Thom Tillis

Good news - and I hope the elected proponents of bigotry are taking note as the short session nears in North Carolina's General Assembly. Via Equality NC:

Fifty-six percent (56%) of North Carolina voters oppose or strongly oppose an amendment to the state constitution that would ban same-sex marriage, a five-point jump in the last two years, according to a February 2011 Elon University Poll, a non-partisan polling service.

The poll also showed a strong majority (57%) of North Carolinians support marriage or civil unions for same-sex couples, revealing a dramatic 9% increase in public support for marriage equality in only two years. This result mirrors two separate polls conducted by Public Policy Polling in March and July that also reveal majority support of legal recognitions for same-sex couples.

Given the magic of the invisible hand, you'd think GOP policies to destroy public education would have triggered a hiring frenzy here in North Carolina. Not.

They are lying.

Much hand wringing these days from Phil Berger over the governor's decision to follow the law on pre-K funding, with plenty of posturing about how that decision might be a threat to our state's AAA credit rating. For the record, Berger's $360 million number applies only if EVERY potential child that might, in some way, be eligible for the program actually enrolled. What Berger hasn't mentioned, however, is the potentially devastating impact that his own pet project, House Bill 344, will have on the budget and our credit rating. "Tax Credits for Children with Disabilities" could cost NC taxpayers as much as $720 million next year alone.

In my 37 years as a North Carolina resident, I've witnessed our state embrace some of the best things America has had to offer. From visionary initiatives to preserve our natural environment to strategic investments in public education, North Carolina has been a magnet for innovation and progress, well ahead of the curve in comparison to other states. We have attracted people and ideas from all around the world, resulting in our consistent leadership among the top states for businesses to grow and prosper.

With the Republican takeover of the General Assembly last year, that remarkable reputation was trashed into oblivion. In the span of a single legislative session, radicals like Phil Berger and Thom Tillis imported regressive policies from states like Texas, South Carolina, Alabama, and Mississippi, states that have long scraped the bottom of the barrel on issues important to most North Carolina families.

Instead of asking multi-millionaires to pay an extra penny in taxes, extremist Republicans have rammed through a budget that is systemically dismantling our state's leadership position in education, environment, and equality. From special favors for special interests to a full-fledged assault on women and family planning, Republican radicals are taking North Carolina in the wrong direction fast.

If you thought it couldn't happen here, you were wrong. It is happening here.

Republican refusal to put taxes on the table, along with their obsession with the rich life, will have consequences. The same uprising that happened in 18th century France is unfolding in the UK right now. Thom Tillis, Art Pope and Phil Berger, have set the stage for an instant replay on the streets of North Carolina's major cities. The pattern is entirely predictable.

The American right today is obsessed with cutting government spending. In many ways, Mr. Cameron’s austerity program is the Tea Party’s dream come true. But Britain is now grappling with the consequences of those cuts, which have led to the neglect and exclusion of many vulnerable, disaffected young people who are acting out violently and irresponsibly — driven by rage rather than an explicit political agenda.

The truth is, the ruling class of Republicans don't have enough law enforcement capacity or enough jails to deal with the firestorm of rage they're brewing. And all the Tea Bagger happy talk in the world won't bail them out of the deal they've struck with the devil.

This is political satire. The person talking in this video is not really Thom Tillis. To my knowledge.