Democracy on charade

The Dome is reporting that state lawmakers in the House and Senate will work together on drafting a new budget this year, rather than having separate proposals come out of each chamber.

"It won't be us vs. them," Rep. Harold Brubaker, a Republican from Randolph County, told several hundred people this morning at the Economic Forecast Forum in Durham. "The new leadership has the same fiscal mindset."

"Of course it won't be us versus them, says BlueNC blogger James Protzman. "For all intents and purposes, there is no them. Mr. Brubaker could save North Carolina a whole basket of money by dropping the charade of the General Assembly entirely and simply let Art Pope decree how the budget will take shape."