For the week of
January 27, 2012
- carolinajournal.com
Reaction of the Week
RALEIGH — Public records show that while former
Gov. Mike Easley’s campaign organization has paid only $5,335 toward a
$100,000 election law fine issued in October 2009, he has paid off a
$494,000 mortgage loan for a Carteret County waterfront lot and borrowed
several hundred thousand dollars against his Raleigh home since the
fine was levied, reports Carolina Journal.
State law did not require Easley to pay the State Board of Elections
fine from personal funds, but he publicly has accepted responsibility
for filing false campaign reports. He eventually took a felony plea for
failure to report aircraft travel donated by his friend, Raleigh
businessman McQueen Campbell, and was forced to surrender his law
license temporarily.
The State Bar has said it will restore the license at the end of 2012,
and will not require Easley to pay any fines associated with his felony
plea. It cited Easley’s claim to have accepted responsibility as a
reason for letting him resume the practice of law.
Elections Board member Chuck Winfree believes Easley should not be able
to regain his law license without repaying his fine. “It goes back to
him accepting responsibility,” Winfree said. “He had a large quantity of
money in his hands, but he didn’t see fit to pay off his campaign
obligation.”
The State Bar considers the matter closed and has said it will not discuss the situation further.
News Features
CJ: Simpson, Bowles stump for debt-reduction plan
DURHAM — Cut federal debt or the United States
will cease to exist as a superpower — that was the message Erskine
Bowles and Alan Simpson had for a packed house at Duke University’s Page
Auditorium Jan. 18. CJ: Texas redistricting case could bolster N.C. GOP
RALEIGH — A ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court in
mid-January could bolster the cause of North Carolina Republicans taxed
with defending a redistricting plan from a lawsuit by Democrats and
civil rights groups.
CJ: N.C. maintains low score in business-friendly rating for taxes
RALEIGH — North Carolina became more friendly to
business over the past year, but still has a lot of room to improve,
according to the Tax Foundation. The Tar Heel state ranked 44th on the nonpartisan foundation’s State Business Tax Climate Index, making it the seventh-worst tax climate for business in the country. CJ: Judge says Bertie County tape is public record, but then seals it
RALEIGH — A Superior Court judge has ruled a
tape recording at the center of a lawsuit over the Bertie County Board
of Commissioners giving a 42 percent pay hike to then-county manager Zee
Lamb was a public record, but curiously ordered the item sealed from
public view.
Miller won’t try to keep seat in House
GREENSBORO — U.S. Rep. Brad Miller said Wednesday he will not seek
another term in the U.S. House because he does not want to face another
Democratic veteran in this spring’s primary. Miller, 58, a Democrat
first elected to Congress in 2002, lives in Raleigh but has represented a
district that runs along the Virginia border to Rockingham County and
then dips into Greensboro.
Upcoming Events
Monday, January 30, 2012 at 12:00 pm Noon
A meeting of the Shaftesbury Society
with our special guests Marlynn Burns and Victor Guzman
"The Republican Party and the Latinos: Where Do We Go from Here?" Tuesday, January 31, 2012 at 12:00 p.m.
A Lunchtime Discussion
with our special guest Professor John Baker
"Overcriminalization in Federal Law"
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Capital Quotes
“Perdue had flat-lined.”
— Political consultant Brad Crone, talking to the Greensboro News & Record about Gov. Bev Perdue’s chances to be reelected had she decided to run.
“The world just changed.”
— Republican strategist Carter Wrenn, describing to the Charlotte Observer the impact of Gov. Bev Perdue’s decision on likely Republican gubernatorial candidate Pat McCrory. “This announcement changes the dynamic in a profound way - more than any other factor could have.”
— Alex Miller, co-chairman of the campaign to defeat a proposed state constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, on the impact of Gov. Bev Perdue’s decision.
“We are not really creating jobs at a pace needed to accommodate growth in the state’s workforce.”
— Economic analyst John Quinterno, as quoted by the Raleigh News & Observer, on the state’s economy.
On The Air This Week…
This week on C J Radio…
JLF’s Daren Bakst analyzes a state panel recommendation to give $50,000 to victims of N.C.’s eugenics program; Wake Forest University Professor John Dinan discusses the tug-of-war between the feds and state governments; HHS Secretary Lanier Cansler explains why his department was able to cut just 130 of 1,600 vacant jobs on its rolls; journalist and author Nicholas Wapshott discusses the decades-old economic debate between Keynes and Hayek; JLF’s Fergus Hodgson analyzes North Carolina’s unemployment insurance debt.
This week on NC Spin…
Join guest moderator Henry Hinton
for another week of political discussion and debate on the most
intelligent television talk show in the state. This week’s topics: No delay of May 8th primaries; marriage amendment campaign begins; early education pays; and tolling I-95. This week’s panelists: John Hood, president of the John Locke Foundation; Chris Fitzsimon of NC Policy Watch; former legislator Gene Arnold; and political analyst Dan Blue III.
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