Midterms

November is coming. What we know - and don't - about how NC voters will lean | OPINION
Citizen Times // Christopher Cooper // August  26, 2018
Summary: In the last decade or so, a not-so-small cottage industry has sprung up that is interested in (some might say obsessed with) predicting election results. These analysts rely on a variety of methods to forecast electoral outcomes—some use the “fundamentals” (factors outside of the candidate’s control), some add polling data, and others use other candidate-specific factors (things like fundraising, candidate experience and the like). While their performance varies by election and race, these methods, by and large, provide a fairly accurate view of what is likely to happen in November. For example, in the 2016 presidential vote, three “fundamentals” based models predicted the popular vote within less than half of one percentage point. Congressional forecasts based on the fundamentals were similarly successful in 2016, with a few predicting almost exactly the number of seats that would emerge for each party after the votes were cast. While state legislative forecasts are fewer in number, the ones that do exist likewise performed fairly well in 2016.

Inside Politics: Poll finds unaffiliated voters trending toward Democrats
Fayetteville Observer // Paul Woolverton // August  26, 2018
Summary: Unaffiliated North Carolina voters — who outnumber North Carolina Republicans — give an edge to the Democrats in the upcoming election, according to a recent poll commissioned by N.C. Civitas, a conservative public policy and advocacy organization. These voters also favor three of the six proposed amendments to the North Carolina Constitution. (The poll did not address all six.) The findings are of interest as the Republican Party battles to maintain its majority control of the state legislature and in Congress. Political analysts often note that unaffiliated voters are not necessarily swing voters. Even though these voters eschew membership in a political party, individually they tend to hew to the political left or political right and vote those values consistently.

Const Amdts

Dallas Woodhouse’s comments on impeaching justices receive criticsm
N&O // LTE // August  25, 2018
Summary: How much crazier can the state GOP get? Now Dallas Woodhouse introduces the idea that state Supreme Court Justices could possibly be impeached if they rule against legislative leaders in a lawsuit over the constitutional amendments. Other than a weekend soundbite from the state GOP executive director, this rings hollow. When will this madness end? North Carolina voters have to put an end to this wolfbaiting and show up at the polls during early voting and on election day in November. We, the citizens have the power to bring North Carolina back from the brink of more insanity. Our vote counts and we must bring reason, balance and common sense back into the political arena that benefits all citizens . Power is in voting. Power is in showing up to cast your vote. Power is letting the current powers that be know that enough is enough. This can be done by making sure you vote. As far as impeaching anyone, let’s get real.

NC-7 

The docs want in: Democratic MDs talk health care on their campaign trails
WAPO // Shefali Luthra // August  26,  2018 
Summary: North Carolina’s 7th Congressional District contest features internist Kyle Horton, who supports expanding Medicare by lowering the eligibility age from 65 to 50. She also wants a “public option” health insurance plan sold by the government. Physicians can have an advantage on some controversial topics by casting them as public health issues, said Howard Rosenthal, a political scientist at New York University. Davidson’s campaign, for instance, posts videos on Facebook in which he talks about topics such as gun violence. One, filmed after an overnight shift in his hospital’s emergency room, has been viewed 41,000 times. Still, most of these Democrats face steep climbs.

NC-9 

Democratic Split on Impeachment Talk: Officials Avoid It, but Voters Are Eager for It
NY Times // Trip Gabriel // August 24, 2018
Summary: Democrats in Washington are wary of any talk about impeaching President Trump, but in this swing district in North Carolina, Janis Silverman is feeling no such constraints. A 72-year-old retired teacher, Ms. Silverman wrote to her congressman Tuesday to demand the House start impeachment proceedings. “President Trump shows no respect for our laws or the Justice Department,” she wrote to Representative Robert Pittenger, a Republican, the day that Michael Cohen, Mr. Trump’s former personal lawyer, accused him of illegally arranging to pay hush money to influence the 2016 election. “For me it was liberating,” Ms. Silverman said of Mr. Cohen’s characterization of Mr. Trump’s involvement. “My view is that he’s directly linked with criminal behavior.” Yet Dan McCready, a politically centrist Iraq War veteran who is the Democratic nominee for the House seat here, has shown little appetite to talk about impeachment. On his campaign website and Twitter account and in public remarks, he focuses on supporting businesses, teachers and Social Security.

Trump Effect 

Source: President Trump to visit Charlotte next week for private fundraiser
WSOC // Staff // August 24, 2018
Summary: President Donald Trump is expected to visit Charlotte next week for a private fundraiser for U.S. Rep. Mark Harris (R-N.C., 9th district) and U.S. Rep. Ted Budd (R-N.C., 13th district), a source told Channel 9. The fundraiser will be Aug. 31 at the Trump National Golf Club, the source said. Experts told Channel 9 this visit is all about making sure Republicans come out on top in the midterm elections. Between now until the election on Nov. 6, President Donald Trump will be on the road more than 40 days. Political expert Eric Heberlig said Harris needs the president in his fight against Democrat Dan McCready, a former Marine and popular business owner.

Analysis: Trump end sterrible week — fittingly — at epicenter of GOP civil war
N&O // John T. Bennett // August  24, 2018
Summary: President Donald Trump’s week was dominated by one plea deal, one conviction and two immunity protections for some of his closest former confidants and aides. The fallout raised questions about the Republican Party, making it fitting he ended the week at the epicenter of the GOP’s simmering civil war. Many senior prominent Ohio Republicans were present in Columbus on Friday evening as the president addressed a party dinner and headlined a fundraiser before. GOP Sen. Rob Portman greeted Trump at the airport, for instance. But the leader of the Buckeye State GOP did not. Nor did Gov. John Kasich make it in time for the fundraiser. And he skipped Trump’s dinner remarks. “I disagree with the president’s policies,” Kasich said Tuesday, saying he was taking one of his children to college Friday but making his differences with Trump crystal clear: “You’ve never seen me getting into a vicious attack on his personality. I don’t like his leadership style. That’s pretty darn clear and I speak out because I think it’s really important we become a nation of uniters.”

AG Stein 

I-77 Toll Roads 

Your tax dollars at work? Lights remain out along I-77
Fox 46 // Brett Baldeck // August 23, 2018
Summary:  It’s lights out along Interstate 77 in Mecklenburg County. The problem is not only impacting drivers, but is now also catching the attention of local elected officials. Local tax dollars are supposed to ensure safe roads, but drivers and at least one local politician say dark interstates are a safety hazard. “I knew what was ahead. Darkness was ahead,” said County Commissioner, Pat Cotham. Cotham, ironically enough, was leaving an I-77 meeting Wednesday night when she noticed nothing but darkness on her drive back. She took to Twitter to voice her displeasure and tells FOX 46 Charlotte she has even reached out to the governor’s office.

NC Agriculture 

DISTRICTS OF HOUSE NEGOTIATORS GET $9.3 BILLION IN FARM AND FOOD AID
Daily Yonder // Bryce Oates, Tim Marema // August 21, 2018
Summary: The average member of Congress who sits on the farm-bill conference committee has an estimated 36,000 constituents enrolled in the Supplement Nutrition Assistance Program, a Daily Yonder analysis of congressional district data shows. In 2016, those SNAP enrollees pulled an average of $142 million in assistance from the program into each of the 48 congressional districts represented on the committee. Each of those congressional districts also had an average of 4,900 farmers who participated in the government-subsidized crop insurance program. The program provided each district with an average of $55 million in benefits.  The Daily Yonder calculated total SNAP payments in congressional district by multiplying the average per person SNAP benefit by the state-average household size. The numbers are estimates and would be skewed by any differences between the average household size of a SNAP recipient household and the average household size of the general population. (A note on sources is at the bottom of this story.) 

NC Environment 

Climate Change

Would Martin Luther King Jr. Take on Climate Change?
NY Times // Lauretta Charlton // August 25, 2018
Summary: Two weeks ago, a member of former Vice President Al Gore’s team reached out to Kendra. Mr. Gore had read a recent piece of hers about the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and climate justice. “They said, ‘Gore is going down to North Carolina to talk about eco-justice and climate change with Reverend Barber, do you want to come?’”  The Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II founded the Moral Monday movement in North Carolina and helped to revitalize Dr. King’s Poor People’s Campaign, integrating environmental justice as a major part of the platform.

Environmental Contamination 

EDITORIAL: Why we need to invest in water-treatment upgrades
Star News // Editorial Board // August 19, 2018
Summary: It admittedly is with some trepidation that we endorse the Cape Fear Public Utility Authority’s plan to spend $46 million to ensure our drinking water is as safe as possible. That’s a big chunk of change, for sure. But we believe it’s worth it to filter out not just GenX -- whose levels have been reduced since Chemours stopped discharging it into the river – but other unknown chemicals that might be present now or in the  .The proposed granular activated carbon filtration system, or GAC, is effective at filtering out GenX and related chemicals from drinking water. A GAC system’s initial cost and annual operating costs are lower than a reverse osmosis system would be. Brunswick County is taking a different route, spending $99 on an RO system. It’s our understanding that each county’s approach is appropriate for the plants they already have, although Brunswick County may face a problem disposing of the tainted wastewater that’s a byproduct of the RO system.

WHAT HAPPENED AT CAMP LEJEUNE
Pacific Standard // Lori Lou Freshwater // August 21, 2018
Summary: Camp Lejeune has been characterized as a candidate for the worst water contamination case in U.S. history—and I am one of up to a million people who were poisoned. The tragedy, though, is hardly all in the past. According to the Project on Government Oversight (POGO), the military's failures are continuing today; mistakes are being repeated at our bases overseas, and, in foreign cases, it took a whistleblower to prompt action on contaminated water. A 2013 investigative report produced by the Navy inspector general, obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request, reveals "shortfalls in the oversight and management of drinking water for Navy personnel stationed overseas—even in wealthy, developed countries." The report concludes that "not a single Navy overseas drinking water system meets U.S. compliance standards" or the Navy's own governing standards," according to POGO.

NC Veterans/Military Families 

Our Opinion: Let's not drop protections for troops from attacks by predatory lenders
Greensboro N&R // Editorial Board // August 20, 2018
Summary: Shame on the Trump administration for trying to make it easier for unscrupulous lenders to take advantage of military service members. In its continuing crusade to dismantle consumer protections in favor of businesses — even shady businesses — the administration is proposing changes that would weaken a law enacted more than a decade ago after a Defense Department report in 2006 detailed how predatory lenders target military personnel. Both The New York Times and National Public Radio have obtained documents showing that the Mick Mulvaney, the interim head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, intends to weaken the law significantly. The Military Lending Act (MLA) took aim at predatory lenders who like to set up shop around military bases, where they take advantage of service members, especially young, inexperienced troops on the lower end of the pay scale. The practice is not just a question of unscrupulous lenders’ preying on vulnerable service members and their families. As the Defense Department report made clear, the practice also threatens military readiness as it causes problems and distractions for service members.


Immigration  

Migrants are being abused in US detention facilities. It has to stop.
N&O // Martin W.G. King // August 24, 2018
Summary: The horrific seizures of children at the southern border have stopped, but the conditions faced by the 39,000 migrant detainees, including asylum seekers, held in U.S. detention facilities on any given day are often dire. Most detainees are held in county jails, federal prisons and private prisons with Immigration and Customs Enforcement contracts under the same harsh conditions as convicted felons. Abuse of detainees is so rampant it seems to border on policy. One private migrant detention facility in Tacoma, Wash., sits in the middle of a toxic, sludge-filled superfund site and has been the subject of a particularly large number of complaints against its staff for physical and sexual assault. At facilities in California, sexual abuse is widespread; in Arizona, the molestation of migrant teens has been reported. Nationwide, more than half of those who have been accused of sexual abuse, including gang rape, have been ICE employees. LGBTQ detainees are particularly susceptible to abuse, experiencing 97 times more sexual assault than other detainees.

Silent Sam 

The unfinished story of Silent Sam, from ‘Soldier Boy’ to fallen symbol of a painful past
N&O // Jane Stancill, Andrew Carter // August 25, 2018
Summary: PROLOGUE: After standing for 105 years in the oldest part of the UNC-Chapel Hill campus, Silent Sam fell on Monday, pulled from his pedestal by the protestors’ tug of a rope. Immediately the news became cause for celebration and outrage: celebration for those who saw the statue as a racist symbol of white supremacy, as an ode to soldiers who fought, among other things, for the survival of slavery; outrage for those who viewed the statue as a tribute to Southern heritage, and to lives lost while soldiers fought for a cause they believed in. To understand how Silent Sam fell is to understand how he rose. This is the story, told in five chapters, of the rise and fall of an 8-foot bronze, boyish depiction of a Confederate soldier who faced north, toward the enemy, for more than a century. It is a story whose final chapter has yet to be written.

Former UNC-Chapel Hill student body presidents stand with Silent Sam protesters
N&O // Op-Ed // August  25,  2018
Summary: Carolina students, faculty, and staff have a long and rich history of fighting injustice through direct action. The fight for racial integration, the Speaker Ban, the food worker strike, the fight for a free-standing Black Cultural Center, the housekeepers’ movement, and the removal of the name “Saunders” from Carolina Hall were all movements where students confronted injustice head on — and changed the history of our university for the better. With the removal of Silent Sam, this generation of Carolina students accomplished what many before them were unable to do, despite many years of diplomacy, organizing and protest. Although some say the statue simply commemorated alumni who died fighting for the Confederacy, Silent Sam was dedicated almost 50 years after the end of the Civil War by a Carolina trustee to honor those who “saved the very life of the Anglo-Saxon race in the South” and celebrated the “pleasing duty” of beating a “negro wench” just yards away from where the statue was erected.

Senator John McCain 

Gov. Roy Cooper, senators Burr and Tillis, others in the political world react to death of ‘American hero’ John McCain
Fox 8 // Staff // August 26,  2018
Summary: The political world is paying tribute to Sen. John McCain, who died Saturday at the age of 81. These are the messages of mourning and tribute to the Republican senator, war hero and conservative maverick.

Election Security 

19 Noncitizens Voted Illegally in 2016 in North Carolina, U.S. Charges
NY Times // Michael Wines // August 24, 2018
Summary: Nineteen foreign nationals ranging from age 26 to 71 have been charged with illegally voting in the November 2016 election in North Carolina, the Justice Department said Friday. Nine of the 19 were also charged with falsely claiming American citizenship to get on voter rolls. A 20th man, whose nationality was not identified, was charged with helping one of the foreigners falsely claim citizenship.