Donald Trump and the GOP deserve each other

by | Mar 24, 2016 | 2016 Elections, Editor's Blog, LGBT Rights, NC Politics | 5 comments

Politically, yesterday should have been a slam dunk for North Carolina Republicans. They had a narrow social issue that appealed to their base and a message, no matter how deceiving, that sounded reasonable to most citizens. According to them, they were set to pass a bill that would prevent men from using women’s restrooms. They should have kept it narrow, passed a bill, and gone home.

But they couldn’t help themselves. Instead, they passed a sweeping bill that overrode existing anti-discrimination ordinances across the state, prevented local governments from offering protections for LGBT citizens, and stopped local governments from raising the minimum wage for municipal and county employees. It was a colossal blunder.

Within minutes of the bill passing, national news outlets were reporting that North Carolina was allowing discrimination against LGBT citizens. Twitter lit up with derision, mocking legislators and the state. The hashtag #boycottNC became an instant hit. Red Hat’s CEO blasted the legislation. And one venture capitalist tweeted “Headed to NC in May to discuss how we could invest more in the state. Now the key words will be ‘could’ve invested.’”

McCrory, who initially refused to call a special session but was overruled by the legislature, quickly signed the bill into law, apparently hoping to make it a one day story. The legislators might be protected by gerrymandered districts, but McCrory has to run statewide. He just handed his opponents another issue that will alienate him from the moderate voters who determine elections in North Carolina.

In one of the more bizarre tweets, McCrory tried to blame Attorney General Roy Cooper for the session. In essence, the governor argues that if Cooper had acted on the initial bathroom issue, McCrory wouldn’t have had to shoot himself in the foot by signing the politically damaging bill. Cooper, for his part, immediately released a video blasting the bill, giving his partisans the rallying cry they wanted.

Republicans walked into the legislature yesterday cocky and on the offensive. They left battered and playing defense. In just one long day, they embarrassed the state nationally, set up yet another costly lawsuit, handed their opponents about three election year issues, and energized the Democratic base in a way that not many issues could. In their bullying bravado, the Republican legislature showed why Donald Trump and the modern Republican Party deserve each other.

5 Comments

  1. Morris

    Politically it probably was a slam dunk. Did you forget that less than 4 years ago the NC “one man, one woman” marriage amendment passed with 61% of the vote? It was very nearly 2 to 1.
    And the Charlotte ordinance that caused this mess was pretty ridiculous. My very liberal wife was more than a little concerned about using a public restroom in Charlotte.
    Does anyone really believe the businesses “threatening” over the law will really turn their backs on profits they make in NC?
    All in all this fades fairly quickly I predict. The actual effect of the law, as silly as it might be, will not be that large.

  2. Mike Leonard

    I love the photo of four middle-aged white guys who never missed a meal in their lives. Scumbags.

  3. Someone from Main Street

    I don’t understand the NCGOP mind. Here’s to hoping that the Democrats actually vote in the fall…

    • Cosmic Janitor

      Democrats are voting in the same numbers they always have, but when you have electronic voting machines which can be secretly programmed to switch votes it can be made to appear that Democrats aren’t turning out to vote. However, exit polls’ which have historically been accurate measures of election result outcomes, have only in the past several unexplainable years suddenly not corresponded to final vote tallies – and somehow this incredible inconsistency is just shrugged off and discarded without any hand recount, which with electronic voting machines is an impossibility without some sort of paper trail. Why are we so complacent on such a critically important issue as counting votes, and why would we allow our votes to be counted by machines that can be secretly rigged and which can’t be internally inspected for accuracy because of existing proprietary trade laws. The trade laws alone make these machines unfit to tabulate our votes. Like Stalin said: “I care not how someone votes, I care only about who counts the votes.” This is a truth we would do well to learn.

  4. Norma Munn

    The headlines that greeted me this morning when I picked up my newspaper made me want to drain my bank account to support some of the Democrats running. Even if I did not disagree with this legislation, those who so enthusiastically supported it show zero political sense and even less comprehension of economic facts. Their contempt for locally elected officials and local government knows no bounds. Personally, I intend to return the compliment.

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