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!

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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.

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According to a recent poll commissioned by Survey USA, Big Brother Basnight isn’t going to be walking into reelection this year.  In a poll of 798 registered voters in North Carolina’s First Senate District, 49% of voters would choose to reelect Marc Basnight to the State Senate while 39% would settle on his opponent, Hood Richardson.  While Basnight still holds a ten point lead over Richardson, an incumbent is considered to have entered vulnerable territory when they drop under 50% support.  Richardson would be wise to hammer home to the voters Basnight’s full fledged support for last year’s massive tax increase and state spending in a time when real unemployment nation wide is hovering around 21%.

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We are not big fans of North Carolina Senate President Marc Basnight here at CPO.  Basnight is a big government supporting, tax and spending, authoritarian.  He has proven this time and time again with the legislation and proposals he has supported throughout the years.  Basnight represents North Carolina’s First Senate District which covers the northeast corner of the state, including the Outer Banks, a heavy tourist destination for people around the country.  The First is also a swing district, which means despite Basnight’s tenure over the years, he is not invulnerable.  This year with momentum riding against the Democratic Party, Marc Basnight can and hopefully will be deposed.

Hood Richardson is Basnight’s Republican challenger in the general election.  He describes himself as being a proponent of smaller government, individual liberties, and against tax increases.  What a refreshing change that would be compared to his current Senate representative.  While Basnight really has only had token opposition over the years, this year could prove to be a bit more challenging for him.  Richardson has been a Beaufort County Commissioner for the past 13 years so he’s not unknown.  He’s also running in a year where the national mood has soured against our President and his party.  There is a realistic possibility that disgruntled voters in this swing Senate district could put Richardson over the top and rid us of Mr. Basnight’s superiority complex once and for all.

So I encourage you to visit Hood Richardson’s Web site and don’t be afraid to throw him a few bucks for his campaign.  Consider it an investment for the future of North Carolina.

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Say that five times fast.

Beginning this fall, Outer Banks businesses in Currituck, Dare and Hyde counties will be required to bag customers’ purchases in recycled paper bags or, better yet, reusable cloth bags, under the General Assembly’s approved budget plan for the coming year.

Customers using reusable bags will be entitled to a cash refund worth the cost of the bags not used in the purchase.

The budget provision expands a plastic bag ban enacted last year, prohibiting major retailers from distributing lightweight plastic bags to their customers. The new provision will ban plastic bags of any weight — flimsy or not — from being used by any business on the barrier islands beginning on Oct. 1.

The Daily Advance

Guess who was the brainchild of this proposal?  You got it, Big Brother Marc Basnight (D-Manteo), President Pro Tempore of the North Carolina State Senate.  The man is on a roll, prohibiting everything in his path.

Now let me clarify something first.  I hate people who litter.  They get on my bad side really quick and if it were up to me I would make the fine for littering so painful that 99.9% of folks would never even consider doing it.  That doesn’t mean I support Herr Basnight in one of his many goosestepping proposals.

Do you know what this will accomplish?  It will add to the cost of business for all of those mom and pop market shops in the Outer Banks.  That’s all it will do.  It will not cut down on littering.  Why paper bags in the first place?  Why not ban plastic bottles from being sold?  Why not ban beer since people can just pitch their beer cans and bottles out the car and on to the side of the road?  I was just at the Outer Banks not that long ago and I didn’t even notice any litter problem to begin with.

Then there are the health issues.  Those recyclable shopping bags?  They’re a disco dance hall for germs.

Reusable shopping bags could be a threat to public health because they harbour potentially deadly food poisoning bugs, according to new research.

Tests on shoppers’ bags revealed half contained traces of E.coli, a lethal toxin which killed 26 people in Scotland in 1996 in one of the worlds worst food poisoning outbreaks.

Scientists also found many were contaminated with salmonella.

Researchers blame the fact that consumers do not realise reusable bags need to be washed regularly at high temperatures to kill off bugs deposited by raw meat packaging.

Telegraph

So we may have scores of people ending up in the hospital with E.coli, but at least we won’t have to worry about people littering with plastic grocery bags.  If you get sick, send your hospital to Big Brother Basnight.

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Not surprisingly, the North Carolina State Senate almost unanimously decided that you can’t be trusted on how to spend your money.  They have to make that decision for you because they’re better and more intelligent than you.  The Senate passed Senate Bill 38, the companion to House Bill 80, to ban the continuation of Internet sweepstakes in North Carolina by a vote of 47 to 1.  The only member of the Senate that stood up for individual freedom was Senator Julia Boseman (D-Wilmington).

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I love when the establishment loses and that’s one of the benefits that came out of this past Tuesday’s run off election in North Carolina’s 21st State Senate District.  Democratic voters in the 21st told the party establishment to piss off when they overwhelmingly supported political newcomer Dr. Eric Mansfield over former Cumberland County Democratic Party Chairwoman Lula Crenshaw.

Dr. Eric Mansfield captured the Democratic Party’s nomination for the 21st District with a convincing win this week, surprising party officials and defeating a partisan heavyweight.

Mansfield, who is 45, acknowledged that he didn’t know what he was doing when he started knocking on doors in the snow in January. One man whom Mansfield met on Seabrook Road gave him a candid assessment.

“He said, ‘You don’t know the neighborhood, you don’t know politics and you don’t know what you’re doing,’ ” Mansfield said.

The man was right, Mansfield said. He said the Cumberland County Senior Democrats club told him the same thing in January.

He took the message as a personal challenge.

“We had a lot of work to do, and we set out to do it,” he said. “We learned a lot.”

In Tuesday’s primary runoff, he defeated Lula Crenshaw, a former county party chairwoman, 62 percent to 38 percent, according to unofficial results.

In the May primary, he led a five-candidate field that included a former five-term city councilman.

The Fayetteville Observer

Dr. Mansfield is an Ears, Nose, and Throat Specialist with a practice in Fayetteville.  He served honorably in the 82nd Airborne Division of the United State Army and he is an active member in his church and community.  As a doctor he supports greater free market competition in health care, tort reform, and Medicaid cost and fraud controls, in order to bring down medical costs so that heath care services will be more affordable to people in the state.  He also recognizes the need for improvement in the education system and the tax structure for small businesses.  He was endorsed by the North Carolina Chamber of Commerce.

While Mansfield will face a Republican opponent in the general election, the 21st is heavily Democratic and it’s highly unlikely Mansfield will be defeated.  I think he’ll make a great state senator for Cumberland County.

Standing up for what is right from kassaye kassaye on Vimeo.

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Basnight said there is a role for government here.

“In society there is a point where law has to control the habits of people, Basnight said. “This is one of those times when you would certainly stop.”

The Times News

There you go.  Straight from the horse’s mouth.  That would be Marc Basnight, President Pro Tempore of the North Carolina State Senate and Senator Basnight’s words are as clear as a sunny day.  You and I and every other taxpayer in North Carolina are not smart enough to run our own lives.  We do not possess the gifted wisdom of he and his authoritarian, nanny stater compatriots.  Only they, the elected aristocracy, know what is best for us.

So what am I talking about?  Dreaded, sinful gambling…..  the Internet sweepstakes.

As the past week drew to a close, a Senate committee approved a bill carefully worded to ban the Internet sweepstakes games while leaving gaming devices at the Cherokee casino in western North Carolina and free promotional sweepstakes intact. The senators called a press conference to decry the Internet sweepstakes and make their intentions clear.

The Times News

Can’t have it!  Nope!  We can’t have grown adult men and women deciding to engage in gambling.  You think this is a free country or something?  What’s wrong with you?  This is the People’s Republic of North Carolina and the state legislature is the imperial guard.

Brad Crone, a lobbyist representing the sweepstakes industry, said that the action won’t be taken without a battle.

“The fight is on, there’s no doubt about that,” Crone said. “The sweepstakes operators are making a lot of phone calls.”

Crone said they’ll make the argument that banning Internet sweepstakes would hurt the economy.

There are 932 Internet sweepstakes operations in North Carolina, Crone said. In addition, some mom and pop convenience stores have sweepstakes machines.

“If you eliminate video sweepstakes, you’re going to eliminate 10,000 jobs,” Crone said.

Remind you of the smoking ban that shut down many of the hookah bars in the state?  Guess what, they’re about to strike again.  The elected members of the North Carolina state assembly, the very people who are supposed to be advancing and protecting the freedom and liberty of the residents of this state, are about to shut down more businesses and destroy the livelihood of their people.

Sheriffs and police chiefs spoke, as did the Rev. Mark Creech, executive director of the Christian Action League of North Carolina. Creech said that church members across the state would be galvanized to call their legislators and ask them to support the ban.

Ah yes, the Christian Action League, trying to save our souls.  Hell fire, Zeke!  We can’t have these sinful temptations polluting the minds of God’s children!  You must repent!  Send us your money now!  Rev. Creech needs a new Cadillac.

Senate President Pro-tem Marc Basnight, D-Dare, questioned where the money was coming from to pay the business operators.

“It comes from that community of people that can least afford to pay,” Basnight said. Then that results in a greater demand on government social networks, Basnight said.

Suddenly Senator Basnight is concerned about the state’s finances.  How odd.  Mr. Basnight hasn’t exactly been a great steward of public tax dollars.  He also presents a false dichotomy.  He says we have only two choices, either we ban Internet sweepstakes so people use less government welfare or we allow it to continue resulting in the poor requiring more government welfare.  He never considers the idea that maybe the government shouldn’t be in the process of providing these people with freebies paid for by you and me in the first place!  That they should actually be responsible for themselves doesn’t even cross his mind.

Chase Brooks, owner of some these Internet sweepstakes businesses, is fighting this and rightly so.  His livelihood depends on it.  I sure hope he has better luck than Adam Bliss did.

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Republican Cleveland County Sheriff candidate David Morrow has given validity to those immortal words of Edward Bulwer-Lytton, proving that the pen is indeed mightier than the sword.

Former sheriff candidate David Morrow was indicted for felony assault on a legislator and misdemeanor assault on a female, according to the Cleveland County Clerk’s Office.

Witnesses say Morrow, who recently lost the Republican nomination for Cleveland County Sheriff, threw a dozen or more ink pens at N.C. Sen. Debbie Clary on May 10 as a guest from Raleigh spoke from the commissioners’ chambers.

Two of the pens “struck her in the face,” according to a Shelby Police report obtained by The Star.

The Star

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RALEIGH — The state Senate is expected to consider today a $450 million bond package that would pay for university and college projects, including a new engineering building at N.C. State University.

A key Senate committee approved the bond package Tuesday. Borrowing the money would not require the approval of voters. The state is facing an $800 million revenue shortfall in its operating budget because of the recession. That same recession means that construction costs could be as much as 30 percent cheaper than they would be during normal times.

The News & Observer

Sen. Phil Berger, an Eden Republican and the chamber’s minority leader, said the state may be facing a $3 billion deficit next year because of taxes and federal stimulus dollars that are set to expire. While the projects are worthwhile, another $18 million debt payment now doesn’t make any sense, he said.

“Would you do that in your personal life?” he asked.

Maybe the State of North Carolina just thinks down the road it can declare bankruptcy like people do when they get in over their head.  Bear in mind that the state legislature is also banking on the Feds providing another half a billion in Medicaid welfare handouts to the state as they present the next fiscal year’s budget.  That money isn’t even guaranteed so if the Feds don’t pony up, add another $500 million to the state deficit.

When the recession created a budget shortfall here in South Carolina our state legislature massively slashed the budget.  As a matter of fact, funding was cut to higher education throughout the state.  I’m a graduate student at Winthrop University.  Guess what.  My tuition went up.  We, the students receiving the educative services, had to pick up the financial slack for our own education and that’s exactly the way it should be.  I wasn’t bitching about it.  If UNC needs a new engineering building that bad then let them pay for it!

In a parting note, I can’t let the words of Republican State Senator Richard Stevens go without special fanfare.  I can always county on big government trough feeders like him to make my case for me when I repeatedly point out that the Republicans are no better at containing the size of government than the Democrats are.

“We can’t afford not to invest in our future,” said Sen. Richard Stevens, a Cary Republican.

Thanks again, Dick.

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The Eighth Senate district is a seat that the Republicans need to pick up if they are going to take over the State Senate.  The seat is currently held by Democrat R.C. Soles who is not seeking reelection due to a lot of bad press he has been receiving over the past couple of years.  He seems to have a penchant for young men, among other things.

The Eighth covers Brunswick, Columbus, and Pender counties.

Raleigh, N.C. – In the election for North Carolina’s 8th Senate District seat, Republican candidate Bill Rabon is leading the race against Democratic opponent David Redwine by 15 percent according to a new SurveyUSA poll released today by the Civitas Institute.

According to the poll of 350 registered voters, 50 percent said that if the election for state Senator were held today they would vote for Rabon who is campaigning to replace retiring Democratic Sen. R.C. Soles. Thirty-five percent said they would vote for Redwine, and 15 percent said they were undecided.

Rabon’s lead is built among strong support from unaffiliated voters where he leads Redwine by a 51 percent-28 percent margin. Also, despite a competitive primary, Rabon has been able to rally the Republican base vote with 87 percent of Republicans saying they would vote for him.

Civitas Institute

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For a state that has been harshly demonized over the past month for stepping up where the Feds have miserably failed, Arizona sure has become the shining beacon on the top of the hill for other states that have been struggling with illegal immigrants.  North Carolina is now one of 20 states joining the fray where legislation has been introduced requiring resident aliens to carry proof of citizenship on them.

Senator Don East, a Surry Republican, introduced his resolution, S1349, this week to consider legislation that requires immigrants carry identification that proves they’re in the country legally. Twelve Republican senators, including Senator Bob Rucho of Matthews and Austin M. Allran of Hickory, have signed on to co-sponsor the resolution.

Charlotte Observer

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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.”

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There are a lot of conservatives who read this Web site and I have taken a lot of shit in the past for challenging them on their claim that they support smaller government, yet here is a perfect example of my criticism.

Once again a state lawmaker is working to put an amendment on the ballot that would ban same-sex marriages before state voters and possibly into the N.C. Constitution.

State Sen. Jim Forrester, R-Gaston, who authored a law in the 1990s banning such unions, filed the proposed change this past week as lawmakers returned for the short session of the General Assembly. He’s filed similar bills in other legislative sessions.

“I keep swinging that bat,” Forrester said. “Sooner or later we’re going to get a hit on it.”

Supporters of the ban say laws written in into the Constitution carry more weight than mere statutory laws. They believe it’s less likely that a state judge will declare such a prohibition unconstitutional.

The Times News

And so I will say it again.  Conservatives are only for limited government until they can use the government to further their own agenda.  At that juncture, they’ll run to mother government as fast as any so-called liberal.

I have a gay member of my family and that individual is raising a child with their significant other and the two of them are just as good of parents, if not better, than any heterosexual couple.  I don’t know if they’d ever consider legal marriage some day, but I wouldn’t have a problem it.  It doesn’t affect me as a heterosexual man.  There would be far less problems in this world if everyone would just live and let live and stop worrying about what other people do that isn’t their business.

We don’t need the government to further involve itself in marriage.  In fact, if the government would just get out of the business of determining who can and can’t get married this would no longer be an issue.  Let the churches marry who they want and the government should recognize it only for legal purposes.  No more special tax breaks and other privileges for married people.  That’s what has started all of this raucous.

Where this particular bill is concerned, I can’t help to think that Forrester is engaging in electioneering.  This is an election year and not just any year.  This is a year that the Republicans have an opportunity to take over both legislative houses in North Carolina for the first time in, well, ever.  This tactic is straight out of the Karl Rove 2004 let’s get Bush reelected playbook.  They got marriage “protection” amendments on the ballot in something like eight states that year to bring out the conservative base and reinstall Bush in the White House for another four.

Marriage is already a destroyed institution in this country.  Around 60% of Americans who marry end up getting divorced.  If conservatives were so concerned about preserving the sanctity of marriage then they’d turn their attention to repealing no fault divorce provisions because that is what brought down the pillars of marriage in this country more than a generation ago.  Adam and Steve walking down the aisle together certainly won’t do any worse.

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North Carolina Senator David Hoyle (D-Gastonia) has introduced a bill that would prohibit individual municipalities from implementing their own broadband telecommunications network.  Some smaller towns, like Wilson, have constructed their own broadband networks to compete with the local telecommunications company and other under served towns out in the hinterlands that are still on DSL or dial up are considering the same strategy.  Hoyle’s bill would prohibit them from doing so.

Hoyle states a position of protecting local communities from themselves.

Hoyle says the purpose behind his legislation is to save municipalities from themselves. “These cities are getting into the broadband business with little or no experience and competing with private enterprise who pay the taxes,” he said.

Indyweek

Others contend that Hoyle is in the pocket of the telecommunications companies.

However, according to a 2009 analysis by Democracy North Carolina, two telecommunications companies, AT&T and Embarq, both benefited from tax breaks on the purchases of telephone equipment that costs the state an estimated $31 million annually in lost revenue. In 2008, political action committees for AT&T and Embarq contributed $140,500 and $151,250, respectively, to legislative candidates, statewide candidates and party committees.

The telecommunications industry has some of the most powerful lobbyists at the statehouse. Hoyle contends he is not swayed by their support of the bill, even though the Time Warner PAC contributed $6,000 to Hoyle’s campaign in 2009.

“The lobbyists don’t influence me,” he said. “I’m in the pocket of the people that provide jobs for this state, and Time Warner Cable employees, 8,500 in this state, and I can’t imagine any one that would want to compete with that.”

I view it this way.  If a local government wants to construct their own network because they feel they can do a better job at it and provide faster or more updated services then I say let them.  The only restriction I would maybe place is that they don’t use taxpayer dollars to artificially lower prices to a below market rate.  That would unfairly price the private company out of business.  Then again, if that’s what the people want then maybe it should be allowed.  Telecommunications companies have an oligopoly anyway in that there are few if any alternatives if you don’t want to use them as your carrier.

What ever Hoyle’s motives may be, I think his bill constricts consumer freedom.  If the people of a town are behind a plan to allow their local government to bring them a broadband network then who is the State of North Carolina to tell them no?  I think Hoyle’s bill mostly meddles in local affairs.

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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.

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Hey, you scratch my back, I scratch yours, right?

Wilmington business owner Rusty Carter doled out $268,000 in bonuses to his employees and some of their spouses over six years with the understanding some of it would be contributed to certain political campaigns.

In that time, more than $176,000 of those bonuses awarded to employees of Atlantic Corp. and related companies ended up in the campaigns of Gov. Beverly Perdue, state Senate leader Marc Basnight and state Sen. Julia Boseman, which violated campaign laws.

On Tuesday, Carter, 61, entered an Alford plea to three misdemeanors of illegal contributions through a corporation. An Alford plea means a defendant does not admit guilt, but acknowledges that enough evidence exists for a conviction.

In North Carolina, it is illegal to donate in someone else’s name, and it’s illegal to donate more than $4,000 per election.

Also, corporations are prohibited from donating to campaigns.

Wilmington Star

The money flowing into campaigns should be held to the highest scrutiny.  Money can make all the difference in a campaign so when that money is funneled in illegally, the penalty should be stiff.  I’ll give Perdue, Basnight, and Boseman the benefit of the doubt.  They can’t possibly know where every dollar they receive comes from, but Carter knew exactly what he was doing.  He willfully engaged in election manipulation.  No, his actions more than likely made no difference in the outcome of those three races, but manipulation is the intention when you launder illegal funds into a political race.

So what is Carter’s punishment for screwing with our electoral system?  Not much.  A $5,000 fine, two years of probation, and he is barred from donating to any political campaigns during that time as well.  Well, that judge sure stuck it to him, didn’t he.

On another “shocking” note, Mr. Carter also has ties to…… ta-da!  Mike Sleasley of course!  He is a piece of the corrupt Sleasley political machine, having received a position on the board of UNC Chapel Hill.  His wife is a board member at UNC Wilmington. What qualifies the Carters for such prestigious positions of importance?  Carter and Easley are old college frat buddies. Even with a female governor, the good ole boys club has not checked out of Raleigh.

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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.

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State Sen. David Hoyle, once the only Democratic elected official in Gaston County, is stepping down after nine terms, and four Republicans are vying in the primary to win the chance to replace him.

The primary for Senate District 43 includes current state Rep. Wil Neumann and Realtor Kathy Harrington, whose husband Michael served in the state House and was defeated by Hoyle in 2002. Kathy Harrington unsuccessfully challenged Hoyle for the seat in 2008.

Realtor Jim England and businessman Ken Bowen, who married into the family who started Carolina Freight, are also in the race. The winner will face Democrat Annette Carter, the chairwoman of the Gaston County Board of Education.

District 43 covers almost all of Gaston County except for a small sliver of the northeast. Registered Republicans hold a slight edge over Democrats. The county seat, Gastonia, once touted itself as the “combed yarn capital” of the world, but textile jobs have disappeared in Gaston County as they have elsewhere. Unemployment in Gaston County is above 14 percent.

All the Republicans espouse pro-business sentiments similar to those that helped Hoyle, a developer, get re-elected repeatedly.

The Carolina Journal

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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.

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