At the state level, the Old North State just went Republican for the first time since the 19th Century. And yet strangely, most of the incumbent Democrat U.S. Congressmen retained power at the national level.
If 2010 was a Republican tsunami nationwide, N.C. was a bulwark for Democrats. This is a strange result. It defies both history and national trends.
Consider:
– Incumbent Democrat Price beats controversy-plagued B. J. Lawson
– Incumbent Democrat Heath Shuler beats his challenger Jeff Miller in the mountains.
– Incumbent Democrat Larry Kissel held off former sportscaster Harold Johnson.
– Incumbent Democrat Mike McIntyre defeated Iraq War veteran Ilario Pantano.
– Incumbent Democrat G. K. Butterfield won soundly against Ashley Woolard..
Weirdly, it appears only seven-term Democrat Bob “Who are you?” Etheridge — neck and neck with his challenger throughout the night — finally succumbed to Renee Elmers (according to WRAL news of Raleigh). As of this writing, that may be the only exception. In any case, at least five incumbent Dems appear to have retained seats in Congress in a year that augured heavy losses even for Blue Dogs.
Elsewhere in the country, however, the right turn is more than evident.
A Hoary State Legislature Falls to Elephants
If history was to be a guide with respect to the Democrats’ lock on the N. C. General Assembly, history was a no-show this November. The N.C. legislature should have remained in the hands of a party that had not let go of power for more than 100 years. Ignoring their appalling ethics, one had to admire the sheer tenacity of Tar Heel Democrats who — despite all manner of corruption charges and accusations — had managed to keep the state in their clutches through scandal after scandal (since the horse and buggy age).
And yet North Carolina is now red at the state level. This is a flip of titanic proportions. According to the Charlotte Observer:
Republicans haven’t led both chambers together since their Fusion coalition with farmers got defeated in 1898. That includes a 112-year losing streak in the Senate and only four years of House control in the 1990s.
The flip likely means Senate leader Marc Basnight and House Speaker Joe Hackney won’t be banging the gavels in their chambers in January. Basnight has led the Senate for a record 18 years.
This bodes well for many North Carolina Republicans and independents, many of whom claim now-former N.C. Senate majority leader Marc Basnight (D-Dare) to be the most corrupt in N.C. politics. But if he is, he’s as slippery as an eel. Nearly everyone around Basnight has been investigated. But not the old master.
Now that they have power in the legislature, N.C. Republicans will hardly know what to do: They’ll have to learn how to allocate road money to places other than the eastern part of the state (North Carolina’s shadow capital). They will have to figure out how to cater both to populist agrarians who want make-work goodies, as well as to city slickers west of I-95 who will demand “light rail” and “greenways.” They won’t have held power long enough to know how to be corrupt. And that may be a good thing depending on whom you ask.
Until November 2, 2010, the N.C. corruption market had been cornered by Democrats who managed never to let the legislature flip–even during the heyday of Jesse Helms. The ends, apparently, justified the means. But 2010 is another era. The question now is: will Democrats take on the white mantel, or continue quid pro quo in bathroom stalls and back rooms in order to regain power? Whatever they do, outlets like the Carolina Journal and the News & Observer (reluctantly) will be there to catch them.
Corruption — And a Lot of It
Overshadowed by recent venality in New Jersey, Illinois and Louisiana, North Carolina is, or was, easily the fourth most corrupt state in the union–corruption, nearly all of which, came from a single party.
– Former Governor (till 2008) Mike Easley (D) is still under investigation for all manner of issues–especially those linked to former aide Ruffin Poole who has been indicted on too many charges to count..
– House Leader Jim Black (D) plead guilty to federal charges in 2007. He took paper bags of money in a men’s restroom in exchange for a vote favorable to N.C. chiropractors. And that, say most, was the tip of the iceberg.
And there is more… I quote the venerable Jack Betts:
So it was with N.C. Agriculture Commissioner Meg Scott Phipps, who was taking bags of money shortly after her 2000 primary victory and tried to hide evidence of illegal campaign checks by using white-out to mask the evidence.
So it was with former state senator and later U.S. Rep. Frank Ballance, who used state funds appropriated for nonprofit organizations in inappropriate ways, including $20,000 for the purchase of a luxury SUV for his son, a state judge.
So it was with former state Rep. Michael Decker, who pleaded guilty [in 2006] in federal court for accepting $50,000 in bribes from an unnamed Democrat.
And so it was for Thomas Wright (D) — who sits in jail on fraud charges. Not to mention Tony Rand (D) and Ty Harrell (D) both of whom retired — or were asked to go — under various suspicions. Even the current Governor, Bev Perdue, is under investigation.
In case you didn’t notice, these are all Democrats. I won’t quote Lord Acton, because it would just be cliche. For some reason, corruption is the status quo in Raleigh. Despite the best efforts of journalists, the people seem to just look the other way when their politicians get up to no good.
But the times they are a changin’. North Carolina has always been a curious animal. And the year of the Republican is a redistricting year. How queer. More to the point: how lucky. Gerrymandering will be at the top of the agenda for a group that sees itself as having been kicked at and stomped on since time immemorial. The question is: what will they do with power? Will they govern wisely? Or will they become what they have come to despise?
Flips, Inversions and Anomalies
Back at the national level, what will these lucky few Democratic Congressmen do with their tenuous hold on their seats? Will they lurch right, like blue dogs scared purple? Or will they wait for that strange beast — North Carolina’s electorate — to equilibrate? If they do, they may find it working in their favor. From the bird’s eye view of history, the Old North State is a Democrat stronghold. I suspect 2010 is just another anomaly.
N.C. is now, as it has been before, a political mongrel state. It’s neither red nor blue — nor even purple. Right now It’s just calico. People are registering unaffiliated in record numbers. N.C. continually defies explanation despite the best efforts of political scientists, pundits and practitioners of electoral voodoo. When the passions die down and the demographics shine through, North Carolina trends mostly blue–though of a curious hue. And I expect it will trend that way for some time to come, despite being such a strange, untameable creature. But who knows? There are new lines to be drawn.
Max Borders is a native Tar Heel currently living in Austin, TX. He blogs at Ideas Matter.
