FRANKLIN COUNTY REPUBLICAN PARTY
P.O. Box 909
101 WEST NASH STREET
LOUISBURG, NORTH CAROLINA 27549
(919) 496-1469
www.FranklinNCGOP.com

April 29, 2006
 

Lucy and Doug actually did it - I’m at a loss for words, well almost

By Gary Cunard
Publisher of The Franklin Times

It’s not often that newspaper folks find themselves speechless.

But I was at a loss for words for quite some time after reading that both state Rep. Lucy Allen and state Sen. Doug Berger are standing in support of Jim Black, the ethics-challenged speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives.

It wasn’t just that they were supporting him, given the southern tradition of Yellow Dog Democrats who would rather vote for a yellow dog than a non-Democrat.

Rather, it was their reasons – should we call it their rationalizations? – for such support.

Perhaps the explanation furthest out of character was offered by Berger, the former prosecutor who sounded like a well-paid defense lawyer when he contended that “we should wait until all the evidence is in and wait until the investigation is done” before deciding on Black.

Come on, Doug!

No one seriously disputes that Black turned himself into a human pretzel supporting the video poker industry which has been such a big financial supporter of his.

And no one questions the fact that his former unpaid political crony was also a lobbyist for several companies with business before the General Assembly.

And as a lawyer, Sen. Berger, you can’t be comfortable with the idea of $100 checks from the state’s optometrists flowing into Black’s pet projects, especially when the payee line on some of those checks was left intentionally blank.

Finally, Sen. Berger, do you not get the urge to go take a shower after hearing about Black’s efforts to have the Legislature aid his son’s business or trying to have the state mandate unnecessary eye exams to benefit his fellow optometrists?

Granted, there may not be enough evidence yet to convict Black “beyond a reasonable doubt” in a criminal courtroom but this isn’t about criminal court.

This is about politics and in politics, perception is nearly everything.

The perception Jim Black has created across our state is that of an ethically challenged, backroom wheeler-dealer who would do anything to garner and maintain power.

That’s sending a horrible message to Tar Heels, especially our younger citizens who already are cynically disgusted with politics and our elected leadership.

State Rep. Allen’s justification was a little easier to take, at least on the surface, but no more logical than Berger’s.

Allen said Black “did not violate North Carolina election laws. It was not illegal, but it did not look good to the people of North Carolina,” she said of his actions.

She also said she did not want to be a “fair-weather friend” to the embattled speaker.

First, her point about Black not having broken any state laws probably says more about the total inadequacy of state election laws than anything yet heard.

Tar Heels would be well-advised to tighten state law so that politicians cannot continue to slip through legal loopholes in pursuit of power and personal wealth!

And then Rep. Allen says she does not want to be a fair-weather friend.

Far be it from us to suggest otherwise.

But a word of caution is in order.

First, she was not sent to Raleigh to befriend the high and mighty regardless of how they finagled their power.

She was sent to Raleigh to represent the interests of this district in an ethical, honest and effective manner.

Supporting backroom shenanigans and questionable ethics is not what most of us in her district were expecting when she headed south!

Second, Allen can be friends with whomever she likes. But, while we’ve all heard the saying that friends don’t let friends drive drunk, it’s also fair to suggest that friends don’t ask friends to condone unethical and possibly illegal activities!

State Rep. Allen is perfectly within her rights to befriend anyone she wishes. She can even bake Jim Black a cake and take it to him in the cross-bar hotel if things get that far – although putting a file in the cake would be a no-no.

But she should not feel entitled to push that friendship so far that it casts an ethical pall over this state and its residents.

Rep. Allen also contends that Jim Black deserves support because of all he has done for this state.

Perhaps.

But if we can be selfish for just a bit, it’s fair to ask what has he done for this region?

A couple of years ago, he sat in my office – while on the campaign trail with Allen – and promised that getting N.C. Highway 401 four-laned to Raleigh was no big problem and even hinted that we could four-lane N.C. 56 from Louisburg to Franklinton pretty easily.

Fast forward a couple of years, and you’ll see that neither project has been done. Or started. Or has a start date. Or has received an iota of support in the Legislature.

Indeed, both projects seem as lifeless as a box of doorknobs! Thank you, Jim Black.

Look, folks, politics isn’t rocket science.

What’s right is right, and what’s wrong is plainly obvious in this case.

I’m disappointed that neither of our state officials saw fit to take a stand for open, ethical and effective government in North Carolina and to put these days of smoke-filled backrooms filled with unethical politicians behind us.

But now that they have said they are willing to tolerate, even excuse, ethically questionable behavior, we’ll have to keep a watchful eye on them.

It’s sometimes only a short journey from excusing and tolerating bad behavior to participating in it.