Just in case any fellow North Carolinians need a little reminder of what's at stake in 2014 (and beyond), here's some reporting from inside the belly of the beast:
For the 450 people attending the Conservative Leadership Conference in Raleigh this weekend, the belief is that [the conservative movement] is still on the rise. The Republican Party now controls all three branches of state government and the congressional delegation. It hopes in November to pick up the seats of U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan, U.S. Rep. Mike McIntyre and state Supreme Court Justice Robin Hudson to consolidate its power.
. . .
AFP (a Koch brothers front-group) is prepared to spend whatever it takes to further consolidate the Republicans' grip on power in the state (and beyond). And between the flow of corporate cash, the gerrymandering by the GOP controlled General Assembly, and their efforts to suppress the votes of traditionally Democratic voters, we have an uphill battle on our hands.To help make sure Hagan is defeated, Americans for Prosperity, another conservative advocacy group, has already spent $8 million in TV ads in North Carolina attacking Hagan’s support for the health care law. The gossip is that AFP is prepared to spend $20 million to knock Hagan out. Tim Phillips, the group’s president, wouldn’t confirm that, but he said the AFP would continue to make substantial TV buys against Hagan.
But I m not going to feel defeated. Moral Mondays showed me that there are surprising numbers of us, from many different backgrounds, and from all over the state, who detest what these reactionaries are doing to North Carolina. I am heartened by all of the great Get Out the Vote work already underway. And I really do believe that a majority of the citizens of our state do not share in the vision promoted by the likes of our Lt. Governor, Dan Forest:
Forest praised what he called the building blocks of the conservative changes happening in North Carolina.He also praised what he called “the most aggressive tax reform plan in the United States”; the state’s decision not to set up a health care exchange or expand Medicaid as part of the Affordable Care Act; and the laws that cut unemployment insurance benefits and state regulations.
. . .
They may not be apologetic, but I sure as hell am going to work my hardest to make them sorry they ever enacted their laundry list of misery on the place I call home.In addition, he mentioned the passage of the voter identification bill and said the state was spending $320 million more on public schools than ever before. (Actually, the state is spending $7.8 billion on the public schools this year, compared to $7.9 billion in 2008-2009.)“It is time for conservatives to be unapologetic about what we believe in,” Forest said.
N.C. Democratic Party County Organizations
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