Republican greed

Not enough conflicts of interest to go around:

Brawley also implies that Tillis is aware of unethical behavior by another lawmaker: "A Republican-led General Assembly passing a bill giving a monopoly to the family of a Republican legislator. I am sure you know what I am referring to since all conversations I have had with anyone seem to lead back to you."

Brawley was referring to House Bill 738, a law passed in 2012 that requires all bail bondsmen in the state to be certified by the NC Bail Agents Association. The non-profit NC Bail Agents Association is run by Phil Burr, the father of Rep. Justin Burr, R-Stanly, himself a bail bondsman. While Rep. Burr recused himself from voting on the measure, critics say other members of state House and Senate leadership made sure it would pass, including Sen. Tom Apodaca, R-Henderson, also a bail bondsman and one of the founders of the NCBBA.

This is just one of many problems that arise when political leaders discard ethical considerations in favor of self-serving behavior. Those who feel they haven't been able to line their pockets as deeply as others turn bitter, and start singing like a canary. Probably 90% of those serving time for white-collar crimes have found this out, and it looks like the NC GOP is on the verge of finding it out, too.

Political troubles looming in the next election cycle:

So in next spring’s primary, for example, we can expect that anti-tax, tea-party Republicans who vote for any tax-reform measure will get hit with a charge that they supported a tax increase. After the bills are debated, and maybe approved, we will have to look at the broad picture, not just small pieces, to determine if an incumbent represented us well. And as we do that, we should have a little sympathy for these veterans of the no-win battle of tax reform.

You know where sympathy falls in the dictionary, right? Those who would shift the tax burdens from the wealthy to the poor will not get a single whit of sympathy from me. When you choose to aid a small minority of the population who need no aid at the expense of a much larger portion who already do, you've surrendered your right to be treated with patience and respect, much less sympathy. Let them spin until their heads fall off.

Robbing the poor to give to the rich:

The current proposals at the General Assembly would reduce or eliminate the personal income tax (a huge tax cut for the wealthy) and would make up some of the lost revenue by increasing the sales tax. The net result—the wealthy would pay much less in taxes while middle- and low-income families would pay more. That’s the Great Tax Shift. Lawmakers want to shift the tax load from wealthy North Carolinians onto working families.

The average people of this state have been betrayed. Betrayed by those who promised tax cuts for all, but only ever intended for those at the top to benefit. One need only take a closer look at AFP's chosen cheerleader to see the truth of that:

Activists eagerly listening to #NCGA #taxreform discussion in Greensboro. #ncpol #consnc #BackInTheGameNC twitter.com/AFPNC/status/3…

— AFP-NC (@AFPNC) May 16, 2013

Creating a culture of deception and disregard for the law:

About 1,200 state government workers, elected officials and political appointees failed to file their required financial disclosure form by the April 15 deadline – three times as many as last year, the State Ethics Commission learned Friday. Many of those who haven’t filed aren’t happy that they must disclose their financial interests.

“There are a lot of upset people this year,” said Teresa Pell, a commission attorney. “We’ve been cussed out and on the other end thanked profusely for our assistance.” In one case, Pell said an official flat refused to file his disclosure, saying he’d pay the fine. All those who didn’t file on time are subject to a $250 fine, with the amount escalating if they continue to avoid compliance.

We're going to use this story for an exercise in extrapolation; an attempt to discover deeper truths utilizing a logical analysis of a limited amount of information. Professional journalists rarely engage in this, because the proper verification may take weeks or months, if it's even possible. That's where we come in:

And the takeover couldn't have happened without some Judas Iscariots to betray our freedoms:

Phillips declined to say how much money AFP, which isn’t required to disclose its contributions and spending, spent in the state. “It was significant,” Phillips said. “There will be more old conservative policy changes in North Carolina than in any other state this year,” said Dallas Woodhouse, AFP’s state director. “We have a lot of ground to make up. We have the right mix of state leaders and governor to pass some earth-shattering reform.”

Yeah, that's just what you need when you're trying to struggle your way out of a recession; "Earth-shattering". And just for those Republican lawmakers who happen to be reading this (I know some of them do), I want you to pay special attention to not-the-bus-driver's wording: "We have". That's possessive, meaning Dallas and his paymasters believe you are now a possession. And possessions do as they're told. You don't agree? Prove it.

Hijacking the ship of state:

ALEC’s role in North Carolina makes it a target for critics, particularly the think tank’s cozy relationship with business interests, who play a prominent, but mostly behind-the-scenes, role in crafting legislation alongside the roughly 50 North Carolina lawmakers listed as members.

Sweet Baby Jesus. 50 members? That's a fricking caucus, and a powerful one at that. And when said caucus is engaged in (what should be classified as) criminally dangerous behavior, it might be time to ask the (US) DOJ to step in:

Taking food away from families to build up a surplus:

She says North Carolina got itself into this mess by giving tax breaks to employers, and argues that it's unfair to fix the situation "solely on the backs of the unemployed." But Republican Sen. Bob Rucho says "there were no easy solutions" for dealing with a debt to the federal government in excess of $2.5 billion. He says his plan will allow the state to pay off its debt to Washington three years earlier, while also building up a billion-dollar trust fund for the next recession.

I got news for you, Einstein: when the foreclosures start rolling in from all the families who are financing your heartless scheme, the housing market will crash again, and the next recession will be here before you can replace the batteries in your calculator. But don't listen to me, why not ask some of your real estate buddies?

When being told how to do your job is more important than actually doing your job:

House Speaker Thom Tillis, Rep. Tim Moffitt, R-Buncombe, and Rep. Jason Saine, R-Lincoln, left early Thursday to attend the ALEC Spring Task Force meeting in Oklahoma City, scheduled for Thursday and Friday. "Unique to ALEC Task Forces is the public-private partnership," the website says. "Legislators welcome their private sector counterparts to the table as equals, working in unison to solve the challenges facing our nation."

Translated: "Corporations have learned that sending lobbyists to individual states costs a hell of a lot of money, and you can get into some deep shit if some of the states have clamped down on influence buying and other unethical practices. This way, the elected officials go see the lobbyists, and then go back home with corporation-friendly policies to enact without upsetting the sheep..., I mean, without bothering their constituents with all this technical stuff."

And his newly-minted Board of Elections doesn't have a rug big enough to sweep this stuff under:

Sweepstakes operator William George says a longtime business partner asked him early last year to write a $4,000 check to the campaign of Pat McCrory, then the presumptive Republican nominee to become North Carolina's next governor. George, 67, said he handed his donation to Hagie, who he then saw add it to a stack of checks from other sweepstakes operators. Those checks and others are the subject of a sworn complaint to the N.C. Board of Elections, which is investigating whether some 2012 political donations from sweepstakes operators violated state campaign finance laws. The elections board was scheduled to meet by telephone Tuesday for the first time since the April 22 complaint was filed, and a new five-member board McCrory appointed takes office Wednesday.

This is gonna get real interesting, real fast. If this new board tries to dismiss the complaint, the story will go national, and quickly.