NC legislature at it again

[Left_Hand_of_Dorkness]

Although the state legislator, gerrymandered out the wazoo, stayed firmly in Republican supermajority hands, Democratic candidate Roy Cooper took the governorship and will assume office next month. Furthermore, the “Democratic” candidate for State Supreme Court judge (a technically nonpartisan position) won, tilting the court’s balance Democratic by 4-3.

We’ve had some terrible natural disasters here over the past couple of months, so the current Republican governor called a special session for disaster relief. Disaster relief was voted on and passed unanimously.

Immediately upon adjourning the special session, the Republicans announced that they’d secretly gathered the signatures necessary to call a second special session. No Democrats were told such a session would be called. Last night, during this second special session, they proposed a ton of bills to neuter the governor office:

Lawmakers want to hobble the incoming Democratic governor, Roy Cooper, before he takes office Jan. 1 by making his Cabinet appointments subject to approval by the state Senate and cutting his ability to appoint members to UNC schools’ boards of trustees and the state Board of Education.

Another proposal in the mix would equally divide election boards between the two major political parties, ending control by the governor’s party.

Yet another provision would cut the number of employees who serve at the governor’s pleasure from 1,500 to 300, reversing an expansion approved for Republican Gov. Pat McCrory at the start of his term.

Democrats are suggesting that on parliamentery technicalities, this session is unconstitutional. Normally I get annoyed by such technicalities–but in this case, it’s such a cynical, naked power grab, that I think maybe technicalities are the way to go.

On the other hand, if Democrats regain control of Congress in 2018 (please please), I have a hard time saying I’d oppose similar efforts to neuter the presidency.

I have mixed feelings, beyond my basic disgust at our legislature for being such terrible humans, and am curious what **well-considered opinions others have.

Edit: CRAP! Title should be “legislature,” but I can’t edit that. Oh well.

[John_Mace]

The president’s powers are defined in the Constitution. What, specifically, did you have in mind for Congress to do in order to “neuter” the presidency?

[davidm]

Bad faith governance at its worst.

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/12/14/us/politics/north-carolina-governor-roy-cooper-republicans.html

After calling a surprise special session, Republican lawmakers who control the General Assembly introduced measures to end the governor’s control over election boards, to require State Senate approval of the new governor’s cabinet members and to strip his power to appoint University of North Carolina trustees.

Republicans also proposed to substantially cut the number of state employees who serve at the governor’s pleasure, giving Civil Service protections to hundreds of managers in state agencies who have executed the priorities of Gov. Pat McCrory, a Republican.

If the measures pass the legislature, where Republicans hold large majorities in both chambers, and Mr. McCrory signs off, they would significantly hamstring the new governor, Roy Cooper, who takes office in January. Mr. McCrory conceded the race last week after a nearly monthlong challenge of the vote, a hard-fought race that followed four years in which unified Republican control of state government brought a wave of restrictions on voting access, abortion and gay rights.
…
The special legislative session was announced only at midday on Wednesday, and it came as a surprise to Democrats. Lawmakers had just ended a two-day special session, the third of the year, called to enact relief for victims of natural disasters.

[Left_Hand_of_Dorkness]

@John_Mace

The president’s powers are defined in the Constitution. What, specifically, did you have in mind for Congress to do in order to “neuter” the presidency?

Not really what the thread is about–that was a side comment–and I’m not interested in pursuing it.

[Left_Hand_of_Dorkness]

Similar thread.

[davidm]

It’s a blatant power grab. The people of NC elected to give Cooper the governorship with the powers that went with it at the time of the election.

[crucible]

My disgust with all Republicans is obvious, but I hold the Speaker of the House in particular contempt for saying that the extra session with any sort of politically biased bullshit they want to do is ‘perfectly normal’. ‘The way it has always been done’. Blatant addition to Republican’s many flaws here in the Tar Heel State…

[davidm]

Some of the Democrats are saying that the special session was unconstitutional so maybe they’ll fight it. They now have a 4 to 3 Democratic majority in the state Supreme Court.

[GrandWino]

@davidm

It’s a blatant power grab. The people of NC elected to give Cooper the governorship with the powers that went with it at the time of the election.

And Obama should have been able to appoint a Supreme Court justice a year out from the end of his presidency. The GOP just has absolutely no decency anymore (not that they were starting w/ much of a surplus of it).

[DrCube]

If the people didn’t like it they wouldn’t have elected so many damn Republicans. Maybe they’ll learn their lesson and elect better legislators next time?

[septimus]

The GOP legislators have a fiduciary duty to their constituents to cripple the incoming Killaryist Governor as much as they can. Although the state Supreme Court is now split 4-3, with a majority appointed by Democrats, some GOP legislators also want to expand the court during this special session and let McCrory pack it in the few days remaining in 2016. They would be remiss in their partisan fiduciary duty if they fail to do this, and thereby run the risk of the Court overturning the democratic will of this democratically elected legislature.

The Killaryists would do the same thing too if they had the chance, and were as smart as Republicans. The GOP should be congratulated on a game well played. This is Democracy in action; the New American System at its finest.

God Bless America!

[DSYoungEsq]

@DrCube

If the people didn’t like it they wouldn’t have elected so many damn Republicans. Maybe they’ll learn their lesson and elect better legislators next time?

North Carolina’s district boundaries have been so thoroughly gerrymandered that the federal courts have found both the House of Representatives’ districts and the State Legislature’s districts to be unconstitutional. The state districts are so bad that the federal court actually ordered that the recent election be redone with new districts in place, on the theory that letting the Republicans have another two years (to 2019) in gerrymandered power was inequitable.

The outcomes of the last three governorship elections show that the state is really pretty evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats. But Democrats held onto power in that state through tricks and gimmicks, and engaged in plenty of their own power plays, before the Republicans took over in 2010. Now, the shoe is simply on the other foot.

[Left_Hand_of_Dorkness]

@DSYoungEsq

The outcomes of the last three governorship elections show that the state is really pretty evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats. But Democrats held onto power in that state through tricks and gimmicks, and engaged in plenty of their own power plays, before the Republicans took over in 2010. Now, the shoe is simply on the other foot.

The shoe before was a sandal; this is something like a size 20 Doc Marten with extra spikes embedded in a cement block.

For real, I’ve lived in this state nearly all my life, and recall nothing remotely similar occurring prior to the Republican takeover. I remember plenty of Democratic corruption, I don’t have a rosy view of the Blue Dogs by any means. But this is something very different.

If you disagree, could you point to parliamentary shenanigans anywhere near like this prior to 2010? (Edit: to prevent things like how the legislature responded to the Wilmington riots, can we keep it to the last, say, three or four decades of Democratic power?)

[Neo-Calredic]

@septimus

The GOP legislators have a fiduciary duty to their constituents to cripple the incoming Killaryist Governor as much as they can. Although the state Supreme Court is now split 4-3, with a majority appointed by Democrats, some GOP legislators also want to expand the court during this special session and let McCrory pack it in the few days remaining in 2016. They would be remiss in their partisan fiduciary duty if they fail to do this, and thereby run the risk of the Court overturning the democratic will of this democratically elected legislature.

The Killaryists would do the same thing too if they had the chance, and were as smart as Republicans. The GOP should be congratulated on a game well played. This is Democracy in action; the New American System at its finest.

God Bless America!

So, when the people vote Republican, their will must be respected, and when they vote Democrat, they’re obviously incapable of making rational decisions and must be “corrected” by their betters. Got it.

[Snowboarder_Bo]

From the link in the OP:

Yet another provision would cut the number of employees who serve at the governor’s pleasure from 1,500 to 300, reversing an expansion approved for Republican Gov. Pat McCrory at the start of his term.

Do I understand this correctly? When it was a GOP governor with a GOP assembly, they voted to increase the number of partisan picks 500%? And as soon as it’s a Democratic governor, they vote to reduce that same number?

Is this how the people of North Carolina want their state government to function?

[Bone]

Merged post #3.

[/moderating]

[duality72]

@septimus

The GOP legislators have a fiduciary duty to their constituents to cripple the incoming Killaryist Governor as much as they can. Although the state Supreme Court is now split 4-3, with a majority appointed by Democrats, some GOP legislators also want to expand the court during this special session and let McCrory pack it in the few days remaining in 2016. They would be remiss in their partisan fiduciary duty if they fail to do this, and thereby run the risk of the Court overturning the democratic will of this democratically elected legislature.

The Killaryists would do the same thing too if they had the chance, and were as smart as Republicans. The GOP should be congratulated on a game well played. This is Democracy in action; the New American System at its finest.

God Bless America!

Poe’s Law at work.

[elucidator]

@DSYoungEsq

…Now, the shoe is simply on the other foot.

So, then grossly unjust political shenanigans are cool if it is in retaliation? Or is this simply another reminder of the Golden Maxim of Equivalence, that both sides do it?

Or what?

[Left_Hand_of_Dorkness]

@Snowboarder_Bo

From the link in the OP:Do I understand this correctly? When it was a GOP governor with a GOP assembly, they voted to increase the number of partisan picks 500%? And as soon as it’s a Democratic governor, they vote to reduce that same number?

Is this how the people of North Carolina want their state government to function?

Yes, you understand it correctly; and no, this isn’t what we want our government to do.

But it’s worse than that.

McCrory engaged in some outre-even-for-NC cronyism in appointing cabinet positions, leading to at least one federal investigation.

My personal experience with DHHS was that they were super-incompetent. When we needed Medicaid for our children (because as a full-time teacher I wasn’t earning enough to put us beyond Medicaid’s reach–thanks, NC legislature!), we got the form telling us that our case worker was Kay Hagan. We were, to put it mildly, skeptical; it seemed likelier that our call to her for constituent services to get our frikkin application processed led to someone typing her name in the wrong place.

This move looks like something done at the behest of McCrory’s appointees to keep them at the trough for a little longer.

I’m pretty disgusted.

[Lobohan]

I was accused, several times actually, by a poster that shall remain nameless, that because I didn’t comment on the Massachusetts legislature switching who appoints replacement Senators to stymie the GOP governor that I certainly support it. Even though I didn’t post in any thread addressing it.

In that light, since I am required to comment every time a legislature takes untoward action against a governor in a partisan way, I would like to say,* I find this repugnant.* Thank you.