Partisanship wins again in NC Senate
Published May 18, 2017
Editorial by Wilmington Star-News, May 18, 2017.
In its proposed budget, the Republican-dominated N.C. Senate added $1 million to fund pilot programs battling opioid abuse in North Carolina.
Good news, right?
Here in Wilmington, we’re establishing a LEAD program, creating a coalition to address the problem that includes Coastal Horizons, Wilmington Police and the District Attorney’s Office, the N.C. Harm Reduction Coalition, RHA Health Services and the Wilmington Treatment Center. The pre-arrest diversion program is already up and running in Fayetteville and other communities.
We’re all for funding to curb opioid abuse.
But this seeming concern by the GOP senators really arose from a stunning example of political retaliation.
The senators, upset at being kept up past their bedtimes, were punishing their Democratic colleagues by hurting young people in their districts.
In the wee hours of May 12, Democrats proposed a number of funding amendments. As each was shot down by the Republicans, another was proposed.
Around 1 a.m., Senate Rules Chairman Bill Rabon, R-Brunswick, “abruptly called for a recess,” as the Raleigh News & Observer reported. After a two-hour huddle, GOP senators emerged with an amendment by Republican Sen. Brent Jackson to spend $1 million for the opioid epidemic (atop the paltry $250,000 they’d originally proposed).
Where did the money come from? It turned out that the Republicans had quietly stripped $1 million from education programs in the districts of Democratic senators.
Early college high schools in a rural northeastern North Carolina district lost $316,646. A program called Eastern North Carolina STEM was banned from funding. It serves high school students, many of whom are black students from low-income families.
The GOP targets were students who need the help the most.
The senators stripped Democratic-represented counties from a program offering stipends to teacher assistants furthering their own educations. Now it only helps counties represented by Republicans.
Other victims included bringing fresh produce to areas without grocery stores and staffing for a museum art park. More than a half-million dollars was cut from a downtown revitalization program – exempting a program in a GOP senator’s district.
The Washington Post said, “it stands as the latest in a continuing Republican assault on public education in North Carolina, which in the past five years has included severe budget cuts, the promotion of charter schools and school vouchers without sufficient oversight ...”
We hope the N.C. House will reverse this bit of not-so-petty political revenge.
And we’d advise the GOP senators to try harder to get a good night’s sleep before acting.
http://www.starnewsonline.com/opinion/20170518/editorial-may-18-partisanship-wins-again-in-nc-senate
May 18, 2017 at 2:32 pm
Norm Kelly says:
We expect petty partisanship from demoncrats in politics. What we don't need, don't want, and shouldn't have to put up with is petty partisanship from what are supposed to be news organizations. What is rightly referred to by PRESIDENT Trump as fake news.
Take this post as a perfect example. Demons ruled Raleigh for 100+ years. They NEVER played games with the budget. They NEVER schemed to prevent the opposition party from 'getting their way'. They NEVER schemed to inflict political damage on their opposition.
Just like right now, the past for demons was perfect, they were always above board with both their opposition AND citizens. Demons always had enough money in the budget to fund EVERYTHING they wanted to do. Demons ALWAYS increased education spending. Teacher pay was not only never cut when demons ruled but they had managed to get teacher pay ABOVE the national average. When demons ruled Raleigh, teacher pay was the envy of every state in the union, especially with our neighboring states.
This is all true because demons are angels, always tell the truth, always treat their opposition with compassion and honesty. Demons are excellent at balancing budgets while at the same time funding everything they ever wanted.
No fake news here! This is truth. Just like all the garbage you read coming from the fake news left-wing zealot media. If media types went back to being news reporters instead of allies of the demoncrat party maybe more people would be looking to them for actual news; they wouldn't have the moniker 'fake news', and maybe even TimeWarner cable would have a reputation of caring about their customers.
Now, truth be told, it's possible at some point in the future TimeWarner customers may take first place within the company. As for fake news getting back on track, don't hold your breath. If TWC has to put customers first and THEN media allies will be non-partisan truth tellers, the change within media simply won't be happening in your lifetime! Maybe when your grandchildren have grandchildren it might be possible to get actual news from news media types, but, then again, keep your eyes on TWC as your bellweather!
