| mySPIN |
 It’s Time for Basnight to Go
by Tom Campbell
December 11, 2002
Marc Basnight is all but assured of re-election to an unprecedented sixth term as President Pro Tem of the North Carolina State Senate. This is bad news for North Carolina for many reasons.
First and foremost it must be said that twelve years is too long for any leader to head the Senate, the House, or the Governor’s office. When one person dominates for so long new leaders don’t emerge and new ideas are neither sought nor heard. There is too much temptation for malfeasance, ineffectiveness, and little accountability.
Marc Basnight is too powerful. Absolute power corrupts absolutely, goes the old axiom and Marc Basnight is the poster child for that old saw. Behind that country-boy facade is an extremely bright, hard worker, make no mistake about that. He rose rapidly through the ranks of the Senate because he studied and learned while others partied and schmoozed. But he can be calculating and ruthless, as many former colleagues will testify. Having risen to the top through the support of benefactors like Walter Davis, Basnight grabbed power quickly.
Lobbyists, political action committees, and individuals wanting to ingratiate themselves to Basnight, as well as those who are afraid to cross him donate the maximum allowed amounts to his campaign warchest. He has used that money to virtually buy Senate seats. During the recent elections Basnight spent almost one million dollars helping elect his friends. Many Democratic Senators are bought and paid for. No way will they challenge him. Don’t believe it? Study their campaign finance reports and see where they get the big money to conduct their campaigns. They owe their seats to him. Those who aren’t bought know they won’t get anything they want by bucking Basnight. He can do whatever he wants, and he does.
Most of the other 49 Senators could stay at home. The Senate doesn’t even go through the charade of hearings and considerations. Most decisions are made behind closed doors by Basnight and a few others. There is no way the people’s business was supposed to be conducted this way. There is virtually no opportunity for meaningful input by others. Didn’t we fight a war back in the 1940’s to eliminate this same type of leadership?
Why hasn’t something been done before now? Everyone is afraid to cross Marc Basnight privately or publicly. He is the most powerful person in North Carolina government and he has shown he can be ruthless with that power. Forget the Governor, Basnight rules. This is the biggest disgrace in our State’s history and it is high time we get some Senators with enough backbone to do the right thing. It is time for Basnight to go. |
|
