Fitzsimon File

Time for truth in political labeling

In the wake of this week’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling that corporations can spend unlimited amounts of money to influence elections, it might be time to rethink how we identify our politicians when the corporations begin pouring millions into electing their own Senators, or keeping the ones they have.

Senator Richard Burr R-N.C. might more accurately be called Senator Richard Burr R- PhRMA or R-GlaxoSmithKline.  There might be a group of Senators called the Goldman Sachs caucus. In North Carolina, you could have Senators from Blue Cross Blue Shield, the N.C. Realtors Association, and Citizens for Higher Education.

Maybe they could wear patches like NASCAR drivers to make it easier for the presiding officer to identify them to speak. “The Senator from the Homebuilders Association has the floor.”

Self-lobbying in the Senate

Republican Senator Eddie Goodall announced recently that he is not running for reelection this year. Goodall cited the low legislative pay as a primary reason, saying that the $13,000 a year doesn’t allow him and most people to serve.

He is right about that. But the story about Goodall’s announcement also said he has accepted a job as President of the N.C. Alliance for Public Charter Schools, an organization that among other things wants lawmakers to lift the state cap on the number of charter schools.

The group’s website lists Goodall as president and includes a call to action section and one on legislation where the only bill mentioned is one that would lift the charter school cap. One of its primary sponsors is Senator Eddie Goodall.

Goodall has not resigned from the Senate. He is just stepping down after his term ends. Until then he will be both lawmaker and advocate, paid by an organization to pass his own bill. That’s a little awkward to say the least.

It makes you wonder if Goodall will have to report any lunch he buys himself as a lobbying expense.

No reason to cheer

You have to feel much better about the future of Wake County and its schools after the meeting between the Wake County Commissioners and the Board of Education. Or not.

Republican County Commission Chair Tony Gurley and Republican Board of Education Chair Ron Margiotta both said they want to improve the relationship between the two boards and work together closely.

One story on the joint meeting pointed out that the acrimony between the two bodies reached a low two years ago when the Raleigh Chamber of Commerce publicly called for an end to the bickering that was hurting business and education.

That’s not entirely accurate. An alliance between a politician who is elected chair by waiting until another commissioner needs to go to the bathroom and one who is dedicated to resegregating the schools is much more disturbing than the two boards battling each other.

Keep away your poor, your tired, your young children, yearning to be educated

Speaking of the Wake County Schools, more evidence this week that one reason for all the talk about changing the school assignment plans to pack poor kids into failing schools is to keep the poor kids out of Cary. The News and Observer reported this week that the Durham City Council approved an incentive package to help convince a British company to build a factory in the city.

The story noted that Cary officials decided not to offer any incentives to the firm after some town council members worried about the effect on the town’s median salary, which is now $47.000.

That’s $14,000 higher than the average wage the British factory jobs will pay. And if “those people” are working in Cary, some of their kids would have to go to school in Cary. And goodness knows, we can’t have that.

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This entry was posted on Friday, January 22nd, 2010 at 5:32 pm and is filed under Fitzsimon File. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.