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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsNorth Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory's Defeat Is a Cautionary Tale for LGBTQ Opponents
By Mark Joseph SternNorth Carolina Republican Gov. Pat McCrory finally admitted defeat on Monday, conceding to his Democratic rival, current state Attorney General Roy Cooper. In a video message, McCrory asserted that he has continued questions about possible voter fraud, but that I personally believe that the majority of our citizens have spoken. He noted that the election was the closest North Carolina governors race in modern history.
McCrorys concession was not at all inevitable. Although he faced a deficit of more than 4,000 votes the morning after Election Daya gap that has since grown to more than 10,000he insisted that he might be the rightful winner. For weeks, McCrory alleged that rampant voter fraud swung the election to Cooper, launching a series of baseless challenges at county election boards in an effort to disqualify as many votes for Cooper as possible. Eventually, the Republican-controlled state election board ordered a recount in Democrat-heavy Durham County. By Monday morning, it was clear that the recount would not close McCrorys deficit, likely spurring the governor to concede formally.
Lingering in the background of McCrorys incessant voter fraud allegations was the possibility of a de facto legislative coup. North Carolina law allows the Legislature to choose the winner of a governors race when a contest arises as to the conduct or results of the election. Its decision, according to the relevant statute, is not reviewable by the courts. Thus, McCrory could have declared that rampant fraud (for which there was no evidence) cast doubt on Coopers victory, and allowed the Republican-dominated Legislature to declare McCrory to be the true winner. It would have effectively marked the end of democracy in the state. And it was completely within the realm of possibility.
Luckily, that option is now off the table. McCrory, however, may have one trick left to upend another of the states democratic outcomes. On Election Day, voters ousted a conservative justice on the state supreme court, replacing him with a progressiveand tipping the balance of the court to a 43 liberal majority. Legislative Republicans refuse to deny swirling rumors that they will pass a bill expanding the state supreme court to 9 members, allowing McCrory to appoint two new conservatives before leaving the governors mansion. Worrisomely, McCrory called a special legislative session on Friday, raising the very real possibility the legislature will quickly pass a court-packing bill in the coming weeksoverturning the decision of the voters and maintaining the courts conservative majority.
-snip-
http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2016/12/05/north_carolina_gov_pat_mccrory_admits_defeat.html?wpsrc=newsletter_slatest&sid=5388f1c6dd52b8e4110003de
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North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory's Defeat Is a Cautionary Tale for LGBTQ Opponents (Original Post)
DonViejo
Dec 2016
OP
malaise
(268,961 posts)1. Holy Shite
he finally conceded!
blm
(113,047 posts)2. As a staunch Dem, advocate for LGBTQ rights, I'm telling you that HB2 isn't what cost McCrory here
in NC. He would have won in a squeaker except for GOP stronghold areas where McCrory lost because he signed a deal with a corrupt Spanish firm (CINTRA) that privatized the state's most heavily traveled highway - I-77.
Toll lanes for private profit did McCrory in.
Dem governors need to take heed of that reality, too. STOP going along with privatization of our roadways, lands, and waterways.
msongs
(67,400 posts)3. compare this to how democrats behave when they "lose". nt
Cha
(297,180 posts)4. Yay, I hadn't heard he admitted defeat! mccorey sounds like
trump.. ".. if I lose the election is rigged.." wah wah.
North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory's Defeat Is a Cautionary Tale for LGBTQ Opponents
Whatever McCrory attempts on his way out the door, he will surely be remembered as the governor who was brought down by anti-LGBTQ legislation. In March, McCrory signed HB2, a vicious law that excluded transgender people from certain bathrooms and nullified local LGBTQ nondiscrimination ordinances. He campaigned on his support for HB2, while Cooper campaigned on the promise to repeal it. It seems McCrory backed the wrong horse: HB2 became deeply unpopular thanks in large part to a boycott that cost the state hundreds of millions of dollars, and his defense of the law dragged him down in the polls. The same North Carolina voters who supported Donald Trump and Republican Sen. Richard Burr kicked McCrory out of office. McCrorys story should serve as a cautionary tale for all conservative politicians in purple states: Endorsing anti-LGBTQ legislation may literally cost you your job.
http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2016/12/05/north_carolina_gov_pat_mccrory_admits_defeat.html?wpsrc=newsletter_slatest&sid=5388f1c6dd52b8e4110003de
Interesting and good to know.. thank you, Don!
THe Schadenfreude is Strong with this one! horrible excuse for a being