Based on the last 6 months it sure does not seem like it. It is a shame that we have gone from being known as a progressive state to mocked in newspapers.


http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/10/opinion/the-decline-of-north-carolina.html?ref=opinion&_r=1&

7/13/2013 1:12:38 PM

we are getting press only because we have historically been a fairly progressive southern state and often split tickets during elections. there are plenty of states worse than us, they've just been worse than us for awhile.

that in no way makes the last 6 months any better, just don't forget about the other shitty states who also have shitty neo-GOP leaderships

7/13/2013 1:48:38 PM

We should be cheering the NC GOP on.

GOP implosions over the last couple of election cycles obviously haven't been severe enough to get the point across. I feel like the only way we'll ever get marked and sustained improvement is for the GOP to go completely down in flames and make the religious right permanent personae non gratae within the party, at least in terms of any sort of leadership or influence.

Given that simple-minded knuckledraggers outnumber intelligent people about 50:1, it's gonna have to really get bad for that to happen, and start having important 2nd and 3rd order implications.

7/13/2013 2:06:15 PM

I don't think the religious right is driving the majority of the new legislation in this state, most of it is good ol' cronyism and the national ALEC agenda. You could possible attribute the anti-abortion movement to the religious right, but I would call even that a stretch.

7/13/2013 2:09:00 PM

Apparently we're "on a powerful comeback" despite falling from the 3rd to the 12th best state for business in the past year.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/13/opinion/north-carolinas-path-the-governors-view.html

7/13/2013 2:28:48 PM

Define the terms of your query, hershculez. What makes a good state government and what makes a worser state government?

Otherwise, this thread is duplicative and you could have simply added your grievances to one of the many other threads dedicated to bemoaning the Republican controlled N.C. General Assembly and Republican Governor.

Oh, and since you used "Their" incorrectly, all your arguments are now moot.

[Edited on July 13, 2013 at 3:27 PM. Reason : .....]

7/13/2013 3:25:19 PM

Meh, it's not really NC, but ALEC. Multiple states have been passing the same bullshit legislation NC has... we used to be somewhat ahead of these other states because ALEC didn't have a stronghold here.... now it does and we've joined the council of morons.

7/13/2013 3:28:30 PM

Quote :

"Oh, and since you used "Their" incorrectly, all your arguments are now moot."

Cool so that means we can also ignore you for thinking "worser" is a word.

7/13/2013 3:37:06 PM

And boom goes the dynamite.

7/13/2013 3:47:51 PM

I'm going to hold judgment until after the next state assembly election cycle. If the NC GOP maintains or even strengthens their hold, then I'll start reconsidering. If the electorate reacts aggressively against them, then there's still hope.

7/13/2013 4:32:38 PM

Quote :

"You could possible attribute the anti-abortion movement to the religious right, but I would call even that a stretch."

Let's not forget amendment 1. Although to be fair that was before the current GA was running things and was voted on by the public. It's the same people that voted the current GA in though.

[Edited on July 15, 2013 at 9:51 AM. Reason : .]

7/15/2013 9:50:22 AM

^ Also at the time the GOP came up with Amendment One they had a majority but nobody was paying attention as Perdue was still in office and the presidential race was in high gear. They secured a super majority because many didn't bother voting down ticket.

7/15/2013 10:30:02 AM

A lot of people, especially in Raleigh, can't accept that this GA is doing what the majority wants. That doesn't change the fact that these reps were voted in, and Amendment 1 was voted for by a majority.

This is what happens in a representative democracy. It's all fine until you're the minority that's getting shit on, then suddenly we need reform. When it's your guys pushing an agenda that you agree with, it's okay. So which is it? Do you think that the majority has the right to crush the dissenting minority, or not?

7/15/2013 10:53:21 AM

^"majority" you say??
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/11/republicans-gerrymandering-house-representatives-election-chart

7/15/2013 11:00:32 AM

7/15/2013 11:08:05 AM

^and... those have a lot to do with north carolina?

7/15/2013 11:38:59 AM

Quote :

"and Amendment 1 was voted for by a majority."

Way to be disingenuous. It may have been passed by a majority of those whom voted, but it was not passed by a majority of North Carolinians.

7/15/2013 11:58:26 AM

Politicians are never elected by an actual majority, just a majority of voters. That's why all governments are at least partially illegitimate.

7/15/2013 12:03:56 PM

I agree that the current problems with NC are all ALEC fueled. It is no wonder that multiple states are going through the same legislative battles with similar sweeping legislation. The media should be asking the question how is this becoming a pattern? Why are all of these fights in GOP controlled states so similar? They haven't been asking that question, and the public hasn't heard of ALEC as a result.

At this point I view our republican leadership answering first to ALEC/corporate interests, second to their ultra conservative voting base, and lastly (in theory only, but not really) to their district's constituents.

7/15/2013 2:15:40 PM

I'm not saying I agree with everything our state government is doing, but I would prefer us not to be known as progressive.

7/15/2013 4:22:12 PM

Merriam defines "Progressive" as

Quote :

"a : of, relating to, or characterized by progress b : making use of or interested in new ideas, findings, or opportunities"

so you prefer "Regressive?

7/15/2013 4:32:35 PM

new ideas, findings, or opportunities can be naively pursued.

maybe thats what he means.

7/15/2013 4:39:17 PM

^^progressive in terms of politics is NOT the same as your definition.

Quote :

"Progressivism is a general political philosophy advocating or favoring gradual social, political, and economic reform through government action."

i think a lot of progressives would like for uninformed voters to think that though because "oh, progress... i can get down with that"

7/15/2013 6:10:08 PM

Smath is on the same wavelength as me.

7/16/2013 8:40:01 AM

Cronyism is correct. Take for instance Aldona Wos the Secretary of the DHHS. Her and her husband contributed over $200,000 to McCrory's campaign fund. The woman has no past experience in running a government agency. But yet she was put in charge soon after the new Governor took office. New Breed Logistics (Wos company) is also fairing very well which I guess is to be expected. Art Pope as Budget Director was another ridiculous cabinet appointment but that one has probably been beaten to death already.

Quote :

"I don't think the religious right is driving the majority of the new legislation in this state, most of it is good ol' cronyism and the national ALEC agenda. You could possible attribute the anti-abortion movement to the religious right, but I would call even that a stretch."

[Edited on July 16, 2013 at 12:42 PM. Reason : fd]

7/16/2013 12:41:31 PM

The answer is South Carolina

7/18/2013 7:20:25 AM

Not a state government, but it's safe to say that Detroit is much worse.

7/18/2013 6:46:42 PM

And the joke continues.

http://www.wral.com/mccrory-fires-back-after-senate-completes-veto-overrides/12849338/

9/4/2013 1:40:25 PM

the answer you're looking for is: California

9/5/2013 9:54:50 AM

^,NY,NJ,OR,WA,MN,IL,MD,MA

9/5/2013 10:42:38 PM

were all the GOP haters in here perfectly content with the massive corruption that went on in this state under democratic leaders like Bev Perdue, Mike Easley, the Scott/Phipps regime, John Edwards, Frank Balance, Jim Black, etc?

9/5/2013 11:45:41 PM

^
Could you provide some or all of Bev Perdue's scandals?

9/6/2013 12:36:32 AM

3 of her campaign aides pled guilty to obstruction of justice for her campaign improprieties. Bev practically got forced out of office by the Democratic party because of the legal trouble she would be facing.

She's a NC Democrat; of course she's crooked.

9/6/2013 1:12:27 AM

I was unaware of this scandal. Could you direct me to a legitimate source detailing her campaign improprieties?

Quote :

"She's a NC Democrat; of course she's crooked."

I understand the sentiment, but the statement itself doesn't help to establish any credibility.

9/6/2013 1:47:23 AM

a simple google search will give you links to every major media outlet in NC reporting on the scandal (N&O, WTVD, WRAL, etc). You can't just pretend like it doesn't exist because you're too lazy to do your own research.

9/6/2013 2:08:16 AM

Quote :

"were all the GOP haters in here perfectly content with the massive corruption that went on in this state under democratic leaders like Bev Perdue, Mike Easley, the Scott/Phipps regime, John Edwards, Frank Balance, Jim Black, etc?"

I definitely had a problem with those things and hated Bev Perdue (for those things and because she brought fracking to NC), however I still did not vote GOP because I could, correctly, see the shit storm they would bring to the state. In an alternate reality without any national party or lobbying groups I probably would have voted for McCrory to break up the cronyism, but I knew what was coming. I'd rather deal with corruption than the shit the GOP has done so far, at least with corruption we can put people in jail.

9/6/2013 7:13:54 AM

The current GOP is blatantly corrupt. Transparent vote suppression and pandering to various industries.

9/6/2013 8:10:00 AM

And just as much cronyism as the dems

9/6/2013 8:47:47 AM

the GOP isn't entrenched enough in this state yet to be as corrupt as the Dems are. They won't stay in office long enough to reach that level of corruption either.

9/6/2013 9:28:44 AM

How did Perdue brung Fracking to NC? She vetoed it and that was overridden because a Dem placed the "wrong vote". It was Carney I believe. I guess you could argue she did by paving the way for McCrony to come to power.

9/6/2013 9:29:30 AM

Perdue open to 'fracking' in NC
http://www.wral.com/news/state/nccapitol/story/10856881/

Quote :

"— Months after she vetoed a bill that would have allowed test drilling for natural gas in central North Carolina, Gov. Beverly Perdue said Wednesday that she believes drilling can be done safely in the state. Perdue recently traveled to Pennsylvania for an industry-sponsored tour of large-scale natural gas drilling operations. "It's jobs. It's a fuel source produced in this country, and it's something that can help America and North Carolina be globally competitive," the governor said."

tldr;
lobbyists took her to Pennsylvania and she came back and said that it would be good for NC

because jobs (or race car or something)

[Edited on September 6, 2013 at 9:54 AM. Reason : .]

9/6/2013 9:53:24 AM

^ Oh I completely forgot about that and yes you are correct. LOL that is right it she suddenly had an epiphany.

9/6/2013 11:12:11 AM

Quote :

"a simple google search will give you links to every major media outlet in NC reporting on the scandal (N&O, WTVD, WRAL, etc). You can't just pretend like it doesn't exist because you're too lazy to do your own research."

Or you could have just posted a link from one of those sites.

I'm just surprised I hadn't heard of the story before.

Anyway, thanks, I guess?

9/6/2013 4:35:24 PM

Quote :

" It is a shame that we have gone from being known as a progressive state to mocked in newspapers. "

LOL when was NC actually considered progressive? Because it voted for Obama in 2008?

Quote :

"the answer you're looking for is: California"

Nope. Sorry. CA has its share of gov't fuckups and cronyism, but it's not even close to how fucked up NC is these days. Not even close.

[Edited on September 6, 2013 at 4:56 PM. Reason : .]

9/6/2013 4:55:17 PM

Quote :

"LOL when was NC actually considered progressive? Because it voted for Obama in 2008?"

NC was considered pretty progressive, compared to the rest of the south.

9/6/2013 4:58:37 PM

being progressive is not as hip as it was a few years ago

9/7/2013 5:45:31 AM

lol, yeah and gay rights are just the flavor of the month

you christian nuts are hilarious

9/7/2013 10:12:56 AM

^^^^depends on your definition maybe. Get back to me when NC has hundreds of billions of dollars in unfunded liabilities.

9/10/2013 12:36:31 PM

California isn't even in the top half (or bottom half... they are not even among the 25 worst states), you have to compare their debt to their giant GDP. i'd bet a lot of northeastern states top the list have the worst debt-to-gdp ratios.

[Edited on September 10, 2013 at 12:46 PM. Reason : NC isn't either though]

9/10/2013 12:45:28 PM

thanks

9/10/2013 2:39:38 PM