Opening the cultural divide

by | Mar 29, 2016 | Editor's Blog, LGBT Rights | 54 comments

The dispute over the Republican-led General Assembly’s sweeping bill to deny LGBT people protections from discrimination highlights the cultural divide in North Carolina and much of the nation. It also highlights another problem with gerrymandered districts. Republicans who passed the bill were largely pandering to their socially conservative base while driving a wedge between those voters and any Democratic challengers. It probably worked.

The national outcry over the bill may rally supporters of the LGBT community, but it just reinforces the perceptions of many social conservatives, especially in small towns and rural areas, that the country has become too permissive. They’re feeling that their way of life is under attack. In reality, the national mood has shifted on these issues at a remarkable pace and these areas are getting left behind.

Regardless, Democrats and progressives need to understand why people in these areas don’t trust government and have lost faith in corporate America. Rightly or wrongly, they see the Charlotte City Council as forcing values on them and, while these rules might only affect Charlotte now, it’s only a matter of time before similar rules reach them. The corporations coming out to condemn the legislature haven’t offered them any jobs. Instead, those are the type of businesses that picked up and moved their jobs to China or Mexico or Vietnam. And the fact that San Francisco and New York have banned government travel to North Carolina just reinforces every negative stereotype they have about those bastions of liberalism.

Change has not been kind to much of rural North Carolina. About half of the state’s counties are losing population and the people who have stayed are aging. Trade agreements sent the manufacturing jobs away. Changing attitudes toward tobacco took away more jobs and revenue.  The only thing they have left is a way of life that is largely centered on family and church. Now, the government and big corporations want to force them to change their beliefs.

So the uproar over the legislation may be firing up the Democratic base, but it’s probably quietly galvanizing the conservative one, too. Republican legislators in gerrymandered districts know their constituencies. In a year when Donald Trump may lead the Republican Party to national landslide, these GOP legislators are giving voters in rural areas a reason to vote against Democrats who would bring more change to their already battered communities.

Progressives who feel like they are under attack by the barrage of conservative legislation that has passed through the general assembly in recent years should understand the conservatives who support this legislation. They, too, feel like their way of life is under attack. They may not be gathering in on the Mall like the Moral Monday protesters, but they are gathering in churches, country stores, and living rooms in small towns and crossroads across the state opposing what they see as another assault on rural culture.

The loser in this battle is Pat McCrory. Those rural and small town legislators threw him under the bus. He’s become the national face of LGBT discrimination and he wasn’t helped when Georgia Governor Nathan Deal vetoed a religious liberty bill. McCrory doesn’t have the protection of gerrymandering and he lacks the political skills to successfully weather the storm. Instead, the episode just reminds voters that the Governor has a long history of saying things that aren’t quite true and lacks the leadership skills to guide his party in an election year.

54 Comments

  1. Dr. David H Bland

    2040 Hornbeck Ct

  2. Progressive Wing

    Orange County had a veterans protection ordinance. Its 1994 civil rights law, which prohibits employment discrimination based on, among other things, veteran status, is now null and void due to HB 2, which did not include that criteria as a protected category. Omitting veteran status was not an oversight; GOP Rep. Stam argued (and won that argument) on the House floor that veterans needed no such protections.

    Eliminating a law that gave veterans job and hiring protections against discrimination? Thought this “could never happen here” in the US.

    But no doubt, this was an “isolated incident.” Yes, it was passed only in a state that is now clearly a civil rights backwater, and only by a party that has refused to increase veterans benefits on the national level for 5 straight years.

    • Ebrun

      Wow, D.g., you took debate classes? Who’d have guessed?

      • Ebrun

        D.g., do you really believe my posts are so effective that I should get paid by the Governor’s re election campaign? Thanks for the compliment, but I don’t post here for money. It’s just another opportunity to spread the truth.

  3. An Observer

    Hey Ebrun,

    I’m neither a liberal nor a CPA. Its pretty evident you’re leary of accepting advice from anyone on anything considering some of your comments. You’re the type of person that keeps writers, commenters and psychologists in business.

    And for that, I thank you.

    • Apply Liberally

      Observer:
      Yes, in his mind, he knows all, and, as such, feels he can refute, explain, rationalize, or justify all.

    • Ebrun

      You’re welcome. Love hearing from you. Sorry I thought you were a liberal. I guess it was those personal insults.

      • An Observer

        Looks like your self imposed ability to characterize people just because you disagree with what they say ….. might need a tuneup.

        By the way, contrary to what you might think, I wasn’t offering my services to analyze your taxes. I was making a statement.

      • Troy

        March 30 at 1157p, Ebrun wrote: “…There should be a generous ‘mental deficiency’ tax deduction for folks in your situation.”

        I was wondering how long it would take you to try and turn it back on someone concerning insults after hurtling your own. Once again, you didn’t disappoint.

        The know all, do all, end all, be all Republican. How have we survived thus far?

        • An Observer

          Ebrun reminds me of alot of acquaintances I have that like to argue just so they can hear themselves. Unfortunately, their antics haven’t helped our relationships.

          Their right, everybody else is wrong……….and the world continues to turn. I’ll just debate them over and over until they start throwing out comments like; “I don’t remember” or ”I am not so sure”; Ebrun’s words from an earlier post.

          Then, I’ll shake my head and move on. To them, they’ve won the battle. If their happy with their little conquest, who cares.

          • Ebrun

            Observer, are you sure you’re not a liberal? You sure post like one. Just can’t resist the personal attacks when someone challenges your opinions?

        • Ebrun

          Troy, earlier on March 30, A.L., alias JC Honeycutt, posted that Ebrun is “a chafing troll and a keen gas lighter.” He then acknowledged that he engaged in a little “name-calling” because “those names fit’ me.

          Seems to be a fair-minded person might chastise the one who hurled the initial insult. But then I really don’t expect that characterization applies to you and other liberals here who just can’t seem to tolerate anyone with a different point of view.

          • Troy

            What would you know about fairness? Your opening salvo:

            29 March at 551p; “Most of you vitriolic hyperbole criticizing the NC GOP is subjective and so way over-the-top that it’s not worth a response.”
            Followed by:
            “…You have a soul brother who posts her who is also “Disgusted.” A better term for you guys might be partisan malcontents….” 30 March at 131a.

            All of those made by you prior to the “gaslighter” description post which you claim prompted remarks like those below.

            “…you still need to work on cutting down on your wordy, self-indulgent posts. Remember, brevity can improve your communication skills….” 30 March 834p

            “…I mean, you can’t be that dense—can you?” 30 March at 1106p.

            Such self-righteousness.

            You’re not here to state your opinions; you’re here to prove you’re right and everyone else is wrong. Only you know the “truth”. Only you have possession of the facts. Only you. Only, you’re full of yourself and that becomes evident when you fall behind; that’s when the snide comments start to slip out. That’s when you start to take issue with the person and not the opinion. Your opinion is valid to you; just you. You want to state it, go ahead. Everyone else is entitled to theirs too.

          • Apply Liberally

            Gaslighters make misleading statements and claims, and when braced in public about them, they do any number of things: simply ignore the question or challenge, or double down on the lie, or deny they ever said such things, or divert off topic, or throw insults, or express indignation at being questioned, or wax on how they –and they alone– know the truth.

            “….the best way to handle a gaslighter is to disengage and let go ………. Confronting the gaslighter can inflame him. You can not win that power struggle with someone who is invested in gaslighting. With some people, it’s hard to penetrate their system, if not impossible.”

            http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/donald-trump-lies-gaslighting_us_56e95d21e4b065e2e3d7ee82

          • Ebrun

            A.L, I sure hope you taking good care of those five pets of yours. Maybe you should consider cutting back on your movie/sports/entertainment budget. I mean, those ticket taxes can be real budget busters.

          • Ebrun

            I love the back and forth dialogue among folks with different opinions, Troy. And I really didn’t think “partisans malcontents” was a personal insult, but apparently you and others were offended.

            But I’ll take this opportunity to review the insults directed at me on just this one thread: “the likes of (me) peddling lies;” I need “mental health counseling;” my “capacity for truth is lacking.”

            My rejoinder referring to “partisan malcontents” was in response to a poster who referred to the “corrupt NC GOP” three times and ended his tirade by calling the NCGOP “appalling and destructive.” I generally support the NCGOP and I don’t believe I am corrupt, nor is the NCGOP. Thus my description of the poster as a “partisan malcontent” seems to me an appropriate in-kind response.

            Another poster who I described as a partisan malcontent asserted on this thread that supporters of GOP laws “are looking for any reason to justify hate.” My characterization of him as a “partisan malcontent” seems mild by comparison.

            So keep on expressing your opinions and eschew the personal insults , Troy, and I will do the same in response.

          • Troy

            Do you now? I wasn’t offended but with you, you don’t just coat your comments with sarcasm, they come saturated with it dripping off as they glide through. You spent five paragraphs justifying your actions and words despite the fact they were just as abrasive and antagonistic as anyone elses’. Of your own volition, you do it deliberately.

            You eschew nothing.

          • Ebrun

            OK, I get it. You’re not going to be civil and stick to debating the issues. You prefer personal attacks instead. I’ll respond in kind when and where appropriate.

          • Troy

            As I observed, you eschew nothing. I don’t see your latest revelation as being different from you’re currently doing however. You’ve simply made it blantant.

            But as Disgusted observed, you’re not here to debate, you’re here to attack. You want to debate, good, let’s debate. Leave your conclusions at home.

            But since you’ve already declared you’re going to keeping doing what you’ve been doing, that’s a moot point.

          • Ebrun

            All right, Troy, I’am game. Bring it on!

          • Troy

            I’m going to allow you the opening. I’m going to allow you to set the tone as well.

            That way, if it goes south, we’ll know why won’t we? So the burden of decency is yours to bear; lets see how you hold up.

          • Ebrun

            That’s very generous of you. But I am not sure I appreciate the offer. Do you think you’re doing me some sort of favor? There are plenty of posters on this blog whose views I can challenge and debate. If you want to be civil and serious that’s fine. I will respond in kind.

          • Troy

            Time will certainly tell.

  4. Apply Liberally

    LOL. A $265 decrease in income taxes will easily be offset by increases in new sales taxes, state fees, and state taxes on electricy bills.
    Moreover, since the so-called tax reform , there hasn’t been an increase in state revenues. The reform came with a. New lowball budget that set the bar on anticipated revenues to be much lower than previous budgets–purposely starving state coffers. Looking at state revenues with more than just a partisan eye, one can easily see that there really hasn’t been a real budget revenue “surplus” —regardless of claims that revenues are running “better than expected.”

    • Ebrun

      That’s just blatantly partisan misinformation, A.L. A year ago Democrats and their allies in the liberal press were bemoaning a projected shortfall in state revenue collections. When the final numbers showed a $445 million surplus, the silence on the left was deafening.

      And of course you conveniently ignore the 2011 action by the newly-elected GOP majority in the NCGA to end the temporary one percent increase in the state sales tax passed when the Democrats were in control of state government. And of course, you will never acknowledge that this sales tax reduction, which saves NC taxpayers around a billion dollars every year, was passed by the GOP majority over the veto of then Democrat Governor Bev Purdue.

      • An Observer

        Be careful how you destroy your debate.

        The “temporary one percent increase in the state sales tax” was just that. Both temporary and set to expire.

        By the way, did your friends in the NCGA drop the highest gas tax in the South (37.5 cents) when the price of oil hit $40 a barrel? Of couse not. They’ll be the first to admit that transportation funding for infrastructure continues to be questionable.

        Yours friends have already picked your pocket on that $265 decrease in income taxes. You just didn’t know it.

        • Ebrun

          It was a Democrats’ tax that the GOP repealed over Democrat objections. Who know how long the Dems would have kept it? I am counting it, you don’t have to. I really don’t mind user fees because– well– they’re paid by the user. Seems fair to me, no public subsidy involved.

          I haven’t been hit hard yet by the user fees. Auto license plate fee went up what –$5 or $10? Total fee was around was $30. Don’t remember what it was before. Haven’t paid any sales tax on the new services subject to the sales tax yet, and I don’t expect to be hit very hard. I trade in every two years so I avoid auto repairs.

          My electric utility sales tax is averaging less than $5 a month. Was there any tax on this before? I don’t remember. So at max, it costing me an extra $60 a year. I am not so sure about our gas tax being the highest in the SE. I am in Florida now and gas is running about 30 cents a gallon higher than in NC.

          So far I am coming out way ahead not even counting the one percent reduction in the state sales tax. I am currently getting ready to do my state income taxes for last year, and I expect to save at least another $265, probably more, in income taxes under the GOP tax cuts. So I can start counting all over again.

          You should carefully check how much tax you paid before making unsubstantiated claims regarding my state taxes. You too might find you came out ahead after all.

          • An Observer

            “I don’t remember ” I am not so sure ”

            You’ve made your point.

          • vadeD

            Initial years of R. majority – the tax on pass through income (doctors, lawyers, architects, accountants, engineers, real estate developers, etc. etc.) was reduced by providing a $50,000.00 deduction off the top. State tax receipts were reduced by hundreds of millions with associated reductions in spending. Last year the deduction was removed along with elimination of deductions for medical expenses. On less income than the previous year, my 2014 state taxes went up $800.00. Don’t know where the reduced taxes are, but they’re not in this small business. IMO It’s simply a shell game.

      • Ebrun

        Sorry, D,g., but you’ve got it wrong again. The state’s revenue surplus last year was primarily the result of increased business activity, according to the nonpartisan professional staff of the NCGA’s Fiscal Research Division. See the staff memorandum on this subject released in early May last year.

        • Ebrun

          D,g., I know you’re not as dense as your last post makes you seem. Surely you don’t believe that people can tell if there taxes have increased by the size of their tax refund. You’re just engaging in more partisan spin, right?

          But for those who do believe their taxes have increased because they got a smaller refund, let me suggest you make some basic calculations to get an accurate impression. When the new tax code became law with the lower income tax rates, the withholding tables were adjusted to make taxes withheld from pay checks more in line with what the taxpayer will actually owe for the year. Thus, there is no way to tell if one’s taxes have increased or decreased on an annual basis unless one goes back and figures how much was withheld the current year versus how much was withheld the previous year. Even then, that won’t be determinative unless an adjustment is made for changes in adjusted gross income from one year to the next.

          It’s sortta like one needs to compare apples to apples rather than apples to prunes to determine which is the best apple. But I am sure you knew all of this right, D.g.? I mean, you can’t be that dense—can you?

        • Ebrun

          Nope, you;re wrong again, D.g. They’re state civil service professionals.

        • Ebrun

          I had my income taxes cut. Why weren’t yours? Maybe you checked the wrong box. Or do you think they know you’re a partisan Democrat?

      • Mooser

        And you’re not blatantly partisan at all, are you Ebrun? Talk about the pot and the kettle!

    • An Observer

      AL,

      Ebrun isn’t going to address your comment (with any fathomable logic) in regard to a $265 decrease in income taxes anymore than than he is going to address “Someone from Mainstreet’s” comment and associated links. Perhaps he is enroute to Watauga County to set those small business owners’ straight.

      • Apply Liberally

        Observer:

        Yes, I know that. He is a chafing troll and keen gaslighter (if you are unfamiliar with the latter term, check this out: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaslighting. Trump is now its poster boy.

        For the record, like him, I am a senior too, and I had a close relative (a tax CPA) run my 2014 and 2015 income taxes using 2013 rules. Net savings in 2014 was $123 and, in 2015, just $76. My taxable income was below $50K/year. Again, in the real world, those savings evaporated due to higher movie/sports entertainment and electricity taxes. Plus, really, is that amount of “savings” really going to help anybody cover higher costs of so many goods and services, and then drive any so-called Carolina Comeback?? I think not. This year, with new sales taxes on car repairs and vet bills (we have 5 pets), I’ll be even more into the “red,” state tax/fee-wise….

        And, yes, I “name-called” him at the top of this post. Because he’s proven that those names fit him.

        • Ebrun

          Wow, five pets? And you’re also being hard hit by movie/sports/ entertainment taxes? Life can be hard, right? There should be a generous ‘mental deficiency’ tax deduction for folks in your situation.

        • An Observer

          All Ebrun has to do is provide his age, marital status and how he filed his State taxes i.e. married (joint or single), single, qualifying widower etc. I’d be more than happy to tell him if he’s getting the shaft. I tend to think he might be 65 or over. If so, his qualified deduction(s) are where he wins the “Wheel of (his) Fortune.

          • Ebrun

            If I need to hire a CPA, I won’t do it over the net. And it has always been my policy never to request or accept financial advice or analysis from a liberal. You all seem to have problems interpreting numbers.

  5. Ebrun

    You do a pretty good job promoting “hate” on this blog, D.g. Seems like the pot is calling the kettle black again.

  6. Someone from Main Street

    This is far more than a bill about letting transgendered people use the bathroom of their biological gender.

    This is a corrupt NCGOP calling an expensive special session (costing more for that one day than what most NC teachers make in a year.)

    This a corrupt NCGOP determining whether or not local authorities can establish minimum wage requirements.

    This is a corrupt NCGOP working very hard to established centralized state control over pretty much everything – minimum wage, Asheville water supply, the Boone ETJ, a woman’s uterus, etc. and so on.

    This is a corrupt NCGOP that has done everything in its power to remove the vote from citizens – from some of the worst voter repression legislation passed in recent history to some of the worst gerrymandering in the nation.

    The majority of the residents of NC have seen a greater tax burden under NCGOP – the number of things that must have sales tax is significantly larger – this is a regressive tax that essentially removes any of the tiny savings that resulted from NCGOP’s income tax “reform.”

    I am not originally from NC – there is much that I love about this state. But the NCGOP is appalling and destructive. I hope Democrats and independents will rally and vote out every last one of them in the fall.

    • Ebrun

      Most of you vitriolic hyperbole criticizing the NC GOP is subjective and so way over-the-top that it’s not worth a response. But your assertions about NC state taxes while the GOP has been in control not true and need to be factually corrected.

      When the GOP took control of the NC General Assembly in 2011, one of the first acts taken was to let the temporary one percent sales tax passed when the Democrats controlled the NCGA expire. Democrat Governor Bev Purdue vetoed the bill, but the GOP-controlled state House and Senate overrode the Governor’s veto.

      This action ending the temporary one percent sate sales tax has saved NC tax payers around a billion dollars a year, an amount far more that the few added services subjected to the state sales tax last year will cost taxpayers. And state income tax rates were reduced for all tax payers in 2014 while the standard deduction was more than doubled. This resulted in a lower income tax burden on the vast majority of NC taxpayers. Only those few with extraordinarily high levels of tax preferences, i.e., deductions, under the former code, owed more on the same level of income under the GOP tax reform.

      • Someone from Main Street

        Edrun – The tax burden on rank and file citizens is greater: http://bit.ly/1BASo9x

        The sales tax burden on small businesses is a problem for NCGOP – see what very conservative small business owners in Watauga County have to say about it: http://bit.ly/1VTZy1F

        “Trickle down” is a shell game used very successfully by GOP to transfer tax burden to working classes – the 99 percent. It’s as disgusting as HB2, quite frankly.

        • Ebrun

          That N&O article is biased and very inaccurate. The scam that state income tax cuts would lead to revenue shortfalls was proven to be way off base as there was a $445 million surplus for 2014. And collections for 2015 are running substantially higher that forecasts.

          I am a senior and I plugged in 2014 income and deductions under 2013 rules Net saving–$265 and my taxable income was below $50k. And my standard deduction doubled so I didn’t have to itemize. A few folks with very high medical deductions may have seen a tax increase. But most seniors have Medicare and those covered medical expenses can’t be deducted. And the rules for 2015 now include deductions for out of pocket medical expenses.

          Too bad you feel so disgusted with he GOP for cutting taxes, increasing state revenues and improving the NC economy. You have a soul brother who posts her who is also “Disgusted.” A better term for you guys might be partisan malcontents. Me? I am a happy and content retiree and am going to vote a straight Republican ticket next fall.

          • Ebrun

            You’re not a malcontent, D.g.? That’s counterintuitive for someone who adopts the handle “Disgusted” whenever he posts on this blog.

          • Ebrun

            So you’re not disgusted any longer, eh D.g? I am so glad I could help. Now you won’t need to pay big bucks to see an analyst. But you still need to work on cutting down on your wordy, self-indulgent posts. Remember, brevity can improve your communication skills.

    • TbeT

      I am with you, Main Street, 100%. While I might empathize with the harsher economic circumstances (and also the “siege” mentality and feelings of displacement experienced) in the rural areas that Thomas describes, I’d argue that those folks need to have an real epiphany in understanding that the NCGOP has done nothing of any consequence to help them.

      No new or innovative rural development approaches (Rural Center gets eliminated, with nothing even tried in its stead), no jobs programs, no incentivizing major employers (in any substantive numbers) to re-locate to rural areas. Sales tax increases on some basic services (like car repair and vet services) hurt those lower income earners in our rural areas much more, as do increased DMV fees. And I’d even argue that the NCGOP has done a few things that treat rural areas as “out of sight, out of mind” places to be exploited, such as cutting ferry service, pushing for fracking and oil drilling, and targeting for coal ash waste disposal. I’ll not easily forget the proposal of those Piedmont GOP legislators to inject fracking chemical wastes into geological strata in eastern county areas.

      I’d be more willing to feel for folks who believe that their rural areas and lives have been battered and/or forsaken if they simply tried to understand that the pols they’ve most recently elected have put much more effort into religious and social “controversies” rather than into economic, job, or environmental improvements.

    • KB Gloria

      Hear ! Hear!

  7. Mark

    I doubt in this instance that Pat will be harmed. The LBT crowd is just too small and families among others with traditional values which value the safety of women and children are overwhelmingly in favor of the non-discrimination laws enacted with HB2. If anything, it looks as if the people of NC will look more favorably on Pat than anything else…especially now that Roy is saying he is going to abandon his duties as AG. People need to actually understand the law, and actually read the bill before going into the usual progressive hysteria.

    One other question, once all the goals of progressive nirvana are met….how is it going to play out to all these micro groups? Which is the ace card? Will race, sex identity, who you sleep with, religion type or lack of religion, male/female be the winning hand? I foresee some battles among all these groups in the future once they have beaten down all the common sense values.

  8. Ebrun

    Mr. Mills totally misunderstands the strength of the RepublicanParty in NC. He characterizes the typical GOP voter as a resident of a small rural town that has been bypassed by the modern, technological economy. While that characterization includes some conservative voters, the real strength of the NC GOP is in suburban and exurban communities and in the state’s smaller cities and larger towns.

    Counties like Johnston, Union, Lee, Rowan, Carbarras, Harnett, Gaston, Stanley, Brunswick et al are examples of suburban and exurban GOP strength. For the most part, these are not economically depressed areas, but areas where many residents commute to good jobs in the state’s metropolitan centers.

    Another source of GOP strength is in counties that are home to NC’s smaller cities and bigger towns. Example would includes Hickory, Morganton, Lenoir, Asheboro, Burlington, New Bern, Moorhead CIty, Southern Pines/Pinehurst, Kinston, Jacksonville, Hendersonville, Murphy, Shelby, Jefferson/West Jefferson and Wilkesboro. Even Watauga County often supports the GOP even though Boone is dominated by liberal voters affiliated with the state college there.

    So to paint a picture of Republican strength being primarily in small, economically distressed rural communities is very misleading. Actually, the NC Democrat Party probably derives more political strength from depressed rural counties when one considers the northeastern rural counties bordering Virginia and the Southeastern rural counties bordering SC.

  9. An Observer

    Thomas,

    Kudos for a well written column. I think you’ve pretty much covered the double edged sword that many North Carolinians (of both political parties) continue to face. I’ve been very fortunate to have lived in a handful of places in North Carolina (some rural and extremely remote) as well as some of the largest cities in the country. I’ve also been fortunate to have had the opportunity to travel abroad on numerous occasions. Rural North Carolina has availed me the opportunity to not only love my North Carolina more, but especially its people and geographical landscape.

    Some of the nicest and down to earth people I have ever met live in the unknown and uncared for veins of our State. Generationally, this is their life and they wouldn’t change it for the world. I understand and applaud their sense of self and connections to their communities.

    Politicians are unremorseful in driving wedges beween people regardless where they live. With Republicans in the NCGA, lower taxes and sincere attention to the needs of rural North Carolina was their mantra. To date, they have not delivered. Economic growth and increased vitality in rural North Carolina is much harder than any rural Republican representative cares to admit. Offering up promises and or excuses as to why prosperity has not been achieved is easy.

    Not everyone is curious. Nor are they inclined to move forward through self achievement. These are human traits that no political party will ever change. Our State is one big, wonderful pot. Unfortunately, there will always be people more than happy to keep it stirred up.

    When people come to terms with what they need as opposed to what they want, we will see a more progressive State. For the foreseeable future, this remains unknown.

    • MA

      I enjoyed your comment to this article as much as I enjoyed the article…both are well-written and as far as I’m concerned, spot-on.

    • Thomas W Hill

      Like MA, I agree with much of what An Observer has said. My only objection to this string is why so little attention is being paid to the Republican use of the LGBT issue to rile the voters and provide a smokescreen for their real purpose of foreclosing a raise in the minimum wage. As usual, we Democrats have swallowed the ploy hook, line, and sinker. But there is hope at the federal level, and Thomas Mills as a Congressional candidate should be jumping on this issue to pledge support for a federal minimum wage law. Municipalities could exceed the federal minimum if they deem it appropriate, but could not undercut it.

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