This has been a lousy week for spin operatives on the Left. Since the budget was released, we’ve been hearing nonstop about how awful and destructive it is for the state, how it shortchanges teachers and will send the state back to the Stone Age. If the rhetoric was rooted in reality, one would expect the budget to receive no support from Democratic legislators, with quite a few defections on the Republican side.
The final budget vote in the House tells a different story. In the end, 11 Democrats gave the budget their support. That’s about a quarter of the entire caucus. I’m not sure it rises to the definition of ‘bipartisan’ as most Democrats still didn’t support it, but that’s still a significant amount of attrition.
It certainly puts all the predictions of catastrophe into perspective – and makes liberal groups’ pressuring McCrory to veto the budget earlier this week look all the more ludicrous. The budget also received unanimous support from Republicans, the first time that’s happened in quite a while.
One of the Democrats, Rep. Rodney Moore, said it was “the best budget he’s seen during his tenure.” That doesn’t exactly jibe with the gloom-and-doom progressive groups are trying to sell. To be fair, most praise of the budget from Democrats was more muted, with a basic theme being that the positives outweighed the negatives and in the end it deserved their support. Rep. Susi Hamilton of Wilmington supported it for keeping film incentives. Rep. Gale Adcock, who represents a swing district in Wake County, said she liked how it increased teacher starting pay to $35,000 and funded teacher’s assistants. And one member, Kelly Alexander of Charlotte, switched his vote at the last minute “in the spirit of amity and all that good stuff.”
So, ignore the spin. You might not think it’s a perfect budget but nobody does, on either side of the aisle. But the extended legislative process played out, and the result was a document that represents a broad range of interests important to North Carolina, one that will move the state forward – as evidenced by the 11 House Democrats who voted in its favor.
John Wynne is the “conservative voice” at PoliticsNC, where he also provides polling analysis and commentary on legislative campaigns. When not writing about politics, he enjoys gardening and listening to opera. Contact: johncwynne@gmail.com.
I had a career in filmmaking and the bribes don’t work. They are aimed at LA producers who use the state as no more than a location. Till there are agents, and there is distribution, and financial support invested in the state, the money may as well be given to every filmmaker as a ticket and a couple years rent for a place in LA. Maybe somebody will come back and make another movie about ignorant hicks starving in the mountains. Any Democrat that voted for this GOP budget is a Republican, as proved by the vote.
I think its a good budget. If you have the left and right both denouncing and approving of the bill you did something right. 74 mil in net tax reductions. Money for TAs and Drivers Ed. Money for mental health, and transportation issues looked after. We can complain about the lack of perfection but if good is the enemy of perfect then we will never come together to get anything done.
Right on Bob! You’re still the “King.”
If that many Dems voted for the budget then it is a bad budget for NC. Hopefully the next budget cycle will be Conservative enough to keep all dems from voting for it.
Right, Doug. Despite some conservative reforms included in the recently passed budget, Civitas has identified 24 specific pork barrel type earmarks that waste millions of tax dollars. See http://www.nccivitas.org/2015/state-budget-includes-positive-reforms-but-still-has-plenty-of-fat-to-trim/
Wow. You actually believe the tripe put out there by Civitas?
Better to believe facts that left wing fiction.
Can’t believe you used the words “facts” and “Civitas” in the same sentence.
Like I said A.L., the avoidance of facts seems to have a placebo effect on liberals.
There were some really UGLY things that were removed from the budget. Perhaps at a cost
Fair point.
Point? What point? What really ugly things were removed? And what were the costs?
So did they return the Solar tax credits that ALEC , Pat’s Duke of Power and Kochco were so set on getting rid of ??? You know we can’t have people making their own power that is so Un-American.
Not if their heavily subsidized with public tax dollars.
Memo to Mr. Wynne: Democrat does not necessarily equal “left.”
Hamilton is a ridiculous figure. This is the second time she’s voted for reactionary trash in return for film subsidies. The first came in 2011 , when she supported hydraulic fracturing. Literally all of her intense passions are channeled into that one program. Ridiculous.
She’s kinda cute, though, shouldn’t you cut her a little slack just for that? 😉
Ghosts don’t care.
Now the Dems know what the Reps felt like under Basnight.
So 11 conservative and business-driven Dems —let’s call them DINOs— demonstrate their disloyalty to the party, their inability to see how their votes will be “played” politically and in the next election by the opposition, and instead seek to curry favor with GOP rulers. Just goes to show that the Republicans haven’t cornered the market on stupidity.
Rep. Alexander might be the dumbest of the lot. According to the N&O, he actually said he voted for it “just in the spirit of amity and all that good stuff.”
So, here’s a member of a minority that the majority has ignored, slighted, and left out of all negotiating on this budget, all the while calling Dems and Dem input all sorts of less-than-positive things throughout this session. And what does Alexander do and say? He votes FOR the GOP’s bad budget “in the spirit of amity and all that good stuff.” Can’t make this ridiculousness up………
Why did the Republican legislators, who have super-majorities, support legislation that resulted in 11 Democratic legislators giving it their approval by voting for it?