state income tax requires no such language) (Gerry Cohen, Director of Legislative Drafting at the General Assembly for 30 years in an interview last week with Policy Watch reporter Joe Killian).
The reason I threw that little historical reference in there is because even before our nation was born, and even before Oliver Cromwell rose up against the Crown, people were smart enough to avoid being deceived by somebody selling them a mysterious bag of goods. But apparently rank and file Republicans in the General Assembly aren't that smart, or they simply don't care if the NC Constitution is used and abused for partisan reasons. No x 6.
Faced with the likelihood that Anita Earls will crush opponents in her run for the North Carolina Supreme Court, Phil Berger and Tim Moore, leaders of the NC Senate and NC House respectively, may be hatching new plots to take over the judiciary. They can't win playing by the rules, so they'll do what they always do: Rig the system to suppress democracy.
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