In the game of politics, timing is everything. We saw this play out yesterday morning with the veto-override shenanigans in the North Carolina Legislature. But there’s a Fayetteville wrinkle to this story, and it’s pretty interesting:

On Tuesday, Mayor Colvin and community activist Val Applewhite came out in full force against the Civil War Museum. They want to hold public meetings, get input, put politicians on the record, and essentially shut the project down.

Less than 24 hours later, on Wednesday, Republicans in the N.C. House overrode Governor Cooper’s budget veto in a sneak-attack ploy that made national news. The Fayetteville “wrinkle” comes on page 327 of the Budget Bill that passed:

See that line-item called “Civil War Museum.” Here’s how much money’s heading to Cumberland County if the Senate overrides as well:

Do you think when the Mayor came out against the museum he had any idea that the House would “pass” the budget the next day? I doubt it. But like I said, timing is everything, and the Mayor has flip-flopped on this issue at the absolute worst time. He’s now officially, on the record, against 46 Million Dollars in state money being injected into his community.

Call it bad luck? I don’t know. I’ve been critical of this project in the past as well, but I’ve tried to be consistent from the start. Now we’re left with an economic quandary and a brewing racial battle, and we haven’t even laid a brick. It reminds me of a song from middle school:

More to come on this one for sure.