Posted on 08/31/2005 10:18:09 AM PDT by NCSteve
RALEIGH – It is still the spitting image of a pig.
They tried all day to doll it up as something else. They smeared its snout with ruby-red lipstick. They tried on a silky white dress, then a blue satin one. They pushed it up on its hind legs and attempted to induce a shimmy.
All to no avail. You can’t put lipstick on a pig and transform it into a debutante. It remains a swine.
As do, if you’ll pardon the stretched metaphor, both the events of Tuesday and their perpetrators. By a 25-24 vote, the North Carolina Senate voted to approve a House bill to create a government-run lottery. There were 48 members of the chamber in attendance, plus presiding officer Beverly Perdue, the lieutenant governor. The vote was a tie – 24 Democrats in favor vs. 19 Republicans and five Democrats opposed. Two Republicans were absent. Perdue, a Democratic gubernatorial prospect for 2008, broke the tie in favor.
The two most significant men of the moment, the climax to a political drama that has been building over more than 20 years, were not present – and that’s the point. Sen. John Garwood of Wilkes County was at home recuperating after being rushed to the hospital from the General Assembly last week with what turned out to be a leg infection. Sen. Harry Brown of Onslow County was on his honeymoon.
Last week, frantic efforts by lottery supporters to get Garwood, Brown, or some other foe to change his or her vote fell short. During the all-night session that followed Garwood’s ambulance ride to the hospital, leaders of the Senate contemplated calling a lottery vote. Sen. Ham Horton of Forsyth, another lottery opponent, was also absent at the time. He had formed a “pair” with lottery proponent David Hoyle, a Democrat from Gaston County. But Senate leaders claimed that Horton had not followed proper procedure, and that Hoyle could consequently cast his “yes” vote to yield the desired 24-24 tie.
But at that time, Senate leader Marc Basnight declined to pull the trigger. He claimed that his decision was motivated by a desire to preserve Senate collegiality, but it later came out that Republican Sen. Stan Bingham of Davidson County, a lottery foe paired with an absent pro-lottery senator, threatened to vote anyway to offset Hoyle’s vote. Suddenly, Basnight discovered the need to respect Senate collegiality.
Then a few hours later, Basnight announced that the Senate was “leaving” and “not coming back.” He made it clear that the lottery had failed fair and square, that the effort was over. But by the end of last week, Basnight was telling a different story. He said that the chamber would reconvene Tuesday to finish its business.
Sorting out what happened next is difficult at this writing. By some accounts, Garwood appears to have changed his mind about the lottery, deciding to end his opposition while not going as far as to vote for it. By not requesting a pair with a pro-lottery senator, he subtracted a vote from the opposition. I’ve been told by others that Garwood, still suffering and medicated, may not have fully realized what was about to occur. Hmm.
As for Brown, there are two options, neither appetizing. Either he took the opportunity of a previously scheduled honeymoon to “take a walk” on a lottery, thus caving into political pressure and violating his campaign pledge without having the courage to say so, or he took Basnight at his word that there would be no more substantive policy votes this year, on the lottery or anything else, and took the opportunity to celebrate his recent wedding without interruption or guilt.
So, either North Carolina has a state lottery because a Republican politician misled his colleagues and the public or because a Democratic politician misled his colleagues and the public.
See? Put whatever dress you want on it, it is still a pig – and it’s plenty ugly.
God - I thought this was another thread about Shrillary or Sheehan.
NC Ping?
I was working on that before you even asked. :)
Sheehan?.......
Beat me to it.
Thanks, CD. I posted this in record time. I figured you or some other regular CJ reader might have beat me to it.
Honestly, I haven't even looked at CJ in a few days.
Things are pretty busy in the office.
I appreciate you posting it.
Another MBIRFSTAIRNTGBTW = My boss is returning from Singapore tomorrow and I really need to get back to work - situation? :)
I just managed to get the turtle out of it's shell after the last HT posting, and there it just went - back in. Damnit.
Oh well, at least I don't need it for a while.
My father used to call it "hanging a poppy on a turd".
LOL!
No, he hasn't been abroad for some time.
I've been quite busy for months now!
Really.
Crossdressing boss?
Bev Perdue is from my hometown of New Bern. I used to work on her boat in the summer when I worked at a boat shop. She is an ass. If I recall correctly her husband committed suicide.
ROFL. I sure hope not.
I've a feeling I would like your Dad a lot. I'm going to have to remember that one.
On a related note:
The only good news coming out of Hurricane Katrina is that ALL the floating casinos on the Mississippi Gulf Coast are totaled!
One owner even said he expected his boat would have to be cut up simply to remove it from where it is now - across the highway from the beach.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.