#Gov. Roy Cooper

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

Republican state legislators In North Carolina are establishing a new investigative body that Democratic critics have aptly compared to a “secret police force.”

This new entity, formally known as the Joint Legislative Committee on Government Operations, or “Gov Ops” for short, will be chaired by Senate Leader Phil Berger (R) and House Speaker Tim Moore (R). It grants the state the authority to investigate various matters, including “possible instances of misfeasance, malfeasance, nonfeasance, mismanagement, waste, abuse, or illegal conduct.”

Gov Ops, a product of North Carolina’s most recent state budget, was established via a comprehensive bill passed in late September. Despite Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s refusal to sign the legislation, the Republican majority in the state legislature pushed it through just 10 days later, thanks to their veto-proof majority and the state’s laws restricting the governor’s ability to make line-item vetoes. Gov Ops is slated to take effect next week.

Any way you slice it, Gov Ops seems like a recipe for government overreach and abuse. If you find yourself under investigation by Gov Ops, you won’t be allowed to publicly discuss any alleged constitutional violations or misconduct by the investigators. All communications with committee personnel would be treated as “confidential.” Shockingly, you’d also be denied the right to seek legal counsel regarding your rights if Gov Ops were to search your property without a warrant, irrespective of whether it’s in a public or private space.

Nora Benavidez, a senior counsel with the nonprofit advocacy group Free Press, told The Daily Beast, “This is a question for the courts ultimately. But the powers granted to the Gov Ops appear to give them overreaching investigative authority, which invokes constitutionality questions.”

A critical aspect of Gov Ops development lies in the language within the statute itself. The key phrase, as highlighted by Republican state legislators, is the investigation of “possible instances of misfeasance.”

It’s unsettling that North Carolina’s Republican state legislators are poised to wield unchecked partisan authority, devoid of any form of accountability, to determine what qualifies as “possible instances of misfeasance.” This newfound investigative power threatens to have far-reaching repercussions on fundamental civil liberties, particularly those closely intertwined with the state legislature—such as voting rights and abortion.

Consider the 2020 election aftermath. Following the election’s conclusion, several North Carolina Republican lawmakers—mirroring Trump and other far-right figures nationwide—demanded access to voting machines, relying on dubious sources and unfounded claims of voter fraud.

Initially, North Carolina Republicans asserted that they would work with police to obtain warrants for such inspections. However, with the advent of Gov Ops, committee leaders could now allege “possible instances of misfeasance,” eliminating the need for a warrant and keeping the public in the dark.

With the 2024 election looming, Republicans in the state legislature will redraw voting maps after the new conservative majority on the state’s Supreme Court legalized partisan gerrymandering. (The Princeton Gerrymandering Project called North Carolina one of the most gerrymandered states in the country.)

The redistricting process in the state has been grueling; since 2011, six different versions of maps have been drawn. The process has been conducted mainly behind closed doors, and North Carolinians continue to express frustration over how they’ve been locked out of the process.

A provision of Gov Ops will likely permit lawmakers drawing the maps to bypass public records requests: “lawmakers responding to public records requests will have no obligation to share any drafts or materials that guided their redistricting decisions.”

Now, let’s look at abortion. During a legislative hearing, state Sen. Graig Meyer (D) asked lawmakers, in a hypothetical scenario, if Gov Ops could access personal health records (like ultrasounds) that are required by the state to receive abortion pills. Sen. Meyer found that Gov Ops, with its widespread ability to investigate with zero oversight, could release information like this “to the public in a hearing” if it wanted to.

Benavidez explained, “At the end of the day, Gov Ops actions and requests for information are all protected as confidential, adding a layer of opacity which means people in North Carolina will have largely no idea what the Gov Ops entity is really doing.”

The consolidation of power by Republicans in North Carolina through Gov Ops is not just a cause for concern; it is a stark warning sign. The ability of state legislators to wield unchecked authority—shielded from the scrutiny of the voters they are obliged to serve—strikes at the heart of democratic principles.

Transparency and accountability are not optional in a democracy; they are its lifeblood.

When the process of drawing voting maps becomes cloaked in secrecy, when mechanisms to hold our elected officials accountable are dismantled, we risk losing our most cherished rights to our legislators, who should be our staunchest defenders.

Government powers like Gov Ops can potentially erode the very foundations of our democracy—which can’t work if politicians refuse to work for the people and have any accountability.

#us politics #news #republicans #the daily beast #conservatives #alt right #secret police #Gov Ops #Joint Legislative Committee on Government Operations #Phil Berger #Tim Moore #Gov. Roy Cooper #government overreach #fourth amendment violations #fourth amendment #illegal search and seizure #warrants #Nora Benavidez #Free Press #Republican state legislators #civil liberties #voting rights #gun rights #abortions #confidentiality #gerrymandering #redistricting #Graig Meyer #YouTube #videos

[fatherjunglerock]

You can’t be tough on crime when you're soft on gun safety. ~Gov. Roy Cooper.

#gov roy cooper #roy cooper #gun safety #midterm

[covidsafehotties]

Published May 16, 2024

North Carolina Republicans are pushing legislation that would remove the state’s health exemption to laws banning masks in public, citing protestors’ wearing them in pro-Palestine campus rallies. If the state GOP’s “Unmasking Mobs and Criminals” bill passes, North Carolina would become the first in the country since 2020 to make it illegal to avoid infectious diseases like Covid-19—which people can also get while protesting—by masking in public. The bill passed the state Senate on Wednesday in a 30-15 party-line vote. Due to Senate revisions, it will have to pass the Republican-majority state House again. But even if Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper vetoes the law, the Republican-majority state legislature will have the power to override him.

Covid-19 continues to kill people in the United States, with at least 20,000 confirmed deaths linked to Covid infections since the start of 2024, Millions more are developing Long Covid, the risk of which increases with every subsequent infection. Immunocompromised patients are at particular risk of death: besides their underlying conditions, immunocompromising medications can reduce the efficiency of Covid vaccines and boosters. Masks, specifically N95 and KN95s, are very effective in stopping its spread, and wearing one in a crowd can allow immunocompromised people like recent transplant recipients to participate in civic life and political action. Mask-wearing is more effective in stopping transmission in crowds when more people do it

#mask up #covid #covid 19 #covid isn't over #pandemic #covid conscious #covid is airborne #wear a mask #coronavirus #disability rights

[republicansaredomesticterrorists]

“Michele Morrow, a conservative activist who last week upset the incumbent Superintendent of Public Instruction in North Carolina’s Republican primary, expressed support in 2020 for the televised execution of former President Barack Obama and suggested killing then-President-elect Joe Biden.

In other comments on social media between 2019 and 2021 reviewed by CNN’s KFile, Morrow made disturbing suggestions about executing prominent Democrats for treason, including Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Hillary Clinton, Sen. Chuck Schumer and other prominent people such as Anthony Fauci and Bill Gates.

“I prefer a Pay Per View of him in front of the firing squad,” she wrote in a tweet from May 2020, responding to a user sharing a conspiracy theory who suggested sending Obama to prison at Guantanamo Bay. “I do not want to waste another dime on supporting his life. We could make some money back from televising his death.”

In another post in May 2020, she responded to a fake Time Magazine cover that featured art of Obama in an electric chair asking if he should be executed.

“Death to ALL traitors!!” Morrow responded.

In yet another comment, Morrow suggested in December 2020 killing Biden, who at that time was president-elect, and has said he would ask Americans to wear a mask for 100 days.

“Never. We need to follow the Constitution’s advice and KILL all TRAITORS!!! #JusticeforAmerica,” she wrote.”

😡

#republican assholes #maga morons #traitor trump #crooked donald #republican values #republican family values #Republican political violence #stochastic terrorism

[kp777]

By Robert Reich

Common Dreams

April 11, 2023

I hate to say this, but America no longer has two parties devoted to a democratic system of self-government. We have a Democratic Party, which — notwithstanding a few glaring counter-examples such as what the Democratic National Committee did to Bernie in 2016 — is still largely committed to democracy. And we have a Republican Party, which is careening at high-velocity toward authoritarianism. Okay, fascism.

What occurred in Nashville last week is a frightening reminder of the fragility of American democracy when Republicans obtain supermajorities and no longer need to work with Democratic lawmakers.

The two Tennessee Democrats expelled from the Tennessee House were not accused of criminal wrongdoing or even immoral conduct. Their putative offense was to protest Tennessee’s failure to enact stronger gun controls after a shooting at a Christian school in Nashville left three 9-year-old students and three adults dead.

They were technically in violation of House rules, but the state legislature has never before imposed so severe a penalty for rules violations. In fact, over the past few years, a number of Tennessee legislators have kept their posts even after being charged with serious sexual misconduct. And the two who were expelled last week are Black people, while a third legislator who demonstrated in the same manner but was not expelled is white.

***

We are witnessing the logical culmination of win-at-any-cost Trump Republican politics — scorched-earth tactics used by Republicans to entrench their power, with no justification other than that they can.

Democracy is about means. Under it, citizens don’t have to agree on ends (abortion, health care, guns, or whatever else we disagree about) as long as we agree on democratic means for handling our disagreements.

But for Trump Republicans, the ends justify whatever means they choose —including expelling lawmakers, rigging elections through gerrymandering, refusing to raise the debt ceiling, and denying the outcome of a legitimate presidential election.

My friends, the Republican Party is no longer committed to democracy. It is rapidly becoming the American fascist party.

***

Wisconsin may soon offer an even more chilling example. While liberals celebrated the election on Tuesday of Janet Protasiewicz to the Wisconsin Supreme Court because she’ll tip the court against the state’s extreme gerrymandering (the most extreme in the nation) and its fierce laws against abortion (among the most stringent in America), something else occurred in Wisconsin on election day that may well negate Protasiewicz’s victory. Voters in Wisconsin’s 8th senatorial district decided (by a small margin) to send Republican Dan Knodl to the state Senate.

This gives the Wisconsin Republican Party a supermajority — and with it, the power to remove key state officials, including judges, through impeachment. Several weeks ago, Knodl said he would “certainly consider” impeaching Protasiewicz. Although he was then talking about her role as a county judge, his interest in impeaching her presumably has increased now that she’s able to tip the state’s highest court.

As in Tennessee, this could be done without any necessity for a public justification. Under Republican authoritarianism, power is its own justification. Recall that in 2018, after Wisconsin voters elected a Democratic governor and attorney general, the Republican legislature and the lame duck Republican governor responded by significantly cutting back the power of both offices.

North Carolina is another state where a supermajority of GOP legislators has cut deeply into the power of the executive branch, after Democrats won those posts. The GOP now has veto-proof majorities in both of the state’s legislative chambers, which enable Republicans to enact conservative policies over the opposition of Gov. Roy Cooper, including even more extreme gerrymandered districts. Although North Carolina’s constitution bans mid-decade legislative redistricting absent a court order, Republicans just announced they plan to do it anyway.

Meanwhile, a newly installed Republican supermajority in Florida has given Ron DeSantis unbridled control over the state — granting him total authority of the board governing Disney, the theme park giant he has fought over his anti-LGBTQ+ “don’t say gay” law; permission to fly migrants from anywhere in the U.S. to destinations of his own choosing, for political purposes, and then send the bill to Florida’s taxpayers; and unprecedented prosecutorial power in the form of his newly created, hand-picked office of election “integrity,” pursuing supposed cases of voter fraud.Florida has now effectively silenced even Florida residents from speaking out in opposition to Republican proposals. A new rule prohibits rallies at the state house. Those testifying against Republican bills are often allowed to speak for no more than 30 seconds.

***

Without two parties committed to democratic means to resolve differences in ends, the one remaining (small-d) democratic party is at a disadvantage in seeking ends it deems worthy. The inevitable result: Eventually it, too, sacrifices democratic means to its own ends.

When a political party sacrifices democratic means to its own ends, partisanship turns to enmity, and political divisions morph into hatred. In warfare there are no principles, only wins and losses. One hundred sixty years ago, our system of self-government fell apart because Southern states refused to recognize the inherent equality of Black people. What occurred in Tennessee last week is a throwback to that shameful era. I don’t believe Trump alone is responsible for the birth of modern Republican fascism, but he has legitimized and encouraged the vicious rancor that has led much of the GOP into election-denying authoritarianism.

#republicans #american fascism #fascism #democracy #voter suppression #authoritarianism #gerrymandering #rigging elections

[ausetkmt]

North Carolina’s Republican-controlled House passed a previously vetoed proposal Wednesday to restrict how teachers can discuss certain racial topics that some lawmakers have equated to “critical race theory.”

The House voted 68-49 along party lines for legislation to ban public school teachers from compelling students to believe they should feel guilty or responsible for past actions committed by people of the same race or sex.

United in their opposition, House Democrats challenged Republican claims that the bill would reduce discrimination and argued that a comprehensive history education should make students uncomfortable.

Republican seat gains in the midterm elections give them greater leverage this year to override any veto by Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, who blocked a similar proposal in 2021 and urged legislators this month in his State of the State address, “Don’t make teachers re-write history.” But Republicans, who are one seat short in the House of a veto-proof supermajority, will likely need some Democratic support for the measure to become law.

North Carolina is among 10 states considering such proposals, according to an Education Week analysis. Eighteen others have already limited how teachers can discuss racism and sexism in the classroom.

Gaston County Republican Rep. John Torbett said the proposal, which now heads to the Senate, would prohibit schools from endorsing controversial concepts, including that one race or sex is inherently superior.

“This great education state must have an educational system that unites and teaches our children, not divides and indoctrinates them,” said Torbett, the bill’s sponsor.

Several Democrats, including Reps. Rosa Gill of Wake County and Laura Budd of Mecklenburg County, raised concerns that the language is vague and does not outline clear boundaries for teachers. Budd said this “massive failure” places unnecessary pressure on teachers who may feel like they need to stifle productive classroom discussions to keep their jobs.

“The bill, on its face, is the obvious attempt to micromanage from the General Assembly into the classrooms,” she said during floor debate. “It’s overreach and will have a chilling effect on teachers and educators in curtailing what they think they’re allowed to teach.”

Republican lawmakers in committee had applauded the measure for “banning” critical race theory, a complex academic and legal framework that centers on the idea that racism is embedded in the nation’s systems and institutions that perpetuate inequality.

The bill does not explicitly mention the framework, but it would prohibit teaching that the government is “inherently racist” or was created to oppress people of another race or sex. Its language mirrors a model proposal from Citizens for Renewing America, a conservative social welfare group founded by a former Trump administration official to rid the nation’s schools of critical race theory.

Republicans nationwide have spun the phrase into a catchall for racial topics related to systemic inequality, inherent bias and white privilege. While many K-12 public schools teach about slavery and its aftermath, education officials have found little to no evidence that critical race theory, by definition, is being taught.

North Carolina schools would also be required under the bill to notify the state’s Department of Public Instruction and publish information online at least a month before they plan to host a diversity trainer or a guest speaker who has previously advocated for the beliefs restricted by the legislation.

Cary mother and activist Michelle O’Keefe was among several parents who testified against the bill in a Tuesday committee meeting. O’Keefe said she doesn’t want her young child sheltered from learning about racism and other atrocities in history, as long as those lessons are age-appropriate.

“The best way to keep history from repeating itself,” she said, “is to know the history.”

Another mother worried she could be banned from speaking at her child’s school career day because she has a documented history of speaking out against social injustices. Democratic Rep. Julie von Haefen of Wake County expressed a similar concern that she might no longer be able to substitute teach because of her record on racial justice issues and gender equality.

#North Carolina House passes bill to limit racial teachings #nc #north carolina #Black History Matters #racism in education #systemic racism #voting matters

[tomorrowusa]

North Carolina seems to be the vortex for MAGA extremism this year.

We thought that the GOP candidate for governor Mark Robinson was off the scale.

Meet North Carolina’s GOP Governor Candidate: A Hitler-Quoting Extremist

But Michele Morrow, the GOP nominee for North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction, makes Mark Robinson sound almost mainstream.

In other comments on social media between 2019 and 2021 reviewed by CNN’s KFile, Morrow made disturbing suggestions about executing prominent Democrats for treason, including Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Hillary Clinton, Sen. Chuck Schumer and other prominent people such as Anthony Fauci and Bill Gates. “I prefer a Pay Per View of him in front of the firing squad,” she wrote in a tweet from May 2020, responding to a user sharing a conspiracy theory who suggested sending Obama to prison at Guantanamo Bay. “I do not want to waste another dime on supporting his life. We could make some money back from televising his death.” In another post in May 2020, she responded to a fake Time Magazine cover that featured art of Obama in an electric chair asking if he should be executed. “Death to ALL traitors!!” Morrow responded. In yet another comment, Morrow suggested in December 2020 killing Biden, who at that time was president-elect, and has said he would ask Americans to wear a mask for 100 days. “Never. We need to follow the Constitution’s advice and KILL all TRAITORS!!! #JusticeforAmerica,” she wrote. CNN reached out to Morrow and her campaign multiple times but did not receive a response.

But wait, there's more!

Morrow also promoted QAnon slogans and tweeted that the actor Jim Carrey was “… likely searching for adrenochrome” – a reference to a conspiracy theory shared by QAnon believers that celebrities harvest and drink the blood of children to prolong their own lives. Media Matters, a left-leaning publication, was first to report the QAnon tweets. All together, Morrow tweeted “WWG1WGA” – the slogan that stands for “where we go one, we go all” and is commonly associated with the QAnon conspiracy – more than seven times in 2020. Central to QAnon lore is the notion of the “Storm,” a belief there will be a day when thousands will purportedly be arrested, subjected to military tribunals, and face mass executions for their alleged crimes, with Donald Trump leading efforts to dismantle them alongside other QAnon “patriots.”

Morrow seems to get off on executions a lot. Her addiction to QAnon (who hasn't been around for years) is not at all out of character.

Sadly, such Republican candidates are hardly unusual these days.

To defeat such MAGA fascist extremist psychopaths it will be necessary to become more politically active in real life this year. That means volunteering, donating, and being more visible as pro-democracy Americans. And not just in North Carolina but nationwide.

My new favorite slogan this year is a classic rallying cry from civil rights activist Rev. Jesse Jackson:

Nobody will save us from us but us.

#north carolina #extremists #maga #republicans #fascists #michele morrow #north carolina superintendent of public instruction #conspiracy theories #qanon #mark robinson #adolph hitler #donald trump #election 2024 #vote blue no matter who

[planetofsnarfs]

The bill passed the GOP-controlled state Senate on Wednesday in a vote on party lines, which included 30 people voting in favor of the legislation, and 15 voting against. Five people were absent, the Hill reported. It passed the House last week, and now goes to the desk of the Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, who could veto it. However, should he issue the veto, Republicans have a supermajority in both chambers that could override it.

#public health #republican party #palestine #roy cooper #north carolina

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

On Tuesday, the North Carolina legislature overrode Democratic Governor Roy Cooper's veto of a bill that virtually eliminates reproductive rights in that state, which means that women who live in the South now will have to go further north to exercise those rights which conservative politicians and judges insist they still have. The one-vote margin of victory for the override came courtesy of Rep. Tricia Cotham, who notoriously switched parties in April for reasons that seem to be extraordinarily petty even by the standards of state legislatures, where nothing is too small a weapon with which to create a great deal of havoc. From the Washington Post:

“When the 12-week ban initially passed in early May with Cotham’s support, Cooper launched an aggressive effort to prevent a veto override, targeting a handful of moderate Republicans, including Cotham, who pledged during their campaigns to oppose further restrictions on abortion. ‘If just one Republican in either the House or the Senate keeps a campaign promise to protect women’s reproductive health, we can stop this ban,’ Cooper said at a rally before he vetoed the bill on Saturday, surrounded by a crowd of abortion rights supporters.”

Cotham's switch was so sudden, and so dramatically at odds with her previous position on this issue, that people looked deeply for some profound philosophical transformation behind it. The folks at Jezebel talked to some of Cotham's former supporters and aides and discovered that the reasons behind her apostasy could be found in almost any seventh-grade cafeteria in this great land of ours. One of those former staffers was a campaign aide named Jonathan Coby, who quit in disgust last month.

“But Coby, in whom she confided about her decision to switch parties, said it wasn’t really about any genuinely held beliefs, political issues, or even money. ‘I wish I could say that she took a giant bag of cash at an IHOP and that’s why she did this—but it’s so much dumber than that,’ he said. ‘It’s just a deeply petty, personal thing.’”

(Besides, everybody knows that, for receiving political payoffs, Waffle House is the preferred venue.)

“When Cotham told Coby she was thinking of switching parties about two days before the news broke, he says she was stuck on the idea that her Democratic colleagues didn’t like her. ‘The Democrats don’t want me, and the Republicans have helped me out a lot,’ he recalled her saying. As local media has reported, Cotham felt Democrats had repeatedly slighted her since her January swearing-in—including criticizing her for using the American flag and prayer hands emojis online and supposedly not clapping for her when the Republican House Speaker recognized her on International Women’s Day as the youngest woman ever elected to the State House. (Local news reported that Democrats did in fact clap for her, but as her mom recalled to a local reporter, Cotham had said of the perceived slight, ‘That really hurt. This was women’s history. And they couldn’t even clap for me?’)”

Jesus, this is someone with very delicate feelings.

“Cotham had also been annoyed that Planned Parenthood didn’t endorse her, despite her self-described ‘very powerful’ speech on abortion rights. During her campaign, she’d sought the endorsement of Planned Parenthood South Atlantic—the affiliate serving North Carolina, South Carolina, and West Virginia—and filled out their questionnaire, writing that she’d ‘been an unwavering advocate for abortion rights’ and citing her 2015 speech about her medically necessary abortion following a miscarriage. ‘If elected, I will continue to work hand-in-hand with Planned Parenthood and allied groups to protect abortion rights and access and oppose anti-choice legislation,’ she wrote.”

Well, she certainly showed them all, didn't she?

#us politics #news #north carolina #gov. Roy Cooper #Rep. Tricia Cotham #2023 #republicans #conservatives #gop policy #gop platform #gop #republican family values #abortions #abortion bans #reproductive health #reproductive rights #Jonathan Coby #Jezebel #the washington post #esquire #Planned Parenthood South Atlantic #planned parenthood

[rapeculturerealities]

North Carolina Republicans overrode a governor’s veto to pass anti-trans laws - Vox

The North Carolina legislature has overridden the veto of Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper and passed multiple laws specifically targeting trans youth on issues including gender-affirming care, sports, and education. It’s the latest of several states with GOP-led legislatures to approve such bills, and it highlights how Republicans are continuing to make these policies central to their platform ahead of 2024

#North Carolina #Trans #transgender #trans youth #gender affirming care #lgbtqia

[socialjusticeinamerica]

[werechicken]

I voted blue no matter who, and it turns out the democrat I voted for switched parties to become a Republican and is now goin to force this harsh anti abortion bill in.

so it did matter who.

Fml

[1americanconservative]

[kp777]

By Jake Johnson

Common Dreams

April 5, 2023

North Carolina State Rep. Tricia Cotham formally announced Wednesday that she is switching from the Democratic Party to the GOP, handing Republicans a veto-proof majority in the House and potentially imperiling Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper's ability to block right-wing attacks on reproductive freedom and voting rights.

Cotham's move, which was enthusiastically welcomed by the North Carolina GOP, led top Democrats in the state to call for her immediate resignation.

"This is deceit of the highest order," North Carolina Democratic Party Chair Anderson Clayton and Mecklenburg County Democratic Party Chair Jane Whitley said in a joint statement. "Rep. Cotham’s decision is a betrayal to the people of [House District 112] with repercussions not only for the people of her district, but for the entire state of North Carolina."

"If she can no longer represent the values her constituents trusted her to champion," Clayton and Whitley added, "she should resign immediately."

North Carolina House Democratic Leader Robert Reives also demanded Cotham's resignation, saying she is "not the person that was presented to the voters of House District 112."

Cotham, who prior to her current term served in the North Carolina House as a Democrat for a decade, said during a Wednesday press conference at the state GOP's headquarters that her decision to cross the aisle was spurred by what she characterized as mistreatment from Democratic lawmakers.

"They have pushed me out," Cotham said. "They've made it very clear they do not want me."

As The Washington Post noted Wednesday, Cotham was among several North Carolina Democrats who missed a vote last week on whether to override Cooper's veto of a bill ending permit requirements for handguns.

The absences allowed the House to override the governor's veto. The Senate, which already had a veto-proof majority, also voted in favor of the override.

"Cotham at the time said she was against the repeal but had to miss the vote for a medical appointment," the Post reported. "Nonetheless, she drew blowback from fellow Democrats."

During her press conference on Wednesday, Cotham was evasive when asked whether she will toe the GOP line on abortion and other key issues now that she has switched parties.

"I am still the same person, and I am going to do what I believe is right and follow my conscience," Cotham said.

Cotham, who represents a district that President Joe Biden won by 20 points, has been a vocal supporter of abortion rights throughout her legislative career. In a 2015 speech on the floor of the North Carolina House, the then-Democrat spoke about her own abortion and slammed the GOP for "playing with women's lives" by attacking reproductive rights.

In the 2022 election, Cotham ran on a left-leaning platform that included a $15-an-hour minimum wage, Medicaid expansion, affordable housing, and support for LBGTQ+ rights.

Heather Williams, interim president of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC), accused Cotham of "pulling a bait and switch on her constituents—who voted overwhelmingly for a Democrat to represent them in the House."

"Handing Republicans the ability to override Governor Cooper's veto will endanger abortion access, voting rights, and other fundamental freedoms in the state," said Williams. "Voters in North Carolina did not elect a GOP House supermajority and Rep. Cotham is placing politics over their interests."

Cooper, who won reelection in 2020 and has used his veto authority against Republican legislation dozens of times, said Wednesday that Cotham's decision to switch parties is "disappointing."

"Representative Cotham's votes on women's reproductive freedom, election laws, LGBTQ rights, and strong public schools will determine the direction of the state we love," said Cooper. "It's hard to believe she would abandon these long-held principles, and she should still vote the way she has always said she would vote when these issues arise, regardless of party affiliation."

#north carolina #tricia cotham #roy cooper

[thoughtportal]

20 Governors Form Alliance To Defend Abortion Access Members of the coalition said they're "pledging to work together to strengthen abortion firewalls across America."

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/governors-abortion-alliance_n_63f65120e4b0a1ee14976ede

While Congress continues to take aim at reproductive rights, a group of 20 Democratic governors announced an alliance this week aimed at expanding and protecting abortion rights in their states.

The Reproductive Freedom Alliance, as they’re calling it, is spearheaded by California Gov. Gavin Newsom and comes about eight months after the U.S. Supreme Court upended federal abortion protections by overturning Roe v. Wade.

“In the face of this unprecedented assault by states hostile to abortion rights and their enablers in the courts, we are pledging to work together to strengthen abortion firewalls across America. This fight isn’t over,” the governors said in a joint statement Tuesday.

They specifically highlighted the importance of protecting access to medication abortion, which several states have recently tried to stop providing.

While most of the governors involved hail from states with firm abortion protections already in place, some of them oversee states with harsh restrictions on the procedure. That includes Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, who was unable to stop a near-total, pre-Roe abortion ban from going into effect after the Supreme Court’s decision, and North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, who’s pushed back on his state’s 20-week abortion ban and successfully vetoed many other legislative attempts to limit the procedure.

“Every Wisconsinite should have the right to make their own reproductive healthcare decisions without interference from politicians,” Evers said in a statement Tuesday. “That’s a right I’ll never stop fighting for as long as I’m governor — not just because it’s the right thing to do, but because it’s the will of the people.”

While the governors have little influence on abortion access in states with harsh abortion restrictions, they can take steps to make the procedure as accessible as possible to out-of-state patients. Newsom has signed several pieces of legislation aimed at doing so, including a law banning California law enforcement from cooperating with out-of-state jurisdictions to punish anyone who comes to the state for abortion care.

The California governor praised the new alliance as a way to expand on those efforts, saying it will “stand as a firewall to fight for and protect providers, patients, and all who are affected by these attacks on fundamental rights.”

Since the fall of Roe, a dozen states have outright banned abortion. Most are clustered together in the South, further isolating patients there and forcing them to travel hundreds or thousands of miles to access abortion care. Several other states are expected to follow suit.

#tiktok #article #reproductive justice #reproductive freedom #reproductive rights #reproductive choice #reproductive health

[tomorrowusa]

I frequently complain that people, especially on the liberal side, don't pay enough attention to state government. I hope that our readers in North Carolina take notice of this.

North Carolina Republicans have just nominated a candidate for governor who actually makes Trump seem slightly more moderate.

The Republican standard-bearer in the most competitive governor race of the 2024 election is now officially a man who has quoted Adolf Hitler, called LGBT people “filth,” and threatened to use an AR-15 on federal officials. North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson secured the Republican nomination in the state’s governor race Tuesday night. He was projected the winner of the primary by the Associated Press less than an hour after polls closed. Robinson defeated rivals Dale Folwell and Bill Graham, who were backed by figures in the GOP establishment uneasy with Robinson’s incendiary rhetoric and far-right views. Robinson’s primary win was expected. Now, he will face Attorney General Josh Stein (D) in a general election battle that is a top priority for both parties—and one that could have broader implications because of North Carolina’s status as a presidential battleground. [ ... ] A relative newcomer in politics, Robinson has quickly won many supporters and many detractors thanks to his eagerness to embrace controversy whenever possible. From making Islamophobic jokes to dismissing the Holocaust as “hogwash” in an old Facebook post, Robinson’s record offers seemingly endless opportunities for Democrats to craft attack ads. “There’s no reason anybody anywhere in America should be telling any child about transgenderism, homosexuality, any of that filth,” Robinson said at a Baptist church in June 2023. “And yes, I called it filth. And if you don’t like it that I called it filth, come see me and I’ll explain it to you.”

The good news is that this is a winnable contest for Dems if moderate and liberal voters take it seriously.

While Democrats have not won a statewide federal race in North Carolina since 2008, their track record in statewide races for governor and attorney general has been strong. Gov. Roy Cooper (D) is term-limited after winning election in 2016 and re-election in 2020. The state has only had a GOP governor for four out of the last 30 years.

Never assume that because candidates are perceived as being too extreme that they will automatically lose. Just think back to 2016.

If we want democracy to survive we need to drive a stake through the heart of electoral slackerism. There is no such thing as an unimportant election. When we vote, we win; just look at Minnesota.

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