Dirty politics in North Carolina
The battle for House District 11 in the mountains remains tight, with incumbent Rep. Charles Taylor (R) battling off a spirited challenge by ex-NFL quarterback Heath Shuler. Recent polls show Shuler, who emphasizes his conservative "mountain values," with a slight lead, making the race one of the top 10 contests in the country according to National Journal. Who said the non-urban South wasn't competitive?
Both parties are taking the race seriously: Taylor brought in First Lady Laura Bush, a popular GOP spokesperson saved for important races, this week. A parade of top Democrats including former Gov. Jim Hunt and ex-Sen. John Edwards have stumped for Shuler.
North Carolina is also seeing its share of political scandals. Today, Democratic House Speaker Jim Black -- the target of various campaign finance probes over the last year -- faced the news that a former state house colleague fingered him for bribery:
Former state Rep. Michael Decker testified in federal court Wednesday that House Speaker Jim Black was a co-conspirator in a criminal case in which Decker has admitted receiving $50,000 in campaign checks and cash in exchange for supporting Black for a third term as speaker."Was one of your co-conspirators House Speaker Jim Black?" U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III asked Decker.
"Yes, sir," Decker replied.
Background on the "Black and Decker" scandal: Decker was a Republican who abruptly switched parties to support Black's house leadership bid, allegedly in exchange for campaign money. Speaker Black also paid for Decker's lawyer, after details of the arrangement became public.
Black has also been the target of a probe related to his involvement in video poker and the state lottery in North Carolina, which launched after Democracy North Carolina filed a complaint (pdf) in 2004. (For more about Jim Black's troubles, visit the exhaustive site JimBlackMustGo, which announced it was making its last post on Oct. 30)
1 Comments:
It is not just "Black and Decker" it goes even deeper than them, and when you start looking travel up the road, I-95, to Washington D.C. and you see just how dirty politicians really are.
They are all greedy, they no longer serve for the people, but only to satisfy their needs, and a few of their rich friends.
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