The GOP in NC & New District Voting Lines

Recently, Patrick McHenry said to Politico.com that new district lines would be drawn up now that Republicans control the General Assembly for the first time since Reconstruction. The quote that was attributed to McHenry was "It’s politically probable that there will be a new minority influence district. … It’s logical based on the demographics of our state,” What the GOP is considering is adding another district that would be minority friendly, but at the same time, redrawing other districts to insure that GOP candidates are heavily favored based on demographics of the new district.

While the GOP may think they deserve the spoils of war after having been locked out of the process for so long, this is definetly not the right way to go about it. For years, conservatives complained about "gerrymandering," the art of drawing voting districts to favor one candidate over the other based on demographics, and not true geographical, or already existing political lines such as county borders. Democrats would draw up districts to make sure that their guys had a more than likely chance of getting re-elected. Now, the GOP is up to those same tricks. New dog, same tricks.

Current ideas being tossed around are the re-drawing of Democrat G. K. Butterfield's district to include fewer minority voters in eastern North Carolina, and to move a lot of the liberal voters in Heath Shuler's Asheville area district to McHenry's more conservative friendly district. Anyone who knows anything about the geography of North Carolina knows how bad an idea this is. The district map is so bad now, it looks like a poorly designed jigsaw puzzle. McHenry's district (10) goes from the South Carolina border west of Charlotte to the Tennessee border west of Boone.

Greenville, Goldsboro, Fayetteville, Rocky Mount, New Bern, and Wilson are split between at least two districts. In the case of Rocky Mount and Fayetteville, they are split between three districts. If McHenry and his fellow Republicans learned anything over the last few years, it should have been that voters want sensible voting districts that represent their area, not an area from Edenton to Henderson, as is the case with Butterfield's district 1.

And to be perfectly honest, it's a chicken move by the GOP. It screams, "we might not succeed, but we'll be back to screw it up some more because of the voters in our district." You would only do something like this if you were afraid your policies wouldn't benefit your constituents. You're betting that the only reason you'll get voted in is you have a good fund raising base and a lot of people like your stances, successful or not. The GOP should take a stand against rigging districts like this. Be bold. Pass good, common sense policies that benefit everyone and you won't have to sweat out re-election.

The other school of thought on that is that we have already elected career-politicians. Politicians need to be made aware that they serve at the public's behest, not because they thought this would be a long-term fulfilling career. I've often said that those who want to decide how to spend the public's tax money should stay away from it. See those with degrees in public administration. Once politicians start fighting like mad to stay in office, and take a "damn the toredos" approach, it's time to get them out.

I understand McHenry and other Republicans' frustration with district voting lines. But they should learn from the mistakes of the past, not continue to repeat them. Careers be damned.

Violence in Athens, Greece

So, if the Greek unions don't get what the want, they just through Molotav cocktails at the police.

Videos after the jump.

The New Progressive Tax: Your Power Bill

I read today on the Raleigh News & Observer that the conservationists in the NC General Assembly are thinking about the idea of tiered electric rates. Here's the article. In a nutshell, if one is able to do so, state lawmakers are considering changing how people are charged for electric usage. Higher tier users would be charged a higher rate per unit compared to those that use little a lower amount per unit. Currently the state's power companies charge a flat rate per unit, save for Duke Power, but this new proposal would allow the state's public utilities commission to overhaul the rate plans.

This new proposal was introduced by Patsy Keever, a Democrat from Buncumb County. Why is this a bad idea?

The Mexicans Have Built Giant Catapults

If only this were a joke. In a recent Raleigh News & Observer story, I read that Mexican drug gangs are using catapults to launch marijuana over the US/Mexican border. Like I said, if only this were a joke.

Great Example of What Caused the Housing Mess

Last night, the Mrs. and I were watching one of those house buying shows on HGTV. The couple that were looking for their first house were in Portland, Oregon. They both worked for the local school system. One was a special needs teacher, and the other worked in administration, but her exact position was never made clear. They were pre-qualified for a $375,000 loan. The male wanted a big house with lots of room, while the female was a bit more practical. Other factors were not told to the audience such as other debt considerations: car loans, personal loans, credit card debt, college loans, and so on. So, lets just review the numbers so far. A young couple, both working in the Portland school system, can qualify for a monthly mortgage of more than $2,100. Sure. And I play a doctor on TV.

Even a Tax Bill Gets Loaded Up

Some people ask me "If you're registered independent, why do you align yourself with Republicans?" Well, I consider myself a common sense conservative. I believe there a few things the government should do, and a lot it shouldn't do. If Republicans start screwing up, I'll let you know.

The only reason I bring that up is due to the current mess going on in DC with the tax bill. This is not just a bill to keep the Bush era tax cuts in place. It also includes all kinds of tax credits for just about every industry you can think of. The same industries that received tax breaks/credits via TARP in 2008 are set to receive additional corporate welfare. From the WashingtonExaminer.com:

The Multitude Yelling and Holding Signs are Supporters!

Now that the newsies have had a day to digest the Republican party winning back the House, several governors' seats, and countless other local and state elections, it's time for the Dems to start putting their own spin on it. In fact, it's the Democrat in Chief who we can point to for calling it just a rock on a dirt path. Countless liberals are saying that this election was not a rejection of liberal ideals, but the voters were simply rejecting the message. Yes, to paraphrase Bill Clinton, "it's the message, stupid."