A great list of the damage Republicans have done to the once "progressive" state of North Carolina

[mnhtnbb]

Here are the first four--and the list goes to 10--from Gene Nichol who is Boyd Tinsley Distinguished Professor at UNC-Chapel Hill.

1. Tragically refused to expand Medicaid. Merely to show disdain for President Obama, they’ve denied health care to a half million poor Tar Heels though the federal government would pay almost all the fare. Hospitals have closed, tens of thousands of jobs have been lost, over $30 billion in federal funds are surrendered and a thousand or more of us die each year as a result of one of the most cruel and indefensible decisions in N.C. history.

2. Enacted the most aggressive voter suppression law in a half century. The central purpose of North Carolina’s monster voting law – imposing a biased ID requirement, limiting early voting and eliminating same-day registration, out of precinct voting and early first-time registration – is to make it harder to cast the franchise. It is foundationally un-American.

3. Launched an internationally derided war on LGBT people. Beginning with Amendment One, followed by a discrimination-abetting religious exemption law, the expenditure of hundreds of thousands of state dollars to pursue already-concluded litigation and, most famously, the passage of House Bill 2, Republicans have inflicted enduring wounds on North Carolina merely to prove they despise the LGBT community.

4. Moved systematically and pervasively to dismantle the public schools. Through teacher and teaching assistant layoffs, reductions in pre-K programs, massive budget cuts, the expansion of charters, the introduction of vouchers, the (attempted) elimination of tenure, the closing of a celebrated teaching fellows program, the creation of a destructive A-F school grading system and, now, the adoption of achievement school districts, the General Assembly has worked to lay waste to public education.

Rarely have so few inflicted so much, so quickly, on so many, with so little justification. Revolution born in malice.

http://www.newsobserver.com/opinion/op-ed/article85842807.html

[riversedge]

1. That list could apply to most red states-

[John Poet]

10. and could apply to some supposedly 'blue states' whose state governments

have been taken over by Republicans who, because of widespread 2010 electoral victories, have been able to re-draw most electoral districts at all levels in their favor.

Michigan has been stuck in this situation for some time, although we retain our two Democratic US Senators and continue to vote Democratic for President since 1992.

We're just lucky here that nothing really heinous has been passed except for 'Right-to-work' legislation, although some real garbage has been introduced by members of that Republican majority...

[DonCoquixote]

2. There was a time

When North Carolina was considered a purple state. Now it hosted the last Democratic convention (over a LOT of objection from union strongholds like Philadelphia) and they could not even vote for Obama.

[perdita9]

3. Actions have consequences

North Carolinians voted for this. The only people with the power to change this are those that take the time to show up to the polls.

Let's hope they do so in the next couple of elections.

[Lucky Luciano]

7. First you need to be allowed to show up at the polls. nt

[perdita9]

13. I agree

But I spend an awful lot of time knocking on doors and making phone calls before elections to people who show no interest in voting.

The % of people who bother to show up at all is truly embarrassing to us as a country.

[HelenWheels]

4. Pretty much the same in WI

except for the LGBT war

[allan01]

5. they did this to california and it took us ten years to recover under ronald ray gun

dukemajian? ( not sure of the spelling ) and arnold ( god what a joke ) we voted them almost all out and got things done .

[certainot]

6. these NC universities helped it happen, for maybe $5MOL/month free to GOP

16 limbaugh stations depend heavily on these 4 universities: North Carolina 8, North Carolina State 3, Duke 3, East Carolina 2

all of those stations blasted NC with the bullshit used to sell those issues and elect those who pushed them. i've heard all those issues pushed the same way in two other states, for decades, and some more specifically recently, like men with penises in the ladies room with your wives and daughters.

all NC dems have to do is start a discussion about the absurdity of those schools renting their credibility and sports logos to those stations. the NC GOP will go crazy, media will notice, and advertisers will flee until the stations either have to stop selling the lies and hate and go to sports or music, or try to offer balance.

16 stations x $3.9 MIL/year = 62.4mil/year used to sell that bullshit advantage or 5.2/MONTH! thanks to those universities

at a cheap $1000/hr x 15hrs/day x 1200 stations, rw talk radio is worth 4.68 BIL$/ year or 390MIL$ /month FREE for coordinated global warming denial, pro republican wall st think tank propaganda, free market deregulation bullshit, swiftboating, and the hate and fear used to get people to vote republican.

[Indydem]

8. Get a grip.

Your calculations are complete garbage.

Secondly, despite this outrageous advantage, Democrats controlled all 3 branches of government from 09-11. So, maybe not such an advantage?

Thirdly, left wing talk radio, tv programs, and programming doesn't sell. Never has. Why? Because the programming isn't entertaining, and too many in the left are too good to watch tv or listen to talk radio.

So, I've grown tired of your one-issue spamming of the board with you copy-paste garbage, somehow twisted to blame every wrong thing in the world on talk radio, and the free market that spawned it.

Congrats on being the first person to ever make my ignore list.

[paleotn]

9. Ummmm....free market?

.. your "free market" doesn't exist. It's a misnomer.

[certainot]

12. calcs: would you pay $1000 for an hour infomercial to

sell your business on a limbaugh station? $500?

Secondly, despite this outrageous advantage, Democrats controlled all 3 branches of government from 09-11. So, maybe not such an advantage?

with the left stupidly ignoring rw radio and all the progressive orgs wasting our donations and the dems depending on GOTV and getting their asses kicked by a few hundred ignorant parrots on 1000 radio stations, dems sure got a lot done, eh?

Thirdly, left wing talk radio, tv programs, and programming doesn't sell. Never has. Why? Because the programming isn't entertaining, and too many in the left are too good to watch tv or listen to talk radio.

so you repeat the rw talking point that americans are ignorant self hating liars and that's why liberal talk radio has a 5% to 95% monopoly disadvantage. as if mom and pop can compete with wall mart. get a clue.

So, I've grown tired of your one-issue spamming of the board with you copy-paste garbage, somehow twisted to blame every wrong thing in the world on talk radio, and the free market that spawned it.

every one of those 4 issues has been sold all over the country on talk radio - with no talk back from the left, so tell me how i'm changing the subject? and show me some part of my comment other than this:

at a cheap $1000/hr x 15hrs/day x 1200 stations, rw talk radio is worth 4.68 BIL$/ year or 390MIL$ /month FREE for coordinated global warming denial, pro republican wall st think tank propaganda, free market deregulation bullshit, swiftboating, and the hate and fear used to get people to vote republican.

that i'm cutting and pasting.

'free market'? are you fucking kidding? no real liberal believes that ayn randian 'free market' bullshit.

it's a subsidized and protected monopoly and like i said, it's an insult to americans to suggest that 95% of those who would listen to talk radio for politics would prefer the lies and ignorance and hate of limbaugh and sons over liberal talkers who beat those blowhards in markets where they actually get to compete on an even playing field (rarely).

in most parts of the country there are no free easy alts for politics while driving or working and that's why dems and the left keep getting their internet asses kicked.

[Odin2005]

11. This shit looks like a 8-year freak-out over Obama winning NC in 2008.