joe hackney

I'm relieved that Joe stepped up.

Updated with video, courtesy of the Dome. A.

I had been looking forward to the big event tonight: my friend Tim is hosting a fundraiser for Speaker Joe Hackney here in Chapel Hill.

When I signed on to be a sponsor a couple of weeks ago, it looked like cause for celebration. The General Assembly mostly did a decent job this summer, and Speaker Hackney showed the kind of leadership we should have had all along in the House.

And then the Great Goodyear Giveaway came onto center stage.

Unless you've been living under a rock, you know that the North Carolina Legislature today will consummate a deal made with the devil to give a couple hundred million dollars to a few big manufacturers for no good reason. Easley vetoed the original bill, and Speaker Hackney pulled out the stops to produce a "compromise" - which is an even bigger giveaway than the one originally planned.

Nobody's asking for my opinion, but I'm giving it anyway: This legislation sucks.

I've already written my check for the fundraiser, and I won't be asking for it back. A deal's a deal. But in my own small way, I'll be protesting. By writing this post. And by taking a pass on the big party tonight. Because amidst all the back-slapping and bullshitting that goes on at events like this, simply being there offers an implied endorsement. And I definitely do not approve.

It looks like a letter-writing kind of day.

Okay. It's crunch time. Last chance to do your duty.

I'm not usually an alarmist, so forgive me for raising holy hell this weekend about the complete and utter collapse of sanity in Raleigh with regard to the state budget. If you're not worried about the budget, you should be. And if you're not in action yet, it's time to get crackin'.

On Monday night, June 4th, the legislature will convene to consider the vast differences between the Senate's Republican budget and the slightly more progressive House budget. There will be a vote to determine whether the House concurs with the Senate.

Assuming the Republican government-haters hang together, which they will, only nine Democrats have to vote for the budget for it to be a done deal. I say again: Only nine Democrats have to sell out for this pathetic budget to move on to Governor Easley's desk.