Carolina Politics Online

As reported at WTVD-TV News 11 here in Raleigh, Pat McCrory is considering a run for governor in 2012. He is quoted that he will make a decision sometime next year.

McCrory says he’ll be making a decision on a possible run for governor sometime next year.

Pat McCrory was in Raleigh today trying to raise money to help Renee Ellmers defeat “I have you by the neck” Bob Etheridge- Democrat NC-2.

I have to say that early voting here in NC is critical and that every voter of any political leaning who wants some real change here in NC and nationally had better get to the polls.  Two more years of Obama and or Perdue will be a disaster PERIOD!

According to the North Carolina Capitol Monitor and the first hand information I have received from SEANC, they will not be giving any endorsements this year.

In the letter I received as a candidate, the leader of the statewide SEANC voiced his disgust with the way the union associations of state employees have been treated by the current leadership in the NC General Assembly this year. Naturally with the Democrats in control of the legislature we have to come to a conclusion they are mad at the Democrats. And with State House 33 being represented by retired state employee Rosa Gill, this has to be a blow to her campaign.

According to NC SPIN, the State Employees Association of North Carolina (SEANC/SEIU) will not make endorsements for the 2010 North Carolina general election in November. It’s a real first for the politically active organization.

It is important that I receive every bit of support in both donations and volunteers to win NC State House 33. A win in 33 will send shocking reverberations throughout North Carolina and the nation.

North Carolina State Representative Bill Owens (D-Elizabeth City) may be forced into early retirement this year.  According to Survey USA, who polled the First Senate District, which encompasses Owens’ state house district, if the election were held today Owens would lose to his Republican challenger John Woodard 44 to 41.  For Owens to be polling so poorly as an incumbent is like a locomotive heading down the tracks towards a canyon where the bridge is out.

This polling shows two positive signs if you’re a Republican.  One, the GOP needs to win nine seats in the state house in order to gain control of it.  Normally seats switch parties when there is no incumbent running.  A Republican polling ahead of an incumbent Democrat in a swing district could be an indication that other incumbent seats are also at play.  Second, eastern North Carolina has typically been fertile territory for the Democratic Party.  Owens’ slipping favorability among the voters could indicate that the national unrest against the Democrats is causing them to lose their hold on this region of the state.

Instead of actually taking on racism and prejudice coming from people of all races, the NAACP has decided to start a political war against the Tea Party movement. The NAACP has on many occasions violated its tax exempt status, but we know that there is no way that the Obama administration will ever send the IRS to investigate them. With the Obama administration perverting justice by withdrawing charges against the New Black Panthers in Philadelphia, we can never expect to get justice in Washington.

ABC reports about this declaration of a political war by the NAACP against the Tea party movement.

The NAACP’s resolution condemning what it calls racist elements within the Tea Party is drawing fire from top Tea Party supporters, including Sarah Palin, as the civil rights group’s president insists the party needs to “expel racists from the ranks.”

The NAACP has racists within its ranks and with the support of the New Black Panthers we can rightfully call the NAACP hypocrites. A St. Louis Tea Party groups replies with its own resolution.

The St. Louis Tea Party coalition on Monday evening passed a resolution of its own condemning the NAACP for “hypocritically engaging in the very conduct it purports to oppose.” The resolution calls on the NAACP to withdraw its resolution. It even urges the IRS to reconsider its tax-exempt status of the NAACP because of what the Tea Party coalition dubbed the organization’s “habitual partisan political behavior.”

A former NAACP chapter President and now Tea Party leader has a message for the NAACP.

“Those ideas that Tea Party people are racist and that we’re trying to instigate a racist climate in this country, that’s simply a lie. That’s out and out falsehood,” said Rev. C.L. Bryant, a former president of NAACP’s Garland, Texas, chapter who is now a leading Tea Party activist.
“I have not heard one racial slur that came out of that march,” said Bryant, referring to the Tea Party protest on Capitol Hill where members of Congress alleged racist comments. “Those were simply Americans who were protesting.”

The NAACP and union attacks are simply a method of distraction to support Obama and the many left wing Democrats who are under electoral siege by the voters. As in my N.C. State House (District 33) race against Rosa Gill, a vote for her is a vote for Barack Obama and his policies. A vote for me is a vote to take back our state and nation and return it back to the people. It is time to return America back to a nation of equal opportunity, not redistribution of wealth. Use your vote, your time, and your money to help us turn back Obama.

Raleigh – A vote of 63 to 45 in the House gave tentative approval Thursday to a measure that would dictate what children could have to drink in private child care facilities.

House Bill 1726

These dictates would include a prohibition against serving sugar-sweetened beverages to children of any age; a prohibition against serving whole milk to children two years of age or older; a prohibition against serving flavored milk to any child; an absolute daily limit of six ounces of juice for any child regardless of age or how long the child is cared for; and a prohibition against juice served in a bottle, regardless of age. Primary sponsors are Democratic Representatives Jennifer Weiss (D-Wake), Bob England (D-Rutherford), Marian McLawhorn (D-Pitt) and Doug Yongue (D-Scotland).

Lincoln Tribune

It’s the same mentality we saw last week with State Senator Marc Basnight regarding the Internet sweepstakes.  These self-appointed authoritarians think you are too stupid to properly take care of your family and therefore they will lay down rules on how to raise your children because they know better than you.  If this passes the Senate and gets signed by the governor somebody should sue because I think this is unconstitutional.

How long are you folks in North Carolina going to put up with this nanny state attitude from your state government?  These people are supposed to be preserving your liberty, not stepping on it.  Everyone that voted for this bill in the State House should be removed from office.

Every Democrat in the House voted for the bill with the exception of four who voted no, four who weren’t present, and the House Speaker Joe Hackney who didn’t vote.  The four no votes were State Representatives Kelly Alexander (Charlotte), Pryor Gibson (Wadesboro), Pricey Harrison (Greensboro), and Nick Mackey (Charlotte).  The four Democrats who weren’t present to vote were: Earline Parmon (Winston-Salem), Ronnie Sutton (Pembroke), Russell Tucker (Pink Hill), and Douglas Younge (Laurinburg).

Four Republicans also voted for this bill.  These authoritarians who think they can better raise your family than you can were: Larry Brown (Kernersville), Phillip Frye (Spruce Pine), Robert Grady (Jacksonville), and David Guice (Brevard)

Civitas heats up:

Sponsored by Reps. Pricey Harrison (D-Guilford), Alice Graham Underhill (D-Craven) and Winkie Wilkins (D-Person), HB1807 is a resolution entitled “Support Federal Climate Change Legislation.”  The resolution is full of claims perpetuated by the same false science that fuels the insanity of global warming alarmists everywhere.

The resolution calls for federal legislation that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, most likely in the form of carbon taxes or some form of cap and trade, which will cause energy prices to skyrocket. 

This bill requests legislation that is antithetical to free-market and limited-government principles; it requests wealth redistribution, increased energy costs resulting from market manipulation, higher taxes and suggests that North Carolina may take action to “control carbon emissions.”

Every once in while, Bane Windlow and I zero in on a politician we really don’t like and take them to task. Bane’s favorite targets are Paul Lindeman and Jake “The Fat Man” Knotts, both of whom are very deserving of as much wrath as we can direct their way.

I haven’t been as selective. Richard Stevens and “Fatty” Fletcher Hartsell stuck out as pretty damn pro-government when I did “Dead Republican Walking” during the last session of the N.C. General Assembly. But I didn’t really concentrate on them so much as RINOs and government-lovers in general.

Well, that’s gonna change. I now have a new target- a new object of my affliction, if you will. And ohhhh… what a juicy, fun-to-pick-apart object this little runt is going to be.

And I will pick him apart. If I have to spend my own money to go to Stanly County and look up everything this self-important little twerp has ever done or forgotten he has done, I will. And I will post it here.

Hello St. Rep. Justin Burr (R-Albemarle)- you and I are about to become very, very close, because I have decided to take a special, personal interest in your political career.

L'il Prince Chucklehead

Burr (no relation to the senator) is just 25 years old, or old enough to think he knows everything despite knowing very little. He has been in the legislature since 2009. He defeated an appointed Republican incumbent in the 2008 primary. Funny enough, Bane Windlow actually endorsed Burr back then, but that’s OK. Burr campaigned as a strong conservative and a fresh young face, despite the fact that he was actually a scrawny statist douche who has since let his true colors shine through.

So, why the playa-hatin’? Read on.

Continue Reading »

Civitas continues to keep an eye on our elected clowns, and explains why not all tax exemptions are good.

House Bill 1668, “An Act to Exempt From Sales and Use Tax the Purchase of Products Entirely Composed of Recycled Materials” is set to be introduced during the current legislative session of the General Assembly. 

Just before the start of this year’s legislative session, Senate and House Democrats estimated that between $800 million and $1 billion in additional revenue or spending cuts would be needed to balance the budget for the start of the fiscal year in July.  Considering this news, one would probably expect the state to not be as charitable this year in offering North Carolinians tax credits or other programs that would further reduce the amount of generated revenue.  When it comes to legislative politics, however, one must throw all semblance of common sense out the window.

This bill would actually narrow the sales-tax base by exempting more products, making it counterproductive to a stable source of revenue, and winner of the Civitas Institute “Bad Bill of the Week.”

The NCGOP is playing this radio ad across the state in honor of the reconvening of the General Assembly on Wednesday.

Eh… not bad. Kinda clever.

The votes have been counted and we’ve had time to digest the results. Let’s review, shall we?

U.S Senate (Republican)- Richard (20% of my own party told me to take a hike) Burr sent a victory telegram from a fundraiser in Washington, DC, showing everyone just what motivated that 20% to vote the way it did. Even in bad Democrat years, Democrats can pick off vulnerable, flawed incumbents. Tim Johnson beat Larry Pressler in S.D. in 1996. Mark Pryor beat Tim Hutchinson in Arkansas in 2002. Can Elaine or Cal beat Burr this year?

U.S. Senate (Democrat)- Wow. That was a thrill-a-minute primary, wasn’t it? Now politics’ answer to sleeping pills enters round two, with two people no one in their own party even cares about trying to lure sleepwalkers to the voting booth for the run-off. This almost makes me miss John Edwards- at least news stories about him are interesting.

Anyways, looks like Cal What’s-his-name is full steam ahead for a run-off with… That Old Chick, or whatever her name is. He seems pretty into it… to bad no one else is. Will there be behind-the-scenes pressure forcing him out for party unity? Probably. Will it work? Doubt it. As long as the only person he attacks is Burr, he’ll stay in.

U.S. House- There are only two outstanding races right now; Bill Randall and Bernie Reeves in the 13th, and Timmy D. and The Big Guy in the 8th. A third, Jeff Miller and Dan Eichenbaum in the 11th, may or may not be over; a recount may be imminent.

Republicans believe they have a shot at four Democrat seats in November- Shuler’s 11th, Kissell’s 8th, and, if the conditions are right, McIntyre’s 7th and Etheridge’s 2nd. Shuler only got 65% in his own primary, so he may have problems coming at him from both sides in November.

Etheridge is a socialist masquerading as a moderate in a conservative district (N.C. 2). Renee Ellmers, a nurse, will be his opponent. Every year there’s at least one under-the-radar race where a long-term incumbent gets beat down by an unheralded no one, followed by the national media echo chamber braying about how “no one saw it coming”. Bull. They’re easy to see coming- a good challenger runs a competent campaign in a winnable district against a long-term incumbent seen as “out-of-touch” and incompatible with the district’s overall philosophy. My early nomination for this year’s eventual “no one saw it coming” race? N.C. 2. A second nomination? N.C. 4. Don’t laugh- B.J. Lawson is a great candidate for that district and Price is an old buffoon.

I was surprised and disappointed to see Patrick McHenry easily handle his two opponents, including our friend Scott Keadle. McHenry may be a douche, but he knows how to win elections. If he managed to hold on in this anti-incumbent year against two millionaires dropping coin on him, he’s probably there until he gets caught in bed with a barn animal.

N.C. House and Senate- Kathy Harrington (R) will succeed David Hoyle (D) after winning her primary. Yes, there is a general election; no, it doesn’t matter… unless she’s caught in a 3-way with McHenry and his barn animal of choice.

In Wilmington, Thom Goolsby beat Michael Lee for the GOP nod and will face UNCW Chancellor Jim Luetze (D) in the 9th Senate District. Incumbent Democrat Julia Boseman stepped down to run for district court… and lost on Tuesday. Ooops.

In Wake County, Tom Murry won his primary by 200 votes over Todd Batchelor. Murry has a great shot at beating appointed Dem Chris Heagarty in one of N.C.’s most contested house seats. Also in Wake, our own Paul Terrell won and will face appointed Rosa Gill, who in the past few years has done her part to ensure that fewer black kids graduate high school in Wake County (she used to be on the school board).

In Mecklenburg, we can all celebrate as our long, statewide nightmare comes to an end- the Nick Mackey reign has ended. And to prove that when it rains, it pours, the state bar suspended Mackey’s law license a day before he got his ass kicked in the primary. Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.

Smoking ban advocate an uber-RINO Jeff Barnhart survived a GOP primary in Caburrus County. I strongly regret not publicizing that race more, but I just didn’t have the time.

Along with Nick Mackey, four other house incumbents lost on Tuesday: Bruce Goforth of Buncombe County, Ronnie Sutton of Robeson County and Earl Jones of Guilford County, all Democrats, lost on Tuesday. One Republican lost, but she gets her own post below this one.

The Losers- Yeah, Nick Mackey lost. So did Julia Boseman. But do you know who the biggest losers of the night were?

The RNC and the DNC.

The DNC told Elaine Marshall, a four-time statewide election victor, to get lost. Their choice- some dude who was a state senator from somewhere for like, two years or something. How’d that work out, DNC? Oh, and now look- not only did the lady you screwed over beat your lackey, but now there’s gonna be a run-off and Richard Burr has more time to get ready for his opponent. Way to go!

Not to be outdone, the RNC brain-trust recruited candidates for the 8th District and the 11th district. Candidates who were supposed to be unstoppable. Candidates who would dominate a primary and dispatch the Democrat incumbents in November. Candidates who were vetted by the RNC Einsteins as the best possible Republican to run for those seats.

Yeah…

8th District- Lou Huddleston, 8.24% of the vote; 4th in a six-way race.
11th District- Greg Newman, 11.67%; 3rd in a six-way race.

Y’know, I’m starting a fund, right here on CPO, to benefit whoever was in charge of recruiting those jabronies. I’ll personally put up money for it. The prize? A trip to a blissful, serene tropical island, accompanied by none other than RNC Chair Michael Steele…. with no ticket back home.

The polls have now been closed for a few hours and enough of the precincts have reported to project fairly accurate results at this point.  So what happened?

Probably the best ass beating that took place tonight was that of the corrupt and sleazy Nick Mackey.  Mackey failed miserably to secure the nomination of his party.  His opponent Rodney Moore received 62% of the vote leaving Mackey with a paltry 38%.  Like they say, crime never pays.

In the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, Elaine Marshall and Cal Cunningham appear to be headed to a runoff election.  With 89 counties fully reported Marshall had 36% of the vote and Cunningham had 27%.

In the U.S. House Republican primaries, Renee Ellmers has won the Second District primary with 55% of the vote.  Congressman Walter Jones survived his primary challenge with 77% of the vote.  B.J. Lawson edged out Frank Roche in the Fourth District primary with 46% of the vote.  Ilario Pantano won the Seventh District primary with 50% of the vote, defeating 2008 nominee Will Breazeale.  In the closely watched Eighth District, Tim D’Annunzio and Harold Johnson will head to a run off to determine who will face Congressman Larry Kissell in November.  In the Tenth District Congressman Patrick McHenry easily fended off his challengers with 62% of the vote.  The Eleventh District is too close to call.  With 13 of 15 counties reporting, Jeff Miller had 40.47% of the vote, just half a percent more than what he needs to avoid a run off election.  The results from the last two counties will determine whether or not that will be needed.  If so, he will face Dan Eichenbaum in a run off.  And CPO contributor Paul Terrell won his primary race in State House District 33 with 67% of the vote.

In Mecklenburg County for the Republican primary for County Commissioner At-Large, former Sheriff Jim Pendergraph, former Commissioner Dan Ramirez, and Corey Thompson were the top three vote getters.

My opponent in the NC House District 33 primary has claimed that I have slandered her. She stated this on her UNC-TV candidates page. I would also refer you to her web site but she does not have one. The only thing I will say is we are both public figures and are judged accordingly by our past actions. If she truly feels slandered then she can bring forward anything that has been said about her and refute it publicly. Anyone who knows me knows that I will not state a fact about someone unless I know without a doubt it is true.

 If I may I will refer you to the Independent Weekly’s endorsementof my campaign. It may be a liberal progressive paper, but they are always honest on where they stand. Regardless of what the Indy thinks of my chances in November they feel also that Leventhal is not qualified for anything let alone the N.C. State House. And the 80.2% and 84.9% straw poll wins at two different major Wake County Republican events shows the approval of Republican activists. I will end this by saying that the main difference between the two of us is: That I am not a last second opportunist that has given nothing to the community or the Republican Party.

There you go!  Did I not friggin say this was going to happen?  Did I not say it???

The trial of a man accused of killing two Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officers is postponed, a judge decided Thursday.

Demeatrius Montgomery is charged with shooting officers Sean Clark and Jeff Shelton in April 2007.

The trial won’t begin until fall.

The judge said the trial won’t begin until a study about the North Carolina Racial Justice Act is completed. The study focuses on whether African-Americans are put to death more often than whites. It will be completed in August, and then there will be a hearing in September about Montgomery facing the death penalty.

North Carolina’s Racial Justice Act, which was signed into law last August, allows people facing murder charges and death-row inmates to try to show that racial bias is related to the decision to seek or impose the death penalty.

WSOC

This is exactly why there are people out there who take the law into their own hands to dispense justice, because you can’t get any in North Carolina.  This guy murdered two Charlotte police officers three years ago and he might get his life spared, why?  Because he’s black.  That’s right.  North Carolina over the past century has executed too many black people and the newly passed Racial Justice Act says that if too many black people have been executed compared to white people then you can’t stick a needle in the man’s arm and end it. Nope, he instead gets to live his life, unlike the men he killed, and all on your dime.  What kind of asinine boob would vote for something like that?  Your Democrat Governor Bev Perdue and your Democrat controlled state legislature, that’s who.

The State of North Carolina should be taken to court over that law to have it overturned because it’s racially discriminatory.  Ah, but that’s ok, because it’s not discriminatory against the right people, you see.

Demeatrius Montgomery should already be pushing up daisies.  For three years his lawyers have been using every stalling tactic they can come up with to keep pushing this man’s ultimate destiny further and further off.  The members of the state legislature who voted to pass the Racial Justice Act should be forced to stand before the families of the slain officers, Sean Clark and Jeff Shelton, and explain to them why their killer may now not be brought to the appropriate justice he deserves.

People seeking real reform of North Carolina’s annexation law should ignore a bill that cleared the N.C. House last year. That bill does more harm than good, a John Locke Foundation expert argues in a new Spotlight report.

“Some legislators have tried to push House Bill 524 as reform,” said report author Daren Bakst, JLF Director of Legal and Regulatory Studies. “Supporters claim that H.B. 524 is a ’start’ or a positive incremental step in the right direction. They are wrong.”

The Carolina Journal

I wrote about this law after it passed the state house. If I were a supporter of forced annexation, and I wanted to concoct some brilliantly evil scheme to make it look like the state was reforming the annexation process but was in reality making it easier to gobble up other peoples’ lands, this is the bill I would have written.

“Not only does H.B. 524 fail to address a single meaningful reform, it actually makes the existing annexation statute worse,” he said. “It does not constitute a ’start’ to anything but more annexation abuse. That means forced annexation would be an even greater problem for the 4.1 million North Carolinians who live in unincorporated areas.”

Reform should address forced annexation, the process that allows cities and towns to force individuals to live inside municipalities against their wishes, Bakst said.

Yesterday’s post on the effectiveness rankings of legislators reminded me of the Civitas Institute’s rankings of “conservative” effectiveness.

According to Civitas, the most conservative state house members are Dale Falwell, George Cleveland, Ric Killian, John Blust, Bryan Holloway, Efton Sager, and Sarah Stevens, all of whom scored 80 or higher on the rankings chart based on key votes. No one scored higher than Falwell’s 89. The lowest was, no surprise, Speaker Joe Hackney, with 0 points.

Republican leader Paul Stam ranked #20 overall with 72 points. The two most liberal Republicans were Jeff Barnhart (50) and Carolyn Justice (49). The most conservative Democrat was Timothy Spear (32 points). No house Democrat was ranked higher than any house Republican.

The most conservative state senators are Andrew Brock (70), Phil Berger (67.3), Eddie Goodall (60), and Bob Rucho (60). The least conservative are Ellie “Wackadoo” Kinnaird (2.1) and new Majority Leader Martin Nesbitt (2.1). Sen. Vernon Malone recieved a 0, but since he’s dead now… well, yeah. Marc Basnight (10 points) ranked 30th.

No senate Democrat ranked higher than any senate Republican The most conservative Democrat was A.B. Swindell (24 points). The least conservative Republicans were uber-RINOs Stan Bingham (37.2) and Fatty Fletcher Hartsell (36).

The N.C. Center for Public Policy Research’s latest “effectiveness” rankings are out, and according to it’s website, you can get the whole damn thing… for $10. If, like me, you’re too cheap for something like that, we can always rely on press releases and newspapers who are willing to pay the $10.

House Speaker Joe Hackney, an Orange County Democrat was the most effective House member in the report, which is based on surveys of lawmakers, lobbyists and capitol news reporters. Rules Chairman Rep. Bill Owens, an Elizabeth City Democrat was number two and chief budget writer Rep. Mickey Michaux, a Durham Democrat, was number three. House Majority leader Rep. Hugh Holliman, a Lexington Democrat was fourth and Rep. Rick Glazier, a Fayetteville Democrat was fifth. 

Republican House Leader Paul “Skip” Stam is the highest ranking Republican at 10 while Rep. Harold Brubaker, a Randolph County Republican was 18th. Rep. Thom Tillis, a Cornelius Republican was number 32 and posted the highest gain for both chambers. He moved up 63 places from his 95th ranking in 2007.

The least effective member of the House was former Rep. Cary Allred, a Burlington Republican who resigned his seat after he was accused of an inappropriate hug with a teenaged page in the House chamber.

The N&O

According to the annual rankings based on surveys by the N.C. Center for Public Policy Research, the most effective Senator, of course, is Senate Leader Marc Basnight.

The second most effective member was Sen. Tony Rand, a Fayetteville Democrat who was generally considered Basnight’s enforcer until he left the Senate to run the state’s parole commission late last year. Number three was Sen. David Hoyle, a Gaston County Democrat who has announced he won’t seek another term. Ditto for number 12, Sen. R.C. Soles, a Columbus County Democrat, who pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor arising out of a shooting at his Tabor City home. Soles, the longest serving state senator, is not seeking another term.

Number 15? Sen. Charlie Albertson, a Duplin County Democrat and budget writer who isn’t seeking re-election. Number 16 was Sen. David Weinstein, a Robeson County Democrat, who was appointed to run the Governor’s Highway Safety Program.

The highest-ranking Republican Senator was Sen. Fletcher Hartsell, a Cabarrus County Republican who was ranked seventh. Senate Republican Leader Phil Berger of Eden, was number 11 and Sen. Richard Stevens, a Wake County Republican was number 13.

The lowest-ranking Senator was Sen. Andrew Brock, a Davie County Republican. Sen. Larry Shaw, a Cumberland County Democrat, was his party’s lowest-ranking member at 47.

The N&O

We love to hate State Representative Nick Mackey (D-Charlotte) here at CPO, so I am certainly not going to let this one slide by.  The North Carolina Center for Public Policy Research released their report earlier this week showing who are the most effective legislators in North Carolina and who are the least.  Out of  the 119 House members surveyed, Mackey fell in at 115th.  Alas, it can’t be true!  Ah, but it is and who is surprised?  Not I.  Mackey has continued to skate by in his new job just like he has with all of his other affairs and his life in general.  The only thing he is good at is rigging elections.  His opponent, Rodney Moore, had some choice words to offer in a press release sent out by his campaign.

Charlotte, NC – April 6, 2010 – Rodney W. Moore, a candidate for North Carolina General Assembly Representative for District 99, today issued a statement regarding Rep. Nick Mackey’s effectiveness rating according to the results of a survey just released by the non-partisan organization North Carolina Center for Public Policy Research. Ranked 115th of 119 NC House members surveyed, Rep. Mackey is ranked as the least effective Democratic House member and one of the five least effective members of the North Carolina State House of Representatives. Mr. Moore said that this performance is an embarrassment and a disservice to the constituents of NC House District 99, stating:

“Rep. Mackey should be embarrassed by his ineffectiveness as a legislator. His lack of performance is a disservice to the people of NC House District 99 and Mecklenburg County .”

“Since Rep. Nick Mackey recently boasted about his NC House attendance record, it stands to reason that his overall effectiveness would be improved were he not showing up at all in the General Assembly. Voters have the opportunity to help Nick Mackey improve his overall effectiveness for the district by electing to send him home for good on May 4.”

Cumberland County Democrats think they picked a couple of November winners Thursday night.

Attorney Phillip Gilfus bested two rivals and will serve out the term of Breeden Blackwell as county commissioner.

Nursing instructor and bookstore owner Diane Parfitt won a vacant state House 44 seat after someone else who sought the office bowed out.

The seat belonged to Margaret Dickson, a Democrat from Fayetteville.

State law allows local party officials to make binding appointments.

The Fayetteville Observer

State Rep. Hugh Holliman, a Democrat from Lexington, is one of the most powerful members of the General Assembly — but in the conservative-leaning district he represents, that can be both a blessing and a curse.

As the N.C. House majority leader, Holliman has his fingerprints on every major piece of legislation passed by the Democratic-controlled General Assembly. This year, in addition to helping write a state budget amid a massive shortfall, Holliman championed a statewide smoking ban at businesses. It will take effect on Jan. 2.

But Holliman may face his toughest test at home in the 81st House District, where Republicans and interest groups are already gearing up efforts to unseat him next year. His re-election fight in 2010 is likely to be one of the most hard-fought and closely watched legislative races in the state.

The W-S Journal

Holliman, one of our dis-honorable mentions in the Jackass of the Year contest, will hopefully learn that there are consequences to treating your constituents like 3-year olds who can’t make their own decisions. Anyone who wants to retire that conceited arrogant fascist has as much support as I can give him.

Two Republicans have already declared that they will run for Holliman’s seat. They are Rayne Brown, a social worker who ran against Holliman in 2008, and Fred McClure, a Davidson County commissioner.

Holliman beat Brown in the last election with 53 percent of the votes to Brown’s 47 percent. That was during a tide of Democratic victories up and down the ballot. Next year will likely be a much tougher environment for Democrats, and the 81st House District is one of the few true swing districts in the legislature.

Where Hugh Holliman Lives

State Representative Nick Mackey (D-Charlotte), one of our favorite punching bags here, has got himself a primary challenger in next year’s election.  Mecklenburg County Democrat African American Caucus Chairman (wow, that’s a mouth full) Rodney Moore announced yesterday morning that he’ll challenge Mackey for the Democrat nomination next year.

Mr. Moore, we here at CPO give you our fullest, unabashed blessing.  Have at him!