Tar Heel Dems

Readers should first read THE BANKER WINS in TPJ’s THEM DEMS section today. Peter Morici, a professor at the University of Maryland School of Business and the former chief economist at the US International Trade Commission, states the case that Bush’s trade policies are destroying American jobs while enriching a few American corporate conglomerates. The trends that Morici documents are clearly discernable in what has happened to North Carolina’s furniture manufacturing base:

Furniture orders dropped for the sixth consecutive month in September, falling by 10 percent as higher energy costs and a patchy economy led consumers to continue to defer purchases, according to a monthly survey released yesterday. . . .

When consumers are buying, they are focusing primarily on imports, analysts said. "As more U.S. companies do more importing, the volume of orders may not be off 10 percent," Smith said. "But because the furniture is lower priced, the value of those orders is down 10 percent."

The demand for imported furniture continues to take a toll on furniture-manufacturing jobs in North Carolina.

In the past 15 months, two major manufacturers - Lexington and Broyhill Furniture Industries Inc. - have shut down their last U.S wooden-furniture plant. The manufacturers cited the impact of lower-cost imports in their decision.

About 390 jobs were eliminated in Broyhill's decision, announced Friday, to close its wooden-furniture plant in Lenoir. It is the fourth plant closing in the state this year for Broyhill, which has cut at least 1,503 jobs - or more than half of the 2,806 furniture jobs eliminated in 2006.

Furniture Brands International Inc., the parent company of Broyhill, Thomasville and two other manufacturers based in North Carolina, has closed at least 35 of its 58 domestic plants since January 2001 as it has shifted production to Asia.

Simply stated, Bush’s trade policy and failure to directly confront China’s unfair trade advantages are destroying North Carolina jobs while leaving the American economy weaker.

Linda Daves has been elected as Chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party to fill the unexpired term of former Party Chairman Ferrell Blount. Daves, from Charlotte, won the election after Ferrell Blount jumped over board of the Republican ship on Election Day, even before the ballots were counted. Daves will seek reelection in May.

Both Republican US Senators and statewide elected Republicans had moved to postpone the election, hoping to find a State Party Chairman that would appeal to NC business leaders. Daves, serving as Vice Chairman under Ferrell, refused to postpone the election and defeated N.C. Sen. Andrew Brock, of Davie County, and Guilford County GOP Chairman Marcus Kindley.

While the North Carolina press has focused on Daves’ refusal to postpone the election in defiance of calls to do so by Sens. Dole and Burr, Daves election again highlighted the secrecy of the Republican Party. The vote for State Party Chair was conducted behind doors closed to the North Carolina public.

TPJ readers will recall that the Republican Party closed its last State convention to the press, except for press access to hear “officially sanctioned” speakers. In an astounding display of abuse of open democratic processes the Republicans:

Apparently concerned about party divisions . . . [former] GOP Chairman Ferrell Blount barred the news media from covering official convention business -- consideration of resolutions, platform and other matters -- where the 546 delegates had a chance to talk from the convention floor.

Reporters were permitted to hear only speakers officially sanctioned by the party.

While the Republicans operate outside public scrutiny and accountability, except for “officially sanctioned speakers,” they adopted a Platform in 2006 expressing democratic principles of government belied by their anti-democratic leadership in practice (emphasis added):

1. The North Carolina Republican Party represents the values of the majority of North Carolinians. . . .

2. We want to empower and free individuals. We oppose all efforts to replace that power and freedom with undue governmental control. . . .

5. The Republican Party is strong, principled and conservative. It is the party that should lead the state of North Carolina. We lead, not by patronage but by principle, and not by dividing interests but by serving the good of all.

Consider the sage comments that Republican US Senator John Cornyn expressed on the fundamental nature of openness of our government and critical importance of openness in the debate of civic issues (emphasis added):

Well, freedom of information and openness in government are among the most fundamental founding principles of our government. . . .

[O]penness in government is not a Republican or Democrat issue. Any party in power—it is just human nature—any party in power is always reluctant to share information out of an understandable, albeit ultimately unpersuasive, fear of arming one’s critics and enemies. Whatever our differences may be today on various policy controversies, we should all agree that these policy differences deserve as full and complete a debate before the American people as possible.

In contrast, Democrats opened their 2006 convention to all, even those who oppose the Democratic Party. The Republican Party’s official website favorably reported that a group of seven college Republicans appeared at the Democratic Party State convention in High Point to protest:

North Carolina Democrats respected the right of these Republican protestors to express their dissent and to express it publicly at a Democratic Party event. In contrast, Republicans suppressed the “fundamental” right of all North Carolinians to learn of their debate over the very issues on which Republicans campaigned for this past November and the most recent selection of their State Party Chair.

It is not only a matter of suppressing press access to a State Convention and a State Executive Committee meeting. The Republican Party is “closed” in many important ways. Consider this plank from the Republican Platform:

6. Membership in our Party is open to all citizens residing in our state who share the values and beliefs expressed in this document. We welcome all who share these values including groups not traditionally associated with our Party.

While sounding inclusive; “open to all citizens,” Republicans proved that “share the values and beliefs expressed in this [Platform]” is Republican code speak for intolerance. At the Republican State Convention in 2004, gays and lesbians were banned based on the fact that the NC Republican Platform then, and in 2006, proclaims that gays and lesbians are “not loyal:”

Bill Peaslee, a spokesman for the state GOP, said its leaders rescinded their offer to grant the Log Cabin Republicans a table at the convention because "in our opinion, they're not really a Republican organization. Their political agenda is different than our political agenda."

"While they call themselves loyal Republicans, they spend more time and more resources pointing out what's wrong with the party than what's right," Peaslee added. "They're attacking Republicans. We're in the business of electing Republicans. They're not loyal."

In stark contrast, the Democratic Party Platforms in 2004 and 2006 recognize that the right of dissent must be in a democratic society, even within its own Party. The public is given full access to the debate at Democratic Party meetings. This provision appears in the Preamble of the Democratic Party Platform:

This party shall provide an avenue for the free and open expression of diverse ideas and opinions, including the right of every person to dissent, and shall work to promote government which is responsive to the legitimate needs, interests, and aspirations of every man, woman, and child in a manner which does not diminish human dignity or those fundamental rights, which are the birthright of all people of a free and democratic nation.

North Carolinians value and demand openness of their government – not secrecy. If Republicans will close their Conventions and State Executive Committee meetings to the public, what nature of government can citizens expect Republicans to bring to this State if elected? The answer should be obvious to thinking North Carolinians of all political persuasions.

TPJ continues its 2006 North Carolina election analysis with an overview of the County Commissioner races. As noted in our previous overviews of the NC State House and State Senate, Democrats performed well.

Democrats also won a net increase in the number of County Commission boards for which they have majority control.

TPJ's NC County Commissioner Analysis

	2006	2004	2002	2000
Total seats	572	570	568	566
Democrats	340	317	323	341
Democratic Percentage	59%	56%	57%	60%
Republicans	228	253	244	223
Republican Percentage	40%	44%	43%	39%
Independents	2	0	1	2
	0%	0%	0%	0%

Democratic boards	61	57	55	61
Republican boards	39	43	45	39

Immediately prior to the 2006 election, John Hood, of the John Locke Foundation wrote (emphasis added):

I’ve argued for years that a telling way to track the emergence of a truly competitive, two-party political system in North Carolina is to delve down past the statewide contests, even past the NC House and Senate races (more next week), to changes in partisan composition of county governments. The state’s association of county commissioners now has a useful page on its website that captures this trend at a glance. . . .

Mecklenburg, Wake, and other counties with competitive commission races do share some common electoral themes, however: concern about the impact of growth on school construction and traffic, recent or prospective tax increases, whether to proceed with costly transit projects, and the propriety of using public dollars to subsidize sports and entertainment facilities.

With 2006 shaping up to be a Democratic year, one might assume that Republicans will fall short in their efforts to move closer to parity in North Carolina’s county commissions. But local races, about purely local issues and personalities, can be difficult to peg. For example, several times since 1994, Republicans have lost ground in federal or legislative races but gained in local races, and vice versa. For political surprises, don’t count out counties.

The “surprises” that Hood suggested may benefit the Republican Party actually fell to the Democrats.

The Democratic Party’s successes in the County Commissioner races across the State are further evidence that call into question Hood’s central analysis on the North Carolina election. Hood describes the Democratic Party victory as “broad” but not “deep” (emphasis added):

Democrats won an impressively broad victory in state races this year. No doubt about it. As previously discussed, they outmaneuvered, out-raised, out-recruited, and out-organized state Republicans in virtually every competitive district, and indeed in some GOP-leaning districts available in this uniquely Democratic year. Their broad victory, however, was not a deep victory. It was not an earth-shattering, ideological transformation of the political landscape.

Out of about 1.7 million votes cast in legislative races this year – a fairly small number, compared with past cycles, and reflecting the lowest mid-term turnout in state history – control of the North Carolina House and Senate was settled by 1 percent or fewer of those votes. . . .

I say this not to minimize the Democratic victory, or attribute it to chance . . . but to illustrate how closely divided North Carolinians remain on state issues and party preferences. Democratic legislators did not need, and have never needed, to convince a large majority of the electorate that their ideas and leadership would be better for North Carolina. They simply needed to convince a few thousand voters in key districts that this was the case. Republicans have had the same opportunity in recent cycles. They’ve fallen short.

TPJ disagrees. Democrats increased not only the number of State House and State Senate Districts they won, but they also increased their margins of victory across a wide spectrum of the races. Hood’s analysis fails to account for the following facts:

Since redistricting, Democrats have gained State House and State Senate seats in two successive election cycles; 2004 and 2006. That demonstrates not only an ability to widen control but suggests an ability to strengthen their hold on competitive Districts.

In the 63 House and Senate Districts in which there was a contest in both 2004 and 2006, Democrats increased their percentage of vote from 2004 in 55 (87%) of those Districts.

Democrats made substantial grains in the statewide number of County Commissioners, 23, and increased their control of County boards by 4.

Republican “spin misters” simply cannot negate the strength of the Democratic Party’s victory.

Bush’s economic policy continues to take its toll in North Carolina. Broyhill Furniture, a signature North Carolina furniture industrial mainstay, is closing more plants. A total of over 5,500 jobs Broyhill jobs are gone (emphasis added):

Broyhill Furniture, which said in June it would close one of its plants in Lenoir, announced Friday that it will also close the Lenoir Furniture Corp. plant in February.

The Lenoir Furniture closing will mean the elimination of 390 jobs, while the earlier announcement of the Pacemaker plant's closing involved nearly 700 jobs.

"This incredibly difficult decision is a direct result of continuing changes in the furniture industry today," company spokesman Scott Reid said in a prepared statement. "The increasingly global manufacturing environment has changed the way furniture is produced and bought by consumers in today's marketplace." . . .

The facility, originally called Lenoir Furniture Co., is one of Broyhill's oldest factories.

Friday's announcement means Broyhill will have closed 11 plants and one supply facility in North Carolina since 2001, displacing about 5,590 workers.

Larry Kissell has conceded and Speaker Jim Black has been declared the winner. One race in eastern North Carolina remains officially undecided.

In Carteret County, one County Commissioner race is under protest. Democratic Party challenger Wade Nelms leads Republican incumbent Ray Muns by three votes.

[A]fter the results of Wednesday’s hand recount of the nearly 22,000 ballots cast in the election. At the close of the recount, Nelms had received 10,638 votes, edging Muns’ 10,635 by three votes.

Nelms had the initial lead by 41 votes in the race for the District 2 seat following unofficial election night results on Nov. 7. After the official canvass of votes by the Board of Elections, which includes approval of provisional ballots, Muns had pulled ahead by one vote.

Two recounts have followed, with Muns increasing his lead to nine votes following the initial machine recount and Nelms regaining his victory following a hand recount this week. Nelms has since withdrawn his protest contesting several provisional ballots, which he had filed after the first recount.

But with none of the totals matching, Muns wasn’t satisfied with the final recount results. And in a formal request filed with the Board of Elections on Thursday, Muns expressed additional concerns with the count as well

Part of Muns protest questions the procedures used in the hand recount; including an allegation that one election official was reading the ballots too quickly for tellers to record votes. The protest will proceed orderly and the ultimate winner declared. However, readers should note that the use of paper ballots has not, in itself, eliminated controversy in this election as there have been two hand recounts.

The point is that the any component of meaningful election reform is adequate state funding for continuing training of election officials, who are largely citizen volunteers.

It was a simply piece of legislation designed to address a serious problem – methamphetamine (“meth”) abuse. Democrats in the North Carolina General Assembly passed legislation that common remedies for colds and flu that can be bought in any drug store without a prescription but that can be processed into meth are located behind pharmacy counters.

N.C. Attorney General Roy Cooper released figures that said that the state found 40 percent fewer meth labs between Jan. 15 and Nov. 28 of this year, compared with the same time period last year.

Law-enforcement officials confiscated 283 labs in 2005, compared with 172 to date in 2006, the report said.

"Fighting meth means rooting out labs and cutting the flow of drugs into our state," Cooper said in a press release announcing the findings.

The White House also released a report that noted a 27 percent drop in the number of North Carolina meth-lab seizures from Jan. 15 through April 30, compared with the same period in 2005. The number of lab seizures nationwide was down significantly as well

The report, "Pushing Back Against Meth," also looked at workplace drug-testing data to gauge the use of amphetamines, including meth. It said that last year in North Carolina, 11 percent fewer workers tested positive for amphetamine use. But use of the drug is up in many areas along the East Coast, including Washington, Maryland, New York and Connecticut.

The Federal report attributes the progress being made, in part, to the legislation that Democrats enacted into law.

Also, they say, many East Coast states don't have state laws that require cold medicines containing pseudoephedrine - the ingredient used to cook meth with other household chemicals - to be placed behind pharmacy counters.

North Carolina enacted such a law in January.

Federal law, which went into effect in September, regulates the display and limits sales of pseudoephedrine-containing products. Both North Carolina and federal law require that stores log all sales of products containing pseudoephedrine.

As a result of the laws, North Carolina counties that had reported high levels of meth production saw sharp decreases. For example, in 2005, the State Bureau of Investigation reported 61 meth-lab seizures in McDowell County - the highest of any in the state. In 2006, the number is at 25.

For State Legislative Democrats, it was a job well done. Good public policy protecting Americans and another excellent reason we are Democrats.