There is a simple – but drastic – step the legislature could take to prevent the kind of controversy swirling around North Carolina’s lottery: Ban fundraising (and even entertaining) by lobbyists. South Carolina already does that. North Carolina now bans lobbyists from making campaign contributions during legislative sessions, but not between sessions. North Carolina’s legislature…
Read MoreWe’ve got a good, old-fashioned scandal brewing about the lottery. Scientific Games is one of the mega-gaming companies that run lotteries. It wants to run the North Carolina lottery and 1) it got language inserted into the Lottery Bill (by an amenable legislator ) apparently, to give it a ‘leg up’ over competitors; 2) it…
Read MoreAs Scootergate erupted in Washington, we heard a familiar mantra: “The coverup is worse than the crime.” I beg to differ. Prosecutors may find the coverup easier to prove. Politicians might find the coverup easier to use as a bludgeon on their opponents. But the crime is even worse than the coverup. The crime in…
Read MoreLess than a month after he was reelected with no real opposition, Mayor Charles Meeker is giving Republicans an issue to run against him – and other Democrats – on in the next election. Tomorrow, the City Council is going to vote on building a new Marriott Hotel downtown. Mayor Meeker wants to build that…
Read MoreSometimes, something so peculiar happens in politics you just have to stop and ask yourself, “What was that?” Well, something like that has happened in Raleigh. The Marriott Hotels want a subsidy from taxpayers – $20 million – to build a hotel downtown. At the same time a group of businessmen propose to build a…
Read MoreCarter, you got it partly right. But that’s as far as I’ll go. And I’ll resort to the oldest trick in politics: change the subject. Because the Convention Center is a done deal. (Even though these stories about cost overruns don’t help the cause.) And I’m not going to try to defend a $20 million…
Read MoreCarter, you got it partly right. But that’s as far as I’ll go. And I’ll resort to the oldest trick in politics: change the subject. Because the Convention Center is a done deal. (Even though these stories about cost overruns don’t help the cause.) And I’m not going to try to defend a $20 million…
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