Carolina Politics Online

The Supreme Court will decide a case from North Carolina about legislative boundaries that could affect the ability of minorities to elect their candidates of choice.

The court said Monday it will hear arguments this fall, meaning the case will be decided well in advance of the redrawing of political districts that will follow the 2010 Census.

The dispute involves North Carolina legislative districts in which black voters make up less than 50 percent of the population, but still are numerous enough to elect a black candidate.

The issue is whether such districts are protected by a provision of the federal Voting Rights Act. The North Carolina Supreme Court ruled that the landmark civil rights law does not apply to districts where a minority accounts for less than half the population.

The Fayetteville Observer

I’m kind of torn on this one.  On the one hand, I am adamantly opposed to gerrymandering, be it by political affiliations, race, religion, what ever.  The voters should be choosing their representatives.  The representatives should not be choosing their voters.

Then when I sit down and really analyze this I remind myself that the duty of an elected official is to represent and be a voice for their constituents.  So that being the case, if a district is drawn in such a way that the majority of the residents are of one race or political affiliation, aren’t they then receiving fair representation as opposed to a district that is very mixed and polarized and the representative is elected by only a slim majority?

Thoughts?

“I think what the Democrats are doing in terms of raising taxes and adopting the budget they are adopting should scare people in this country,” said Foxx, whose district includes part of Iredell County. “We are going down the wrong road. We are spending money we don’t have. We are raising taxes on hard-working Americans, and I’m very concerned about the direction they are taking this country.”

She also defended comments she made to a local radio program, 3WC radio’s “Focus on the Foothills,” about Democratic Sens. Hillary Clinton of New York and Barack Obama of Illinois. Foxx said the presidential candidates “basically are socialists, he more than she.”

“I believe they are socialists, and if you look at their platforms you will see their plan is to take money from part of the population and give it to other people in the population,” she said later, referring to their universal health care plans.

“I don’t know the dictionary definition of socialism, but most people would see that as socialism.”

Her Democratic campaign challenger, Roy Carter of Ashe County, issued a press release saying her radio remarks were disrespectful and out of line.

Charlotte Observer

The hell they were out of line.  Foxx’s comments are dead on.  It’s about time someone started calling these people out for what they are.  Today’s Democratic Party is very much America’s Socialist party and Obama definitely fits the mold.  This is why I left the Democrats several years ago.  They don’t believe in the American dream.  They punish people who work hard and make a successful life for themselves so that they can addict the rest of the population on government handouts and entitlements, ensuring a permanent underclass in our society and a reliably ignorant voting bloc.