Open thread

election cycle is over. Naturally, I will vote, and hope for the best...that Ms. Butler and President Obama and several other Democrats around the nation win. That aside, I have an unsettling feeling that outside events are in the offing that could dramatically change our lives. Uppermost is the Iran/Israel/nuclear conundrum...and how it seems to be a catch-22 for us and for Israel and the rest of the nations in the area. It's taking me back to my grade-school days when the siren would go off and we'd all go into the hallway and cover our heads in preparation for nuclear attack. Silly, I suppose. Still.....

I think, too, I've alienated every republican I know. Geez, they were just starting to speak to me from the last election. :-)

Though I hesitate to say anything demotivating, I believe that the extreme gerrymandered redistricting pretty much gives control of the General Assembly to the GOP. I think with all the money involved the Governor's Mansion is going the same route.

I believe the points where victory is both realizable and where we could have the greatest leverage are with Linda Coleman as Lt. Governor and Sam Ervin on the NC Supreme Court. One of those positions would at least make sure the progressive viewpoint is well articulated in the public sphere which is a weak but necessary check against the power the GOP will have after this election. The other position could have real power to put a check and balance on some of the worst actions taken by a super conservative General Assembly that has no veto threat.

Public Policy Polling is supposed to have some new numbers out tonight on North Carolina, sometime between 9 to 10pm. I don't know if it'll dig into these races or not, but I hope it does. If these races still look winnable, then we need to set about winning them. And raising awareness about Ervin in particular is really important given the drop off between partisan and nonpartisan races.

http://www.lindacoleman.org/

http://ervinforsupremecourt.com/