Jeff Jackson should run for NC-14
When Jeff Jackson ended is race for U.S. Senate, he did so with class. He laid on a heavy endorsement of Cherie Beasley and he left her a wide lane while Republicans are battling out a tough primary. Now, he should run in the new NC-14 that covers much of Mecklenburg...
The NCGA’s Majority is Failing its Own Voters and Rural NC
Between the year 2000 and the end of that decade, North Carolina was the sixth-fastest growing state in the country. But even as the metros and resorts boomed, eight counties lost population. That divergence starkly illustrated the unfairness generated by a global...
Cheering for a pyrrhic victory
By noon today, we’ll have an answer as to whether a three-judge panel of Superior Court judges accepts the maps drawn by the legislature. The panel could reject them and draw their own or they could accept alternative maps drawn by other parties. Regardless, the...
Require competitive districts
Last week, I wrote a piece urging Democrats to accept the Congressional maps drawn by Republicans in the legislature. My argument centered on the competitiveness of the districts. Four of the new districts would be highly competitive. That’s more contested seats than...
Pat McCrory Unintentionally Flaunts His Ignorance of Economics
Like a smug frat boy lecturing a pointy-headed nerd, Pat McCrory likes to flaunt his economic acumen. On Twitter this weekend, McCrory "explained" that any time federal funds enter a state's economy, the money in question is debt, and "a 101 Economy course" proves...
Competition is good
Yesterday, the legislature passed a Congressional map that gives Democrats four safe seats, Republicans six safe seats, and four that are somewhat competitive. Of the competitive districts, Biden won one and Trump won three, but Roy Cooper won all four. According to...
Redistricting Reform by the NC SUpreme Court–Unanticipated consequences
On February 4 the Supreme Court ordered the Assembly to pass legislative redistricting maps by Friday the 18th. The Court has essentially required proportionality as the measure of redistricting, using mean-median difference analysis, efficiency gap analysis, close...
Republicans Once Again Show They Have No Respect for Our Democracy
The maps released by House and Senate Republicans for the purpose of satisfying court demands for fair representation are, to put it bluntly, a joke. The Voting Rights Act requires three characteristics for passable maps, one of which is that they must reflect social...
A trolling map
Late last night, North Carolina House Republicans released a new version of Congressional districts. It’s a trolling map. Republicans give Democrats four safe seats and keep one competitive. Republicans will retain nine solidly GOP districts. The map puts Orange...
Sanitizing History: From the John Birch Society to Mark Robinson
In the early 1960s, parents in the roiling conservative hotbed of Orange County, California, took aim at a history textbook. The text, written by the legendary historian John Hope Franklin, allegedly took too dim a view of the American past, and therefore had to be...
Suffering through air travel
Back in December, United Airlines offered direct, round-trip flights from RDU to San Francisco for $275. I had enough miles to pay for two tickets and bought another other so I could take my two younger kids to see California, because, to paraphrase Tom Waites, I...
Thoughts on the 50-50 State Debate
The last five North Carolina elections have been decided by 2%, 1.5%, 3.7%, 2%, and 1.3%. That record of narrow electoral decisions should mark the Tar Heel state as one of the purplest states in the nation. But the following factor complicates that conclusion:...