The Charlotte Observer uses research from Democracy North Carolina for an analysis of Duke Energy’s political clout, which would grow even larger after the proposed merger with Progress Energy. “We are not apologetic about what we do in state capitals and Washington,” said Duke spokesperson Tom Williams. “We are a large player and we serve a lot of people. . . . We clearly would be very large and active players in the policy arenas in those six states (Duke and Progress serve) and Washington. Our bottom line is influenced by political policies, and we certainly offer our opinions.” In another profile of mega-donors, CBS News looks at the contributors to Super PACs through the examples of Julian Robertson, the North Carolina native and hedge fund founder who is a major donor to Mitt Romney, and Jeffrey Katzenberg, Hollywood producer and patron of Barack Obama.
Democracy NC Blog
Welcome to Democracy North Carolina’s main newsfeed. You can review all of our latest blog posts below, starting with the newest post on top, or you can visit our individual sections for more in-depth coverage:
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LOD: Oily Protection Money
April 5th, 2012
The protection money that Big Oil doles out to politicians has paid off again in Washington. A solid majority of Americans want to end tax breaks worth over $4 billion a year for oil companies, but 43 Republicans and 4 Democrats blocked a crucial vote in US Senate last week, so the windfall continues. An analysis by Think Progress shows that Big Oil’s supporters received nearly four times the campaign donations of those standing for responsible fiscal policy. Since January 2005, US Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC) has received $234,800 from oil and gas industry donors, while Sen. Kay Hagan took in $17,550. Hagan voted to end the tax subsidy, Burr voted to keep it. The New Yorker has a long story (“Gusher”) about the recent history of ExxonMobil’s remarkable political clout, but at the moment only an abstract is accessible. For details about the oil industry’s subsidies and more, see this article from OMB Watch.
LOD: Your Early Voting Sites
April 2nd, 2012
Want to know where you can go to vote early for the NC primary election, beginning on April 19 – or see who will be on your ballot? The State Board of Elections has just posted the times and locations of Early Voting sites for all 100 counties. All counties have at least one site open on weekdays from April 19 to May 4 and on Saturday, May 5, until 1 PM. Some have sites open on other Saturdays, some on a Sunday, some on college campuses. Click here and then click on the rectangle box that says “One-stop voting locations in your county.” You can also register to vote or update your registration at these sites, using Same-Day Registration. If you’re registered and want to vote by mail, you can request an absentee ballot by following the instructions at the NCElectionConnection.com site. Finally, use that site for instructions about how to preview your own ballot with your choices for the primary. Because of all the changes in district lines, it is especially important to preview your ballot for this election. Then, if you are presented with a different ballot at the polling place, please let the poll workers know immediately AND also report the problem to our Election Hotline so we can determine the scope of problems occurring throughout 2012: call the Hotline toll-free at 888-OUR-VOTE.
LOD: A Fighter for You
March 30th, 2012
VIDEO: Former Marine Tim Thompson is nervous about his first protest, but nevertheless confronts elections officials in Tennessee on Super Tuesday and refuses to show the required picture ID in order to vote. He has the proper ID, but sacrifices his ability to vote on behalf of thousands of low-income, older, and college-age citizens whose right to vote Thompson fought to protect as a Marine. He’s mad and tells a forceful story to his brother-in-law, filmmaker David Earnhardt, producer of “Uncounted.” For a status report about voter suppression legislation in North Carolina, click here for a one-page factsheet from Democracy North Carolina.
LOD: Trickle-Down Immorality
March 19th, 2012
Last week brought a flurry of reporting about the moral decay of America’s economic and political culture; the politics of greed is at the heart of the problem and the right target for the Occupy Movement and others. Somewhere in the 1980s, thanks to leadership at the top ranks of business and government, the transition accelerated from John F. Kennedy’s “ask not what your country can do for you” to the current mantra of “what’s in it for me.” As Robert Reich knows well, immorality started at the top and trickled down. He writes, “There is moral rot in America but it’s not found in the private behavior of ordinary people. It’s located in the public behavior of people who control our economy and are turning our democracy into a financial slush pump. It’s found in Wall Street fraud, exorbitant pay of top executives, financial conflicts of interest, insider trading, and the outright bribery of public officials through unlimited campaign donations.” Reich wants to focus for the moment on Republican co-conspirators of this sick selfishism, but a fuller analysis would bring in many Democrats as well; the politics of greed is now taken for granted as the way things are, the way to survive and prosper. An insider at Goldman Sachs wrote a revealing op-ed attacking his “morally bankrupt” company as he resigned last week. For a horrific tale of corporate greed and corruption closer to home, read Rolling Stone’s cover story about Charlotte-based Bank of America, “a bank too crooked to fail.” Writes Matt Taibbi: “The threat posed by Bank of America isn’t just financial – it’s a full-blown assault on the American dream. Where’s the incentive to play fair and do well, when what we see rewarded at the highest levels of society is failure, stupidity, incompetence and meanness?” No wonder people will call this the decade of madness.
LOD: Judicial Restraint
March 13th, 2012
The Obama Justice Department on Monday blocked implementation of the voter ID law adopted in Texas, using a similar rationale to their objection to the version passed in South Carolina: Research shows that people of color will be much more heavily impacted than whites by the state’s new restriction. The Charlotte Observer’s editorial praises the action and notes that the same problem with racially biased disenfranchisement would occur with the simple-minded proposal adopted by the NC General Assembly but vetoed by Gov. Bev Perdue. Also on Monday, a judge ruled that Wisconsin’s ID law violates the state constitution’s clear prohibition against the legislature adding new qualifications to voting; North Carolina’s constitution has similar language that will be used to challenge the voter ID bill, if it ever becomes law here.
LOD: More Sunshine, Please
March 12th, 2012
The Center for Responsive Politics follows the “Shadow Money Trail” through the annual reports of foundations and business associations in order to uncover some of the millions spent by the Koch-Pope-Americans for Prosperity network for political advertising – but the source of most of the money remains hidden. What can be done? Even New Bern’s arch-conservative Sun Journal says Congress should pass much tougher disclosure requirements. More sunshine on the flow of money should be required by our General Assembly, too, despite the bad example set by House Speaker Thom Tillis. The Center for Responsive Politics’ posting also provides an update on another way to hold secretive conduits accountable: make the IRS stop giving tax breaks to 501(c)(4) and other entities that launder election donations.
LOD: Fraud Claims
March 7th, 2012
Advocates for requiring photo ID checks at the polls may delight in a news story breaking in Statesville, where a city council member is charged with voter fraud along with his sister and two of her family members. But all these voters cast ballots in their own names; requiring them to flash a photo document with their name would not have prevented the alleged cheating. So rather than help the ID advocates’ cause, this is another case that highlights how the proposed H-351 will not really address fraud. As editorials this week in Southern Pines and Winston-Salem newspapers make plain, the bill’s claim to “restore confidence in government” is bogus; it’s really about excluding honest people who the reigning political party doesn’t want to vote. Ironically, as a column about House Speaker Thom Tillis points out, his cozy relations with predatory lenders shows he has his own problems with accurate ID information and inspiring confidence in government. Should he, or the lenders, be investigated?
LOD: Laughable Madness
March 2nd, 2012
The impact of last year’s crop of voter suppression laws is showing up in various states in bizarre and disastrous ways. The Colbert Report profiles a Florida teacher charged with voter fraud for registering her students and failing to get the forms to the elections agency within 48 hours instead of the old 10-day deadline. Legislatures across the nation are back in session, debating a new round of wacko bills that should shame any real patriot. The extremist measures would be more laughable if they weren’t so frightening. In North Carolina, Rep. Stephen LaRoque of Kinston is pledging to introduce a bill, when the General Assembly convenes in May, that would give his county government authority to impose a photo ID restriction on local voters; such legislation would very likely be unconstitutional, but that doesn’t bother LaRoque who says the bill is needed to ”prevent potential fraud.” He seems to miss the irony of fighting ”corruption” while he is the target of corruption investigations. He also wants to prohibit the Kinston city council from having council members elected from districts; he doesn’t like who’s been winning. The Brennan Center for Justice has a new electronic newsletter that surveys the status of voter suppression initiatives state by state, as well as new reports on aspects of voter registration, election administration, and more.
LOD: Secrecy & Pay-to-Play
February 28th, 2012
House Speaker Thom Tillis left out loads of information about his donors when he filed his campaign disclosure report for the last half of 2011. He got called out by Democracy NC and others; he said he’d fix the report and file an amendment. Well, the new report is in and there are still lots of holes – but what does get included is even more stunning. Tillis labels the CEO of a consumer loan company a “homemaker” – even though she helped organize a fundraising event for him in Greenville that brought in more than $30,000. Turns out two thirds of that money came from other loan company execs from around the state, apparently bundled together for delivery at the fundraiser, along with fat checks from the industry’s two PACs. This feels like a replay of Jim Black’s style of pay-to-play: Tillis, you will remember, muscled a controversial bill through the House for the loan companies, despite vigorous opposition from military brass and consumer advocates. Democracy North Carolina put all this info together into a release today that stimulated some press coverage, including these video reports on WRAL-TV and Raleigh’s NBC-17.
