Enough With The Whining, Already
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Raleigh
I t's a funny thing when you try to reverse 30 or 40 years of public policy in a single year. Some people don't like it. So they show up and unfurl banners in protest. They send out nasty emails. They write critical pieces that end up in newspapers.
Such is the life of the Republican majority in the North Carolina General Assembly.
The policy shifts that they embarked upon this past year are nothing short of remarkable. Major changes in policy path include looser gun laws, tighter annexation controls on towns and cities, added limits to medical malpractice awards, stricter time limits on workers compensation payments, freer rules for establishing experimental charter schools, stricter abortion requirements, and an amendment before voters to put a ban on gay marriage into the state constitution.
That list is by no means comprehensive, and it would have been longer had Gov. Beverly Perdue not gotten some of her vetoes to stick, at least for the time being.
Some North Carolinians approve of all of these major policy shifts. Some agree with some of them. Some don't agree with any of them. Just as important, as the long-term implications of these decisions take hold, some who agree with one or more of the policies now may find later that they disagree. Others who disagree now will see benefits that they didn't anticipate.
The change in North Carolina's policy landscape is significant enough that the implications will reverberate for years - assuming Republicans maintain their legislative majority for a while.
My point here isn't to argue the merits of these policy shifts.
Rather, it's to point out what should be obvious: If you are going to embark on a journey to redo a big chunk of the public policy of a state, you better expect some bile to be thrown your way. You might want to learn to let it roll off you.
It's not clear that House Speaker Thom Tillis, in particular, has learned that lesson.
Over the past couple of months, he has touted the fact that he canceled his subscription to his hometown newspaper, The Charlotte Observer, saying that it had reduced itself to a "liberal blog."
More recently, he sent out a missive to supporters saying that he had "resigned," only to clarify that he was resigning himself to the fact that the left, "aided by some in the mainstream press," would continue stifling GOP efforts to improve the state.
Tillis may be taking a page from the playbook of Republican icon Jesse Helms, serving up a portion of red-meat media bashing to help rile up the conservative base.
Or perhaps he seriously believes that everyone near and far - including those wretched newspaper folks - would see and embrace all the goodness, light and beneficence being bestowed upon North Carolina by the glorious and all-knowing GOP majority.
If it's the latter, I've got one question for him:
You want some cheese with that whine?
Scott Mooneyham writes for Capitol Press Association in Raleigh. Contact him at smooneyh@ncinsider.com.
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Comments
JER 1 year, 3 months ago
I guess that most of the current crop of Republicans either didn't know or have forgotten that back in the mid-1960's, when I first came to Raleigh, Jesse Helms was the station manager at WRAL-TV. He used his position on a nightly basis, during the local news broadcast, to express his political doctrine and views to the viewing audience. Turns out the media is the enemy only when they are holding the Republicans accountable.
TreadLightly 1 year, 3 months ago
Sorry, JER, the politicians are not accountable to the MEDIA. They are accountable to the PEOPLE. This fall we will find out whether it is the people or the media who are outraged at the reforms in Raleigh.
JER 1 year, 3 months ago
Hey TreadLightly, the fact that politicians are not accountable for what they say to the media goes without saying. What the media does for the people is to take all that is said and done and spread it before us so we can make choices and decisions. Because some media outlets tend to spin the information one way to appeal to their core while others spin it the opposite way to appeal their core, it is important to have a wide variety of sources to help see an accurate account of the information being covered. The media, after all, are part of that capitalistic business system that feeds on money. Most have determined how to spin their presentation of the news to provide maximum advantage to their bottom line. Problem with "the People" is they don't always take the time to view issues from all angles. They accept only the spin provided by their favorite media outlet. What "the People" decide this fall will be based on how much information they decide to accumulate from the various media outlets.
TreadLightly 1 year, 3 months ago
JER, two observations:
(1) There are plenty of information outlets. People who get all the news are called names by the MSNBC fans. Facts are easy to get.
(2) I am finding huge numbers of people right here in Moore county who understand what is going on and are highly insulted that our government has run the country into a ditch. It is driving a tea party movement that you will see later in the year. I hope a lot of people are preparing for the worst, because our country is in for a hard landing, if not a total crash.
People see that we are spending ourselves into oblivion, and there is not the political will in state or federal government to simply FREEZE the spending at the current level, much less reduce it. Your grandkids and mine are saddled with our folly.
JER 1 year, 3 months ago
TreadLightly: 1) Facts are easy to get but are sometimes hard to comprehend. Obtaining information from all the available sources makes you smarter. Dumb people always have made fun of the smart people. MSNBC makes fun of people who only get their news from Fox News, who make fun of people who get their news from anyplace else. Be smart, not dumb. 2) I see the unemployment numbers and see the homes in foreclosure, then I see people lining up to pay $600.00 for the latest electronic gadget or see a waiting line at a restaurant, and I wonder, just how bad are things? Is it better to spend money to stimulate the economy or are the only ones benefiting from the spending the wealthy? Is it better to slow or stop spending in order to balance the budget? What would be different with our daily lives if, tomorrow, the budget was balanced? I think the rich would still be rich and the poor would still be poor and the capitalists would still make their money by seeking out the cheapest place to make their products. I can only tell you of my own experience: When I was young, I was in debt up to my ears achieving the the level of life style I desired. As I got older, I was able to eventually pay of my debt and balance my budget. The key part was, I didn't substantially change my lifestyle. In other words, nothing really changed. Even when I was in debt up to my ears, I paid myself by putting away some amount of savings and I always carried health and life insurance. It matters not if Republican, Democrat or Tea Party is running government, it is how we each live our lives that will make the difference.
The_AnonymusProfit 1 year, 3 months ago
The new GOP Admin in Raleigh has been the most open, transparent, and receptive legislature this state has had in over 150 years, they have listened to the people when they went to far and created good sound policies that have put us on the way to a balanced budget and reformation of our archaic and socialistic crap.
Just as in other states where GOP legislatures and officials have reworked the system, the left will baulk, however we are living the results which is a much better future then we had 2 years ago.
TreadLightly 1 year, 3 months ago
JER: (1) [Facts are easy to get but are sometimes hard to comprehend.]
People can look at factoids all day and miss the big picture. Obama’s congress increased our debt more in three years than all eight of Bush. The economy did not recover.
There were over a million fewer jobs in January than December, yet the “seasonal adjustment” lowered the unemployment rate. You don’t have to know which shell the pea is under to realize that you are in a shell game, and will likely lose.
Massive government spending only benefits the crony capitalist who has the government friends in office.
(2) […unemployment/homes in foreclosure…$600.00 electronic gadgets…]
Two forces feed the wealth gap. Crony capitalism makes a few super wealthy by government budget connections or friends. On the lower end, the education/motivation/drug/gang factors make some super poor. (And they have smart phones…)
(3) […different with our daily lives if, tomorrow, the budget was balanced? …rich would still be rich and the poor would still be poor…]
Daily changes are so small that we adapt. The massive debt will be paid off the way all previous debts were paid off—inflation.
WRITE THIS ON A WALL SOMEWHERE. They will have printed so much more money, and will print enough more that your (JER’S) lifestyle is going to suffer in the next two or three years, maybe even to a critical point.
(4) […debt up to my ears…nothing really changed.]
We put thousands of dollars on credit cards before both kids got out of graduate school and law school. It took years to recover, and the cost was very heavy in terms of not being able to put money under compound interest to make a difference today.
This current national debt will make your savings account/IRA/401K shrivel. Some are seeing it even now. The people’s savings accounts always pay off the national debts, through inflation.
(5) […it is how we each live our lives that will make the difference.]
Now you are finally on the right track!!!! You must fend for yourself, and LET THE OTHER FELLOW FEND FOR HIMSELF. The government layers are taking up to half of people’s income to take care of the unfortunate, and they are still poor. If the governments would back off, God could do wonders with just the 10% that people could afford to give.
The_AnonymusProfit 1 year, 3 months ago
No one says that the GOP is always correct, at this point however, there the only ones that are attempting to actually solve issues,
TreadLightly 1 year, 3 months ago
Far from being perfect, the Republicans party is also full of progressives. The worst part, they are working locally to implement the United Nations Agenda 21 global plan. Every meeting for the "Working Lands Plan" hearings began with the statement out of the blue, "We have no hidden agenda."
Why did they think we thought they had some hidden agenda, unless they know that anyone can see U.N. written all over the plan to leave Moore County farmers with no property rights.
jgc 1 year, 3 months ago
harleyman, rubuttals to this crowd are like "pushing a rope"
Thatcher 1 year, 3 months ago
harleyman-- Thank you for not rebutting.
JER 1 year, 3 months ago
TreadLightly: I may be dead in 2 or 3 years. But if I'm not, I think I am positioned to survive whatever government does or does not do. Unlike many, I have made my wants and needs few. And if for some reason, I find myself completely out of resources, well, I know where the ones responsible for it live.
Now the atheist lobe in my brain has a question: Why does God need 10% to do wonders? I thought if he walked on water, changed water into wine, cured the sick and fed multitudes with a few fish and a loaf of bread, he should be able to balance the budget, provide jobs and see that everybody had health care. I think that you meant that MAN needed the 10% to accomplish all this, right?