I’m not optimistic about 2017 and I’m too concerned about our future to write a silly piece about predictions. Besides, after 2016, I don’t know what to expect, but I doubt it will be good.
At the national level, we have an insecure narcissist as President-elect of the United States and a Republican Congress that seems more than willing to trade our liberty away for lower taxes and less regulation. At the state level, we have a legislature more bent on power than governing. They crow about lower taxes and economic growth while the rest of the country watches with dismay as the GOP strips away protections for minorities and consolidates their power through rigging the electoral system.
Just last night, the Congressional Republicans voted to gut the Office of Congressional Ethics. At a time when the man taking the presidency seems fully prepared to exploit the office for financial gain, the GOP wants less scrutiny of their behavior in Congress. So much for transparency.
Trump, for his part, avoids talking to the press but has no hesitation about threatening to sue reporters who say mean things about him. He uses twitter to communicate, not just with the American people but with foreign powers. Yesterday, he started nuclear negotiations with North Korea in a tweet. Last week, he sided with Putin over the United States and his denial of Russian hacking raises questions about his allegiances and patriotism.
So where are the Republicans who can keep Trump in check? Well, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s wife has gone to work for him. House Republicans are busy preparing to repeal Obamacare and maybe cash in with the incoming Commander-in-Chief. They certainly don’t look like they’re preparing to provide the checks and balances our country needs.
At the state level, the GOP showed that social conservatives control both the House and Senate caucuses. Neither President Pro-tem Phil Berger nor Speaker Tim Moore could get enough votes to uphold their end of the HB2 repeal bargain. The Republicans are more concerned with protecting the right to discriminate than they are with bringing back the conferences, tournaments, entertainers, and businesses that we’ve lost.
Like Trump, they’ve also exhibited authoritarian instincts. They’ve restricted access to the ballot box to people who disagree with them. They’ve used extreme gerrymandering to reduce democracy and they’ve redistricted local elections to favor Republicans. They also stripped away power from the incoming governor and added impediments to his governing.
In losing, former Governor Pat McCrory tried to cast doubt about the legitimacy of the election by falsely crying voter fraud. In response, Republicans have vowed to put more restrictions on the electoral process, even while the courts have found their voter suppression laws unconstitutional. If they can undermine faith in the system, they can exploit the situation to consolidate their control.
The left-right battle that’s defined our politics for my entire life is secondary to the battle today. Our democracy is at risk. Donald Trump has shown little respect for the institutions that protect our freedom and security. The GOP in Congress has shown little willingness to hold him accountable. Here in North Carolina, the Republican legislature seems willing do whatever they can to keep power and have shown little respect for traditional norms.
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 >
Excellent article! I agree. I am very worried about the future of our country,
state, and our Republic. The Republican leadership in Raleigh have been destroying the foundations and principles of our government for the last couple of years. The recent actions in Washington with the Ethics Commission show that the Republicans in Washington are probably going to follow the example of the NCGA. That is NOT a very reassuring start for the new congress.
The NCGA care only about keeping power and control at the expense of good goverence. They pass awful legislation developed to continue their grip on power and they don’t care about the consequences. Good governance is using common sense and doing what is best for the common good and helping our
communities, state, and country prosper. It is not about absolute power and control. Our Founding Fathers understood and experienced the absolute power and lack of representation of a monarchy. They knew it was a flawed system and developed a better system of government. The Democrats need to learn lessons from the 2016 election and then come back strong. Now is the time to defend our Republic and system of government and protect the future of our country and state. Democrats need to hold Republicans in Raleigh and Washington accountable for the consequences of their actions and work hard to get them out of power. The GA elections of 2017 & 2018, provide opportunities make a difference and change the tide!
The United States has never settled the question of which fundamental social+political+economic values raised by tbe debate in the writing of the Declaration of Independdnce about which is our guaranteed pursuit: property or happiness? Happiness carried the vote but msny delegates never bought the victory. We are about to start the sttuggke to answer that auestion.
The US never revolted against hierarchi aka authority, –only against that authority taxing them without a say in the process. As a culture we permit the more powerful significantly greater interference with the lives and work of the less powerful than our N European democratic brother and sister societues. That permisdion to interfere is the definition of hierarchy. So we now soon will have expanded our hierarchy in the shell of our failing Constitution Republic to include an Emperor about whom already the undiscerning .think he has new clothes. Debate and political party reform wont solve that here any more than it did in Germany in 1932.. We are headed for the OK Corral on that too.
We now think we have the right to be exceptional (read: better) vis a. vis everyone else on this earth. Thats the.self delusion with which a near majority of Germans filled the Reichstag with Nazis in 1932-33. Lers see rightwing apologists: how well did that work? Any clues in tbe stafe of things in Germany in 1945 right after the 1000 year Reich surrendered unconditionally to the Allies- only 13 years into its history?
Hochmut kommt vor dem Fall -arrogance cometh before the fall. The Trump cabal will fail because it must wind up harming those who are needed to legitimize it. We, the people who alone can form a more perfect hnion.
The only question is: how badly will they hurt us as they fall? And that in turn is a function of what Henning von Treschow, the organizer of thev von Stauffenberg Walküre attempt on Hitler’s life said. The moral worth of a man only. begins to be measurable at the point where he is willing to give his life for his beliefs. The party is over. Now indeed does begin for the US te time of moral.choosing, the time when for some resisters to the Trump Cabal choosing coukd.be fatal. we are about to see just how much the rest of us will pay to drive out Trump and his sheep. We have some big scores to settle and the Bernie experience plus the popular vote count should lead those circulating vultures not to mistake people getting ready for battle for dead meat. It is sfter all we not they no matter how many sheep they have whi contti the ground and are rapidly learning how to use it.
We are a Constitutional Republic, please stop hinting that we are a Democracy.
If we were a democracy, the Republic woulsd not be in existence 234 years later.
The Democratic platform seems to consistently support pro homosexuality, anti-gun, pro abortion, and pro-islam, political correctness, and hostile to our Christian heritage and 2nd Amendment, and is all about more regulation and police state mentality.
I am shocked that NC would elect a democrat governor. I have lived in and moved from 2 states controlled by the liberal progressive democratic platform, to the great state of North Carolina, thinking I was leaving that behind.
I am not condemning Governor before he has a chance , but am telling you from past experience, democrats consistently conform to a certain worldview and ideological mind set in how they view the Constitution, how they view our Judeao/Christian heritage, moral absolutes, history, the Bill Of Rights, abortion, globalism and generally seem antagonistic towards the values and ideals that have made this nation a nation of free people…a nation that has been a beacon of hope and opportunity and liberty the world over.
If you’re shocked that a democrat governor was elected, consider this….we get a choice of two individuals in a two Party system. When one individual becomes intolerable to the electorate, the other individual by default becomes “the choice” of the electorate. McCrory stupidly alienated whole blocs of people who had previously supported him…..the Commercial fishing industry, Confederate descendents, the anti-Toll road coalition, Republican grass-roots supporters of ousted Chairman Hasan Harnett….take your pick. Throw in a smattering of voter fraud (thanks Bladen County!) and voila, there you go.
Funny post, Mr. Patriot, in oh so many ways….
You state:
“democrats consistently conform to a certain worldview and ideological mind set in how they view the Constitution, how they view our Judeao/Christian heritage, moral absolutes, history, the Bill Of Rights, abortion, globalism”
As if Republicans do not have a “worldview and ideological mind set” on all of these things? Since when is it a bad thing to have viewpoints and positions?
And then you say Dems are “pro homosexuality, anti-gun, pro abortion, and pro-islam, political correctness, and hostile to our Christian heritage and 2nd Amendment,” which just shows your utter confusion. Dems aren’t pro-gay, they are open-minded about ANYONE’s sexuality, be it straight, gay or transgendered. They are not anti-gun or hostile to the 2nd Amendment; they are merely against putting guns under the control of those who are underage, mentally ill, convicted felons, who refuse to want themselves and their guns registered, and who want to own weapons of war. They are no pro-Islam; they are for the right of any American to practice ANY religion, just as the founders wanted. They are no more politically correct than Republicans, because being P.C. is simply contingent on whose politics one is adhering to. And finally they are not hostile to your Christian heritage, nor the religious heritage of those who are Jewish, Hindu, Islam, or any other religion, or even who do not believe in a Supreme Being—again, exactly how the founders professed it in the First Amendment.
Well said, Apply Liberally. The tent for us Democrats is big enough to include everyone who is not intent on trampling the rights of others or forcing our religious views on them. The problem is that we have allowed the Rush Lardbutts to brand us with false accusations, such as “they intend to take your guns away and leave you defenseless,” and “they are a bunch of atheists who despise Christianity”. I would point out that Roy Cooper is a deacon in a Baptist church. It doesn’t sound to me like he is an atheist; neither am I aware of his attempting to push his religion on other people. We simply must do a better job of refuting the Republican lies. BTW, Old Rush does not display any Christian credentials, as is true for the rest of the hate mongers.
The United States is a democratic republic with a constitution, which can be amended by a popularly elected government. While it is true that the United States has never been a “pure democracy,” it is democratic in the sense that citizens elect representatives.
The Democratic Party does not advocate any sexual preference or any particular religion. Democrats believe in freedom of choice. It is the sin qua non of liberty that individuals live without coercion from the government especially when individual choices harm no one else. I do not believe you understand or have studied the Constitution and the case law interpreting the Constitution. You do not comprehend the First Amendment. It was one of the few achievements that Thomas Jefferson reported on his tombstone, and he did not mention that he had been the third President of the United States.
In your world, Americans would be forced to worship your God, the Christian God and, while I’m not sure which denomination you espouse, I will guess you are an Evangelical. Evangelicals believe it is their duty to proselytize and they find our Constitution frustrating because the government and your religion are separated by a wall. The First Amendment allows you to freely worship your God but it takes away the power of government to force others to worship the same way you do. Your hatred of Islam or other religions should never become the policy of our government, because it would violate the First Amendment.
Democrats believe in civil liberties, civil rights and empowering individuals. You Republicans claim to hate big government and regulations, but you want the government to regulate every vagina in the United States. You want to police sexual conduct in every bedroom. Republicans are obsessed with who, how and in what manner others make love. That seems really sick and perverted to me.
Speaking of perverts, your new hero appeared in three pornographic videos, molested at least a dozen women, grabs women by the pussy, and peeps on teenage girls at his beauty pageants. His wife appeared in lesbian soft porn and posed nude in several photo shoots. How does that grab your moral values? Your hero does not pay his taxes, will not pay his workers, and hates Mexicans and Muslims.
He isn’t the only pervert in the Republican Party, and his three divorces are becoming the standard for a seasoned Republican. Newt Gingrich, who coined the term “family values,” left one of his ex-wives in the hospital to take up with another women. When the Republican wanted to impeach Bill Clinton, they had to go through several candidates for speaker to find one who had not had ex-marital affairs. They finally settled on a man who was squeaky clean, except that last year he was convicted of molesting young men while he was a wrestling coach. The leadership of our party is rife with traitors, perverts and crooks, and has been for decades.
But morality is not what moves the Republican Party. Money moves the Republican Party. Like Shriners handing out candy at the Christmas parade, Republicans promise prayer in school, laws against abortion and punishment for gay people. Real Republicans, rich people, are just as gay as the rest of America. They just as likely to have an abortion, but maybe in Sweden. They are no more religious than average Americans, probably less so. But they will let people die for lack of medical care, through starvation and exposure to the elements in order to save a few percentage points on their income taxes.
That is immoral.
Norma
For a long time this state was dominated by Democrats who in my opinion did a good job at relating to the average North Carolinian. Something happened to the party about ten years ago I am not sure what it was but the party just went in a strange direction and the voters rejected there direction. The party will stay in the minority for along time if they do not find a way to connect with the voters again. It also means that your relatives and friends not close one will be alot less likely to vote for the Democrats. Elections are popularity contest like or not.
The United States has never witnessed anything like what is about to unfold. The oligarchs approaching the White House are predators flying lazy circles over the economy and the government. They are not conservatives. They do not want to preserve hallowed traditions; we are witnessing radicals who want to alter life in the United States. They want to change for the worse everything that matters to citizens in a democratic society.
Like vultures with the aroma of dead meat in their nostrils, CEOs of multinational and autocrats like Putin are queuing up for the payoff. They have no allegiance to the United States. They would move to a tax haven if it meant saving some tax money. They do not hate government services; they hate paying for government services when they can obtain those services without paying for them. The president-elect enjoys massive government largess but has not paid income taxes in more than 20 years We pay more than $1 million per day for the extra security in New York City so that his wife and son can enjoy life in the Big Apple. We are chumps.
The opportunists waiting in the wings are heads of state, heads of corporations and hustlers from various seedy enterprises. The dictators who control all or most of the assets of their subservient nations bring their nation’s raw materials to the table, and the multinational corporations bring refining processes and worldwide markets to the table.
The world will be sliced and diced. The richest 1,000 people on earth will gorge themselves on a feast of riches: oil, coal, copper, wood products, everything really. Our legislatures will attempt to remove, as much as possible, responsibility for pollution of the earth, for social programs and legal responsibility for defective and lethal goods and services.
We have never seen a conman so brazen, so corrupt and so eager to destroy the country for his own benefit. Many cannot see it, and, in spite of the facts, they refuse to see it. The radicals will reduce the protections provided by a traditional government. We expect government to help us, to equalize things and to assist the common good. That will change.
The Koch Brothers have demonstrated how to bust unions that protected the police, fire departments, teachers and state workers. They succeeded in Wisconsin, and they will repeat that where possible in state after state.
In the meantime, minorities will be fighting so hard to protect themselves from being shot in the streets, and Muslims will be so embattled against the rise of the Klan and the Christian right and Mexicans will be so intimidated by threats of deportation, the far right will be at liberty to undo the economic advances of the labor movement.
I am not optimistic at all. All the scams are working. Blue collar workers who need health insurance voted for Trump. They voted for a man who will not pay his workers or his taxes. Poor people who will never, ever in their entire lives be able to afford a single night at a Trump Hotel, voted for Trump. Anti-Communists who have fought against Russia since the Bolshevich Revolution voted for Trump, knowing he committed something like treason and continues to betray his country. Christians who would never in a million years say the word “pussy” much less grab one chose to vote for a man who has been accused of raping a child, molesting a dozen women, who bragged about peeping on young girls and cheating on his wife. The man who lies constantly somehow was thought to be the guy who tells it like it is. Women who knew that Trump beat his first wife and abuses and bullies women voted for him. People voted for a man who is served by racists and Nazis.
When you dance with the devil, the devil doesn’t change; you do. America is dancing with the devil. A dark future is unfolding before us.
Yes, I fear the future my daughter will experience. And I am angry at how little I can do to alter it for her. I feel betrayed by relatives and friends (not close ones) who voted for Trump, and right now, I am not in a mood to be understanding.
That’s very thought provoking Norma. I’ve been contemplating the implications of what you’re saying for quite a few minutes now. Alas, there is no easy answer or path but it will be interesting exploring the potential.
Democracy did not speak. NC General Assembly and congressional elections were too influenced by egregious gerrymandering. And at the national level, Russia, fake news, a timid media, the alt-right, and the FBI misrepresented the truth about this country and/or the Dem candidate for president.
The Dem’s problem is not that they “do not understand where (sic) the average voter thinks.” The Dem’s problem is that the average American of voting age (a) doesn’t vote, (b) doesn’t care about elections, and (c) even if they do vote and do care about elections, they don’t think critically about the issues or the candidates’ positions.
So, I am not among those who keep saying that the Dems need to listen better, to hear the needs of Americans and the economic pain experienced by them. Better listening would not have overcome foreign interference, extreme gerrymandering, radial right propaganda, and an electorate so gullible, misinformed, and incapable of critical thought.
So are people too gullible, misinformed, and incapable of critical thought to be allowed to govern themselves?
Good question although I would add to your list “too bigoted.” Dislike. bordering on and often crossing into outright hatred for a woman and a black president drove a significant part of the voters in this election. How else can one explain voting for a sexual predator who also admires a thug like Putin? One would have to be totally oblivious to TV to have missed that information. Personally I am tired of excuses and “explanations” for this mess. Time to face some very hard truths about ourselves.
So what’s the solution? Should people be ruled by an enlightened elite for their own good?
That is the impression the party leaves with people and then wonder why they lose
No. However, my guess is that most of those posting here would fall into the “enlightened elite” for a lot of people, and what I am saying is that they and others have to face the truth behind all the excuses. Solutions such as reforming the Democratic party, better and more grassroots work, listening to dissatisfied voters, encouraging people to actually think — all are fine, but none of that is enough. I do not believe that better strategy will solve the essential issue of the last election. And I am not optimistic that we will just get through it. This is not about people coming together, or surviving an economic recession. The question is much deeper. Who are we? AND what are we? Surely no one can claim with a straight face that we have honored the ideals of our founding fathers, nor of many who died for this country with this last election. Which by the way, was simply the culmination of at least two decades of a slow corruption of the political process in America.
Democracy spoke and we lost. And we will pay the consequences. I have some concerns myself but the country will get through it. For the next two years I hope the Democrats take the chance to examine themselves. I think part of this party problem is that too many do not understand where the average voter thinks. And we end up tripping all over ourselves. If we do not learn from our mistakes then we are going to be in the minority for a long time.
Stephen, I agree. The facts that we do not agree with the results and that we despise the tactics that were used do not invalidate the outcome under the rules set up by the US Constitution. We Democrats should stop pretending otherwise, and we should let the Republicans proceed and own the mess that they are about to create. It is only when the people feel the pain of implementing the GOP agenda (especially in their pocketbooks) that the worm will turn. It is unfortunate that a lot of little people will be hurt, but many of them are responsible for the current political situation, especially those in the South and Mid-West. I know some of them myself.