Carolina Politics Online

As the next campaign for governor in our state continues to move forward, State Representative Nikki Haley is getting more and more high profile attention from the major media and players throughout the state.  In addition to this article in The Washington Post, she has also been written about in Politico and endorsed by Jenny Sanford, among others.  Take a few minutes to read the article by Kathleen Parker and then visit Haley’s Web site and read about her ideas to take our state forward.

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Remember all the hubbub about Joe Wilson exclaiming “You lie!” to the President during the State of the Union address earlier this year?  Of course you do.  Despite the chastising he has taken since then by the left and even some on the right for his outburst there is one little problem hanging over the heads of Wilson’s critics.  He was right.  Both the House health care bill and the Senate health care bill still do not encompass provisions to screen out illegal immigrant workers from the mandate on businesses that they provide health care coverage for all of their employees.

The House bill mandates, and the Senate bill strongly encourages, businesses to extend health care coverage to all employees. But the bills do not have exemptions to screen out illegal immigrants, who usually obtain jobs by using false identities and are indistinguishable from legal workers.

A rough estimate by the Center for Immigration Studies suggests that the practical effect of the mandates would be that about 1 million illegal immigrants could obtain health insurance coverage through their employers.

Democrats who wrote the House bill said that employer coverage for illegal immigrants is not intentional, but rather the outcome of people breaking the law.

The Washington Times

Technically, that may be true.  People are breaking the law by hiring illegals, but let’s stop playing games here.  Neither the Democrats nor the Republicans have taken serious steps to crack down on the hiring of illegals.  In fact, under this administration and the direction of Janet Napolitano, INS raids on businesses known to employ illegals have all but stopped.  The Feds aren’t going to do anything about this problem and the Democrats who wrote this House bill know that full well.  Hence, they know they are to blame for the coming crisis if this bill becomes law so they are trying to pass the buck now.

The longer this drags out and receives more attention, the more Joe Wilson may turn out to be a hero to his district rather than an embarrassment.

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Remember when Tony Rand unexpectedly stepped down as Senate Majority Leader? Remember when Bane, myself, and many other pundits called ‘bullshit’ on his explanation that he just wanted to move on? Remember when we said that there must be something out there that he doesn’t want exposed?

Ahem…

New information developed by Carolina Journal shows that former Gov. Mike Easley’s 2005 Cannonsgate real-estate deal was not the first time Easley was involved in a deceptive land transaction.

The information shows that Easley acquired a lot and a home on exclusive Bald Head Island some years earlier with the assistance of state Sen. Tony Rand of Fayetteville.

The Carolina Journal

It’s a lengthy article, but pretty damn informative. Here’s a timeline summary:

Easley Bald Head Island Timeline

• February 1986: Mike Easley buys Bald Head Island Lot 619 for indicated sales price of $40,000.

• November 1992: Easley elected attorney general and Tony Rand elected to state Senate.

• November 1992: Easley sells Lot 619 to Tony Rand for indicated sales price of $40,000.

• March 1995: Easley settles lawsuit with Walter Davis permitting hard structures to stop erosion on Bald Head Island.

• 1995: Easley negotiates purchase of new home from developer BHI Limited.

• November 1995: At Easley’s request, Rand transfers Lot 619 to BHI Limited. Indicated sales price was $80,000. Deed was not recorded.

• June 27, 1996: Easley attorney records deed from Rand to BHI Limited for Lot 619, and then immediately records deed from BHI Limited to Easley for a new home with an indicated sales price of $250,000.

• November 2009: Rand tells Carolina Journal he didn’t pay Easley for Lot 619 and didn’t receive any money when he transferred it to BHI Limited.

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Thank you, thank you, thank you.  Finally, something the stuffed shirts have done something right.  Most of the time when I am behind someone driving too slow on the highway or generally just encounter someone on the road not paying attention it’s because they are yapping away on a cell phone.  That’s just talking on it; their eyes are still on the road.  It blows my mind that people actually take it to the next level and try to send text messages while driving.  How stupid can you be?  You’re going to kill somebody.  I wish they’d pass the same law in South Carolina, but for now, at least when I go to work there will be less nincompoops engaging in recklessness on the road.  So if you’re one of these texting and driving assclowns, because God knows that you can’t wait a few minutes until you stop to text Heather about Emily breaking up with Jason, you better get your fill tomorrow because after that the 5-0 is coming to get you.

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It’s Christmas season once again! How do you know? Well, you’re shoving Thanksgiving leftovers into your refrigerator, untangling Christmas lights, wondering where you’re going to put your tree, and asked to decide which of 2009’s large collection of losers and assholes is the biggest, baddest, most obnoxious of them all- the 2009 Jackass of the Year!

Some of our old readers may remember that last year, our first ever Jackass of the Year Award was presented to John Edwards who, inexplicably, did not show up to personally accept it. John’s eligible again this year, but he’s got stiff competition from perhaps the best set of competitors we’ll ever see for a Jackass award.

Who is the biggest Jackass of 2009? Well, that’s up to you! Here’s how it works:

1. Starting now and continuing to Friday, Dec. 18th, nominations are open. You can nominate whoever you like and can submit as many nominations as you would like. In fact, I encourage you to submit several names. You can nominate someone by leaving a comment below this (or future Jackass contest postings) or by emailing me: press7forceltic@carolinapoliticsonline.com.

2. Nominations close on Dec. 19th. I’ll gather the most frequent, most odious, and most intriguing nominations and present them to you. Then, you vote for the ONE person who you think most deserves the title of Jackass of the Year.

3. Voting closes on Dec. 25th. I’ll count them up and on Dec. 26th present Jackasses 10 through 6. Starting Dec. 27th, I’ll count down a Jackass per day before revealing the 2009 Jackass of the Year on New Year’s Eve.

Got it? Good. Here’s a few tips for nominations:

-Those eligible for nominations should be North or South Carolina based. You may nominated someone from outside our area, but they must have a direct impact on the Carolinas. For instance, you can nominate Barack Obama (as I’m sure many of you would like to do), but only for what his policies have done to the Carolinas.

-We are non-partisan, and you should be too. Last year’s winner was John Edwards. Second place? Elizabeth Dole.

-There are no shortage of Jackasses… so there should be no shortage of nominations. And you South Carolinains need to step up- most of last year’s finalists were North Carolinians. Yes, I know our state is swarming with Jackasses, but still…

So send in your nominations and get even with those Jackasses who helped ruin 2009 for you!

Who Will Win?

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I am relaxing the rest of the week in Florida.  Like most of you, I’m sure, I won’t be thinking about this Web site for the next few days.  Have a good Thanksgiving.

Press 7 for Celtic here... I too wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving, and remind you that turkeys should have a reason to celebrate too. Tomorrow, eat some TOFURKY instead!

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Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools Superintendent Peter Gorman plunged into one of the most contentious topics in public education last month by announcing his intention to begin basing teacher pay on effectiveness in the classroom, rather than on experience and academic degrees. But if experience is any guide, he’ll face plenty of opposition from teacher groups and their political allies.

The Carolina Journal

Oh, make no mistake- I back the guy 100%. I think this is a great idea. But that’s why it will never happen. The educrats and their lackeys in the Democrat Party will belch solar systems if this proposal even comes close to fruition. Pay-based performance? Competition? Consumer (parental) choice? Gasp!

Teachers’ groups nationally and in North Carolina have opposed adamantly the use of student test scores to measure teacher performance or set teacher pay. They argue that wide differences in the academic preparation, discipline, and motivation that individual students bring to the classroom make comparisons of educational outcomes useless.

Moreover, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Association of Educators President Mary McCray told WFAE-FM that pay for performance wouldn’t work in North Carolina because the state doesn’t allow teachers to unionize. She said flagging high-school graduation rates are a national problem that an isolated local program could not reverse.

Yes, they do have a point. The best teacher on Earth can’t make someone learn who doesn’t want to learn. A legion of teachers-of-the-year can’t do much if parents aren’t out there helping them out. But that doesn’t mean that instilling a little competition into the teaching ranks won’t be an improvement over the status-quo.

Now if this guy really wanted to shake things up, how about attaching $8000 to every student and giving parents full choice of where to send their little ankle-biters to school? That way, parents themselves reward the best teachers and administrators, while simultaneously punishing schools that don’t get the job done.

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The findings of the State Ethics Board are in and it is looking dismal for our dear leader.  According to the board, Sanford has misused campaign funds to attend a meeting of the Republican Governors Association and a trip to Ireland among others.  It also found he used the state plane to attend a birthday party, get a haircut, and fly his family to Myrtle Beach.  There is also the flight upgrades to First Class for some international trips he took, the ones where he wasn’t hiking the Appalachian Trail to Argentina.

I am at a loss as to how he will explain these away.  In all honesty, I’ll bet past governors have done the same thing, but that certainly doesn’t excuse it.  The rules are the rules and they must be followed.  If I were him, I’d start packing my bags.

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Apparently in Atlantic Beach if you challenge the status quo and win, their buddies on the Election Commission throw out your votes.  OK, I don’t really know for certain it’s a case of the “ole boys club” or in this case, girls.   They claim there are voting “irregularities.”  I am just amused that such a small town can generate so much news of corruption, fraud, and abuse and become a total laughing stock for the entire state.

They did get one thing right this past week, however.  They finally got around to suspending the mayor’s pay after she, herself, was suspended from her post by the governor.  Just for old times sake, let’s bring back that Pulitzer winning mug shot of Ms Pierce.  It’s been such a hit here.

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Raleigh, NC-

I want to let everyone know that the NCGOP State Executive Committee voted to keep Republican primaries open through out the state. This was completed in a over whelming majority voice vote.

There were impassioned speakers on both sides in a very civil debate. The biggest complaint was about conservatives who have left the party because it is not conservative enough. I tell those people the party is only as it’s members are. If you have a complaint about the party you need to get involved and help it change to your liking. The argument against was alienating all unaffiliated voters and that it would hurt our drive to gain Democratic conservatives.

In the end the issue was put to bed and let us see if the sensational columnist like Rob of the N&O will report on us not closing the primaries.

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I needn’t remind you of the necessity to kill this health care bill so that in the future true reform can be done. This bill will bankrupt the country by creating a whole new entitlement program we can’t afford, will oppress the freedom of the American people by imposing an unconstitutional Federal mandate on you and your family to buy health insurance or face jail time, and put your medical records in a national database, a clear violation of privacy.

Tonight the U.S. Senate is scheduled to vote on whether or not to begin debate on the Senate’s version of H.R. 3962, the Affordable Health Care for America Act. The name itself is a lie because it’s not affordable and every American who currently has health insurance, which is 85% of us, will see a drastic increase in their premiums if this passes, making it more expensive and eventually forcing more of the people onto the government public option, which is the ultimate goal of the socialist Democrats in D.C.

Senator Kay Hagan (D-NC) is allegedly on the fence about this bill. If the Senate cannot reach 60 votes for cloture they cannot begin debate and the health care theft act cannot go forward any further. If you live in North Carolina and care about your freedom as an American, call Kay Hagan’s office and demand that she vote NO to cloture! Her D.C. office number is 202-224-6342.

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Furthermore, the Charlotte Observer is reporting that Democrat Party leaders in the Eighth Congressional District have had their phones ringing off the hook from angry party faithful pissed off over Kissell’s decision to vote no. There are already talks of primary challenges, which if successful would probably hand the seat back to the GOP. Nobody to the left of Kissell will be able to hold that seat.

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The big news out today in Charlotte are the record level of students enrolled in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School system living in “poverty.”  Around 68,000 students in the school district, or roughly 51% of the school population, get taxpayer funded lunch aid, according to the Charlotte Observer.

First off, I want to verbalize my disgust at how we so loosely throw around the word poverty in this country.  I get incredibly annoyed as to whom we refer to as living in “poverty.”  Go to a third world country where people are living in mud huts and eating flies and rice and then come back and tell me that there are Americans living in poverty.  It isn’t happening.

Now that I have gotten that out of the way, how many of these children getting subsidized meal are from families who are truly at the “poverty” level?  According to the same article, not all of them.  CMS has a higher income threshold than the federal “poverty” level they use to determine which kids get a free ride on your dime so the school district is spending more of your money on this than they need to in the first place.  I also wonder how many of these students would still be living in “poverty” if the school district quit subsidizing the lifestyle with your tax dollars and the parents of these kids would instead actually have to be responsible for them.

Here are some facts about America’s so called “poor”.  This is an excerpt of a publication from The Heritage Foundation using data straight from the Census Bureau.

The following are facts about persons defined as “poor” by the Census Bureau, taken from various gov­ernment reports:

• Forty-three percent of all poor households actu­ally own their own homes. The average home owned by persons classified as poor by the Census Bureau is a three-bedroom house with one-and-a-half baths, a garage, and a porch or patio.
• Eighty percent of poor households have air conditioning. By contrast, in 1970, only 36 percent of the entire U.S. population enjoyed air conditioning.
• Only 6 percent of poor households are over­crowded. More than two-thirds have more than two rooms per person.
• The average poor American has more living space than the average individual living in Paris, London, Vienna, Athens, and other cities throughout Europe. (These comparisons are to the average citizens in foreign countries, not to those classified as poor.)
• Nearly three-quarters of poor households own a car; 31 percent own two or more cars.
• Ninety-seven percent of poor households have a color television; over half own two or more color televisions.
• Seventy-eight percent have a VCR or DVD player; 62 percent have cable or satellite TV reception.
• Eighty-nine percent own microwave ovens, more than half have a stereo, and more than a third have an automatic dishwasher.

Still interested in subsidizing those “starving” children in Mecklenburg County with that multi-million dollar price tag each year?

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Like I’ve been saying, they aren’t going to rest until Sanford is pushed out of the governor’s office one way or another.

COLUMBIA — A South Carolina ethics panel said Wednesday that Gov. Mark Sanford should face charges he violated state laws tied to a three-month investigation into his travel and campaign finances.

The State Ethics Commission decision did not provide details of its decision or the specific charges Sanford would face during a hearing of the panel early next year. Officials said those details — which should include whether the accusations involve civil or criminal allegations — will be released next week.

The commission “found probable cause exists on several allegations. They wanted me to point out that a finding of probable cause is not a finding of guilt. It is only one phase in the process,” said Herb Hayden, the commission’s executive director, after a daylong, closed-door meeting of the panel.

The Post and Courier

Now Bobby Harrell says that Sanford’s affair is not enough to merit impeachment and I agree with that, however, that is precisely why this fishing expedition is taking place.  Something has got to be found.

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N.C. Rep. Nick Mackey pleaded guilty Tuesday to contempt of court for his failure to show up for a December 2007 trial of a client.

The judge didn’t impose a jail sentence or fine. Instead, he entered a prayer for judgment continued and ordered Mackey to pay $262.50 in court costs. Under prayer for judgments continued, defendants generally plead guilty but are not sentenced.

Mackey could not be reached for comment.

The Charlotte Observer

That Nick Mackey continues to hold a seat in the General Assembly shames our state and is a daily indictment of a Democrat Party that doesn’t have the nads to kick his ass out of their caucus.

Mackey, meanwhile, faces a hearing next month before the N.C. State Bar’s disciplinary hearing commission. The bar has accused him of failing to pay multiple years of taxes on time and of poorly representing a client. He’s also accused of failing to disclose on his bar exam application that he was twice suspended as a Charlotte police officer.

Mackey has denied the charges.

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Martin Nesbitt isn’t known for toeing the party line. Over nearly three decades in the House and Senate, he has been a loyal lieutenant of some Democratic leaders and a thorn in the side of others.

But in his new job, the Asheville senator will try to keep 30 Senate Democrats speaking with one voice.

The new post is the highest a mountain legislator has risen to since Nesbitt was a top House budget writer in the early 1990s and perhaps since the days of the late House Speaker Liston Ramsey, of Madison County.

In the Senate’s No. 2 job — in recent years, one of the most powerful in the state — Nesbitt will take the lead in deciding what’s on Senate Democrats’ agenda headed into their most important election in a decade.

The Citizen-Times

Is there really going to be a difference? Tony Rand was a bloated, out-of-touch tax-raiser who contributed mightily to the declining livability of N.C.

Martin Nesbitt, based on his voting record, is also a bloated, out-of-touch tax-raiser who contributed mightily to the declining livability of N.C.

Then again, Tony Rand was a corrupt walrus who by all rights ought to have gone to prison for some of the crap he pulled. I suppse I can’t say that about Nesbitt.

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Heath Shuler (D-NC-11) may be in serious reelection trouble next year for a couple of reasons.  For one, he’s a Democrat representing a district that voted for both John McCain and George Bush and was held by a Republican representative for 12 years prior to Shuler winning the office.  The country has been slowly moving away from Obama and the Democrats after witnessing their destructive policies and radical actions and Republicans are sure to benefit from that growing disdain.  That will work against him right there, but what might put the final nail in his political coffin could be the land deal and his involvement with the decisions made by the Tennessee Valley Authority.  Basically, Shuler lied.

Shuler’s office points out that he has been cleared of wrongdoing in the case by the House ethics committee, federal authorities and the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) inspector general. But a report released by that inspector general this week indicates he wasn’t truthful about the matter with the local press.

The report from the inspector general states that, contrary to Shuler’s claims, he contacted TVA CEO Tom Kilgore while the land swap was in progress. Shuler has told the local press that there had been no contact between him and the TVA, according to reports.

“Specifically, if all of this was above board, why did TVA and Shuler feel compelled to tell the media that there was no contact between the congressman and TVA in relation to the Maintain and Gain application?” the report said. “There obviously was.”

The Hill

That was a pretty important detail for Shuler to divulge and yet for some reason it “slipped his mind.”  You don’t forget important details like that in an ethics investigation and you don’t lie about it if you truly believe you have done nothing wrong.  I simply cannot come to any other logical conclusion.  The man had guilt on his mind.  What other reason could there possibly be for his actions?

The RNC is going to beat this to death next year.  If you live in the 11th District you are going to see ad after ad after ad about this land deal.  The RNC will most certainly work to find a top tier candidate, but even a mediocre one may be able to take Shuler out next year as there may be people who will vote Republican as a vote against Shuler more than a vote in support of the GOP candidate.  Either way, I don’t think Pete Sessions will particularly mind what their motivation is.  They’ve wanted this seat back since they lost it in aught six. ( I could have typed ‘06, but I have really been looking for a reason all week to use the word aught.)

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The current laws took effect following overwhelming voter approval of a 2006 constitutional referendum.

The changes eliminated most school taxes on owner-occupied homes, raised the statewide sales tax by 20 percent in an attempt to make up for that lost revenue, and capped increases in the taxable value of any property that hadn’t been sold or substantially improved to 15 percent every five years.

Any property with a change in ownership, however, is immediately reassessed and taxed at full value the following year.

Those “point-of-sale” reassessments keep the tax base growing and help pay for the tax relief enjoyed by others because a larger tax base means a lower tax rate is needed to raise a certain amount of revenue.

The State

I don’t see the problem, frankly.  I bought my place in 2008 and when I saw how low my property tax bill was my jaw dropped.  I came here from the northeast where property tax bills were several thousand dollars a year on homes that were worth less than $100k.  My property tax bill in South Carolina is less than $700 on a home that I bought for a little under $120k.  Amazing.

I do realize that many businesses have complained of having to shoulder an unfair burden in property taxes.  If that’s the case and it’s hurting our state’s competitiveness, then raise the sales tax again.  A sales tax is the fairest there is because everybody has to contribute, which is the way it should be.  We shouldn’t have half the population getting a near free ride off the backs of the other half.

But legislation awaiting action in the state Senate would put a 15 percent cap on the assessment changes that follow a change in ownership. Supporters say the change would spur economic development. Capping point-of-sale reassessments would remove an estimated $44 million in revenue from schools and local governments annually, the state estimates, resulting in possible property tax rate increases that would affect all property owners, cuts in school budgets and local services, or both.

Oh well we can’t have that.  We can’t take money away from the children, regardless of how carelessly it’s been spent by the school districts.  I’ve touched on that plenty of times here.  The schools in this state have all the money they need to function and educate children.  The problem is that the bulk of the money they are getting isn’t making its way to the classroom and that is the fault of those administrating the school districts.  It’s not a taxation issue, but don’t worry, they’ll scream like Chicken Little as soon as any cuts look to be on the horizon and there will be weak-kneed politicians who will cave.

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