Red Clay Citizen

Transportation: A Picture is Worth 1000 Words

Credit to Kevin Siers who draws for the Charlotte Observer, which published this.

Dole Presses Tippett about Equity Formula

Transportation Secretary Lindo Tippett (D-Cumberland) recently got a letter from U.S. Senator Elizabeth Dole (R-N.C.) inquiring as to why the Yadkin River Bridge project -- which bottlenecks I-85 near Salisbury -- hasn't been upgraded as has been promised for years. Tippett claims it's inflation that keeps this project (and others) from being built.

But Secretary Tippett and his good buddy N.C. Senate Majority Leader Tony Rand (D-Cumberland) are happy with the status quo. Not only do projects, rather mysteriously, get done more quickly down east, the Equity Formula directly benefits eastern N.C. (not least their home town of Fayetteville) because it allocates resources based on factors other than vehicle usage and maintenance needs.

Senator Rand and Secretary Tippett also enjoy a special relationship that probably helps explain why transportation dollars get pumped down east -- away from where construction projects are actually needed, and towards constituents who have kept these two in power for years. Indeed, Secretary Tippett admits at a 2005 Fayetteville loop ribbon-cutting that "approximately $1.2 billion is allocated for loop projects in the final 2006-2012 State Transportation Improvement Program for loop projects, including $258 million for the Fayetteville Loop, which is more than any other loop in the state." (Emphasis mine.)

That's right, Secretary. Charlotte's loop, which was started in 1989 and is still not complete, suffers because of the accelerated Fayetteville loop that was started in 2003. I'll leave our readers to contemplate the reasons for this.
-Max Borders

Sunlight as Disinfectant

If you haven't already, check out the Capitol Monitor -- a transparency project that keeps sunlight on North Carolina's politics, non-profits and interest groups. MSM: keep your eyes on this project.

(PS: I don't think they're supposed to use the "o" but rather the "a" in capitol -- only DC should use that. We'll forgive them the typo, considering what they're doing for transparency.)

(Update: maybe the Capitol Monitor is using metonymy (or is it synecdoche) here by referring to the capitol building.)
-Max Borders

Outrage about Easley's Profligacy, Too Late?

Governor Easley's taxpayer-funded trips have been a perennial problem. This latest is egregious to be sure. But the outrage is more potent now than before and the media are only now getting around to doing what the Carolina Journal has been doing for years. Too little too late? And why so much outrage now? North Carolinians voted this man into office not once, but twice.
-Max Borders

Legislative Rules: Making it up as they go along

Freedom Newspapers' Capital correspondent in Raleigh, Barry Smith has a great column on the Burlington Times News website about how the leaders of the majority run roughshod over their own rules as they see fit.

He says it all with this bit:

"Logic doesn't always apply when it comes to legislation. Nor does it apply when it comes to enforcing the House and Senate rules. Referees and umpires strive for consistency when enforcing sports rules. Sometimes legislative rule enforcers find consistency to be an afterthought."

From my own observations down on Jones Street I can tell you that the rules are very important until they get in the way of the majority and then no rule is important.

Check out the rest at: Times News.

Jim Black's Legacy Continues

Another campaign contributor to disgraced former Speaker of the House Jim Black is headed to prison.  Video poker maven Michael Waguespack was sentenced to five years in Federal prison for money laundering profits from his video poker business. 

Waguespack gave Black at least $2000, some of which came to Black on the same day that video poker bosses gave Black $7,800.  For years the video poker operators poor mouthed their meager earnings as a defense against  more regulation by the state.  I always wondered, if a poker machine only made $500 a month, like the owners claimed, then why would they be willing to make donations into the tens of thousands of dollars to Jim Black? (I'm guessing those machines made a lot more than $500 per month and it was unreported as income.)

We now know the answer.  Jim Black used his position as Speaker to protect video poker from efforts by North Carolina's Sheriffs to end the games while taking campaign contributions that most likely came from those same machines. (When you need to launder millions, a couple of thousand is chump change.)

While the detection of more crimes related to Black continues, so do efforts in the NC Legislature to clean up the things he managed to write into law.  You may recall in 2005, Black pushed for legislation that would lower insurance co-payments for chiropractors. This netted the back doctors additional income in the millions.  During Black's trial it was revealed that a group of chiropractors had bribed Black with at least $29,000, much of which he accepted in various men's rooms around the state.  The legislature repealed this provision last year.

This year's budget also guts one of Black's pet projects: eye exams for children.  Black originally pushed through a mandatory eye exam for all children entering kindergarten, a move that would have added millions of new customers to Black's fellow optometrists.  After watering it down last year, the House passed its version of the budget without the eye exam provision included.

How long will it be before everything Black was involved in comes to light?  Stay tuned to find out....

More on Collective Bargaining/Unions/Elections

To those on the left who mocked my question relating the issues, I give you this press release:

Union prepared to spend more than $150 million, mobilize tens of thousands during and AFTER the election to win healthcare, big improvements for working people.

Under the plan, SEIU leaders are pledging to spend more than $150 million and put tens of thousands of members in motion to achieve those goals by the end of the first 100 days of a new administration.

SEIU leaders also pledged to continue the union’s unprecedented growth by creating a national plan to unite more than 500,000 new members in the union by 2012. That would make SEIU the largest union in American history that is not exclusively public sector, and ensure that it has the strength to continue winning high standards of pay and benefits for its members and all working people.

So, once again, tell me how expanding collective bargaining rights to public employees and SEIU's involvement in elections aren't related?

Good Reporting

Follow Laura Leslie's reporting on NC corruption...

Corruption North Carolina: File Another One

How many instances of corruption must come to light before the citizens of this state say enough? Here's yet another.
-Max Borders

Enron, Progress and Duke: What in Common?

This history of the rent-seeking activities of Enron is a must-read when it comes to understanding the current activities of Progress Energy and Duke Energy. (If you don't know what rent seeking is, you'd better click here too and find out.)
-Max Borders

Skybus: What the...?

Piedmont Publius is, perhaps, as confused as we are at the rationale behind central planners like Henry Isaacson o'er there in the Triad. Here's Isaacson - quoted by the PP - opining about the market dynamics:

I want people in the Triad to understand that Allegiant is an altogether different airline than Skybus,” Isaacson said. “They’ve been around for awhile; they’ve been making money; they’re established. I think the only reason they were leaving us is that Skybus was sort of permeating the low-fare territory. They don’t compete at the point of origin with another low-fare carrier.”

Is this 20/20 hindsight or something Isaacson could have sussed beforehand? Seriously, a company that hasn't been around for awhile, isn't making money and isn't established in an industry plagued by multiple factors like unstable inputs (jet fuel)... Why are these bureaucrats throwing our cash at such poor investments? This attempt to pick winners and losers is just wacky. Isaacson, et al, couldn't possibly have had the prescience to predict what Allegiant called the "destablizing" factor of Skybus -- never mind that these subsidies contributed to the destabilization. Nor does 20/20 hindsight help matters once everything goes haywire.

Excuse me, Mr. Isaacson, I think I'd like to invest my own resources. I'm pretty sure Vanguard or I could do a heckuva lot better than you.
-Max Borders

"It Takes Money to Take Money"

Or so says Orange County.
-Max Borders

On a Mother's Ethic: 'Work hard and you'll achieve'

A big excerpt from this article:

When I was about 5, Mom took me with her to visit our next-door neighbor, Miss Jane. While at Miss Jane's home, I helped myself to a fistful of rubber bands that she kept around a doorknob in her kitchen. Mom discovered my pilfered booty only after we returned to our house. She grabbed my arm, pulled me back to Miss Jane's and made me return the rubber bands and apologize for stealing. And that's what Mom called it: stealing.

I explained that I took only lowly rubber bands. "It doesn't matter, Donald!" she rightly replied. "Stealing is stealing. And you stole. I'm ashamed of you."

To this day, I remember that incident vividly. I remember being ashamed of myself.

Do not picture my mom as being a stern disciplinarian. While she was tireless in dealing with us when we misbehaved, my mom's demeanor was always gentle and loving. Chiefly through the way she lived each day of her life, Mom made us want to be good.

Both my mother and father were born into working-class families, and Mom and Dad were working-class until they retired -- Mom from clerking in a hardware store, Dad from fitting pipes in a shipyard. Not once did I hear either of them express as much as a whiff of resentment that their incomes were below average.

It simply did not occur to them to envy wealthier families or to suppose that other persons' wealth was extracted from our family's hide. Whenever my siblings or I complained about the poor quality of our family's car or the cramped conditions of our home, Mom and Dad always said, "Be grateful for what we have and work hard so that you can have more when you grow up."

Note the optimism in this reply. Work hard and you'll achieve. As politically incorrect as it is to affirm, this statement is true.

Also politically incorrect was my parents' visceral hostility to victimhood. I recall many times as a child blaming others for my misfortunes -- say, for my poor grades in school -- and each time my parents insisting that the only person to blame was myself. How many times back then did I sulk in anger at my parents' refusal to indulge my excuses? And how many times today do I thank them for those refusals?

My father and mother raised four children to be responsible, honest, nonenvious and hardworking adults. To my mom's memory -- and to the countless other mothers and fathers in our world who've done and do the same -- I give my most heartfelt thanks.

Mom, you lived your life well. Very well indeed.

Need for Transparency

JLF's Becki Gray with a great editorial in the Charlotte Observer on the need for transparency at all levels of government and from quasi-governmental organizations like the League of Municipalities and County Commissioners Association.

More broadly, two organizations -- the N.C. League of Municipalities and the N.C. Association of County Commissioners -- have lobbied for such tax referenda for years and employ dozens of employees, including several registered lobbyists. Their primary sources of funding are "membership dues" paid for by taxpayers. Can taxpayers clearly see how these dollars are spent? No.

Ding Dong ...

Spitzer resigns.

Network of Sleaze?

How long will North Carolina citizens accept the kind of corruption and sleaze that has plagued our state now for years? This is what happens when one party - any party - is in power for too long.

The Governor's truthless two-step (Easley is way overdue for this. Now he's a lame duck, the media get indignant?)

The Basnight, Black, Tippett triumvirate has been shuffling around transportation tax dollars for boondoggles and ol' boys for years. Randy Parton? Tip. Of. Iceberg.

Jim Black. Nuff Said.

Thomas Wright. (With the irony that Easley calls the special session for his ouster, while the shredded documents still languish in the bin behind the Governor's mansion.)

North Carolina is starting to make Louisiana look like the land of sunshine. It's time our media stopped giving this power a pass -- and start speaking truth to it. Where to look next? The highest echelon of the General Assembly is a good place to start. But look out, the rot likely goes all the way down.
-Max Borders

Public Records

Tons of news articles recently regarding what is or isn't public record from deleted emails to letters balled up and thrown in the trash from the Easley Administration.  For clarity's sake, let's take a look at what the General Statutes have to say:

§ 132‑1.  "Public records" defined.

(a)       "Public record" or "public records" shall mean all documents, papers, letters, maps, books, photographs, films, sound recordings, magnetic or other tapes, electronic data‑processing records, artifacts, or other documentary material, regardless of physical form or characteristics, made or received pursuant to law or ordinance in connection with the transaction of public business by any agency of North Carolina government or its subdivisions. Agency of North Carolina government or its subdivisions shall mean and include every public office, public officer or official (State or local, elected or appointed), institution, board, commission, bureau, council, department, authority or other unit of government of the State or of any county, unit, special district or other political subdivision of government.

Also of note:

§ 132‑3.  Destruction of records regulated.

(a)       Prohibition. – No public official may destroy, sell, loan, or otherwise dispose of any public record, except in accordance with G.S. 121‑5 and G.S. 130A‑99, without the consent of the Department of Cultural Resources. Whoever unlawfully removes a public record from the office where it is usually kept, or alters, defaces, mutilates or destroys it shall be guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor and upon conviction only fined not less than ten dollars ($10.00) nor more than five hundred dollars ($500.00).

Out, damned Spitzer!

Schadenfreude aplenty. If only it had happened to him years ago.

Prof. Boudreaux has an interesting take in response to the NY Times coverage:

Gov. Eliot Spitzer says that his patronage of prostitutes is a "private matter" ("Spitzer Is Linked to Prostitution Ring," March 10).  He's correct; that matter is between himself and his family and is no one else's business.  I wish only that Mr. Spitzer understood that many of his most famous crusades - for example, against musical-recording companies aggressively marketing their products, against banks lending money to lower-income consumers, and, indeed, even against prostitution rings(!) - were crusades against behaviors that in each case is a "private matter."

If Mr. Spitzer wants us to butt out of his private affairs, he should from here on in set an example by butting out of everyone else's private affairs.

Where are his wax wings in light of this news? Melted? Evaporated?
-Max Borders

NORTH CAROLINA EDUCATION LOTTERY TO HELP FIGHT RECESSION

For Release: IMMEDIATE 

Contact: (877) 9NC-PLAY

         

EDUCATION LOTTERY TO HELP FIGHT RECESSION ANNOUNCES "INSTANT TAX REBATE" SCRATCH-OFF

RALEIGH - The North Carolina Education Lottery (NCEL) is going to help keep the economy from going into a recession. The North Carolina Education Lottery is introducing a new “INSTANT TAX REBATE” scratch-off game in conjunction with the issuing of “Tax Rebate” checks from the federal government.

The federal tax rebates in North Carolina will total billions of dollars and we need to insure that money is not wasted on frivolous spending but goes to supporting education. Since education is the ultimate economic development tool, this will spur the economy in North Carolina and help keep the country out of a recession.

This instant scratch-off ticket will have over $350 million in total cash prizes, which is a spectacular average of over $100 prize payout per household!

If we can convince half of the households in North Carolina to spend half their federal tax rebate on this game we estimate that the NCEL will gross over $1 billion. If the federal government would do the right thing and give a rebate to poor people and lower income families, who don't pay taxes, it would make our job easier as they are our target demographic (we also target mathematical illiterates and people not in full possession of their senses). If this would happen the Sky's the limit for potential sales!

The $300 million “INSTANT TAX REBATE” game is a $10 ticket with top prizes of $10 million. Players who scratch their way to win the $10 million prizes will be paid in installments of $500,000 over 20 years. There are also over 500,000 prizes between $50 and $500 and over 5,000 prizes from $1,000 to $50,000.

These tickets will be available in stores and check cashing centers when government tax rebate checks start arriving in lottery ticket consumers mailboxes!

# # #

                              THIS IS A PARODY!

How Much Do They Make?

To continue on the sunshine in government theme of the week, the Charlotte Observer has a compiled a database to search the pay of NC government employees.

Check it out here.

What Was That About Sunshine?

Max and Ryan have been talking quite a bit about sunshine in government over the past few days.  Well, that light just got a little dimmer.

State pensions no longer available to the public.

NCDOT Corruption: Know Anything?

There is a throw-away line in the Source, the Charlotte Observer's political blog, in which author David says:

[T]hree former DOT employees were sentenced to federal prison just a week ago -- for corruption. Prosecutors say the employees extorted kickbacks from contractors, and that the investigation of DOT corruption is ongoing.

Moreover, a member of the Board of Transportation, Tom Betts, resigned a week ago amid a scandal involving campaign money.

Does anyone know any more details about this corruption, the charges, and the people involved? Inquiring minds want to know (maxb@nccivitas.org).
-Max Borders

More Calls for Transparency

The NAACP wants more transparency, too. If Louisiana can do it, we can.
-Max Borders

Sunshine on Government

Sunshine on government helps with the various rots and ergots that can form here and there -- and do form with great frequency.

Ryan Beckwith has a great idea: let's make government activities Googlable. This should be a matter of principle, he suggests, because in the Internet Age, sunlight can be filtered by monstrous pdfs and other transparency killers. His principle: "Allow direct linking on complex legislation."

Pretty simple.

Beckwith has asked for more principles to help make government more accountable. The comments are wide open. (I know you conservative-types don't like to comment, but here's your chance to spread a lil sunshine.)

(Update: Bobby Jindal's doing it in Louisiana.)
-Max Borders

Education Lottery: What's going on?

Look at this map that shows counties eligible for supplemental lottery revenue:

(FULL MAP page, plus explanation of methodology and tax distribution.)

A lot of questions creep into one's mind:

1) Why does the distribution look this way?
2) a. Funds are going to counties that are losing population; b. extra funds are going to the poorest counties, which has some appeal on some levels, but these are also counties that are not growing, at least not growing quickly -- so why do they need new schools? c. the justification we hear is that counties have to make an 'above average' effort locally, but there’s no measure for how well counties are meeting their own needs … (tax rates are certainly not a good proxy by themselves). So if it's not poverty, what is it?
4) Why would you want to create a perverse incentive for poor counties to raise taxes to get lottery money? (Counties “at the margin” of tax rates have an incentive to raise taxes and get a piece of the pot; this can result in incremental “creep” of tax rates as counties edge each other out of the pot.)
5) Western NC keeps taxes relatively low and therefore is excluded from the lottery supplement. Why so (particularly since poor people can't afford higher taxes, and revenues sometimes decrease due to Laffer-type effects)?
7) Union County's entering this year has the potential to reduce the allocations to other counties with smaller school populations. Is this a desired result?
8) If Wake County increases its effective tax rate, it could be eligible for the lottery supplement. With Wake’s huge enrollment – and since the distribution is based on enrollment – Wake’s entry will pull money from other school districts. Is this a desired result?
9) Was this originally designed benefit legislators from Eastern counties most of which belong to the same party?
10) What's Senator Pro Tem Marc Basnight (D-Dare) going to do now that his favored counties have been edged out of eligibility? Will he stick to the formula?
-Max Borders

A Good First Step

Democratic Gubernatorial candidate Richard Moore announced today a proposal to begin to reform the completely dysfunctional NC Department of Transportation.

Among his proposals is to:  "enact a campaign finance law, similar to the prohibition on fundraising activities by lobbyists, which would apply to Board of Transportation members."

While this is a good first step, the problem isn't BOT members raising money when they are already appointed, it's the problem of them raising money to get on the Board.

How about enact a regulation that says if you or any member of your family is a campaign contributor, you can't serve on any Board that has spending or regulatory authority.

Let's take it one step further and stop the game of people raising tens of thousands of dollars for (wink, wink) a seat on the BOT.

But kudos to Moore for at least talking about the problem.

Follow the Money

Just a reminder to use Citizen Legislature to follow the money, when it comes to our state legislature. If you have comments, suggestions, or questions about how to use this tool, contact Dion Terry at Civitas.
-Max Borders

Jim Blacking the Youth

Move over Socrates... Corrupting the youth has reached new levels. 'Do what you have to to succeed -- even if you have to lie, cheat, steel or use violence.' This is what 40 percent of young people (teens) think according to a recent survey. At the top of their list of the unethical?

When asked to evaluate the behavior of a number of groups - business leaders, religious leaders, doctors, lawyers, police officers, teachers, professional athletes and fire fighters - teens ranked high school students second to last. In their view, only politicians are more unethical than they are.

People always fret that the younger generation has no morals or is worse than the last. But when we think about the generation in power - leading by example - names like Wright, Black, and Geddings come to mind.
-M

A Question on Ethics

Need a little feedback here.  I will lay out a scenario and please respond in the comments whether you think it represents an ethical problem and if so, how severe it is.

A legislator serves on the board of directors of a foundation.  That foundation grants money to an organization that advocates for a policy position. The legislator introduces, moves through committee and approval by the full body a bill to enact the policy position of the advocacy organization.

Is this an ethical problem?

Parton Theater: Lawyers only real winners as taxpayers go on Paying!

Taxpayers need to follow the money while the Randy Parton Theater meltdown happens.  We now have our three law firms feeding at the public trough.  Don Carrington keeps reporting on the travails of Roanoke Rapids and the floundering Parton Theater with his latest Dolly Speaks Out to Support Brother story detailing the hiring of Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice to represent the city of Roanoke Rapids in this dispute.  Carrington had already reported that Ernest Pearson, a lawyer with the Sanford Holshouser law firm, has signed checks from funds advanced by the city to his own firm. And let us not forget that Randy Parton has a lawyer from the firm Poyner & Spruill LLP representing him. Since Parton was given a very large sum from the city up front and they have already forgiven him a $475,000 advance - taxpayers are really the ones footing his legal bill in the end.

Let's look at this again:

• Parton yearly artist fee - $1.5 million
• public money invested in a risky scheme- $21 million
• Lawyers continuing to make money - Priceless

As has been said many times, follow the money.

A Bounty of Corruption Stories

1. Wright under indictment.
2. Carrington unravels more of the Randy Parton fiasco -- bad for Rick Watson.
3. Moore accused of doing stuff that didn't "stay in Vegas."
-Max Borders

The Wright Stuff

Under the Dome blog has stuff on the corruption investigation of Thomas Wright, a state legislator from Wilmington. Dan Kane's full story here. (Boy are we startin' to look like Louisiana. The gubernatorial candidates betters start talkin' and actin' like Bobby Jindal.)
-Max Borders

Propaganda You Pay For

If you live in a county where the land transfer tax is on the ballot, know that you've been paying for advocacy by the county commissioners in support of the tax. That is, taxpayers have been forced to bankroll government propaganda. What a brave new world we live in.

Somebody is fighting it, though. Consider this complaint by Americans for Prosperity (AFP), which requests the Chatham County Board of Elections take action on:

The Commission approved the hiring of a campaign consultant, Kim Gazella, to run a pro-transfer tax campaign at taxpayers’ expense.

The Commission used taxpayer dollars to fund a countywide poll on the transfer tax issue.

The Commission used taxpayer dollars to produce and distribute a brochure that promotes the real estate transfer tax. The piece is not an education piece in that it only presents one side of the debate.

The Commission used taxpayer dollars to create various web pages on its web site that promote the real estate transfer tax.

Chatham County Manager Charlie Horne produced a piece promoting the transfer tax and asking that citizens “Vote ‘YES’” on the transfer tax.

This is clearly advocacy for the transfer tax and is a violation of state law. State law (G.S. 163-278.12) requires the above expenditures to be reported to the local board of elections. We are not aware of any such reporting by the Commission.

If you live in a county where the transfer tax is on the ballot, I encourage you to link to this post, or to one of the links I've provided.
-Max Borders

Special Interests are a Symptom of the System

Nothing shocking in this Observer story:

"N.C. elections officials are investigating whether a national Democratic campaign organization with ties to Jim Black violated the state's ban on corporate donations."

Only the particulars are news.

Because we live in a society where the rule of law is not so much about protecting people from force, theft and fraud -- but rather about legislation that creates winners and losers in the economy -- special interests will seek to influence government.

Partisans on both sides always seem surprised by the parasites that infest the lobbies of lawmakers at all levels. And yet the system is set up to benefit said parasites. The only way to reduce the influence of special interests is to get government out of micromanaging the economy. But no matter how small you are as a group, if you are a beneficiary of such micromanagement, you are not likely to agree with me. You have too much to gain from currying the government's favor.

What many fail to realize is that the nexus between special interests and politicians is thoroughgoingly bipartisan. If you (or your party) can make or break a company with a law, you will be shown the money. In the wake of Jim Black, you will will find that resources follow the party of power - the Democrats - in North Carolina. The party is currently being investigated. But it could just as well be the opposition who is engaged in influence peddling. That's because special interest relationships are a symptom of the system that lets governments meddle in markets. (Where they don't belong.)

Black Transcript

Courtesy of Ryan Beckwith at Under the Dome, some light summer reading.

Corruption & Reform: Blust/Hawke Exchange

Rep. John Blust (R-Guilford) writes passionately about the need for reform in the General Assembly with the following, excerpted from an email exchange:

After all of the recent developments, legislators should feel a deep sense of obligation to take strong actions to change things in the North Carolina legislature and throughout state government.  I propose the following measures, none of which give any advantage to either party and all of which I would wager would be overwhelmingly backed by the people of North Carolina:

1) New rules in each chamber decentralizing power - and require that rules must be followed without exception, except by leave of the full body (the ability to except from the rules when desired is the source of much of the mischief - when there is a compelling need to suspend a rule, the full membership should have a say, and the rules provide for this suspension).

2) Ban lobbyists from soliciting funds for legislators (why should a Don Beason be able to dump all kinds of money on certain legislators at the drop of a hat and get the outcomes he desires?). The big money comes not from the individual lobbyist (which last session's law banned) but from contributions of several people affiliated with the lobbyist's principal who give at the lobbyist's direction.

3) Place the Legislature under the independent State Ethics Commission through the recommendation of any punishment (we will never adequately police ourselves - especially when  a higher-up member is implicated).

4) Open ethics process from beginning to end (H1111 passed late Thursday still allows closed proceedings through the "probable cause" phase, which will very likely not be found if the legislator involved is on "my team" as Black put it).

5) Prohibit legislators  from influencing the hiring of lobbyists by principals (there is no need for testimonials from legislators on Don Beason's web site).

6) Limit the contribution of political parties to the same $4000 as other entities to close the loophole by which hundreds of thousands of dollars can be dumped in some Senate and House races.

7) Term limits for the Speaker and President Pro Tem.  Every announced candidate for Speaker after Black decided not to run last December publicly backed this proposal, yet it was not allowed even a committee hearing.

8) Independent re-districting commission that must follow strict criteria for formulating districts.(it offends any decent notion of a republican form of government for politicians to be able to shamelessly stack the deck in their own favor and deprive the people of the ability to chose who governs them).

Every one of these measures needs to be voted up or down in each chamber in the short session so voters know before November 2008 who is serious about reforms and who will allow for business as usual.  The rules can certainly be suspended to allow these measures to be voted on in the short session next May. Legislative leaders who block votes on these type of reform measures should not be credited with being reformers (in fact, there will not be adequate reform until it is impossible for a small handful of legislators to block action on bills).The bills passed by the legislature so far do not go to the core of what Black, Beason and others have done.  It is unseemly for candidates for leadership to be trying to out-bid one another to buy the votes of some of the loser members who sell their votes like some sort of commodity.

There is something terribly, terribly wrong with the General Assembly as an institution if it can be prevented from even considering and voting on important reforms in wake of all the revelations about public corruption so far with even more revelations and charges probable in the future.  The fact that there has been so little reform so far is an indication that the basic problem which the whole Black affair has revealed is still extant.  Why is there so much institutional resistance to fixing this problem?

...to which Jack Hawke, President of Civitas had the following reply:

You are right on point…keep up the good work.  I personally have some problems with reducing political parties to the level of one PAC and further eroding the strength of our parties.  Perhaps the biggest problem in the Republican delegation is [...] a weak party without any clout or influence … and you propose reducing it even further  I’ll be happy to express my feelings to you if you are interested.

Jim Black Myth Continues

I was disappointed to read Rob Christensen’s Aug. 5 column in the Raleigh News & Observer. It appears he too has fallen victim to the Myth of Jim Black.  When
North Carolina’s premier political reporter cannot see true corruption in the Speaker’s accepting cash in a restroom or bribing a GOP Judas (Decker) to change the outcome of an election, you have to wonder: just what counts as corruption? Apologists for Black have pushed the idea that he was really a good man who only took bribes to keep himself and the Democrat Party in power.  Christensen writes “There is no evidence that he enriched himself at public expense. The money was used to stay in power.”  I beg to differ. While, no evidence has yet been presented to show Black took money from public coffers, he did admit to taking $500,000 from a lobbyist for an alleged business deal. And in last Tuesday’s state sentencing hearing, Black admitted to spending on golf the $25,000 he received from chiropractors.  Just how did golf keep Black in power?  Indeed, how much “public” money was spent on the special provisions for Black’s quid-pro-quo benefactors? A politician for whom the ends justify the means is far more dangerous than one driven simply by self-interest.  What is more dangerous to our state? A corrupt politician that steals public money and then spends it on himself or a corrupt politician that takes bribes from special interests who want laws passed for their benefit  and then uses the money to alter the outcome of an election?

Jim Black had access to unlimited money and he used it.  He used it to bribe Decker and change the outcome of the 2002 election.  This was nothing less than a coup d'etat.  The voters of North Carolina made a decision to give control of the NC House to a GOP majority. Black, his ill gotten gains and Decker altered the make up of the House.  Black and the Democrats then used redistricting to further solidify their position through gerrymandering.  So spare me the wailing of Jim Black's good nature.  Not only is he "fundamentally" corrupt, he corrupted North Carolina's house of the people.

Clearing the record

There is an article in today's Charlotte Observer regarding an ethics complaint filed against Sen. Fletcher Hartsell.  In the article Sen. Hartsell states that he believes the filing was encouraged the Civitas Institute.

The Civitas Institute, nor any of its employees, had anything to do with the filing of the ethics complaint and did not encourage its filing.  We became aware of the potential for a complaint to be filed during the last week of session from other people in and around the General Assembly.  We did not know who the complainant was and had no contact with them before or after the complaint was filed.

Jim Black and the DLCC

Corruption watchdog Joe Sinsheimer is at it again, filing a new complaint asking the State Board of Elections to investigate possible "washing" of corporate money and illegal campaign contributions through the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC).

We've known about the funneling of money through the DLCC for years. Back in November of 2005, Civitas wrote about the funneling of more than $275,000 from lottery companies to the DLCC and into the NC Democratic House Campaign Committee.

Hawke also wrote to call on the State Board of Elections to investigate the funneling of corporate funds through the DLCC and into the NC Democratic Party's coffers.

I have also written about the annual fundraiser that Speaker Black held at Pinehurst that served as a vehicle for Big Labor and corporations to funnel hundreds of thousands of dollars of shady contributions into North Carolina.

In 2004, most of the contributions came from corporations with an interest in issues likely to come before the North Carolina General Assembly: lottery vendors, landfill operators, and tobacco companies. These corporate donations to DLCC apparently resulted in the channeling of $375,000 in soft money donations back to the N.C. Democratic Party, $225,000 to the N.C. Democratic House Committee, and $25,000 to the N.C. Democratic Senate Committee.

As a reminder, it is illegal for any North Carolina political committee to accept corporate contributions. Still, there is no doubt that Speaker Black raised hundreds of thousands of dollars in soft money from corporations for the DLCC and within a matter of weeks $375,000 made its way back to North Carolina Democrat committees.

So this is all nothing new and should come as no surprise given Black's proclivity to operate outside the boundaries of the law.  But Sinsheimer should be commended for his vigorous pursuit of justice.

Corrupt Democrat Testimony Gold

Jim Black testimony live now.

Pants on Fire in Chapel Hill

In a column about taxpayer funded campaigns in Chapel Hill (a pilot program for the entire state), Chris Heagarty writes:

"This modest bill doesn't force anyone to do anything. It simply gives the town the ability to pursue a system of campaign reform, if it chooses."

Doesn't force anybody to do anything? Wow, if we're going to advocate one of the most illiberal counter-democratic ideas ever conceived, let's at least be honest about it. It's real simple, Chris: When I take your money to fund my ideas, platform, and political ambitions, that's force. And the spirit, if not the letter, of the First Amendment is violated.

Look, no one likes the influence of special interests on government. But if government would stay out of markets, there would be no need for them to exert any influence, much less exist. Let's not cannibalize democracy for the sake of fighting a necessary byproduct of democracy that ignores basic economic rights.

Uh, no.

Dear Jim,

In response to your request.

Christensen: Blame Shifting?

In his column on the fall from grace of former House Speaker Jim Black, N&O columnist Rob Christensen points to the influence of "big money" in the political landscape as the primary reason for Black’s downfall. “Black's fall is almost Shakespearean," writes Christensen, "an elderly man trying to cling to power and, perhaps, hold on to his youth. But the story is about more than just human frailties. It is also a tale about how the big-money political culture has changed Raleigh.”

But is the money in politics to blame or is Jim Black, himself, to blame?  Many are tempted every day to do something unethical or immoral but choose another path. Just because the cake is set before you doesn't mean you have to grab a fork and take a big bite.

Let's not lose focus on what really happened.  The chiropractors didn't come to him with the bribe -- Jim Black sought out and solicited the money from them.  He was the corrupting agent, not the money of others influencing him. So before we go out and blame the ever-mighty dollar for all the world's problems, let's put the blame squarely on Jim Black -- a now convicted and sentenced corrupt politician who used his office for personal gain.

(Note: when government is small and stays out of business and markets, there are fewer opportunities for corruption and interest-seeking to begin with.)

Absolute Power Corrupts...

What do Paul Miller, Jim Black, Kevin Geddings, Meredith Norris, Frank Ballance, Meg Scott Phipps, Garey Ballance, Scott Edwards, Thomas Wright, Mike Nifong and (sometimes) Michael Decker have in common? Find out here.

Nice ride

Catching up from late last week... Mark Binker over at the Greensboro News & Record reports on his blog that Rep. Larry Womble (D-Forsyth) is driving around a brand new Ferrari convertible.

Looking at Womble's 2007 financial disclosure report, [right-click, then "save as" if you have problems viewing it] it shows his only sources of income are from rental property of a condo (of which he has a mortgage), his legislative salary (approx. $13,000), social security, and his retirement from the State of NC as an educator and assistant principal.

According to the statement and Forysth County Tax Records, he also owns four properties in Forsyth County, with assessed values ranging from $17,200 to $107,200.

I'm not saying it's not possible, but it certainly raises questions as to how a career government employee can afford a quarter-million dollar car.

Jon Ham Liveblogs Nifong

Good stuff, go read.

Should We Be Suspicious, Senator Basnight?

Whenever you see a curious environmental regulation plugged randomly into a state budget, you have to ask: who benefits?

Consider this latest curiosity ... a special provision of the proposed Senate budget bill (shoved between a section on funding for cancer research and a subsection about the powers of the House and Senate appropriations committees). It reads:

“At least twenty percent (20%) of any area designed to be used for vehicular parking, except for a covered area or multilevel area, shall be a pervious surface.”

A pervious surface. Okay. What’s a pervious surface? Why is it so important to the state of North Carolina that twenty percent of our parking lots be pervious? In short, pervious parking lots would contribute to the expansion of wetlands, the enlargement of old growth forests, and an increase in carbon offsets. No, seriously: pervious substances permit the flow of water, which should help control problems associated with storm water runoff. Sounds reasonable enough on the face of it.

But you start doing a little digging and you find out that some Raleigh company called the Rose Group has won awards for their designs using porous pavement... Fine. UNC got a green award for paving some of its lots that way. Not terribly suspicious... But when you Google “pervious” “concrete” “north carolina” – what’s the first thing that pops up?  The website for Dare Concrete, aptly named for Dare County. Now this amendment came from someone within the N.C. Senate.

Who is the most powerful senator in North Carolina? Senator Pro Tempore Marc Basnight, a Democrat from – you guessed it – Dare County.

As it turns out, Dare Concrete is eager to take advantage of such opportunities. According to their Web site:

”Never has the opportunity been so great for Town officials and commissioners, the concrete industry and developers to work together to create a win-win solution that will benefit the community and the environment.”

So a major supplier of pervious concrete in North Carolina clearly stands to gain when it comes to this new regulation. Does Senator Basnight stand to gain something, too?

By the Power of Greyskull!

Everyone knows that Senate President Pro Tempore Mark Basnight (D-Dare) is one of the most powerful (if not THE most powerful) political leader in North Carolina.
However, for him to claim a statewide mandate may be a little far fetched.

According to the News & Observer when asked about the $1.2 billion in new debt proposed in the Senate budget without voter approval, Sen. Basnight responded:

Basnight said he did not see the need for a referendum on the capital projects.

"The voters elected me to make some decisions," he said.

Uh, Senator, according to the State Board of Elections, only about 30,398 voters elected you, so let's hold off on claiming some kind of statewide mandate to saddle all us taxpayers with debt.

Cooper: A Taste of Fame

We're fascinated by Attorney General Cooper's, eh hem, ethics after donning paladin's armor in the wake of the Duke Lacrosse case:

>He gave CBS's "60 Minutes" an exclusive interview.
>He then accepted tickets to a sumptuous social gala -- the Correspondent's Association annual dinner -- hob-knobbing with the likes of Katie Couric and Terri Hatcher.

We're assured of his ethical uprightness in that he "declined to accept any gift bags" at the event. (Hat tip: Under the Dome.)