A coup is underway in North Carolina.
The Republican General Assembly is stripping power and staff from the newly elected Democratic governor and turning it over to Republicans.
Education is a central issue. The legislature is transferring control from the state board of education to a newly elected Republican state superintendent.
Democracy is betrayed in North Carolina by power hungry Tea Party Republicans.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
They just cannot “get it” –that he was ELECTED. Like Mitch McConnell when Obama became president. They just cannot find it in themselves to give up power to the people who elected him.
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I think they do get it. The forces demanding more privatization have found democracy to be something to knock out of their way, whenever possible. State takeovers of urban schools…I often mention stl Louis in 2007 as an example……look what happened in Massachusetts when it was on the ballot whether there should be more charter schools built. Was it 63% no? I believe it is significantly racist in the way in which they justify actions by criticizing the population which is voting.
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Actually, what you see is democracy in action. A majority can do whatever it wants The NC voters seem to have decided that it wanted a Republican majority in the Chambers, and a Democratic Governor.
There is a Democrat majority in Illinois, and they are holding the state hostage by their refusal to actually work together with the Republican governor on a balanced state budget.
It’s what happened in Iowa for the past three cycles, where a Democrat led senate tried to stop anything they did not like coming out of the Republican controlled House.
We may not like it, but it IS the system.
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Rudy,
This is NOT the system. This is a blatant grab.
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But it IS the system. Democrats use it when they have the option, as well. Or does what happened in Iowa and Illinois not count, because the Democrats were pulling stunts like this?
In states where the majority gets to draw the lines for voters, Democrats are as abusive of that privilege. Or does that not matter because they are Democrats? Is it only wrong, a grab, abusive when Republicans do these things?
That seems to be the impresion you are creating!
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Rudy,
Maybe I didn’t notice, please identify a state where the legislature changed the laws to diminish the powers and appointments of the incoming governor. This is not customary.
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Rudy–if both parties are doing it, then–guess what?–you have to go to the particular situation and say whether and why you think it’s right or wrong. But you just keep saying “But they did it.” It’s the same thing, over and over again.
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Abuse of power by either party is wrong. In Illinois the democrats forced redistributing in a way that was favorable to them. They had the power, they used it. In Texas, the same thing happened except by republicans.
If it’s okay for the democrats to act like that, why then is it wrong for the republicans? Other then that they are not democrats, that is.
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Rudy,
Parties redistrict to favor their members. That is not the same as passing laws to eliminate the executive power of the new governor. By the way, the federal court ruled that the redistricting passed by North Carolina Republicans was unconstitutional and racist. The lines must be drawn again.
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You aren’t listening. “Abuse of power by either party is wrong.” That’s what I said, in your note and in others. I’ve tried to explain–but nothing gets in.
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Ironically, Bev Perdue (a Democrat governor) tried to make herself CEO, effectively, of NC Public Schools. She was sued by June Atkinson, who won because our state constitution does not allow that type situation. That was Democrat vs. Democrat. Now June has lost her seat, I believe because she was such an unapologetic advocate of Common Core and Race to the Top.
It’s bad. . .but the “advocates” for public ed were not entirely advocating in the last decade, now were they?
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Actually, advocates for public education have been very active in the past decade (e.g., Public Schools First NC), but once the Tea Party took control of the legislature in 2010, it has waged war on the public schools and teachers.
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I know I’m going to regret posting this. “A majority can do whatever it wants” is the kind of statement that displays an incredible, to put it as diplomatically as I can, lack of understanding of history and government. Take a little time to read a some reputable constitutional history and how protections for political minorities was debated and acted upon. Using your logic, genocide is valid option for a majority.
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I assumed, wrongly it seems, that common sense is a part of the makeup of the readers.
In THIS country, a MAJORITY can do ANYTHING it wants, as long as the CONSTITUTION and LAWS are followed.
Unless, of course, a president writes an Executive Order which circumvents the law – as the current president has done with illegal immigration consequences.
The DEMOCRAT majority PUSHED and FORCED the ACA through, with the ever silly statement of Ms. Pelosi: “You have to vote for it before you can read what is in it…”
Is that not a grab? Is that not an abuse of majority status? Or is that ONLY when Republicans do this?
The credibility would be a lot higher if the same denouncements were made when Democrats do these same things.
Whether you like what is happening in North Carolina or not, it is legal, it follows the rules, it abides by the laws, it is not against the Constitution.
It is no different than Madigan refuses to come up with a balanced budget because he is not getting his way with spending more money than is coming in. And Democrats have had the majority in Illinois for quite some time – and are thus responsible for the enormous deficit. You would think that common sense would rule: We cannot afford to spend this much, so we have to make changes in the budget by cutting spending AND increasing some taxes. The governor is not against raising taxes in Illinois. He is, however, against raising taxes when the spending is not cut.
Same as in North Caroline – Except here, it is the Democratic Party who abuses the laws of common sense.
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Rudy–wrong again. Obama resorted to signings in most if not all cases because he ran into a Congressional “wall” (pun intended) every time he took a xxxx. Republicans wouldn’t have been happy if Obama were (1) Jesus or (2) if he didn’t just sit in the White House and twiddle his thumbs for 8 years. (Are you a troll?)
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There we go again with the stupid question. No, I M not a troll. I try to look at stuff objectively.
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Nope. Don’t think so.
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I think Rudy may be suggesting that this is a valid exercise of legislative power, within the constitutional boundaries that NC has set up to balance minority rights against majority will. That may or may not be true.
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Flerp: It’s taking advantage of what is supposed to be assumed and accepted as part of the political process. What actually occurs is a reduction of freedom so that, regardless of who is governor, or which party is in power, new laws have to be put in place to account for the “taking advantage” problem of encroachment and power-grabbing within the process and, to limit further our freedoms.
It points to a “weakness” in the democratic process only if those involved are not arrogant power-grabbers. It’s like the difference between someone stealing something just because you left it on your car seat, rather than someone leaving it be, or getting in touch with the owner. One fosters and deserves to live in a civilized culture, the other does not and reduces the meaning of all of us.
The North Carolina legislature sounds like it has “Trumpster” written all over it. Arrogant SOBs.
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If both state houses are under majority control, this was a legitimate action. Things like this happen, no matter which party has the majority.
That’s democracy in action. Again, you may not like the outcome… but that’s neither here more there.
Over the first 16 years I lived in this state. Lots of things like that happened: took the Local Option Sales Tax away from the “locals”
Cut district funding by 10%. Cut funding by another 10%. When you have 17,000 students, that is a lot of money.
But it was a Democrat governor with control.
Did I like it? Not a bit. Was it fair? Not in the least. Was it legal? Yep. Was it constitutional? Yep. Did not make me like it any more…
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Rudy, it will be settled in court. The Tea Party overreaches. No respect for the law or a Constitution.
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Exactly!
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Rudy,
Your statement “a MAJORITY can do ANYTHING it wants, as long as the CONSTITUTION and LAWS are followed,” is exactly what a ruling party is doing anywhere in the world.
It’s like Japan LDP(2/3 of majority, with its ally in the National Diet) bulldozing the series of controversial bills– i.e., State Secrecy Law(passed 2013), TPP(passed 2016), and bogus Casino Resort(passed just yesterday)–without substantial amount of time for deliberation.
Your Dem. v. Rep. hardly justifies the abuse of power by the ruling party in NC.
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Leave Rudy alone. He’s not the brightest light bulb in the chandelier, nor is he the sharpest knife in the cutlery set.
He is who he is . . . You can’t really educate someone like this.
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Once again: no response to what experience you have with education in Norway with minirities, single parents, drug addicted parents.
Once you answer that, I might find value in what you say.
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Norwegian filmmaker: a variation of your observation that I learned from a good friend/past coworker: “There are only about 20 watts burning in that 100 watt bulb.”
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thank you – GregB…basic civics, people…learn the why and how of our history ! It might enlighten you and then you might rethink your far right pathway of turning the US into third world country of rich and poor.
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Rudy Schellekens
It is a good thing Jefferson did not have your attitude. Or having assumed power as President he would have continued on Adams path using “alien and sedition acts” to persecute and prosecute. political opposition.
But go for it Rudy because the minority eventually becomes the majority.No matter how repressive the regime . Those that violate the rights of the minority usually wind up paying a steep price. Sometimes their heads are forcibly separated from their necks by very sharp objects .
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Revolution allows the oppressed to become the oppressors…
Reid and pelosi had their turns. And don’t tell me they did not abuse their powers. Pelosi with the ACA and Reid with his, “nothing will come to the floor from the republicans…”
It was wrong then (from my perspective as a republican) and it would be wrong now (still from my republican perspective).
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Just because something is legal does not mean it’s ethical.
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Rudy, there is a difference between using the power of a legislature to block or advocate within a long existing power structure and re-allocating power to suit your needs. If a legislative majority is all that is necessary then why bother to have an executive branch at all?
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That’s something North Carolina needs to figure out.
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No, the courts will figure it out, not the Tea Party.
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Rudy I believe what folks are objecting to is the gaming of the system. In a last-minute surprise special session, the legislature swiftly passes a bunch of laws restricting incoming govr’s powers (in yet another sally on separation of powers which NC seems to do every decade or so)– new gov’r will sue & judicial branch will pick the laws over to determine constitutionality (keep in mind state constitutions have to abide by key fed const’l principles)– in the interim, fraudulently-up-powered legislature forges ahead w/ diminished executive check/ balance.
It’s not about whether legislature has the legal right to this maneuvering. It’s about playing off the swift nature of legislative action against the slower nature of judiciary machinery to gain a window to promulgate undemocratic laws, i.e., not subject to constitutional checks & balances.
You are right that both parties play this game. NC may be doing the nation a favor by playing it so over-the-top that everybody sits up & takes notice. Because the only way voters can fight it is thro noise/ demonstrations threatening to, & eventually actually, throwing the bums out of office.
There’s often a steep price to pay for brinksmanship. Obama/ Dems’ maneuvering the ACA into law counted toward losing the House & reducing the Senate majority. McCrory bulldozing in HB2 (5mins for legislators to read it, 30mins for public comment) lost NC hundreds of events & 1000 new jobs, & lost him re-election. Dems’ monkeying w/ filibuster rules when they had majority bit them on butt as soon as they lost it. Obama’s executive-action responses to Rep obstructionism played a role in Trump’s victory.
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Right. Pat McCory made a horrible decision by proposing HB2 with his poor justification. He couldn’t even make his point clear himself. And he caused the rupture within voters. Exactly the reason why he lost in governor’s race. And his Republican fellows decided to cover his loss. System is rigged already, as they highjacked state education–including K-12 and UNC system.
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Rudy: I see nothing democratic or systematic about legislating away the governor’s already-legislated powers just because the governor’s office changes parties.
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Is it against the state constitution?
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Rudy,
The courts will decide whether it is legal for the legislature to strip away the powers of the government. The new governor will sue. The legislature has lost many court cases as it has a habit of violating the state and federal constitutions.
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Pay attentiin to what Diane is saying. She has it right.
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Rudy, do a little more research and see what the Republican governor is demanding before he will sign a budget bill. Everyone agrees that there is no way we can cut our way to a balanced budget. It has been obvious for years that we need to raise taxes permanently.
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I live right next door. It is on every one of my news channels (and no, FOX NEWS is not one of those). It’s on my daily three hours with NPR. Right across the river are school districts who can barely function.
Social services had to shut down.
But before the current governor there were two democrats in a row. And hospitals had to close because the state did not pay their bills on time. The credit rating of the state has been dropping for years. So what the democrats in power were doing was not working!
Every tax penny they raised was already spent five or more different ways.
Raising taxes did NOT solve the “spend, spend, spend” mindset.
Companies are leaving the state in droves. It’s too expensive to do business in the state.
So there HAVE to be cuts. And some tax increases. And that is exactly what leader madigan opposes, the cuts.
The former comptroller had an interesting mentality: I pay social services before I pay law makers’ salaries.
They are the ones who refuse to work on a solution.
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Rauner will not do anything unless Democrats agree to freeze property taxes permanently and now term limits. Another politician who figured his election was a mandate. (He has finally tabled his pension and union demands for the moment.) The state has been spending more than it takes in for decades, just borrowing from pension funds to cover. Yeah, the Democrats sure are not innocent but Rauner is the one who refuses to budge. We cannot cut our way to a balanced budget. What we really need is a graduated income tax and a lot less reliance on property taxes. The only reason why property taxes are popular is because they address local issues. I don’t think anyone trusts state government to equitably fund the needs of each and every community. It’s the old local control issue, which is not easy to address. As a stop gap, more and more fees and taxes are being tacked on to everyday purchases, the kind that hit the least economically stable the hardest.
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From the daily news on ABC, CBS, NBC and NPR, the issue is clear: Rauner has some things he will budge on, some he holds as a “line in the sand.” Madigan is afraid he will lose…? What? Respect? He has none. His job? He should – as the leader of the House, he IS responsible more than the current governor for the shape the state is in.
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I’m with Diane; obviously there are checks and balances built into our system. I view one branch of government unilaterally taking power from another branch as disregard for the idea of separation of powers. How that is legal in NC seems to be the mystery to me.
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The function of one branch should not try to usurp the responsibility of another. It is a clear manipulation of power.
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It’s often not so simple, though. For example, what is the source of the authority that’s currently held by the state board of education? If the state board of education was created by an act of the state legislature, then arguably its powers may be curtailed by a new act of the state legislature. Arguably it may even be eliminated entirely, assuming the state constitution doesn’t require that the board of education to exist.
An example on the federal level: Congress probably has the authority to abolish all federal district courts and courts of appeal. The Constitution only required that the Supreme Court exist, and it vested Congress with the power to any lower courts if it deemed them necessary. And what Congress giveth, Congress may taketh away.
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Elections have consequences!
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It’s sad because wasn’t one of the main reasons they lost the election public education?
So they plan to continue ruining public education although voters rejected their ideas?
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They won state supe spot, the Republicans.
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Yes; choice school segregation being a more powerful carrot to hang in front of the voters?
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The same power hungry, anti-public education folks did the same thing in Indiana a few years ago when they stripped the Democrat Superintendent of Public Instruction of her powers and gave it to the Republican governor. BTW, the governor received few votes than the superintendent..
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Meanwhile in Idaho the elected State Superintendent of Instruction is pushed aside while the governor’s appointed school board micromanages more and more local education. The latest hot button issue is teacher evaluations. A recent audit showed most evaluations were incomplete or inaccurate (also reported in Idaho Education News – funded by the Albertson Foundation) Know that Superintendent Ybarra cautioned on the evaluation system and suggested a pilot. The state board and legislature went all in and we have what we have. https://www.idahoednews.org/news/ybarra-state-board-call-mediator-carve-responsibilities/
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Same or similar thing happened in Indiana when Pence took power away from Superintendent Glenda Ritz even though she was democratically elected and got more votes for her office than Pence did for his.
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Snydely Ricklash and his TeaParty minions did this in Michigan and got away with it.
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With Liberty University trained lawyers providing the legal cover, eh!
(please note that I used trained and not educated)
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undemocratic … unpatriotic …. unparalleled …. and ….unAmerican…
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Yes, and again, the abuse of legislative power only brings on the need for more laws to stem that abuse; and more laws brings incursions into the freedom to work without the need for outer laws. More and more laws pave the way for fewer and fewer freedoms.
So what the legislators are doing in NC is more than showing their Machiavellian character, as well as their just plain unfairness, it’s tearing down our freedoms that we are so proud of–or at least WERE so proud of. They are making a mockery of the “rule of law.”
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Not sure about that. When a single party holding big majority in both chambers commits legislative abuse, who’s going to rite & pass laws restraining them? Who’s going to enforce them? Judiciary is the only practical route.
Meanwhile there’s also JQ NC Voter who may start getting a clue. That can take longer if he’s OK w/ law content & taxes stay low. But outside pressure can threaten his pocketbook if enough corporations cut expansion there & entertainment/ sports events cancelled as happened recently. Longer term: how much longer can NC sustain its cachet/ attractive labor pool as it gouges funding & tuition assistance to Research Triangle anchors like UNC-Chapel Hill & all those public tech institutes that dot the area?
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The off-year elections can solve such things really quick. Both parties have painful memories of those times.
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After I put unpatriotic in there, I thought why did I put that ? ….like maybe that did not go with what I was trying to get across. But then I feel that some on the far right shout about what patriots they are….then they do something like this…and essentially what they are doing is taking away something gives a voice and a vote to the public. Your tax dollars – that fairly good size chunk of money shown to you each paycheck – comes with your representative voice and your vote and your right to vote. At least I hope it still does.
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Notice the votes in NC? The democrats gained ONE seat. Even after all that had been going on in the past year. You would think if people did not like the changes, their vote would have been used to change things.
The new governor won with the smallest of majority vote.
The saying, “you get the government you deserve” is quite appropriate here, I guess.
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Rudy,
There you go smirking again. The districts were gerrymandered so that the Republicans in the legislature would have safe districts. Do you know what a gerrymander is? That is why the federal court ordered them to redistrict because the way they drew the map was racially discriminatory. Your triumphant tone is a response to an illegitimate gerrymander.
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There is no smirking, Diana. There you go ascribing motives again.
But tell me, how was it possible for the democrats to be in power for decades? Was it because of rigged district divisions, possibly?
Of course, voters could do what almost 200 Democrats did in my county, change parties?
If voters in NC don’t like it, they have that option between now and 2018, just like the rest of the country.
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Rudy,
You obviously don’t know what a gerrymander is. I suggest you look it up.
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Right. I’m ignorant, I forgot. It is interesting that the guy they named it for was a Democrat-republican.
Both democrats and republicans have made plenty use of his “designs,” both to their own benefit.
I prefer states that have an independent committee to draw the lines. But then, I’m just an ignorant immigrant, right?
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Rudy,
The names “Democrat” and “Republican” mean something different in the 21st century than they did in the 19th century. No word games change the fact that what the Republicans in NC did was outrageous. It should offend Republicans as well as Democrats. It offends democracy.
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