In North Carolina, a hard-right shift hits a roadblock

[Triana]

. . . the GOP has turned America’s 10th-largest state —traditionally known as a rare bastion of southern moderation—into a massive testing ground for pure conservative ideology. The hard-right lurch has already inflicted hardship on countless North Carolinians. And it has offered a real-world glimpse of the playbook that many conservatives—including McCrory’s hosts at Heritage—would like to use across the country.

For McCrory—and his audience at Heritage—his extreme red-state experiment was supposed to deliver a success story that conservatives could be proud of. Instead, a growing backlash against the overreach—laws affecting women, minorities and the poor—is starting to cause real pain for the governor and his allies. His approval ratings have declined sharply, as have those for his Republican legislators.

The pushback against McCrory’s harsh brand of governance began with home-grown progressive protests known as “Moral Monday” events. The campaign has been spearheaded not by state Democrats, but by a coalition of activist groups including the NAACP, labor unions, environmental groups, abortion-rights advocates.

A summer protest in Ashville, a lively college town in the state’s mountainous western region, drew a passionate, racially-diverse, overflow crowd heavy on teachers, students, volunteer activists, and young families.

“Don’t make any mistake, America,” William Barber III, the state’s NAACP president and Moral Monday’s most prominent spokesman, told the crowd. “This is no momentary hyperventilation and liberal screaming match. This is a movement. And we intend to win.”

THE REST:

http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/north-carolilna-hard-right-shift-hits-roadblock

[JimboBillyBubbaBob]

1. It's been interesting watching the...

...goings on from my native state. Do not give in or up, we all stand with you. Ich bin ein Carolinian!

[friendly_iconoclast]

4. "Ich bin ein Carolinian!" Great line...

[riqster]

2. Theory runs into reality, once again.

[gtar100]

25. Always the downfall of right-wing ideology. It can never stand up to real life.

Because at its best it only benefits a small percentage of people and wrecks havoc on the lives of the greater majority.

[nikto]

26. RW ideology can only maintain itself...

In wartime, or by repression and force.

[LittleGirl]

3. probably because of the

people that moved to the state when they became the San Jose of the east coast. right?

[Populist_Prole]

5. What does that mean?

San Jose of the east coast?

I've been to Cal. about a dozen times, but between where I was, who I was with, and what I did I didn't get a clear take on city politics.

[LittleGirl]

11. Raleigh is considered the silcon valley of the east no?

That's what I meant. I think that the poster below explained it much better than my quip.

[Populist_Prole]

14. I guess

I have no idea really. Lots of universities and such though/

[Alcibiades]

10. Not really, no

We're nothing like San Jose, never have been. But North Carolinians did have a Democratic Party that kept power for 100 years. Younger North Carolinians are nothing like the folks who elected Jesse Helms over and over again. It's a long complicated history--on the eve of the civil war, iut was folks in the western part of the state who were more progressive on race, or who at least saw little sense in a war much more avidly supported in Virginia and South Carolina--at least half a dozen secession votes failed, as I recall, before NC finally did it, becoming the tenth state to do so.

Today, the state is much like other states, except we do have more folks from out of state than many places, so we are a little like Cali in that regard (I did my doctorate at Davis, BTW). The big urban centers are overwhelmingly Democratic, the rural areas, most of which had been Democratic for 100 years, have become Republican.

There are a lot of white, rural, Protestant men in the state who vote the way you think they would vote--I call them the Jesse Helms people. But our number one source of migration has been New York state, and many of those folks are Democrats. The children of Spanish-speaking foreign nationals are also aging into the voting-age population, and they tend Democratic, too. When you add these folks to the existing tradition of North Carolina Democrats, what you might call the Jim Hunt people, you have a majority, at least in presidential years, and pretty soon in the off-year races, too. The clock is ticking on the GOP majority in the General Assembly. Yes, they have gerrymandered the hell out of my state, but the proof is in the pudding, and plenty of folks are discovering it is a foul-tasting pudding indeed.

[Bohunk68]

16. Interesting material.

I recall a lot of the migration of a lot of our local young people down to NC over the last 20 years. They were not Democrats. They were young Republican Upstaters that had no work here. On the other hand, if they became Dems down there, send them back, in the last election, I lost by 100 votes.

[Alcibiades]

49. That's a good point

There are many people who migrate, for many reasons. Right now, the unemployment rate in Durham County is 6.1%, and one of the reasons it is that high is because so many folks have moved here. It's not great, but apparently lower than where you live. I would guess that lots of those young people are coming down here for jobs, which makes some sense. Looking at your housing market, though, it makes no sense. It looks like you can find some lovely houses in Ashtabula for cheaper than you could in a good neighborhood here, assuming you can land a job.

Much of the push and pull seems to be driven by the housing and labor market. Anecdotally, we are probably getting a lot more older folks than young people looking for work, but they come, too. They tend to wind up in places such as Charlotte and Wake County, particularly Cary and Apex. There is a bit of a selection effect: people looking for a place that is "vibrant" move to someplace like Durham or Asheville, folks who are mainly looking for good schools wind up in the suburbs of Charlotte or various places in Wake County.

It has been reported that there is something of a self-selection sorting effect going on: many progressives who move look for other progressive places, and many regressives look for the opposite. For folks who have paid off their mortgages, moving to someplace like NC is a no-brainer, at least if they don't care about being near friends and family (I had family in the Carolinas myself, which was one reasons I came home to NC). In the northeast, in places where housing prices are high, you can sell your house, even in this market, and earn a tidy profit, and buy a much larger house here, assuming you want a larger house (incredibly to me, many people seem to want that, though there is also an increasing market for smaller homes near the city center). But that does not apply in your case, so it's probably the labor market that is driving things.

I used to live in Pittsburgh, though the closest I ever got to your neck of the woods was Erie. That was a long time ago, but after a lot of the mills had shut down. I do see a lot of Steelers bumper stickers here, so we are getting plenty of folks from western PA, but I don't think I know anyone from eastern Ohio, though I imagine they are coming for the same sorts of reasons the Pennsylvanians are coming.

[Bohunk68]

53. I was born and raised in Ashtabula,

but have lived for the last 34 years in Schoharie County, NY. It was the Upstate NY'ers that I was referring to. My late partner's nephews had moved down there after some other of their friends had. Jobs here are few and far between, hence not a lot of hope for our youngsters. They either utilize Pell Grants and TAP (Tuition Assistance Program- NY) or go into the military or move out of the area.

[Alcibiades]

54. I know a few families from NY

Most of the folks who have moved here are from the city or its environs. The one family we know from the old western burned over district are die hard Limbaugh types, probably fundamentalists since the 1830's. Nonetheless, they have nothing good to say about fracking, which has ruined the groundwater in their old abode. Nonetheless, they still drink the koolaid, even though they have personal experience that should lead them to conclude they have been played for fools. Jeebus.

[Alcibiades]

52. THere is this

http://www.thrivenc.com/newsandevents/north-carolina-ranks-no-3-migration

Boosterish, of course, as it comes from the state commerce department, but it does explain some of why folks in states with declining populations would co0me here.

Personally, I would stay in Ohio if I lived there.

[erronis]

23. Nice summation of what I've seen

I've worked in the WashDC area for many years and many of my friends decided to relocate to NC on retirement. These are generally pretty liberal folks (meaning that they have an open mind). The Research Triangle and surrounding piedmont areas are attractive because of the quality academic institutions and the recreation available.

Just like Georgia/Atlanta, Texas/Dallas-FW, Virginia/NoVA the red states have strong pockets of educated and intelligent people that are willing to use their brains to figure out how to vote. (Not saying the others don't have any brains and just follow their pastor/NRA-person/FUXNews/KochOwners, but...)

[AlbertCat]

41. And why would people move to NC?

Because it has a perfect climate for one. It's on the perfect latitude. It has 4 seasons, none too severe, and the Springs and Falls last a long time. It doesn't have earthquakes, but an occasional hurricane, which you can see coming and so get out of the way.

But also because it has great schools and good roads and infrastructure. It has well maintained parks and recreational areas in the mountains, piedmont, and coast. Y'know, QUALITY.

The Teabaggers care not for quality (just look at their misspelled signs) just quantity (how much can I get).

Remember West TX...the town that blew up because of that fertilizer factory? Do you think the owners of that factory live in West TX? Hell no! They don't want their kids going to school there! All the $$$$ they make leaves the state of TX. The Repugs would like to turn NC into TX or AL. They have yet to understand that quality matters.

[Alcibiades]

51. You're right about spring and fall

But summer? Not too severe? Maybe if you live in Asheville. East of the mountains, it's a six-month summer. I am from here, but I much prefer the weather in, say, Michigan.

It is the "good road state", but we do need to get the Republicans out of the General Assembly before they destroy our public infrastructure, which is probably the best in the south.

There is also something I call the "California problem:" when a place gets a reputation as a good place to live, it can become a not so nice place after a while. The cost of living goes up, and poor planning can sometimes cause unforeseen problems with things such as schools. For the most part, the Democrats did a pretty good job accommodating the growth when they were in charge, but I don't trust the Art Pope crowd to do nearly so well--they are essentially looting the state's coffers.

[AlbertCat]

55. But summer? Not too severe? Maybe if you live in Asheville.

O c'mon.... I live on the Coast, practically in SC and it's not bad.

Try summer in NOLA.... or FL.... or even AZ!

I can take heat for a month or three... but not being buried in snow and darkness for months.

[Alcibiades]

56. Of course, on the coast it's pleasant.

There's the sea air, the breeze and the best seafood and beaches in the world.

Here in the Piedmont, when I'm mowing my lawn for the 30th time in the summer in August, someplace like Michigan sounds nice.

[AlbertCat]

57. Here in the Piedmont,

Where I grew up.... before central air...

Still not FL.

Of course VT has a perfect summer, and such a beautiful state... but all that snow in the winter. Too much. I like snow....while its falling. And for about a day after that, but then it needs to just go away... which it usually does in NC.

[calimary]

44. Welcome to DU, erronis!

Glad you're here! Yeah, there are enlightened, informed, and educated people everywhere. I just hope they vote. The dumb-shits certainly do. We HAVE TO reverse this nauseating, destructive, utterly Neanderthal trend.

[Alcibiades]

50. I have a lot of friends up there

Did my undergraduate at Washington College, and so a lot of people I went to school with are in the DC area. When I have visited, my mind boggled at what the costs--financial and otherwise-are of living in the bits of VA and MD close to DC are. One of my best friends, looking for a house with good public schools, settled in Pasadena, and got a house that is a bit smaller and older than mine for $150 k more. And he gets to spend nearly two and a half hours a day in the car. Some other folks I know did much better simply by buying houses as soon as they could in the mid 1990's in areas that happened to undergo massive house price inflation in subsequent years. But still, all the driving in DC traffic. Horrid.

We do have some nice things here. You can go to some wonderful beaches in the summer and the mountains in the fall. Durham and Chapel Hill are reasonably progressive for NC, but Chapel Hill has real estate prices that rival the DC market area. Culturally, the Piedmont is not terribly different from the tidewater bits of MD and VA, and we even have crab. Summers are about the same as in DC: miserably hot. We just get less snow, though it still happens on average twice a year, though it rarely sticks.

[TheDebbieDee]

28. North Carolina? My ex-husband lives there.....

I hate that man! Enuf said about North Carolina!

[AlbertCat]

40. I hate that man! Enuf said about North Carolina!

No wonder he's your ex! Judging an entire state by one personal experience...sheesh!

[TheDebbieDee]

42. Lighten up, Francis!

But I really do hate that man.

[WorseBeforeBetter]

6. I'm not really seeing the roadblock.

They're getting pretty much everything they want. Seems like we're stuck with them again in 2014, and that our biggest hope for 2016 is Cooper. Hopefully the courts will come down hard on the voter suppression and abortion issues. Medicaid is still not expanded, and we have insanely high unemployment in some counties. Decades of progress undone in a matter of months -- can you imagine how long it will take to rebuild? They're tinkering around with taxes -- I think at some point big changes are going to be made and property owners are in for a rude awakening. They'll get their money somehow...

[littlewolf]

7. is anyone going to run against Kay H. ?

she has been more on the right then the left lately.

[WorseBeforeBetter]

12. I haven't heard of any Democratic challengers...

or maybe I have, and I'm forgetting. I think Thom Tillis is the highest profile R challenging her. A lot will hinge on unemployment and Obamacare. I'm already seeing pro and con Hagan ads... in freakin' November 2013! In one of her ads "independent" was emphasized, not "Democratic." Yeah, she's no prize, but considering the alternative... SSDD.

[littlewolf]

13. true dat. thank you. nt

[WorseBeforeBetter]

43. You're welcome. Just saw this in today's N&O...

NC Democrats: Too early to tell health care’s election impact

....

Public Policy Polling, a Raleigh-based, Democrat-leaning firm, reported earlier this month that Hagan had lost her lead over potential Republican challengers and that 49 percent disapproved of her, up from 39 percent in September.

American for Prosperity, a tea-party-allied advocacy group funded by the conservative brothers David and Charles Koch of Koch Industries, spent $1.7 million on a TV ad campaign highlighting Hagan’s support for the health care law. “Who gets stuck with the bill? Families and small businesses,” it said. This month, AFP put out another ad, at $1.5 million, against the health care law and Hagan.

....


William Hemphill, Democratic chairman in Bladen County, said people there were worried about how to survive, not about the health care law.

“We’ve got people who make less than $2,000 a month,” said Hemphill, who moved to the county, where his wife grew up, after he retired from the Postal Service in Baltimore. The top issue in Bladen County, Hemphill said, is jobs.

Many people there aren’t signing up for health insurance because they don’t understand the system, he said. “And the other ones figure, ‘Insurance? I can’t even pay my bills.’”

....

http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/11/30/3419447/nc-democrats-too-early-to-tell.html#storylink=cpy

[another_liberal]

8. That is great news!

Thanks for posting this.

[Beartracks]

9. LOL seeing "right wing" and "success story" in the same sentence...

... always makes me laugh.

----------------

[nikto]

27. In the same sentence, kind of like...

"turd" and "punchbowl".

[nyquil_man]

15. Two things you can always count on with Republicans:

1) They'll always push too hard and 2) It will always come back to bite them on the ass.

It's that interval between 1 and 2 that's painful.

[Skittles]

17. CORRECT; the reasons for this are

1) Idiocy 2) Greed

[Martin Eden]

18. the state’s mountainous western region

I've made the 10 hour drive there from Chicago many times; my wife and I are planning to vacation there again this June. The mountains and waterfalls are a hiker's paradise.

I wish nothing but the best for North Carolina, which means stopping the RW extremists.

[Cha]

19. That "hard right" shit was bound to get serious

blowback from serious people. "hard right" means nothing more than bullshit lies designed to keep people down and prop up fascism.

thanks Triana

[yurbud]

20. "push back...spearheaded not by state Democrats"

This is the problem with our two party system.

Democrats are trying too hard to be the other corporate white meat instead of trying to represent average people and provide actual opposition.

[mdbl]

34. And the Repuglicans use that against them...

I keep hearing echoes of the "limousine liberals" crap. Of course, most Dems that just want money don't care what anyone says about them, it just hurts any Dems with integrity and keeps them from getting elected/re-elected.

[calimary]

45. Welcome to DU, mdbl!

Good to have you with us! We have to respond with some back-smack against the "limousine liberals" - how 'bout Rapist-Loving republi-CONS? Or maybe Great 13th-Century Minds of Our Time? Anti-Christians? Modern-Day Pharisees? CON-Jobbers?

[mdbl]

47. Thanks calimary!

I agree. For repugs to use the term "limousine liberals" is the ultimate in hypocrisy and we need to let them know that in any way we can.

[Enthusiast]

21. Kicked and recommended a whole bunch.....nt

[Spitfire of ATJ]

22. These idiots push for white male rule and ASSUME all white males will support it.

[tclambert]

24. Compare this to California.

Why, goodness, that Democratic government in California seems to score one success after another--unemployment down, bond rating up, state budget running a surplus. All after Republicans said the Democrats would do all the wrong things.

[Major Nikon]

29. The wingnut house of cards is collapsing

The problem is the Dunning–Kruger is strong with their constituency. When Palin and Bachmann are their greatest heroes and the best example of intellectualism is a slavery apologist 'champion of liberty', you know you are in trouble.

[calimary]

46. YES. Proud Californian here - this is what happens when republi-CONS don't get their way.

Financially we head into the black, our health exchanges are working just fine, unemployment dropping, bond rating rising, minimum wage gets an increase! We have a brilliant and compassionate governor and a state legislature dominated by Dems. Not enough republi-CONS in there to start causing trouble.

I feel like that asshole justin dart did - multi-millionaire industrialist who was part of asshole reagan's so-called "Kitchen Cabinet," the off-the-books group of wealthy corporate pals of ronnie's who advised him in the shadows, out of public view. justin dart once was quoted as saying (paraphrasing slightly) that we should only be concerned about saving about 100 acres of redwoods - "for the kids."

So I think it'd be a good idea to save about 100 republi-CONS. For the kids.

[mdbl]

48. Amazing what happens when people in power want to govern

and not destroy like the M.O. of the teabaggers.

[blkmusclmachine]

30. You can add WI, MI, OH, AZ, and FL to the rapidly expanding list of that lurch to the hard right.

[mdbl]

32. I thought they had lurched long ago

[mountain grammy]

31. "This is no momentary hyperventilation and liberal screaming match.

This is a movement. And we intend to win." William Barber III.. I love that man.

Support the NC NAACP! http://www.naacpnc.org/

[Scuba]

33. "... campaign has been spearheaded not by state Democrats ..." Same was true here in Wisconsin.

Thank you Moral Monday protesters.

[yurbud]

35. I had a sinking feeling when that historic protest got channeled into a recall

with the alternative being the guy Scott Walker already beat.

Activists can hand a victory to Democrats on a silver platter and they will piss it away for fear of offending the rich.

I wish the protestors had stayed in place until they had simply run Scott Walker out of office.

[Scuba]

36. The State Party joined the fray late, then made a huge mistake by scheduling the recall ....

... in June, 2012 instead of waiting until November when a Democratic candidate could have ridden Obama's coattails.

Or was it a mistake? Now Party leadership has already blessed a corporate Democrat for 2014 and is promoting her across the State.



http://www.democraticunderground.com/10849836

[yurbud]

37. that sadly confirms my point

[mnhtnbb]

38. The biggest mistake made by the rw Repubs in NC

IMO, has been to anger the teachers and women--many moderate Republicans--
who now no longer want anything to do with the Repub party.

It's going to be a battle--but I think NC will turn back to mostly purple by 2016.

[KoKo]

39. Recommend!