Republicans really haven’t learned too much from this election cycle. Their presidential contest got hijacked by a reality star who appeals to the most xenophobic and racist tendencies of the GOP base. He’s been successful largely because nobody in the Republican Party tried to curtail those reactionary instincts. Instead, they’ve been using dog whistles for the past 50 years to play on those ugly sympathies and keep those folks in the fold. Now, their numbers have grown big enough to control the whole GOP nominating process.
In North Carolina, the legislature just passed legislation that seems to condone discrimination against LGBT citizens. The law has caused a national outcry. American Airlines, Apple, the NBA, the NCAA, Red Hat, Salesforce, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and a host of other corporations have condemned the legislation. Nobody, so far, from the Republican Party or their ideological allies has spoken up.
The silence from the right speaks volumes. It also shows why the GOP will have problems for years to come. As society better understands and accepts differences among people, the GOP is standing behind a legacy of domination by straight, white men. The nation as a whole is leaving them behind.
Republicans desperately need to find leaders who will stand against the homophobic, xenophobic, and racist elements of their base. If they don’t, they’ll continue to find themselves pandering to a smaller and smaller segment of the population. The moderate middle will abandon them altogether.
Pat McCrory had an opportunity. He was elected as a moderate Republican mayor from a booming New South city. He could have begun to articulate a vision forward for the GOP, focusing on a pro-business platform that welcomed people of all shapes and sizes into a revitalized Republican Party. He could have stood firm on his pledge not to sign new abortion restrictions. He could have vocally opposed the legislation coming out this latest session of the General Assembly. Instead, he turned out to be a hapless politician who doesn’t stand for much of anything and is routinely rolled by legislature.
So the GOP is left with no voices of dissent. The people who created and support Donald Trump continue to define the modern Republican Party. Unfortunately, in the eyes of the nation, they’re starting to define North Carolina, too.
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 >
It may be appropriate to send such an email to the governor’s political supporters, like Ebrun. It’s not appropriate to send it to rank & employees.
As for inaccuracies, to pick just a couple of easy specifics, paragraph 2 is inaccurate; the legislation does remove existing protections & it is not “tougher than federal law.”
To pick another, paragraph. 9 is inaccurate because HB2 goes far, far beyond the Charlotte ordinance.
Paragraph 11 is wrong because it will threaten federal funding.
Number 13 is wrong, as evidenced by the business outcry HB2 has prompted. Number 18 is incoherently framed.
Finally, to go beyond the talking points, it’s likely to be easy to prove, in court, that HB2 is the result of “animosity” toward a “politically unpopular group,” which, under the US Supreme Court case of Romer v. Evans, is not a “proper legislative end.” In other words, HB2 may well get struck down.
I’ll not continue the exchange with Ebrun. I’m content to let the federal courts (& the business world, & voters & public opinion) have the final say.
The inaccuracies you claim are your opinions. There is nothing factual about them. The final determination on HB2 will, in all likelihood, be made by the voters rather than the courts.
Let’s leave it at that. Sorry for the double post.
I’m a rank-and-file NC state employee, in a non-political job, supposedly insulated from politics.
At 3:14 pm on this Saturday afternoon my work email account receives an email from “donotreply@nc.gov.”
No kidding: that’s what the governor’s office uses for blanket emails about noncontroversial matters.
But this one has a link to the gov’s press page & talking points about HB2, & stuff like this: “Myths vs Facts: What New York Times, Huffington Post and other media outlets aren’t saying about common-senseprivacy law.”
I am so angry & offended I could spit. I think this is inappropriate & improper … & tragically, I’m not sure what I can do about it.
On the other hand, it reeks of desperation. This crowd truly does not know what they are doing.
Just to be fair to those readers here who have an open mind, here is a key portion of the email from the Governor’s office regarding HB2. It is entirely appropriate for the Governor to ensure that an accurate description of a state law or policy is presented when an out-of-state publications like the NYT publishes misinformation.
“1. Does the new bill limit or prohibit private sector companies from adopting their own nondiscrimination policies or practices?
Answer: No. Businesses are not limited by this bill. Private individuals, companies and universities can adopt new or keep existing nondiscrimination policies.”
“2. Does this bill take away existing protections for individuals in North Carolina?
Answer: No. In fact, for the first time in state history, this law establishes a statewide anti-discrimination policy in North Carolina which is tougher than the federal government’s. This also means that the law in North Carolina is not different when you go city to city.”
“3. Can businesses and private facilities still offer reasonable accommodations for transgender people, like single occupancy bathrooms for instance?
Answer: Yes. This bill allows and does nothing to prevent businesses, and public or private facilities from providing single use bathrooms.”
“4. Can private businesses, if they choose, continue to allow transgender individuals to use the bathroom, locker room or other facilities of the gender they identify with, or provide other accommodations?
Answer: Yes. That is the prerogative of private businesses under this new law. For instance, if a privately-owned sporting facility wants allow attendees of sporting events to use the restroom of their choice, or install unisex bathrooms, they can. The law neither requires nor prohibits them from doing so.”
“5. Does this law prohibit towns, cities or counties in North Carolina from setting their own nondiscrimination policies in employment that go beyond state law?
Answer: No. Town, cities and counties in North Carolina are still allowed to set stricter non-discrimination policies for their own employees if they choose.”
“6. Does this bill mean transgender people will always have to use the restroom of the sex of their birth, even if they have undergone a sex change?
Answer: No. This law simply says people must use the bathroom of the sex listed on their birth certificate. Anyone who has undergone a sex change can change their birth certificate.”
I disagree. It is not an accurate description of the state law or policy in question; it is a set of political talking points.
And it is being sent to a captive audience of state employees.
I disagree. It is an accurate description of state law and policy. What do you think is inaccurate in the Governor’s email? Yes, some might call the reasons cited for its passage “political talking points.” But just about any legislation of substance passed has a political motivation behind it. The reasons listed for its passage presented were accurate.
And the email wasn’t just sent to state employees. I received it and I am not a state employee nor am I angry or offended. Below is another important part of the Governor’s email.
“14. Why is the state telling cities and towns what it can and can’t do by repealing an ordinance the elected members of the Charlotte City Council passed?
Answer: North Carolina is one of at least 37 states like Virginia where cities and towns cannot pass rules or regulations that exceed the authority given to them by the state. In passing the bathroom ordinance, Charlotte was exceeding its authority and setting rules that had ramifications beyond the City of Charlotte. The legislature acted to address privacy and safety concerns if this ordinance was allowed to go into effect on April 1.”
“15. Do any other regulations in North Carolina cities, towns or counties come close to what Charlotte was recommending?
Answer: No. Not that we are aware of. Therefore, nothing changes in North Carolina cities, towns and counties, including in Charlotte, regarding discrimination practices and protections now that this law has passed.”
Then, Ebrun, we disagree.
It may be appropriate to send such an email to political supporters, or those who have asked for them. It is not appropriate to send to the captive audience of rank & file state employees.
Specific inaccuracies include, but aren’t limited to:
Paragraph 2: the bill does take away existing protections & is not tougher than federal law.
3 misses the point: by not requiring businesses to offer reasonable accommodations, it allows them to deny those accommodations, & thus to discriminate, without recourse by the victims.
9: while prompted by the Charlotte ordinance, the bill goes far beyond it, & addresses matters not at issue in the Charlotte ordinance.
11: it will threaten federal funding. Wait and see.
13& 18: the reaction from businesses shows these paragraphs to be, at best, wishful thinking.
14: willfully misses the point. Some 200 cities, including Columbia & Myrtle Beach, have had ordinances like Charlotte’s, for years, without problem.
Finally, to go beyond the talking points, it will be easy to prove, with cold hard facts in a courtroom, that, like the Colorado initiative before the US Supreme Court in Romer v. Evans, HB2 is “inexplicable by anything but animus toward the class it affects,” and as the Court held, under the 14th Amendment, “animosity” toward a “politically unpopular group” is not a “proper legislative end.” I. Other words, HB2 is in all likelihood unconstitutional
I’ll not engage any further with Ebrun, who, in my opinion, is on the wrong side of history on this.
I think this was serious bad political judgment & offensive overreach, and I’m content to let federal courts (& businesses & informed public opinion & ultimately voters) have the final say.
As far as I am concerned, no governor should use his/her office for a clearly political email to state employees. Never. It is pressure. Does not matter if content is accurate and there is certainly room for questioning the completeness of that email and how some aspects of it will impact citizens of NC.
I keep reading comments like Randy Voller’s that “It has been fairly obvious for quite some time that Sanders outperforms Clinton against an array of GOP candidates–especially Trump.”
Those polls are great. They’re fun to look at when we scream or laugh or grit our teeth over Trump’s latest outrage. But let’s look at ACTUAL votes.
So far, in all the primaries in which ACTUAL voters voted for the candidate of their choice, Clinton has won 8,668,136 votes, while Sanders has won 6,131,951. That’s out of 15 million votes cast in Democratic primaries for Democratic candidates. (It includes small numbers of independents and even Republicans allowed to vote in some states’ open primaries, like Michigan’s.)
I know that a lot of posters loathe Hillary and insist she’s losing, yet … her total ACTUAL votes among Democrats is 41% higher than Bernie’s. That’s right. 41% more Democratic voters have supported Hillary than have voted for Bernie.
As wonderful as it is that Bernie is energizing college students and motivating millennials to caucus for him, when it comes down to actual voters casting actual votes — you know, that thing that people do in elections, where you register to vote and then you go in and cast your ballot, rather than show up at the high school gym for a caucus? — Hillary is ahead by 2.5 million ACTUAL votes. So please tell me how that proves she’s losing.
I am not worried about how Hillary appears to be winning at all. She has a ton of baggage that she brought on herself, not the gop. The things they grip about aren’t the things that may actually bring her down. Why should Bernie’s followers, knowing that he is what we really need at this time (and I have waited 48 years for someone like him), vote for her? I have held my nose for several elections for people whom I felt weren’t good for the country or whom would have a problem winning. I refused to do that in 2008 and 2012, and voted Green. If Hillary and the DNC push Bernie out of the way as it looks like they are doing (and Hillary’s votes at this time do not matter), then I will vote for the best candidate running, Dr. Jill Stein of the Green Party. Bernie has gotten much more recognition than he is getting credit for. And remember, this is ONLY the second election this woman has ever run for in her life, while Bernie has many. I don’t think she can win, and the worst evils that money can buy will be stacked up against her, and if she loses we all lose (still not enough of an incentive for me to vote for her). And what if those young people who have put so much time and effort into Bernie feel like quitting and don’t show up at the polls. We have too many eggs in this basket to roll the dice with Hillary.
Your reference to this being ONLY the second election “this woman” has ever run for in her life is factually incorrect. She ran and won the NYS US Senate 2000 and again in 2006. Just wonder, what if all the women who have supported Hillary Clinton decide that one more white male is just not acceptable any longer? Who wins? Every analysis I have seen says it is not Sanders.
Sec. Clinton defeated Rep. Lazio in 2000 and swamped Spencer in 2006.
Her likely high profile opponent for 2000, Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, was polling well in 1999, but did not run.
I can empathize with the desire to elect our first woman to be President.
I think for many in the base if Sen. Warren had filed we could have unified those yearning for a gender change in leadership at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave with those who want to push the issues of wealth and income inequality to the forefront.
Unfortunately, a number of us look at Sec. Clinton’s record and see that on the basis of values, issues and vision we prefer Sanders.
This does not mean that I don’t recognize Sec. Clinton’s strength and ability, I just see that we need to strongly and fairly evaluate both candidates before we select our nominee.
Another related issue for many is the simple fact that some Democrats and Democratic leaders keep pining for the Clintons and pushing to retrun them to the White House.
This is especially noticeable when contrasted with what occurred on the GOP side of the equation.
In a nutshell, the GOP electorate finally decided to “stay out of the Bushes” as Jesse Jackson once said and repudiated Jeb! at the ballotbox even though the “smart money” predicted a Bush-Clinton race in 2016.
Given the result on the GOP side, why is it that many Democratic leaders seem to believe that the correct move for the party and the nation is to push to elect another Clinton to the White House?
Finally, I disagree with Thomas regarding her negatives as well.
A candidate who favorably cited Henry Kissenger in her own book, panders to AIPAC and cannot make a believeble argument to the voting public regarding her connections to Wall Street or her positions on trade agreements and fracking is a candidate who is potentially courting trouble with her base.
If nominated, she should win, but her campaign will be the presidential version of Sen. Hagan’s re-election effort in 2014: lots of money, manufactured perception and paid mercenaries yet devoid of real inspiration and citizen inspired devotion.
The constituencies that are pushing Secretary Clinton are not likely to be up for grabs this fall, which is why I believe that super delegates and party leaders need to take a long look at Sec. Clinton and Sen. Sanders.
The unaffiliated voters and youth vote will be up for grabs; however, and this where many of us see an advantage for Sen. Sanders over a GOP nominee.
In addition, part of Bernie’s revolution relates to fund raising.
Imagine if he were to work with state parties across the country and request that his army of small donors support state parties with infusions of small donations that in the aggregate equate to tens of millions of dollars.
Finally, he is also much better situated to make the case regarding “big money”, “dark money” and the “Move to Amend”.
Your assumption that women supporters of Hillary’s are not “up for grabs” this fall and are therefore guaranteed to vote for Bernie is not evidenced by some of the published polling data. It also frankly galls me to be taken for granted. As for young people actually voting, yes, they are for Bernie now, but if he is not the nominee, why is the assumption that they are off the hook for NOT voting if their candidate is not chosen? Isn’t that irresponsible? Why do I never read anything about what a younger person ought to consider responsible citizenship? I thought we all had an equal vote, and right now, the sheer number of voters for Clinton far outweighs Sanders. (Not sure how much that changed last night; have not seen a comparison, but given the size of the states voting base, probably not too much.)
Assuming she wins the nomination, Clinton will not choose Warren as her VP candidate. That would be the single dumbest choice she could make. (And I’m a huge fan of Elizabeth Warren.)
Among the important factors in presidential politics is what voters the VP candidate brings to the table who otherwise would be hard to get, and who might have a chance of adding to both total vote counts and votes from a specific region or state. Another is generational diversity, viz. Obama-Biden, Bush II-Cheney, Bush I-Quayle, Reagan-Bush. (The only recent exception was Clinton-Gore.) With an older candidate you mollify the fear of age. Reagan at 69 chose GHWB, only 56; GHWB at 64 chose Quayle, 47 or so. With a younger “raw untested” one, you choose an “experienced elder statesman”: Obama, 44, chose Biden, 60; Dubya, 53 (?) chose Cheney, 60 and with 30 years in DC GOP administrations.
By my calculation, the best candidate for Hillary will be a younger, progressive, Hispanic male who might be able to bring southwestern states, including Texas, into play. There are two brothers, the Castro twins, one of whom (Joaquin) is in Congress and the other (Julian) is Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (and former mayor of San Antonio). Either of these highly intelligent, well-qualified Latino Texans in their mid-40s would be an ideal candidate to run with Hillary.
This time in the Election Cycle all things seem possible, our wishes and beliefs can come true if we believe strong enough. I have been there enough times in the past that now I only believe in reality politics. I support the policies of Sen. Sanders, I am glad he was in the race to nudge Sec. Clinton to the Left but he never had a chance at the nomination. He tried and there is nothing wrong with that. His supporters must ride with him as long as he is willing to go and then, after a period of ‘reflection’, support and work for Hillary Clinton. I believe Sen. Sanders will do just that because he understands that the fate of our democracy is at risk. He is not VP material. Nor is Sen. Warren. Both very good people but they bring nothing to the Ticket. In the past, the Ticket would be balanced by geography, then President Bill Clinton changed it up to include a VP that would be a partner of like mind. Hillary Clinton must continue this trend by choosing a VP that appeals to a necessary demographic that brings votes to the Ticket. The choice must be either US Congressman Joaquin Castro or HUD Sec. Julian Castro, his brother. This has the advantage of appealing to the Hispanic voter and the youth vote. The Tea-Party republican nominee, whoever it is, will drive the female, African-American, Asian, LGBT and Liberal voter to her. As to the ‘fear’ of Sec. Clinton so-called ‘baggage’, after over 30 years of attacks by the Right-Wing, it begins to fall on deaf ears. With this winning Ticket, the Democrats will have a very good year. I have given-up predicting election outcomes but if I still did, I would say that all of Congress and control of North Carolina is in our sights!!
Voter turnout is all that matters. The Democratic Party must infuse our Base with Anger at what the republicans have done and Fear at what the republicans intend to do. Playing only a supporting role is that our Issues, Beliefs, Ideas and Facts are better than theirs.
Remember: There are no “Undecided Voters” – Only “Unmotivated Voters”.
I agree with Thomas. Sanders would be shredded by the negative ads run at him by the GOP. We (and he) hasn’t gotten a taste of that yet, but we already know what the GOP attack ads will say about HRC, and I think those themes/accusations are already very stale among the electorate. And Trump’s and Cruz’s numbers among women are very bad. I will support Bernie if he is nominated, but I think HRC would be a less vulnerable choice.
Why is it that we worry about how we will be defined by our opponents?
Playing “not to lose” as opposed to “playing to win” is a key component of how Democrats have lost races they could have won.
The GOP will have all new material on either candidate and so what.
There is a seismic demograhic shift underway that began in 2008 and is beginning to gain steam.
Ideas and values will matter this fall.
Either Clinton or Sanders should win in the fall, but to me Sanders has more upside potential, which is mainly based on his consistent polling against GOP rivals, the excitement amongst his base, and his more positive numbers on values such as “trustworthyness”.
He is not a single issue candidate.
His consistent critiques regarding neoliberal economic policies, poorly conceived trade deals, our tax structure, Citizens United, the outsized role of the financial sector in our economy and democracy and neocon interventionist foreign policy certainly hit a lot of high points.
If it is Trump vs. Sanders we win in a landslide and it has coatails.
If it’s Trump vs. Clinton we still win, but the coatails are shorter.
North Carolinians defined themselves by consistently voting for lying Rethuglican pigs. And is there ANY indication they’ve come to their senses? Not that I can see. So, I’m leaving this state full of proudly ignorant creeps as soon as I can!
I am not leaving Mastate for them . I will choose to fight to restore dignity to North Carolina . Do not be a quitter !
Bruce, who are the lying Republicans? Sorry, I’m new to all of this and would love to be advised on who the liars are.
Thomas — Have you considered the reports that Sanders would be a stronger general election candidate than Clinton? If she gets the nomination, do you think a Clinton-Sanders ticket would make sense, with the understanding that Sanders would cap off his career with a single term as vice president?
http://www.inquisitr.com/2924143/poll-average-2016-sanders-not-clinton-would-beat-trump-in-landslide-general-election/
Sorry, I thought my original comment had dropped off. Didn’t intend to post the same one twice.
I don’t believe them. In the scheme of politics, Sanders is still relatively unknown. He’s not had any negative paid media run against him. If he became the nominee, the GOP unleash a barrage of negative commercials that I believe, given his record, would make him virtually unelectable. I don’t think Sanders has any interest in being VP. I hope Clinton chooses Warren.
Warren would make a good choice for either candidate
I don’t understand how you can discount the most recent national polls.
It has been fairly obvious for quite some time that Sanders outperforms Clinton against an array of GOP candidates–especially Trump.
Mr. Mills is also wrong about Trump in that he does not define the Republican party in the least. Who he appeals to and represents are the faithful republican minions who have gotten nothing but a raw deal from their party leaders. Trump is what they’ve expected their leaders to always be, someone concerned with their welfare – and the GOP leaders could care less about these minions as long as they drink the kool aid and vote republican. If these minions had not been so programmed to hate progressives with a passion, because they have been told nonstop that progressives are the root of all their problems, they would flock to Bernie. For the establishment Republican Party, Trump is a nightmare they can’t get rid of; he is anti establishment Wall Street and he is against the neo-con agenda of war as a corporate profit motive. For these reasons, Trump will smear Clinton in the general election if the DNC is foolish enough to follow through with their scheme to nominate her. That is, unless the Republican voting machines are rigged for Hillary.
Nobody has laid a glove on Sanders. He’s had a pass except for people obsessing over politics and is still relatively unknown among swing voters. After he gets a few hundred million dollars of negative advertising dumped on him, I don’t believe he’ll be remotely competitive. He certainly wouldn’t be here in North Carolina. You could probably write off any state with a Republican governor and at least one Republican Senator. That takes most swing states out of play. Clinton is where she will be. Everybody’s opinion of her is locked in. It may move a point here or there but that’s it.
Read here: http://www.indeonline.com/article/20160128/OPINION/160129331
Thomas,
I understand your current theory.
But while you postulate that Secretary Clinton is battle hardened and her negatives won’t get any worse many of us do not share your optimism.
Furthermore, while you believe Senator Sanders will take a nosedive after he is hit with a deluge of negative ads and thus he will hurt rather than help potential downticket candidates I beg to differ.
He is attracting and winning the type of voter that you will need to win this fall and the performance of downticket races can be correlated in part to a robust “Blue Ballot” campaign that directs voters through electioneering at the polls to hit all Democratic candidates on the ballot after the Presidential candidate.
I am ashamed of how backward thinking NC is showing itself to be. Too bad so many people are letting themselves give in to the basest emotions of fear and anger. If they’d only allow themselves to meet members of the LGBT community maybe they would see that the threat does not lie there. I’d also like to remind you that the very people who have been calling for less government intervention are the very ones supporting the government making laws about who can and can’t use the men’s room! Didn’t we overcome this type of discrimination in the 60’s? I’m grateful for the youth who are more accepting and leading us forward.
Marie, you have it wrong. its not about NOT loving LGBT, it is about not letting a very poorly written ordinance give a pass to sexual predators and perverts. It is about protecting more than half of the population – plain and simple. Don’t you love women and children? Why would you support a dangerous ordinance. Had Charlotte left things alone then we would be operating just like we have always been getting along.
Just to correct some of your misinformation:
The Charlotte restroom ordinance concerning LGBT access never went “into effect.” It was due to go into effect April 1, 2016. Thus the NCGA called a special session to void the Charlotte ordinance BEFORE it went into effect.
The leader of the Charlotte LGBT Chamber of Commerce, who was the leader of the effort to pass the Charlotte restroom ordinance, is a convicted sexual predator. When his conviction came to public light, he resigned his position with the LGBT Chamber.
D.g, you’re back to long, tedious lectures again. And I am not speaking for Robin, but only to counter false and misleading information being proffered on this issue by the left.
You asked “…in five years before this issue came up, how many criminal acts have these alleged sexual predators and perverts committed.” That, of course, is a rhetorical question that cannot be answered. But it is pertinent to your question to point out that the leader of the effort to have the ordinance passed is a convicted sex offender.
And of course HB2 applies to private businesses and organizations. A primary purpose of HB2 was to prevent local governments like the City of Charlotte from mandating how a business must operate it bathroom facilities. Under HB2, private owners and operators are free to provide whatever bathroom facilities they believe are appropriate for their customers and their operations.
Another wordy treatise, D.G.? You must have an awfully big ego to think anyone wants to wade through all your BS and then find out it’s nothing but your biased opinions regurgitated for the umpteenth time.
Then why do you spend so much computer time and type responding to my comments, D.g.? Rest assured I will stay engaged in these political conversations. You, of course, are free to ignore my opinions. But apparently you have a very low tolerance for those who disagree with you.
Keep posting your BS and you’ll see,
FYI: Statewide poll on Charlotte LGBT bathroom ordinance:
Reasonable and inclusive, 24 percent.
Unreasonable and unsafe, 69 percent.
Not sure, 8 percent.
Only around 30 percent of NC voters are registered Republicans. Sure must be a lot of independents and some Democrats who oppose the Charlotte LGBT bathroom ordinance.
It’s inflammatory and irresponsible to attribute this overwhelming public sentiment to “hate.” People want common sense regulation from their government, not blind adherence to left wing ideology.
Liberals like Mills and others on the far left would never have supported McCrory for re election even if he had followed a “moderate” path and governed like a RINO. But he would have lost his base conservative support. McCrory is shrewd enough to know how to win re election. He must maintain his conservative base and attract conservative-leaning independents. He may lose a few RINO votes, but probably not enough to make much of a difference. His biggest threat to reelection will come if a Libertarian Party candidate receives up to three percent or more of the vote.
There are not enough of the type of people who support discrimination to push McCrory over the top; he will lose, and hopefully, he will take a number of the undereducated/uneducated in the house and senate with him. These people are no longer what NC needs. We are not like that.
you mean “manner”
NBA! the fate of the 2017 All-Star game just became a top campaign issue. Thank you Pat!