Consistently over the past few decades, the North Carolina Republicans have been one of the slimier, scummier groups of people out there. I don’t know if it is because the state is turning bluer, so what is left of the GOP is more bottom of the barrel than before, but their antics have been covered in depth regarding their blatant racist gerrymandering, their attempts to neuter the Democratic governor, the current election scandal, or my personal favorite, the overt racist voter suppression:
North Carolina's stated reason for shutting down Sunday voting was that counties with heavy Sunday voting were disproportionately African-American, and that African-Americans tended to be Democrats. https://t.co/sbvHZUqWKO pic.twitter.com/jwU3E5cJlx
— Harold Pollack (@haroldpollack) October 15, 2018
So it is with a mixture of glee and the attitude of “hoocoodanode” that I read this:
Republican Rep. Mark Walker has been caught up in a federal corruption probe that has rocked the North Carolina Republican Party and led to the indictment of former congressman Robin Hayes (R-N.C.).
A Walker-controlled political committee received $150,000 from a business owner, Greg Lindberg, at the same time Lindberg allegedly asked him to pressure North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey to replace his deputy, according to an unsealed indictment released Tuesday.
Walker, a member of GOP leadership, is not named in the indictment. However, POLITICO has identified him as “Public Official A” using the indictment and FEC records.
Text and emails released by the Justice Department said Walker was part of Lindberg’s scheme to pressure Causey over the personnel move.
Throw them all in jail.
trollhattan
Nice little state you got there, be a shame if anything bad happened to it.
Speaking of Republicans, something we already knew.
Lizard isn’t going to be satisfied by a mere House seat and since Wyoming’s ten people still get two senators, I assume that’s her goal.
A Ghost To Most
After the last 40 years, it brings a sort of satisfied vengeance watching it all burn down. The Germans probably have the perfect word for it.
rikyrah
TELL IT
Mary G
They’re shameless and they never give up.
germy
@trollhattan:
Watch, she’ll run for president someday.
leeleeFL
Or, alternatively, “Lock ’em up!”
What are the odds the influx of outsiders is turning NC Blue? That would be DELICIOUS!
SFAW
@A Ghost To Most:
A) Scheissenfreude?
B) Backpfeifengeyarbles?
ETA:
(A) = Happy that it’s all turning to shit for them
(B) = A punch in the nuts
[NB: I realize the German speakers here will say something like “Those aren’t real German words!” Just work with me on this one, OK? ]
mapaghimagsik
@SFAW: Fharfromhonest.
sharl
As the old newspaper editorial cartoon attached to this tweet shows, the NC-GOP can just make the case that they’re returning to old traditions.
On another North Carolina matter, did anyone ever figure out who firebombed the Hillsborough (Orange County) GOP headquarters in mid-October 2016 in the run-up to the election? I have no idea, but I’m guessing one or more right-wingers did it so they could rile up righties by loudly blaming Dems, lefties, antifa, etc. (That loud blaming certainly happened.) At the one-year anniversary point, investigations were still ongoing per law enforcement, but no arrests made. I haven’t seen any news reports that are more recent.
John Revolta
@germy: She’s our very own Marine Le Pen! Ooo la la!
A Ghost To Most
@mapaghimagsik: Ok, that made me laugh hard.
ETA CNN reports that T has gone from ~6 lies/day early on to 22 lies/day now.
mrmoshpotato
@SFAW:
LOL. Hats off to you!
schrodingers_cat
Our media betters have chosen the D nominee, drum roll please
-Kasie Hunt
SRW1
@A Ghost To Most:
The word is ‘clusterfuck’. Borrowed that from some other folks.
MattF
The barrel doesn’t have a bottom. Once you’ve crawled inside it, the other end leads you into South Carolina.
B.B.A.
@schrodingers_cat: How can he be both the Democratic candidate and the United Russia candidate? I thought most states didn’t allow ballot fusion.
Citizen Alan
@germy:
She’ll lose. Like her father, she is utterly repulsive to any decent person, but as a Republican woman, she can’t count on the votes of knuckledraggers who think the Bible forbids women being in positions of authority.
noncarborundum
@SRW1: Borrowing certainly goes both ways. I have seen a video of Angela Merkel in which she drops the word “shitstorm” right into the middle of a German sentence.
SRW1
@schrodingers_cat:
I have a hunch it’s gonna turn out that Bernie’s problem last time wasn’t Hillary Clinton.
Jay
@schrodingers_cat:
“Our media betters have chosen the D nominee, drum roll please”
That’s not what she is saying, at all.
Adam L Silverman
If we’re lucky, this will roll up that shitbird Dallas Woodhouse who is the other guy running the NC state Republican Party as well.
MattF
@noncarborundum: ‘Shitstorm’ is a relatively new word in German, showing up in dictionaries and coming into use only in the past decade. I’ve always found that rather surprising, but it’s good that Germans will adopt a useful word regardless of the source.
germy
@Citizen Alan:
Then she’ll win the popular vote. What was that Adlai Stevenson quote?
schrodingers_cat
@Jay: She is speculating that he will be the likely nominee. How does she know, are they going to game the coverage to favor him, like they did the last time around by not vetting him and amplifying his attacks against HRC.
Aleta
I have to thank everyone with awe for the supportive thoughts or donations for bringing the young cat, found by debit, from MN to our house in ME.
I felt bad about the amount needed to transport him, with people having so much other financial stress and all the other important causes. I didn’t think it could possibly be raised and spent the early morning figuring what to do.
Anyway last night at the same time that so much help was pouring in to debit’s email, enough to bring him here, one of our two cats (the amazing Charlie, 13 years old) was starting to to die. We had no idea it would happen. This morning we unexpectedly found Charlie just after he was gone. It’s very hard. Just hard to even describe how much he was. But mysteriously you all and the blog and debit are sending a good cat soon on the way here for us to treasure. I’d like to say more, there’s a little more at the other thread, but just need to tell you now, you all did an amazing thing last night. Deepest thanks to everyone. I’m not religious but got hit by the power of you all today and I’m amazed. Thank you so much. xooOxoxoOOOO
germy
@Adam L Silverman: OT, but what happened to Zeddy on twitter? Account is down? I recall you used to quote his tweets. If not you, then never mind. Maybe it was Cole quoting him.
Gin & Tonic
@A Ghost To Most: He said today that his father was born in Germany. His father was actually born in New York.
germy
@Gin & Tonic: In the Art Of The Deal, he claims his father was born in NJ. And that his grandparents were Swedish.
schrodingers_cat
@Gin & Tonic: Was his grandfather alive when Orange was born? Is his grandfather, really his father? Is Orange losing it?
debbie
Too slow to type.
schrodingers_cat
@Aleta: {{{ }}}
jl
Thanks for informative post from Cole. But, one demerit for not damning W By God VA for being extra crummy and slimy political joint.
Other than that, good summary that answers some questions I had from headline news items.
Brendan in NC
As a resident of the “newly insane state of North Carolina “ (h/t Charles Pierce) for the last 20 years, it’s been amazing to watch. It started when they completely swept the State Government, and tried to immediately take us back to the 1850’s.
We made some big moves last year; cutting their majorities down to less than veto-proof, and getting caught like this doesn’t hurt.
debbie
@Aleta:
I am so sorry about your Charlie.
trollhattan
@Gin & Tonic:
The German part of New York.
Trump’s stable genius brain is turning into Wheatena before our eyes. It’s frankly discomforting, since he just as awful combined with less in control of himself.
Jay
@schrodingers_cat:
No, she’s pointing out that he was the runner up in 2016, has money and a movement, and that anybody who dismisses his chances this time, is not paying attention.
It’s a warning, not a Coronation.
Gin & Tonic
@trollhattan: I actually really liked Wheatena, please don’t spoil it for me.
Adam L Silverman
@germy: This guy?
https://twitter.com/zeddary?lang=en
Last tweet was about 3 hours ago. Maybe he’s taking a nap or at the gym.
Cacti
@schrodingers_cat:
Since Bernie’s goal is to harm the Democratic party, starting with an operative slandering former VP Biden, it makes perfect sense that the corporate media would want him.
Same reason it made perfect sense that he got total kid gloves treatment from the press in 2016, while making any scurrilous accusation against Clinton that he wanted.
Adam L Silverman
@Gin & Tonic: @germy: His grandfather was born in Germany and subsequently deported from there and had his German citizenship revoked.
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/aeqg4j/read-the-letter-trumps-immigrant-grandpa-wrote-begging-not-to-be-deported-vgtrn
Jay
@Aleta:
(((((❤️❤️❤️)))))
germy
@Adam L Silverman: Ah, he changed his name. He used to be “Zeddy”
No wonder I couldn’t find his tweets.
eclare
@Aleta: OMG, I’m so sorry. So glad you are getting a new spirit. Is the other thread the original?
Mrs. D. Ranged in AZ
This is only vaguely related to the topic at hand but I desperately need to vent….
In my office today a co-worker (and Trump supporter) who I will call JA (for jacka$$) said something racist very loudly to another co-worker and I called him on it in front of one of my supervisors. JA said, “Hey D—-, I’m going to Crenshaw, the jungle.” I assumed he meant Crenshaw, CA and said, “That’s a pretty racist thing to say. I really don’t want to hear statements like that.” JA ignored me (he hasn’t spoken to me in over two years and we work in a tiny office of five people). He was standing up in his cubicle and eating, slapping his lips together REALLY loudly and purposely not looking at me. The Proj Mgr/Supv was standing at the printer and only heard me say “stop it” and saw JA ignoring me and being rude. I said to PM, “I guess JA is going to ignore me and not deal with this.” PM said, “I just want to get my printout”.
PM went back into his office. Then JA said, “D—-, I’m going to the jungle in Mozambique, ya know in Africa.” and then he went outside to take a smoke break (because of course the douche smokes and stinks up the entire office). Mind you, D—- had no idea what was going on because he really wasn’t listening to JA because he’s a jerk who says provocative things to get under D—-‘s skin. Once JA went outside, I got up and said to the PM in his office, “It’s bad enough that I have to put up with all the crap I do with him but now I have to tolerate racism too?! And if I misunderstood him, why didn’t he correct me? I would have apologized had I misheard him.” PM responded that we can’t afford to get sidetracked from our deadlines, which meant he wanted me to shut up complaining. Then the PM followed JA outside and scolded JA for ignoring me and not acting like an adult. Note the message from the PM to JA wasn’t “stop being racist”, it was “stop talking and get back to work and stop being immature by ignoring her”. JA will never speak to me or acknowledge I exist so that was a pointless reprimand.
Of course, later that afternoon after a status update meeting with the boss/owner and PM, I informed the boss about what occurred. The boss told me that I shouldn’t address JA directly in future because JA will never hear anything I have to say. That if he does anything again, just to come directly to the boss or the PM (even though going to them hasn’t worked in the past). Then the boss basically said, we work in a small office and get on each others nerves. His personal example was how the other co-worker, D—–, and I discuss liberal politics and how that annoys him quite a lot. And yes, he is EXTREMELY conservative. Essentially, he equated JA’s racist statement being on par with me and the other co-worker saying things like, “did you hear what Trump tweeted? He said…. No, really?!” Yep, that is SOOOOO equal. Mind you these conversations last less than a minute or two and are said in hushed voices but somehow the boss feels our liberal “hatred” is the same as racist provocation. So I’m supposed to keep my headphones on for 9-10 hours every day (m left ear aches constantly from wearing them and yes, I already have the most expensive, comfortable noise canceling headphones money can buy). And I have to continue to deal with the misogynist, racist Trump-loving troglodyte who ignores my existence 99% of the time until he says or does something so outrageous that I’m forced to address it.
I tried to tell the boss that JA is a major legal liability and that at larger company he would be written up, reprimanded and potentially put on probation. But the boss is God at this company–hell he can fire me for any reason because it’s Arizona. JA’s already supposed to be on “probation” for flipping me off on his computer screen for no reason (long story). But they need JA to do the grunt work (basic coding a trained chimp could do) so he gets to stay and I’m just a snowflake liberal who complains too much. It’s days like this that make me want to scream.
debbie
@Gin & Tonic:
It must be upside down day. I just heard him say that border security was more important to him than trade!
Mrs. D. Ranged in AZ
@Aleta: I’m so sorry. My heart goes out to you.
cmorenc
@leeleeFL:
For decades, North Carolina has been a perennial candidate for being a purple-ish southern state gradually transforming into a blue state. While it’s largest urban areas are now mostly blue (e.g. Raleigh) alas there always seem to be just enough rural rednecks and northern transplants who were R-leaning voters to counterbalance the increase of D / progressive leaning transplants to still tip the state red by small single digits more often than tipping it blue by small single digits. In short, NC has a several-decades long history of being a narrow disappointment of expectations the state might be taking a permanent blue turn. The critical difference between NC and Virginia (whose right-wing component tends to be more radical than ours) is that Virginia has the critical extra mass of the growing NOVA D.C. suburbs, whereas the growing mass of the growing Triangle (Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill) isn’t quite so large, and not quite as solidly blue as NOVA.
NC will slowly creep toward a larger blue component to its swingy purplish nature, but the problem here is that there’s been enough growth of red-inclined natives and transplants to slow the transition to a more solidly purple (or especially blue) status.
lollipopguild
@schrodingers_cat: Trump has brainworms.
rikyrah
@Aleta:
I am sorry for your loss, and somehow the cosmic universe brought another little kitty your way :)
Cacti
@Mrs. D. Ranged in AZ:
Arizona was a great place to put in my rear view mirror forever. You have my sympathies.
??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??
@Adam L Silverman:
OT:
Hey, Adam, I was wondering if you’d ever heard of a Grant Newsham?
This is his general bio:
I’ve read a few articles by him:
1. Does Trump Really Want to Win the Trade War?
A few excerpts:
AKA: the Democrats. That one pissed me right the fuck off. I don’t like the PRC as much as the next guy, but anybody that thinks Trump has gotten foreign policy even somewhat right with China is a fucking bonehead. This guy strikes me as a total warmongering neocon.
2. Shinzo Abe’s Japan: A Threat to Nobody
And he also downplays Abe’s, and by extension Trump’s, fascist tendencies, so he’s definitely a fucking moron. His bread and butter appears to be regional security issues in Asia, similar to what you write about here. I was just wondering if you had a take on him or not.
Jay
@Mrs. D. Ranged in AZ:
Don’t know how it works down there but up here, “fostered a toxic workplace culture” lawsuits against Companies are worth a lot of money.
??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??
@Aleta:
I’m so sorry for your loss : (
Adam L Silverman
@Aleta: I am so sorry for your loss. We’re keeping good thoughts for you all!
Mandalay
@germy:
I’m inclined to be a much more specific than that: she’ll run in 2024.
How the hell she got to be #3 in the House so quickly baffles me, unless being full of spite, bile and hate is what they’re looking for.
Mrs. D. Ranged in AZ
@Jay: I know but I need my job. I’ve been looking but no dice. I would be screwed if I lost even a month of income. I could hire an attorney and destroy this company with a lawsuit (because there is soooo much that has gone on with JA). But if the company goes under, D—, who is elderly, sickly and has a sickly non-working wife, would be screwed as well.
I wish the “Job Fairy” would grant me a wish or something….
eclare
@Mrs. D. Ranged in AZ: That sounds so frustrating. I’ve been fortunate at least to work around people who knew enough to keep their mouths shut.
CarolPW
@Aleta: So very sorry, you have had way too much on your plate for this too.
My Mouse kitty had been recently diagnosed as hyperthyroid but it seemed to be well-controlled by her medication. And then she died (last year the Sunday after Thanksgiving – looked for her in the morning because she didn’t show up for breakfast, found her under a chair and picked her up, she gave a little mew, and died) and I have been feeling terribly guilty for not doing the radiation. Maybe in the early days after diagnosis no matter the treatment route it can be a ticking bomb until everything is stabilized.
Very happy you are getting your new kitty, who seems a real sweetheart. Before Mouse died I had just gotten a 7-week old puppy (Mouse liked dogs and was missing doggy Puck who had died a couple of months earlier) and after Mouse died Bisket (the pup) was one of the few reasons I had for getting up in the morning. I have also had a lot of guilt feelings about getting Bisket thinking maybe it caused additional stress for Mouse (even though at the time Mouse was considerably heavier and bigger than Bisket). If Charlie had to go, he gave you a gift with the timing because unwarranted guilt is corrosive.
ruemara
@Aleta: Aww, man. I’m so sorry.
Adam L Silverman
@??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??: Never heard of him.
Jay
@Mrs. D. Ranged in AZ:
Up here, the “smart way” is people document everything, document brining it to Management’s attention, then file while they are still working there. Then they continue to document the toxic workplace and any retaliation. Punitive damages go up for any post filing harassment or firings.
It ususally goes to arbitration quickly where the Company uses lost of $$$$$$ to make the problem go away quietly.
A young neighbour of ours retired at 24 via this path.
burnspbesq
@Mrs. D. Ranged in AZ:
Call the EEOC.
A Ghost To Most
@Gin & Tonic: I’m no psychologist, but T sure seems to decompensating.
Jay
@??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??:
http://fendnow.org/encyclopedia/japan-forum-for-strategic-studies/
Mr. Mack
O/T, but I waited for an open thread most of the day…Thanks to all that sent good wishes, thoughts, prayers, vibes, etc my way after my cancer diagnosis. I am 3 months post treatment, yesterday’s PET scan showed clear. Yay!
Jay
@Mr. Mack:
All threads are open threads, that’s a rule around here,
All good news is welcome, that’s another rule,
Glad you are well.
Mrs. D. Ranged in AZ
@burnspbesq:
@Jay: It’s an LLC owned by a single person. The owner would simply retire and quit working (hell he’d do it just to spite me), the company would cease to exist and there would be no money to get. In the meantime, me and my two kids would be homeless in about a month.
mrmoshpotato
@B.B.A.:
Is that a new election craze taste sensation sweeping the nation comrade?
TKinNC
Causey, the Insurance Commissioner at the heart of the whole mess is an R. They probably thought he’d go along with it. Good thing he didn’t! I just hope that WALKER goes DOWN!
zhena gogolia
@Mr. Mack:
Great news!
Cacti
@burnspbesq:
Seconded.
I would add to that:
Do all of your complaining to your higher ups via e-mail. Everything written from now on. A paper trail matters.
Brachiator
@trollhattan:
Man, that Chelsea Clinton better not never run for no political office, ’cause the ‘murrican peoples can’t stand no nepotism.
CliosFanBoy
@Aleta: I am so sorry
rikyrah
@Mr. Mack:
YEAH!!
CLAP CLAP CLAP!!
Wapiti
@noncarborundum: upgefucked, borrowed from the American G.I. dialect.
Chyron HR
@Jay:
It was a two-person race.
J R in WV
@Jay:
OMG, if I had known that when Wife was being mistreated by her bosses…!!! Better retirement with more money!!!!!!
Mary G
@Aleta: I am so sorry about your loss of your beloved Charlie.
I am firmly convinced they know when you can handle the loss and wait for that. My Sophie had kidney disease from a young age, and I took her into the vet several times expecting to have to make the dreaded decision
The vet kept bringing her back to full health. My mom’s health started to decline and as she got sicker Sophie got better. She also started cuddling with Mom and letting her pet her, which she refused to do for 20 years.
After Mom died, she was my shadow and a huge comfort for another seven months. Then one day she stopped eating and using the litter box.
I knew that was the time because she tolerated being put in the carrier without the usual reenactment of the Battle of the Bulge. My friend that was going with me was a Cole type, so we got there at 3:10 for a 3:30 appointment and the vet had gone out of the office until 4 because I had never gotten there even close to on time before. That was a miserable hour. My friend was antsy and getting huffy, so the vet tech brought out an adorable kitten that was to be spayed the next day.
That helped for 15 minutes or so, then my friend dumped the kitty on me. I was outraged and tried to give it back but no one would take it. It was awful sitting there, but Sophie looked up, rolled her eyes with that “hooman, you are pathetic” look. But I totally felt like we had given each other permission to move on after 21 years.
They tried to get me to adopt the kitten, but I said no. Exactly a week later I went down and adopted two grown, half feral, antisocial cats just like Sophie.
It’s four years this month since the housemates moved in and the friendlier one still hisses at them every day.
Jay
@Chyron HR:
55.2 % vs 43.1%
2382 delegates needed to win,
2842 vs. 1865
Wilmer has money, a movement, a machine and an army of ratfuckers from all sides, already at work.
If he’s down in the early primaries, somebody needs to drive a stake into him so he stays down.
Mike in NC
We’ve lived here for 10 years. As many conservatives move in as progressives, fleeing the frozen northern states. #1 problem seems to have been a rich lunatic named Art Pope, who is basically our Charles Koch and loves racist, homophobic policies. The anti-Obama “Tea Party” movement of 2010 dealt a crippling blow to the state’s General Assembly. Hopefully in 2020 we get rid of Senator Tom Tillis and more GOP Congresspersons and state politicians.
Uncle Cosmo
@germy: Anyone who’s seen Vice remembers how –
[[[spoiler alert]]]]
Cheney shows stunning fatherly compassion when his daughter Mary tearfully informs him she is gay – & late in the flick squashes that one moment of decency by encouraging Liz to abanon her lesbian sister for political gain. Yeah, the movie makers don’t much like Cheney the Dick, but the whole process rings pretty damn true.
J R in WV
@Aleta:
Sometimes things work out like that.
So sorry for your loss. We lost a great puppy back in late January, adopted her from our Vet clinic back about 11 years ago.
Then a month ago friends had a neighborhood dog, abandoned because she was pregnant, they called Katey, she had puppies, by the neighbor’s Great Pyrenees guard dog for their goat herd. We’re going to adopt Katey and probably one of the G Pyrenees puppies too.
So things work out like that, when you are properly balanced with things doggy.
Take care with your new kitty!!!
O. Felix Culpa
@Chyron HR: Ooh, so a participation trophy is in order.
??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??
@Jay:
Thanks. I figured he was a right-wing asshole, anyway
schrodingers_cat
@Jay: You say warning, I say concern trolling.
Jay
@??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??:
It’s a paid for Japanese Reichwing “think tank”, so the product is always going to support the platform.
The Corporate Media Model of bulking out their dead trees with unpaid content means they will accept this stuff and scrub off the “qualifiers” just like they do with pro-industry infomercials.
SiubhanDuinne
@schrodingers_cat:
1. No. Grampy Trump died in 1918 at age 49.
2. Anything is possible (link)
3. Need you even ask?
SiubhanDuinne
@Aleta:
I am so very sorry about your Charlie. {{{{{Hugs}}}}} across the ether.
Amir Khalid
@Aleta:
Sorry for your unexpected loss.
Anne Laurie
@germy: I think Zeddary is the tweeter you may be looking for?
His original nym got blasted, for reasons beyond my ken, except the suspicion that while Jack Dorsey may not actually be a white nationalist, he is certainly white-nationalist-friendly. I’m very glad he’s still tweeting, because he’s one of my first-of-the-day news stops!
Amir Khalid
@Mr. Mack:
Yay you!
Anne Laurie
@Aleta: Condolences on the loss of your Charlie.
Enzymer
@Mrs. D. Ranged in AZ: I’m so sorry. No one should have to deal with that shit, but sometimes we must. Strength & love. Sending you hopes for some good blood pressure lowering events and people
Gelfling 545
@Chyron HR: Also known as “loser”.
Gelfling 545
@Aleta: So sorry for Charlie’s passing. Opening your heart to this new kitty is a tribute to his memory.
Aleta
Thanks everyone for what you said. A whole world is gone with him. I can’t bear it.
TomatoQueen
@Aleta: I’m so sorry that Charlie’s on the Bridge, but he has sent a friend to you to comfort you. Joining in the bleg to get your friend to you soonest.
TomatoQueen
@Mr. Mack: Well done Mr. Mack. So glad for you.