Required reading from NC Policy Watch.

GOP wants an end to Moral Monday protest because they think it's costing too much and is having no immediate political impact. Too bad, so sad. Not going to happen. This is not about "immediate" impact. This is about systemic, fundamental and enduring change.

Bob Moser at American Prospect has an interesting analysis of the Republican prospects in the South - and how the party faces a ticking demographic timebomb.

Some highlights...

Gerrymandering:

In a bad year for Democrats nationwide, it was a disaster in the South. Two years after North Carolina voted for Obama, both chambers of the general assembly went Republican for the first time in 120 years. In Florida, the Tea Party launched Marco Rubio into the U.S. Senate. The year before, in Virginia’s off-year elections, right-wing Republicans had been elected governor and attorney general. Republicans now controlled all but four legislative chambers in the region.

A salute to the 300:

About 150 arrested at NC legislature in latest Moral Monday protest | Under The Dome fb.me/2K7Wp1eEK

— Rick Glazier (@RickGlazier) June 4, 2013

Yesterday's crowd was five times the size of previous crowds, and the arrests brought that number up to 300. And Republican efforts to downplay these numbers provide more evidence of their cluelessness:

It looks like the legislature took advantage of putting 151 good citizens in handcuffs so they could continue their wicked ways. The world is watching.

Much misery below the fold.

This Moral Monday was like no other. Dubbed the "Mega Moral Monday," it was substantially bigger than all other Moral Mondays, with the crowd filling the Halifax mall. Speakers at Moral Monday included the Reverend Barber, a local grandmother, a local mother, representatives from organizations in Greesnboro, and other members of the community. These speaker were clearly fired up, and spread that energy through the crowd. The tension was high and it was clear this movement had reached a point of critical mass. More than 150 people were arrested, almost three times the number of any previous week

Please visit our Facebook page for pictures of the event.

Pure Hypocrisy: When House Rep Jason Saine was laid off in May of 2010, he received unemployment checks for 15 months while he was unable to find another job. But once in the NC House, Saine voted to drastically cut the benefits his family once relied on. NC's unemployment benefits are now capped at $350/week and the number of weeks one can receive benefits has been reduced from 26 weeks to a sliding scale of 12-20 weeks. The bill also caused North Carolinians to lose eligibility for extended benefits paid for by the federal government. For this act of breathtaking hypocrisy, Jason Saines is our Hypocrite of the Day. Find more at http://hypocrisync.com. Large photo after the jump in case you want to Share.

Apparently bankruptcy or minimal pre-natal care are some of the acceptable alternatives to abortion:

THE BUDGET PASSED BY THE NORTH CAROLINA SENATE includes a special provision changing the state’s Medicaid eligibility requirements for pregnant women. Under the Senate provision,
starting in 2014, pregnant women earning more than 133 percent of federal poverty level (about $15,282 for a single person) will no longer qualify for Medicaid. Currently, pregnant women earning up
to 185 percent of federal poverty level (about $21,256 for a single person) qualify for Medicaid. This change will impact thousands of women.

Sanctity of life my ass. The sheer hypocrisy of the Tarheel Taliban is mind-boggling. Try to force women seeking an abortion to look at an ultrasound, when they are the ones who should be forced to look at every fetus they want to cut from Medicaid funding. You know what? That's what we should do, start collecting pictures of unborn babies who fall into this category and putting them on signs and pamphlets. Kinda hard to argue with that.

There are times in life when business as usual won’t get the job done, when the best of intentions and hard work are not enough. This is one of those times. Freedom and fairness are at grave risk in North Carolina. Extraordinary action is required.

I have a granddaughter who will grow up in this state. I will not stand by and let a gang of Republican thugs trash her future by destroying our environment, our schools, and our economy.

Over the past two years, I have sought countless opportunities to meet with Republican leaders to share my concerns. I have not received a single response. I haven’t paid their price of admission. I haven't written them big checks. They don’t care what I have to say. And they don't care what you have to say. That would be okay if Republicans had won in fair elections, but they didn't. They cheated. Through extreme gerrymandering, they barely won half the votes, yet still gained supermajorities in both houses. They do not represent the people of North Carolina.

Wrapping up today's mega-misery is a great editorial from the Fayetteville Observer on how the NC budget takes from poor and gives to rich.