Fitzsimon File

Raleigh was buzzing Friday with the news that Rep. Lorene Coates, a Democrat from Salisbury, has called on House Speaker Jim Black to resign. Coates is the first member of the House Democratic Caucus to ask Black to step down and her statements prompted many Raleigh insiders to predict that several more House Democrats will join Coates now that she has broken the unified wall of support for Black.

That hasn’t happened yet, but there is precedent now for Democrats to speak out. If Black is going to step down, it has to happen soon. The General Assembly begins in just over five weeks with reports that budget committees may begin meeting in mid-April. 

Two candidates have already expressed an interest in being Speaker should Black resign, Rep. Jim Crawford from Granville County and Rep. Hugh Holliman from Davidson County. Both are conservative Democrats who have been close to Black in recent years, especially Crawford, whom Black appointed as one of the Chairs of the House Appropriations Committee.

Progressive Democrats would have to swallow hard to support Holliman and it is almost unimaginable that many would vote for Crawford in an internal election. And it’s about more than just philosophy. Neither has distinguished themselves as strong advocates for reform of the lobbying, ethics and campaign finance laws that must be at the top of the agenda this summer.

That mantle falls to Rep. Joe Hackney, the House Majority Leader, who sponsored the successful lobbying reform legislation last session and who chairs the House study committee looking at further reforms.

Hackney has been far less outspoken about a possible campaign for Speaker and has remained publicly loyal to Black while pushing hard for reforms.

The danger is that all the political intrigue about Black and possible successors will divert attention from the most important issue at stake as a result of the scandal, a fundamental shift in the way lobbyists and elected officials perform their duties and finance their campaigns. 

That must happen this summer whether Black is Speaker or not. Black has made mistakes, but the system needs an overhaul, not just a new person running it.

Congress continues to consider a reauthorization of the Ryan White Act that provides states with money to help people with HIV/AIDS. State officials are among a large group of advocates pushing for a change in the formula that determines each state’s share. Southern states were shortchanged in the old formula. More about that in an upcoming Fitzsimon File.

While the debate rages on, $100 million in unspent Ryan White money is reverting back to the federal treasury.  Many states currently have waiting lists for the program that provides lifesaving medication to people with HIV/AIDS and yet money that could help them is being returned unspent. 

The President of the AIDS Health Care Foundation said today that the return of the money shows how badly the current Ryan White formula is working. He also said that returning the money when people are dying is criminal.

He’s right. Maybe the publicity over this insane situation will help convince members of Congress to do the right thing and reauthorize the program and distribute the money more fairly. 

Steve Forbes was in North Carolina this week and gave an interview to the Charlotte Observer in which he continued his call for lower taxes and encouraged state officials to enact a flat tax.

Not much of a surprise there. Forbes made the same pitch at February’s Emerging Issues Forum despite no evidence that North Carolina’s tax structure hurts economic development.

Forbes and the other tax-cutters never mention the long list of reports and surveys that shows North Carolina ranks among the nation’s leaders in recruiting new businesses or that the state’s overall taxes on businesses are in line with other states in the Southeast.

Forbes was also asked what can be done about the problem of illegal immigration. The answer, Mexico should enact a flat tax.  That ought to do it. 

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This entry was posted on Friday, March 31st, 2006 at 4:09 pm and is filed under Fitzsimon File. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.