Jeff Bryant writes often about education. He lives in North Carolina. In this article, he tries to solve the mystery of why Democratic state legislator Tricia Cotham switched sides and joined the Republican Party, giving them a supermajority in both houses of the General Assembly?
Cotham was a Democrat who had campaigned in promises to oppose school vouchers; to defend LGBT rights; and support abortion rights.
Once she gave the Republicans the decisive vote in the lower house, the Republicans had a veto-proof majority and were in a position to override any veto by Democratic Governor Roy Cooper.
Cotham, the new Republican, reversed her vote on everything she campaigned for or against. She supported Republicans’ efforts to reduce abortion rights; she endorsed school vouchers; and she sided with Republicans in their attack on trans youth.
In other words, she betrayed the people who voted for her and cast her lot with the hard-right Republicans who have aligned themselves with anti-progressive, anti-liberal, anti-Democrat policies.
Why? She said the Democrats were mean to her. She said they ignored her. She said she didn’t get the committee assignments she wanted. Are these good reasons to join forces with a party that has sought to destroy public education, demoralize teachers, and gerrymander the state to protect its advantages?
None of this made sense. A person doesn’t change their fundamental values because of hurt feelings.
Jeff investigated and determined that her decision was transactional. What did she get in exchange for double-crossing her constituents and her colleagues? Read his article to find out.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
“Koch”
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Thanks Diane!
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Thank you , Jeff.
You are among a dying breed of investigative journalists.
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Thank you, Jeff. This is an incredibly important article. Am forwarding to my old poli sci dept to recommend as reading for political behavior class.
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In other news:
My boxes. My precious. No one. No one looks in my boxes. OK? No one. Precious. Precious boxes. People call me. They say, Sir, what’s in your boxes? Wouldn’t you like to know? I say. Mine. All mine. My boxes. The most beautiful boxes. What if we just say, we don’t have anything here? Let me show you. Amazing boxes. Pick, pick, pick the boxes. You wanna talk big league? Mr. President’s precious. That’s big league. Big as it gets. More boxes, more votes than any sitting president. Secrets. The most secret secrets. Mine. My precious.
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What has it gots in its boxes?
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One Doc to rule them all
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One Doc to rule them all
One Doc to find them
One Doc to bring them all
And in the darkness bind them
In the Land of MAGA
Where the Donalds lie
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exactly
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I’m betting it’s just the world’s largest collection of ketchup packets, which he mostly pocketed at McDonald’s locations around the world.
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GOPum
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OK, SomeDAM. Revised:
My boxes. My precious. No one. No one looks in my boxes. OK? No one. Precious. Precious boxes. People call me. They say, Sir, what’s it gots in its boxes? Wouldn’t you like to know? I say. Mine. All mine. My boxes. The most beautiful boxes. What if we just say, we don’t have anything in its boxes? Let me show you. Amazing boxes. Pick, pick, pick the boxes. You wanna talk big league? Mr. President’s precious. That’s big league. Big as it gets. More boxes, more votes than any sitting president. Secrets. The most secret secrets. Mine. My precious.
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The boxes were specifically ordered to be placed where hotel guests could see them with the contents purposely spilled and the top secret labels in plain view. That was how he showed the wealthier orcs that he was still in power so that they would still ride for him. He’s a power junky.
We’re still on topic. Power is all the turncoat North Carolina teacher apparently wants.
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Precious boxes…
To think the “intel” personnel
imagined the “college” magically
transformed the guy into a
competent holder of national
vulnerabilities is a stretch.
If they gave him anything, to
remain a “secret”, they need
a new job. If they couldn’t
see the guy from ten feet
away, what else would they
miss?
Boxes and boxes, and NOW
you noticed, good morning,
how was your snooze?
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If they gave him anything [that they wanted] to remain a secret, they need a new job.
Well, that’s certainly so. But some of these people, . . .
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“good morning,
how was your snooze?”
????
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It’s actually bizarre that someone gets to see top secret stuff merely because millions of idiots voted for them.
We have such a “brilliant” system.
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What were the Foundering Fathers thinking?
Were they thinking?
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Thee we mere fact that in the age of digital encryption we still keep top secret docs in cardboard boxes tells you pretty much all you need to know.
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On a related note:
It’s also odd that some people differentiate between the docs that were recovered and some that are still missing when the reality is that copies or photos could easily have been made of ANY and all of the documents, so the mere fact that the FBI recovered some and not others means absolutely nothing from the standpoint of whether the docs have been passed on to third parties.
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None of this made sense. A person doesn’t change their fundamental values because of hurt feelings.
Most people who run for office nowadays have no fundamental values. It’s a big problem made far worse by Citizens United and deregulation causing monopolistic wealth concentration. Ideals seem more of an 18th century thing.
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Fundamental value$$
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For too many politicians, their values are determined by their funders. The Funding Fathers.
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Fundermental value$$
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“I cannot tell a lie. I chopped down the cherry tree because King George told me to.” George Washington
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Fundermental Values
Fundermental values
Motivate our pols
Dollars put to mal use
Payment for their souls
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I lived in NC for 30 years and worked in Cotham’s school district when she was a Charlotte Mecjkllenburg Schools employee. When Cotham was selected by Governor Easley many were perplexed that one with a wishy washy reputation could be placed in the General Assembly. Cotham’s snowflake response about her change to the Republican Party is consistent with her reputation. What this also reveals is the perplexing disorganization that exists int the NC Democratic Party. I was a precinct secretary for a time in the Mecklenburg County Democratic Party and could not understand the lack of coordination that existed within the party. How Democrats were so enthusiastic in support of a lobbyist with ties to corporate charter interests is quite interesting and predictable. Democrats need to get their heads out of the sand and understand that there are numerous bad actors who are out to undermine public education. This is just one chapter in the ongoing campaign of corporate America to end democracy.
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One of the odd things about teaching is that people revere their teachers. My teachers were the best. But cynical people teach all the time. I was never surrounded by them, but my fellow teachers who were cynical always outnumbered the ones who were incompetent. Many of the cynical ones became administrators.
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I remember running into teachers who couldn’t wait to get in the district office. I did not want to leave the classroom. I have had the privilege however, of working with dedicated public servants in administration. When I began teaching high school in the mid 1990s I couldn’t believe the number of teachers who wanted to help students drop out in ninth grade so they could teach the more serious students as juniors and seniors. I think the burden that can come with the daily grind of teaching can result in cynicism. Too often district policies make little effort to overcome this.
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