Author Archives: Matt Richardson

Blue Wave or a Red Giant??

August 14, 2018 By in NC Politics Tags: , 3 Comments

I’ve been orbiting the fringes of political campaigns since I was a little guy.  Call me Pluto:  not big enough to be called a planet, but still in the solar system.   From the outskirts, I can report that the political universe looks a bit shaky at the moment.

At the state level, this election should be a referendum on the Republican legislature and its stranglehold of the power of state government.  We have multiple constitutional amendments on the ballot.  The Governors of North Carolina have even waded into the battle.  Legislative leaders attacked the former governors in response to their response.

E-Branch vs. L-Branch with J-Branch on the line:

formerncgovs.jpg

 

DANGER WILL ROBINSON!!

This is not normal.

 

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Meredith Breaks (R)ank – Senate 19

July 31, 2018 By in Fayetteville Politics, NC Politics 1 Comment

Last week, I wrote about controversial Senate Bill 3 that was passed in the recent special session.  The bill makes it easier for a Republican to win the upcoming race for a seat on the North Carolina Supreme Court by preventing another candidate from running as a Republican and splitting the Republican vote.  For more detail and the text of the bill, use this link.

News outlets caught on to something during the vote.  A few Republican legislators in competitive districts broke with their party and voted against the bill.  Wesley Meredith was one of them.

Meredith is the definition of a party-line voter.  As the “Majority Whip” in the Senate, his job is to keep others on that same line.  He was one of only five senators to score a 100% rating from Civitas for his “conservative effectiveness” in 2017.  So what gives???

There’s only one thing that can explain Meredith’s novel attempt at moderation:  he’s worried.  His district has been “un-gerrymandered” by the federal courts, and now he must appeal to swing voters if he wants to beat Kirk deViere in the fall.

Senate Bill 3 has been vetoed by Governor Cooper.  There will be a vote in Raleigh on Saturday, August 4 to override Cooper and make the bill law.

Do you think Meredith will side with Cooper or have another change of heart?  I have a feeling he might stay on vacation this Saturday.

 

Whereas, we don’t like where this is going…

July 24, 2018 By in NC Politics Tags: , 1 Comment

The legislature eliminated primaries in judicial races this year.  As a result, we have a three-way race for one seat on the North Carolina Supreme Court.  There are two Republicans and one Democrat in the race.  One of the Republicans hasn’t been a Republican very long.

Republican leaders are upset at the way their best-laid plan to take back the Supreme Court is playing out.  They have a fix in mind, filed today.  They will eliminate one man’s right to run as a Republican to make it easier for the other Republican to win:

bill

Full PDF of the bill

Please vote in November.

McCready’s Choosing the Battlefield (NC-09)

July 16, 2018 By in Fayetteville Politics, NC Politics Tags: 1 Comment

Andrew Dunn over at longleafpolitics.com wrote an interesting post criticizing Dan McCready’s response to controversy surrounding a sermon given by his opponent, Mark Harris.  McCready (D) and Harris (R) are set to battle it out in November for North Carolina’s 9th Congressional District.

Harris gave the sermon in 2013, but it found its way to the internet and made national news.  In sum, it lays out traditional “biblical womanhood” with man as “head” and woman as “helper” and criticizes society’s treatment of young women:

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