Like so many others here, I have been encouraged to see strong Appalachian grit as our communities came together during rescue and recovery from Helene. Many have a long way to go, but many also were just beginning to find some solace from the physical and psychological damage we experienced. Politics were set aside, and when the internet cesspool spewed up MAGA lies, the pushback was swift, including even our Republican congressman, Chuck Edwards. Thank you, Chuck!
Perhaps like you, I was bragging to friends across the country that North Carolina did its part in resisting MAGA by voting in Democrats Josh Stein (governor), Jeff Jackson (attorney general), Mo Green (schools), Elaine Marshall (secretary of state), Rachel Hunt (lieutenant governor) and breaking the MAGA supermajority in the legislature!
Those good ole boys in the legislature hated this, and so, in secret, with no input and one hour of notice, the House rammed through Bill 382 as a fat middle finger to North Carolina voters. The bill passed the Senate the next day. Gov. Roy Cooper vetoed it on Nov 26.
It is a 131-page mashup of a bill, cynically named, “Disaster Relief.” I can only guess the disaster referred to was their shellacking by North Carolina voters!
The bill hobbles incoming officeholders, softens the beach for MAGA priorities, exacts revenge, solidifies their hold on North Carolina politics and even rewards themselves better parking, just because they can!
Here is only some of what it does:
• Takes control of the courts, gerrymandering a Superior Court judge who has opposed them and packs the court with two new Superior Court judgeships they will control.
• Weakens any restraints on what charter schools may teach the kiddos, praise Jesus!
• Creates their own police force by grabbing control of the Highway Patrol. This, combined with the recently passed HB 10, which ensures that our sheriffs facilitate the pending immigrant roundups and deportations, is very, very scary. Anyone else hear jackboots coming through our towns?
• Evidently facilitates donations for a political party headquarters? I can only imagine the gold-plated statue that will surely grace the entrance.
• And this being the Deep South, which has made an art of keepin’ the voter down since 1870, half the items suppress voting, shortening times to resolve provisional votes, steals powers to control the election boards from Gov. Stein and a dozen other voter suppression tactics.
• And speaking of Josh Stein, they must really hate him, since reducing his power, as payback for him daring to defy them when he was attorney general, seems to be a main focus of the bill.
If you read through the bill, make sure you are sitting down, because nausea will overwhelm you after 40 pages in. The state Senate has already voted along party lines to override Gov. Cooper’s veto of Senate Bill 382. The N.C. House was scheduled to reconvene Dec. 9. Contact your WNC Republican representatives to let them know you will oppose the override of Gov. Cooper’s veto. Time is short to derail this vicious, cynical ploy.
— David Dixon
Asheville
Done deal…. it’s now law with the NC MAGA GOP super-majority override of Cooper’s veto. Welcome to the apartheid state.