Senate’s actions
Wednesday, August 31st, 2005
By Chris Fitzsimon
What are your thoughts about the way the Senate conducted the lottery vote?
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August 31st, 2005 at 8:58 am
Governor Easley and Speaker Black and Senator Basnight has given the people what they seem to want. It will be interesting to see what happens. I hope NC is not going the route of Rome with it’s games for the people. Has any state that enacted a lottery ever repealed it? The method of the passage of the lottery almost appeared to be designed by that Whitehouse guy Karl Rove.
August 31st, 2005 at 9:34 am
Don’t Blame Basnight
Those opposed to the passage of the lottery in North Carolina are directing their disappointment towards Senate President Pro Tem Marc Basnight. They claim, and rightfully, that Basnight announced the Senate’s business was finished for the year. They point to the fact that the Pro Tem refused to take a vote on the lottery the week before because of ethical considerations. Why, they wonder, could the Dare County Democrat be so ethical one week and appear so unethical the next?
Despite Basnight’s remarks, made when he was fatigued and frustrated, the session had not formally adjourned and every member of the legislature knew it. The House was still meeting. Basnight contacted, or attempted to do so, every Senator last Friday to tell them the Senate would come back on Tuesday. Need he have announced a vote on the lottery? Most understood it and they also calculated a deal had been made.
Two Senators who were wavering in their opposition to the lottery finally yielded, no doubt following promises of great benefits to their regions. It’s very clear they “took a walk.”
Both had very legitimate excuses. One was sick in bed; another on a delayed honeymoon trip. But either could and should have sought a “pair,” a Senator who was going to vote opposite their vote, thus canceling each other’s vote. This is a well-known and longstanding technique in the Senate. It was used just the week before to delay a vote. Basnight was dead on accurate in responding during the debate that these Senators had time to have either been present or paired.
Those upset with the outcome need to redirect their frustrations. Marc Basnight only followed the Senate rules and held a vote when he knew he could win the issue. The lottery passed because two Senators who previously opposed the measure caved and, rather than vote, were absent. Time will tell what fallout they experience as a result of their actions.
Our only issue with the Pro Tem is over why he didn’t allow other legislation to come before the Senate, such as the half-cent sales tax increase wanted by some 45 counties and passed by the House?
Lieutenant Governor Beverly Perdue couldn’t have staged a more perfect scenario in her quest to become Governor in 2008. Breaking the tie on an issue that 70 percent of the people say they support would certainly appear to catapult Perdue into the frontrunner’s position for Governor. Unfortunately, many of those supporters don’t vote. Conversely, church members across the state were vehemently opposed to the gambling and they do vote. This tiebreaker may help in the Democratic primary but it might hurt her in the general election.
North Carolina has a lottery. Even die-hard supporters would have preferred the matter resolved differently. But it is law. As a colorful former political commentator, Chub Sewell, used to say, “Call your next case.”
August 31st, 2005 at 11:50 am
Questionable means to questionable ends. What’s done is done, so let’s call the next case: Who will be held accountable for reporting to the people the true use of all those funds this lottery is purported to shower upon North Carolina’s schools? Does anyone out there think for one moment that none will be diverted, as has happened in every other state where lottery has been implemented? And how do we suppose the administrator of this lottery will be chosen…? Rove-esque? Deja vu…
August 31st, 2005 at 1:20 pm
It’s despicable. Make you wonder what money might have passed under the table, but then there is so much money passing OVER the table from corporate interests and wealthy individuals who don’t want to pay their fare share of taxes I guess that’s enough corrupting influence right there!
Perhaps if y’all can help hammer in the point over and over again how much of a tax hike this was on the poor and middle class, at least in relative terms, then this will help argue for making the tax code and other fiscal policies more progressive in other ways. I don’t know what the predicted numbers are. You tell us all, and maybe we can repeat it like a rallying cry. Instead of “Remember the Alamo,” “Remember the ? percent tax-hike on the poor! The N.C. Lotto!”
August 31st, 2005 at 8:40 pm
A number of left wing politicians defied great preassure to stand by their principals and oppose the lottery. It will be interesting to see if they are punished by the Democrat leadership for their display of statesmanship. It will be even more interesting to see if they still care to exhibit such statesmanship when the Republicans take over and begin efforts to repeal the lobby.
September 2nd, 2005 at 5:05 am
Lottery: No thanks, I prefer blackjackandcraps. with gas prices rising I dont think the revenues from thelottery aregoing to be what the Easley administration anticipates.
September 3rd, 2005 at 8:33 pm
My real response to this miserable failure of leadership was expunged by the good people here because of excessively colorful language. It seems my comparisons of Marc Basnight and Bev Perdue to greasy containers of fecal matter were out of bounds. Forgive me — but thanks for the notification.
Now that a few day have passed, I can tone down my rhetoric by simply observing this: It is no wonder so many people in general and North Carolinians in particular find our political leaders wanting. Nor is it any wonder our school’s are failing, our environment collapsing, our economy in tatters and our nation’s morals in the dumpster. People take their cues from so-called leaders and follow their examples. In this case, we can safely conclude that lying, conniving and back room dealing are effective techniques for policymaking. What a sad joke the North Carolina State Legislature is.
September 6th, 2005 at 2:09 pm
By the way, in reference to “Don’t Blame Basnight,” there is another version of the President Pro Tem’s supposed ‘gentelmanly forbearance’ at declining to call for a lottery vote in the wee hours of what should have been the last day of the session. Two Republican Senators were absent at the time, thus giving the pro-lottery forces a tie which the Lt. Governor would break in favor. The official story is that Senator Basnight declined to call for the vote because he wanted to ‘play fair’ and preserve amicable relations in the Senate.
Now we learn the rest of the story. Stan Bingham, R-Denton, reports that when he heard Democrats discussing the maneuver he went to Senator Basnight and reminded him that he (BIngham) was paired with an absent Democrat, Senator Larry Shaw of Fayetteville, and that if the leadership would not honor the intended pairing of the two absent Senators he would not honor his pairing with Senator Shaw, thus rendering a vote of 25-24 against the lottery. It was at that point that all talk of a lottery vote that night subsided.
Makes you wonder what would have happened if Senator Bingham had just kept his mouth shut and let the President Pro Tem proceed.