A recent special legislative session in North Carolina failed to result in the repeal of House Bill 2—the infamous “bathroom law” that has made the Tar Heel State synonymous with anti-trans/anti-gay intolerance and thus cost businesses and workers millions of dollars. Yet that was only the second-most appalling legislative news from Raleigh in the past couple of weeks. The even bigger story is the state GOP’s effort to override the popular will. In November, North Carolina voters chose Democrat Roy Cooper to replace incumbent Republican Pat McCrory as their governor. McCrory took a month to concede, raising bogus voter-fraud allegations. Then, in a special session just two weeks before Cooper’s inauguration, the GOP-controlled North Carolina Legislature passed new measures that strip the governor of many of the position’s powers. As a lame-duck governor, McCrory signed those bills into law.
The new measures are unfair and extreme but not entirely unprecedented. Since the earliest days of the republic, lawmakers have sometimes sought to change the rules to gain partisan advantage.
The new North Carolina measures might succumb to looming legal challenges under state and federal law, but they might not. Whatever their ultimate fate, the North Carolina measures underscore the willingness of politicians who gain elected office to undermine democracy itself.
Full Article: Michael Dorf: The Assault on Democracy in North Carolina.