GOP puts NC in downward path

Back in the 1950's, we used to say "Thank God for Mississippi" -- meaning that there was some place worse than Georgia when it came to ignorance and racial prejudice and bigotry.

Now we're getting to the place that we can say "Thank God for North Carolina" when it comes to a fast reversal of progress.   North Carolina used to be the progressive leader among southern states.   But since the Republicans took control of state government (the governor and both legislative bodies), the decline has been rapid.

The New York Times even wrote about it in a lead editorial yesterday.

"In January, after the election of Pat McCrory as governor, Republicans took control of both the executive and legislative branches for the first time since Reconstruction.  Since then, state government has become a demolition derby, tearing down years of progress in public education, tax policy, racial equality in the courtroom and access to the ballot."

Even though the state has the fifth highest unemployment rate, the lawmakers refused to pay the federal government $2.5 billion it owes for the unemployment program.  The result is that they lost any further federal benefits:  70,000 people lost them immediately and another 100,000 will lose them in a few months.

If that weren't enough, just today the N. C. legislative House rushed through tough restrictions on abortion clinics -- attached in stealth at the last minute to a Motorcycle Safety bill.    This will somehow get reconciled with their Senate anti-abortion measure that somehow got tacked on to a bill banning Sharia law in the state of North Carolina.

Whether he will live up to his word remains to be seen, but the governor has said he would veto such a bill.

And meanwhile, in Texas, they are about to finally pass the anti-abortion bill that will close all but five abortion clinics in the state of Texas -- and all of them are in the eastern portion of the state.   Thus the largest area of our largest state will have zero facilities for abortions.   Gov. Perry is eager to sign it into law.

It would just be laughable and pathetic -- except that they actually do have the power to do these things.  And they are doing them.    November 2014 cannot come soon enough.   Of course, by then they will have passed voter suppression laws everywhere.   We may never recover.

No, I don't really believe that.   I'm still optimistic enough to think that a backlash is building and it will bury them in November 2014.

I also believe that ultimately business will be on our side.   The reputation they're gaining is going to be a huge negative factor in national corporations deciding to locate there.

Ralph