For the past 50 years or so, most of the country looked at the two Carolinas and saw two distinctly different states. North Carolina was a beacon of progress in an otherwise backward South. Its business-friendly Democrats supported public education, invested in infrastructure that attracted businesses and navigated the Civil Rights Era better than its neighbors. In contrast, South Carolina was seen as a backward little state stuck in the past with poor schools and a lousy record on Civil Rights.
Today, the Carolinas are flipping the script. The Republicans who control South Carolina bear a striking resemblance to the Democrats who used to run North Carolina. And the Republicans running North Carolina are embarrassing their state as badly as South Carolina used to embarrass itself.
In the wake of the Charleston massacre, South Carolina leaders, both Republican and Democrat, came together to support removing the Confederate battle flag from the Capitol grounds. Republican Governor Nikki Haley called for it to come down almost immediately after the shooting. Republican Sen. Paul Thurmond, son of the late Senator and Dixiecrat Strom Thurmond, gave a powerful speech calling for its removal. And yesterday, the Republican dominated Senate supported its removal by a vote of 37-3. It needs to pass on third reading today by at least two-thirds majority and most expect it will pass easily.
In North Carolina, Governor Pat McCrory tried to get into the anti-flag game. He called on the legislature to stop allowing the flags on license plates. However, he got pushback from Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger who basically said, “Do it yourself.” In reality, Berger knows that he couldn’t get his caucus to go along. Too many Republicans are doubling down on their white heritage arguments. McCrory, for his part, seems to have let the matter drop since bringing it up might blow up in his face, exposing both his weakness and an ugly side of the GOP base that Republicans don’t want people to see.
And it’s not just cultural issues. In public education, South Carolina surpassed North Carolina in per pupil spending and has higher average teacher salaries. They’re investing in community colleges and job training, one of the reasons Volvo stated for choosing South Carolina. And they’re adopting the historic preservation tax credit that North Carolina is scrapping because South Carolina knows that it creates jobs and attracts businesses.
South Carolina is copying much of the model that made North Carolina a national destination. They’ve reeled in their crazies and business moderates are running the state. They’re attracting businesses and investing in their people and infrastructure.
In contrast, North Carolina Republicans are taking the state down the free-market rabbit hole. They’ve ended programs that are working and slashed funding for education while giving tax breaks to the wealthy. Their gerrymandering has ensured cultural conservatives have enough power and influence to embarrass the state on a regular basis.
If you really want to know where North Carolina is heading, look at South Carolina, circa 1995.
Thomas Mills is the founder and publisher of PoliticsNC.com. Before beginning PoliticsNC, Thomas spent twenty years as a political and public affairs consultant. Learn more >
Republicans control a majority in the bible belt because of a single thing: religion. They have convinced everyone that they represent Christianity (and no other religion), and therefore have won over countless voters. People here don’t care enough about any other policy, just that the candidate is “a good Christian”. That’s why several of the Republican presidential candidates have exclaimed in some version that they were told by God to run for office. As long as you convince the voters that you’re on their side religiously, you can do whatever you want and they’ll still vote for you.
Sadly, it’s destined to get worse for NC. The legislature’s ongoing assault on public education, already several years old, will be felt for at least a generation.
R.
It started with Jim Black.
As a former teacher, we looked with scorn at SC and its low salaries. Now, teachers within a reasonable driving distance to SC schools are crossing the border every day to teach in a state where they are respected and paid a living wage. The same thing is happening between the NC and VA. Texas has recruited many good teachers from New Hanover County because a former principal moved there. There is no incentive to teach school in NC at the present time. There are plenty of jobs for good teachers in other states.
All part of the NCGOP plan, Nancy.
Raise the starting teacher salary but give the more/most experienced teachers next to nothing, thus encouraging them to either look elsewhere to teach or change careers. Then, advance the growth of charter schools and the subsidizing of private schools via voucher. In the charter/private school universe, salaries are lower, vouchers only need to support a portion of the costs, less oversight of standards/practices takes place, and lunches and transportation need not be provided.
Taken at large, all these actions lower, or at least limit, the state’s overall education bill. As for the quality of education kids will get—especially poorer kids—under this strategy, well, that’s hardly a GOP priority. Those wealthy enough (like most of the GOP’ers in the NCGA and their donors) can always opt for private schools, home schooling, tutoring, and commercial college preparatory services.
Got to remember that, to the NCGOP, public education still needs to be punished for its criticism of the GOP’s decades-old opposition to education budget increases. And, besides, as the GOP sees things, factory or manual labor jobs don’t require a well-rounded and solid education—task and tool training, maybe, but not a well-rounded and solid education ……
This is a sad, but absolutely true statement. It is almost criminal that the NCGA would even have the audacity to “tweak” voter rights. This is reminiscent of instances you hear about from citizens of other southern states. Our education system was a major factor in my family moving to NC in the 1980’s. Sadly, our education system is going to be a major factor in our state retaining effective teachers, and producing effective teachers. The Teaching Fellows program that was in place until recently (thanks Carolina Comeback!????) was a very critical agent of upward mobility for many lower middle-class and impoverished citizens who were simply looking to do better for themselves, families and ultimately, communities. Now, that opportunity is doubly difficult due to education funding restrictions (no to Common Core!). How do you possibly rationalize the notion that NC will be able to attract businesses and progressive objectives with the regressive policies being enacted. It utterly make no common sense at all. Businesses do not want to come into regions and train their workforce (unless, of course, that region is resource-rich) to work whereas there are other states that are active, willing participants in training a workforce and sustaining a steady flow of workers. That used to be NC!! Sadly, no more!
Governor Purdue also put into effect a ban on fracking, had she caved to the energy interests she would still be our governor today – she was a shoe-in to be re-elected until her mysterious withdrawal from the governor’s race at the ‘eleventh hour’!
What were the reasons for her withdrawal? I see from the last Transportation Report that this Bond thing, was produced during her administration. NCSU engineers did much of the work.
Had it not been for corrupt and ineffective Easley and Perdue administrations , ushered by Democrat legislators, we would not be facing the backlash that put Berger, Pope, and other reactionaries in power. We need to usher both major parties out along with their perpetual spinmeisters. One can not be praised at the exclusion of the other …both stink!
hear, hear
Who are the “Democrats running North Carolina” that are embarrassing our state? Was this a typo? I don’t know how any of them continue to serve the House or Senate when they are up against such a brick wall.
Didn’t you make a error, Thomas, in writing “…. And the Democrats running North Carolina are embarrassing their state as badly as South Carolina used to embarrass itself.” Did you mean to say Republicans??
Thomas, you are exactly right except I would put the date to look at where we are heading further back than 1995. I can remember as a child heading to the beaches in SC for the 4th of July. You could tell immediately when you crossed from NC into SC. The roads were worse, the area was poorer, and there was nothing good about SC until you got to the beach. Well, that has changed.
We used to be so proud of our state that coming back from a great vacation we would all look for the state line and as soon as we crossed it we all said we were glad to be back in NC. Well, now I am not so sure.
I grew up in a blue collar family in a blue collar town. Even so I can remember that everyone looked down our noses at SC and I heard more than once “at least we are not Mississippi”. Well, we can no longer look down our noses at SC and we are very close to becoming Mississippi. The sad part is by the time the people of this state wake up to what has been done to this proud state and overcome the gerrymandering, it will take years to regain our reputation in the US. God help us until that time comes.
The problem NC is having runs deeper than just gerrymandering – many conservatives are equally horrified at the right-wing corporatists who have seized control of this state; a more pointed question to ask is who is verifying the vote tallies? How could Tillis have defeated Hagan when 64% of all voters polled in the last election favored a minimum wage increase? NC needs voting ‘paper trails’ now!
I agree Cosmic janitor. Those computers we’re voting on are not infalible. Had my wife not double checked her ballott in 2012 she’d have cast a vote for Romney, that was NOT her intent. Computers have glitches, savvy hackers could reek havoc. Paper ballot with automated counters are much preferred–they leave that important paper trail and can be inspected and hand counted if need be.
My G-Grandfather was Thomas Mills Fayssoux, from Gastonia. Named for your ancestor?
Sad, but true!