HOPE FOR DEMOCRATS FROM NORTH CAROLINA

March 27, 2025, Wake Forest, NC—Coming out of last Fall’s national election, Democrats can find hope at the state level, including North Carolina. In particular, Democratic NC Governor Josh Stein was elected and is starting his first term, and Democratic NC Attorney General Jeff Jackson won and has since assumed some influence in national politics. The federal level is dominated by Republicans and US President Donald Trump, who began his second term with a whirlwind of executive orders taken right from Project 2025, a far-right, reactionary policy platform that President Trump completely denied any connection to during his election campaign last year.

At the state level, here in North Carolina, however, we now have a sense of where incoming Democratic Governor Josh Stein is taking his first term. In addition, we see how the newly-elected Democratic Attorney General Jeff Jackson is challenging the Trump administration in federal courts to help stall Trump’s reactionary political agenda. In particular, Jackson has enjoined the State of North Carolina to several federal lawsuits countering Trump’s agenda, including specifically, a lawsuit countering an effort by President Trump to amend the US constitution by executive order on the issue of birthright citizenship for children of immigrants.

On day one of President Donald Trump’s second term, he signed an executive order ending birthright citizenship for children of immigrants. Immediately thereafter, several Democratic-leaning states challenged his order in court with a federal lawsuit. In North Carolina, a purple state, newly-elected, Democratic NC Attorney General Jeff Jackson joined those lawsuits. Referring to the Fourteenth Amendment, ratified in 1868, which enshrines citizenship as a constitutional right for all children born in America, Jackson was quoted as saying, “The Constitution leaves no room for executive reinterpretation on this matter—it is clear, settled, and binding. This order seeks to undermine that clarity, creating legal uncertainty and denying fundamental rights to children born in this country” (News & Observer, on-line, newsobserver.com, 1/21/2025; News & Observer, on-line, newsobserver.com, 3/14/2025).

Specifically, President Trump’s order would bar citizenship to any children born in the United States to parents without at least one parent being a citizen or legal permanent resident. Birthright citizenship has been recognized as an established legal right for the children of immigrants in America since the law was upheld by the US Supreme Court in 1898 in the case, United States v. Wong Kim Ark (News & Observer, on-line, newsobserver.com, 1/21/2025). Donald Trump’s executive order would deny this constitutional right and overturn over a century of US legal precedent.

I think President Trump’s executive order would deny a large part of who we are as Americans. While I acknowledge that cracking down on immigration was a central plank of Trump’s election campaign last year, I think we, as Americans, are still a nation of immigrants. The Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor attests to this aspect of American life, in the famous inscription on the statue: “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” Donald Trump misunderstood this message; he follows the old joke, instead: “Regarding your poor, your tired, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free. Send them my regards.”

As Americans, we must oppose this rights-grab by executive order by Donald Trump. I support North Carolina AG Jeff Jackson’s legal effort, with the 17 other states enjoined to the lawsuit, to overturn this executive order.

The current status of this executive order is that it has been suspended by the federal courts. It will be heard, ultimately, by the US Supreme Court, which will rule on the matter. I can hardly believe that President Trump is attempting to amend the US Constitution by executive order, as affirmed by the US Supreme Court. Last I checked, there exists a drawn-out process for amending the US constitution, which President Trump lacks the political support to achieve in the US Congress or in ¾ of the State legislatures. I only hope that level heads prevail at the US Supreme Court, and the Court chooses not to overturn this basic right for Americans, and not to overturn more than one century of legal precedent in this country.

Our Democratic party hero in North Carolina, NC Attorney General Jeff Jackson, is not entirely in the clear on this lawsuit in North Carolina, however. The Republican majorities in both houses of the NC State legislature have introduced bills to remove his authority to file any lawsuit against the Trump administration in Washington. North Carolina is, of course, a purple state. On March 11, the NC Senate passed a version of this bill. It all comes down to one vote in the NC House. In the NC House, Republicans fall one vote short of a supermajority needed to override the Governor’s veto. If the NC House passes this bill in the near future, as I expect it will, the question becomes, will the Governor veto it? The newly-elected Democratic Governor, NC’s Josh Stein, I believe will probably veto the legislation, I hope. If Gov. Stein vetoes the bills, then it all comes down to one vote in the NC House, on whether the Republican-led legislature can override that veto. If so, then North Carolina would be removed from that federal lawsuit. If not, then NC AG Jeff Jackson can continue to be the Democratic hero from the State of North Carolina that he is now. Jackson could continue to defend our basic rights as Americans from his perch as AG in North Carolina. I hope Jackson will be able to remain a party to his federal lawsuits, including this one, and will be allowed to continue to challenge the Trump administration in court. North Carolina is a purple state, and the battle in North Carolina will be close (News & Observer, 3/23/2025, p. 19A, print edition; News & Observer, on-line, newsobserver.com, 3/14/2025).

This political battle highlights how important in North Carolina the recent election of NC Governor Josh Stein, a Democrat, is, in addition to the election of the Democratic Attorney General. Without Josh Stein, a Democrat, in the Governor’s office, the Republicans would be able to easily block Jeff Jackson from entering this and other federal lawsuits. That is the glimmer of hope for Democrats in the recent national election in the State of North Carolina.

Now, we are seeing how incoming Democratic Governor Josh Stein’s first term is looking, on its own terms, as well. Josh Stein’s first priority was not Washington, in fact, but North Carolina. Stein’s top priority was rebuilding Western North Carolina after the damage wrought by Hurricane Helene. To that end, Stein signed his first piece of legislation into law, working with the Republicans in the State legislature, last week. That state law provides the fourth round of state funding for recovery from Hurricane Helene. Providing funds for recovery to Western North Carolina remains Gov. Josh Stein’s top priority, and he receives largely bi-partisan support on the issue (News & Observer, 3/23/2025, p. 19A, print edition).

On Wednesday, March 19, Governor Stein presented his first budget to the NC General Assembly and the public at-large. Stein found some agreement and some disagreement on various issues within North Carolina from the Republicans who lead both houses of the State Assembly. On the famous Democratic Party issue of teacher pay, going back to the former NC Governor, Democrat Roy Cooper, Stein has found agreement from NC Republicans. Stein wishes to raise starting teacher pay to $53,000 by 2027, according to Dawn Baumgartner Vaughan, writing in the News & Observer (3/23/2025, p. 19A, print edition). Stein wants North Carolina to be “the highest in the Southeast.” Similarly, Republican NC House Speaker Destin Hall was quoted as saying in the News & Observer that he wants North Carolina to be “as highly ranked in the South as we can be” (3/23/2025, p. 19A, print edition). I hope Stein and the Republican leadership in North Carolina can make significant headway in raising teacher pay in North Carolina.

Gov. Stein and Republicans in North Carolina disagree on private school vouchers, state income taxes, and a statewide school bond issue. Gov. Stein has also drawn attention to the federal effort in Congress by Republican leadership there to cut Medicaid funding. If the federal government cuts Medicaid by $880 billion, then North Carolina would see its Medicaid expansion evaporate. This issue took ten years of wrangling to adopt in North Carolina, and it would be gone in a breath, if Republicans in the US Congress slash the program. NC Gov. Stein mentioned this in his first State of the State address earlier this year, but has not made it an issue otherwise in North Carolina, at this time.

Governor Josh Stein’s first term is coming into vision, now that his first proposed budget has been released. We are looking at June for the NC legislature to pass its budget, and then send the budget to Gov. Stein for his signature. This timeline is only tentative, I should note, however, since the Republicans in the NC state legislature have been known to disagree with themselves, and pass extremely late budgets, in the recent past. In any case, business in North Carolina this year seems to be proceeding at a regular pace, under Governor Josh Stein and the Republican legislature, with or without US President Donald Trump.

That being said, Democrats are lucky to have elected their own party in the Governor’s office and the NC Attorney General’s office this past year. The Democrats in the executive branch of North Carolina are currently able to provide a counter-weight to President Donald Trump’s reactionary agenda in Washington this year. North Carolina remains a purple state, but the Democrats here will not remain silent.

On the issue of birthright citizenship, for example, as currently guaranteed in the US Constitution, Democrats in North Carolina have joined the fight against President Trump. Time will tell whether NC Attorney General Jeff Jackson will be able to stay in this court battle, and time will tell how much of President Donald Trump’s agenda will stand or fall in the halls and the courts of Washington, DC. I hope we can block Trump’s reactionary agenda.

—Nicholas Patti

Wake Forest, NC

USA

Additional Sources:

News and Observer, Raleigh, NC: 3/23/2025, p. 19A, print edition; 1/21/2025, on-line, newsobserver.com; “Will the Supreme Court Overturn Birthright Citizenship? What to know,” 3/14/2025, on-line, newsobserver.com; 2/27/2025, on-line, newsobserver.com; “NC Republicans move fast on DOGE, DEI, Helene, immigration. How 2025 session is playing out,” 3/14/2025, on-line, newsobserver.com.

WRAL news, WRAL, WRAL+, Raleigh, NC, 2025, NBC, television news.

CNN, 2025.

ABC news, 2025, television news.

VOTE! Up and Down the Ticket in North Carolina, United States

by Nicholas Patti

The United States of America is a democracy, and one thing that means is that we, the American people, have the chance to vote for our president. In North Carolina, this year is also an election year for our governor. Use it or lose it! My first shout-out on this blog is to urge everyone in North Carolina, and in fact, throughout the United States, to vote. We must exercise our right to vote, if we wish to maintain our country as a democracy. As to whom to vote for, each of us makes up our own mind about each candidate, taking into account policy stances, political party, and yes, the values and character of each candidate. Consider this post my endorsement post on this blog for these two offices, in particular: the president of the United States, and the governor of the State of North Carolina. The important thing is, however, that each person who is a citizen of this country takes up his or her responsibility and duty as a citizen, and votes.

Let us begin with the American president. I would like to add my voice to those Democratic Party convention delegates this year who chanted, “Thank you, Joe!” to current President Joe Biden when he took the stage and addressed the Democratic Party convention this year. I think President Joe Biden has done a bang-up job as an American president during his term, and I thank him for his almost four years of public service as our president, and for his decades of service in American government as vice-president and U.S. senator, before that. He has had a long and terrific career as an elected official serving the American public in Washington.

Having said that, I think it was wise for him to step aside as the Democratic Party candidate for president in this election for the next term. In his speech at the convention this year, President Biden said he was putting country before personal ambition. He argued that we must keep former President Donald Trump out of the executive office, utilizing the ballot box, at all costs. I disagree, humbly. I think President Biden was not placing country before personal ambition, but rather, placing political party before personal ambition. It is true the election looked lost for President Biden when our President made the decision to pull out as a candidate. What President Biden did was to hand-select an alternate candidate whom our current President believed could beat Donald Trump at the ballot box, and make her the Democratic Party candidate. This move would be the Democrats’ best shot at holding the White House in Democratic Party hands. Thus, after ignoring many calls to do so, President Joe Biden handed over the baton to the next generation of leadership in the Democratic Party, and likely, in our country. I follow President Joe Biden’s lead in choosing our current U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris as my preferred candidate for our next American president.

As a much younger candidate than either President Biden or former President Donald Trump, Kamala Harris would represent handing leadership of our country over to the next generation of leadership, if elected. Her selection by the Democrats represented a political disaster for President Trump and the Republicans, at the time, since she was much younger than either of the two previous candidates, Biden and Trump. The Republican Party attack ads and attack lines at the first debate between Biden and Trump, that President Biden was too old and infirm to govern, now fell entirely flat. In fact, these attacks would tarnish President Trump himself, moreso than anyone else, now that he was the only older white guy in the race, and Democratic Party candidate Kamala Harris could paint herself as the clear alternative for the future.

Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris introduced herself, described who she is, and outlined what her priorities would be, if elected president, in the Democratic Convention this year. Although she remains politically liberal, she did an end-run to the political center, and reassured all that she would uphold America’s position in the world, militarily, economically, politically, and in concert with traditional U.S. allies across the world. In addition, she promised to cut costs for the American consumer and to fight for the American working and middle class. She contrasted her position with former President Donald Trump, who she claimed would fight only for himself and for billionaires. Whether that is true or not, or only a Democratic Party attack line against the Republican nominee for president, I leave to each individual voter to decide.

What I do know is that after this election for U.S. president, either Kamala Harris or Donald Trump will be our next president. For better or worse, the American people will live with either one for the next four years. We are lucky that we, the American people, have the right to vote and choose which one will be our next president. I plan to vote for Kamala Harris. Either way, I urge every American citizen to make the choice and vote.

Vice President Kamala Harris, Democratic Party nominee for President

My Poetry Book

Enjoy this eclectic, often comic collection of poems by me. One poem, “News Junkie,” covers former President Trump’s first term, pre-pandemic. Price includes taxes and shipping & handling.

$15.00

Let me turn my focus from the race for US president to the race for governor of the State of North Carolina. Before I make my endorsement, let me review who the candidates are, from the Democratic and Republican parties, for the office. When voting for governor of North Carolina, North Carolinian voters may choose from the Democratic candidate, Josh Stein, current North Carolina Attorney General, and the Republican candidate, Mark Robinson, current North Carolina Lieutenant Governor. Both candidates claim to be for the working, sometimes struggling, families of North Carolina. Who is the best choice?

Josh Stein is a reliable Democrat, promising to bring Democratic policies to the state, and continuing on the legacy that the popular current governor, Democrat Roy Cooper, is leaving to the state. Democrat Roy Cooper has brought, for example, medicaid expansion to the North Carolina, which Governor Cooper and the Democrats of North Carolina fought for roughly 10 years to enact as law in North Carolina. Josh Stein would continue that legacy of having a Democrat in the Governor’s mansion.

On crime, Republicans have attacked Josh Stein as soft on crime, largely because he is a Democrat. Fighting crime is a hot-button issue for Republicans. However, Josh Stein has countered that, as the current state Attorney General, he has been fighting crime in North Carolina for years. No one accuses the Republican of being soft on crime.

The issue of choice, or abortion, separates the two candidates. Josh Stein is pro-choice, similar to the current Governor, Roy Cooper. Mark Robinson is pro-life. Robinson has waffled on the extent of his pro-life views, flipping between supporting the current anti-abortion law on the books in North Carolina, and calling for an even more stringent anti-abortion law. The current law bans abortions in North Carolina, with notable exceptions, but the question is six or twelve weeks into the pregnancy, when abortion would become illegal in North Carolina. Six weeks would be sooner than the current law in North Carolina, and Robinson has said he would support a six-week ban. He has qualified his position, however, by saying that the legislature has already enacted the current law, and the power to change the law to restrict abortion even further is not up to him, but the state legislature.

I am pro-choice and I support Democratic candidate Josh Stein on this issue.

Then, there is the question of character and background. The latest news, which made the national news, is a sex scandal concerning the Republican candidate, Mark Robinson. According to CNN, Robinson went on a porn website ten years ago, before he was in politics, and made disconcerting comments. He called himself a “black Nazi,” and endorsed slavery, saying he would buy a few slaves. When interviewed about this scandal by CNN after the report was aired, Robinson denied the whole affair. Robinson called it a lynching of him, using AI, the internet, and cable news. It looks to me that CNN did not make the story up, however, and that the story is true.

The next response Robinson had to this scandal was to state that he is remaining in the race, that he is not dropping out because of this one incident, the truth of which he denies. I agree that he should stay in the race and let the voters of North Carolina decide if this one example of essentially sexual misconduct via an on-line porn site disqualifies him from the highest executive office in North Carolina, or not.

Later, just today, September 20, 2024, on CNN, former North Carolina Governor, Republican Pat McCrory, threw Robinson under the bus. Former Governor Pat McCrory said that Mark Robinson is unfit to be governor. McCrory thought that the Republican Party of North Carolina should do a better job vetting their candidate for governor. McCrory said that for Lieutenant Governor, the job Robinson currently holds, that he would be an ok candidate. Not for governor, McCrory said. McCrory’s opinion is that Robinson has said and done things in the past that should preclude him from holding the highest office in the state. McCrory thinks the governor candidate should be vetted more than for the Lieutenant Governor, since the Governor’s office is more high-profile. McCrory said that the press will look into the full background of the candidate moreso for the governor’s office than the lieutenant governor’s. McCrory said he was vetted by the Republican Party in North Carolina before he became the candidate, and ultimately, the Governor of North Carolina. He continued, that the Republican Party of North Carolina knew these things about Robinson’s questionable background, but chose him anyway. The reason that McCrory gave that the Republican Party of North Carolina chose Robinson for the candidacy is that Robinson is a very good public speaker. McCrory said Robinson is very populist and gives such good speeches, he became very popular. For McCrory, however, it was not just this latest scandal that disqualified Robinson. McCrory said that there are numerous things about Robinson’s background that calls into question his character and fitness for the highest office of the state. McCrory admitted it is too late under North Carolina election law to switch candidates, so the question is academic.

One thing that former Governor Pat McCrory did say was that North Carolina is a purple state. Voters often split their tickets in North Carolina. He said that any questions about Robinson’s influence on the top of the ticket, the U.S. president, cannot be easily discerned. Robinson could bring down other Republicans up and down the ticket, or voters in North Carolina could split their tickets. The implication is that even if voters reject Robinson, they could still vote for Republican Donald Trump for U.S. president.

I think the question of character is relevant for the office of governor. Democrat Josh Stein is a Jew, he is liberal to moderate, and he is the current Attorney General. Can you imagine that Josh Stein’s opponent, Mark Robinson, called himself a Nazi once, who would want to own a slave? Josh Stein is Jewish. The holocaust must be remembered, regarding Nazis, slavery, and Jews. Mark Robinson’s comments are abhorrent.

In defense of Mark Robinson, however, he was using the services of a porn website. These traffic in sexual fantasies with the goal of sexual pleasure for the user. There is another concept at work here. That is the concept of mental slavery. The idea here is that actual slavery has been abolished, but mental slavery persists. It seems that in this on-line porn posting, Mark Robinson was engaging in mental slavery, as the owner, of course, for his own sexual pleasure. Let me note that praying in the Protestant Christian faith frees one from mental slavery, especially in the United States. Robinson has been shown in videos preaching from the pulpit of a black Protestant Church. Suffice it to say, Mark Robinson has been saved, in a Protestant Christian point of view, since that on-line posting. Robinson today disavows that earlier statement he made, on the porn website, some years ago. Would Robinson as governor promote mental slavery or fight to abolish mental slavery? The comment on the porn website sheds doubt on that question, but he disavows that he ever even made that remark. His Protestant Christian faith, which he proudly embraces, suggests Robinson would be squarely on the side of emancipation from mental slavery, to paraphrase the reggae singer, Bob Marley. It seems to me, however, that in that comment Robinson made on the porn website years ago, Robinson was still caught, as a “bad boy,” smack dab in the middle of the mindset of mental slavery. Of course, it should be noted, in the comment on the porn website, Robinson was not a mental slave, he was an owner. The point is to abolish the mindset of mental slavery, entirely.

People derive their sexual pleasure however they derive their sexual pleasure. I am not one to judge on that basis. My only question is, can we trust someone who might be struggling with the concept of mental slavery to be our governor? Is he going to try to make a prisoner, for example, of the State of North Carolina, a mental slave? This is an important question, I think. I think we might take the opportunity to discuss mental slavery, at this point, rather than simply treating this as a sex scandal and demonstrating unfitness for higher office.

I would like to see a reporter ask Mark Robinson if he has heard of mental slavery, and what he thinks about it? Given that he once endorsed it in writing, I think that is a legitimate question.

Both candidates for North Carolina can be asked this question. For example, as NC Attorney General, would Josh Stein allow any correction officer in North Carolina to make any prisoner believe that they were a slave, and I do mean, while incarcerated? This could potentially be used to control the prisoner. It is my sincere hope that, in addition to fighting crime, that the rights of prisoners while incarcerated should be upheld. No one should be made to feel that they are enslaved, even if they were currently imprisoned. I would like to hear both candidates comment on this one example, and on mental slavery, in general.

In any case, Josh Stein has not endorsed slavery in writing. Mark Robinson has. However, Mark Robinson is himself a black man in America, in North Carolina, in particular. Although Mark Robinson was having a sexual fantasy, at the time, as an owner, on a porn website, I think the question is still relevant. It is even more relevant as Robinson is running for the highest executive office in our state.

Anyway, that is what former Governor Pat McCrory is talking about. Character. Myself, I do not think one wild sexual fantasy on a porn website ten years ago necessarily disqualifies one from holding higher office. Pat McCrory is correct about the media and the opposition in politics digging up the dirt on any questionable, certainly scandalous, activity and positions from the past. Ultimately, it is up to the voters of North Carolina to decide.

If it is not clear already, let me make my endorsement for the office of Governor of North Carolina clear. I plan to vote for the Democrat, Josh Stein. I base my endorsement both on policy and personality issues.

I urge all North Carolinians to vote, however, for either candidate, or for independents, for both Governor and President of the United States. I urge all Americans to vote in this year’s presidential election, also.

NC Attorney General Josh Stein, Democratic candidate for Governor

Mark Robinson, Lieutenant Governor of NC, Republican candidate for Governor

—Nicholas Patti

Wake Forest, NC

September 20, 2024

Sources:

News and Observer, Raleigh, NC, multiple articles, 2024.

CNN, 9/20/2024, 9/19/2024, television news.

WRAL news, NBC affiliate, Raleigh, NC, television news.

ABC news, shown over local ABC affiliate, Raleigh, NC, television news.

Photos: all photos complements of respective campaign websites.

Medicaid Expansion in North Carolina Set to Become Law with 2023 State Budget

by Nicholas Patti

September 24, 2023, Wake Forest, NC—When it comes to enacting Medicaid expansion in North Carolina, ya gotta do what you gotta do.

At least, that is, according to Democratic Governor Roy Cooper. Calling the 2023 NC state budget a “bad budget,” the Governor has decided to allow it to become law after 10 days from its passage this past Friday, without his signature, according to Dawn Baumgartner Vaughan, writing for the News and Observer (Raleigh, NC, 9/23/2023, digital edition).

Gov. Cooper’s reason for allowing this budget to become law was Medicaid expansion: “I will not allow people who are crying for help to wait any longer, so I am directing our Department of Health and Human Services to begin today the process for expanding Medicaid while allowing this budget to become law without my signature,” Cooper was quoted as saying in the News and Observer (Raleigh, NC, 9/23/2023, digital edition).

Medicaid expansion will provide health care coverage to roughly 600,000 uninsured people in North Carolina, according to Gov. Roy Cooper, as quoted in the News and Observer (Raleigh, NC, 9/22/2023, “NC State Budget Passes GOP-controlled Legislature, Cooper Will Let it Become Law. Here’s Why,” newsobserver.com). Allow me to explain the context. Medicaid expansion will fill in a gap left over a decade ago when Obamacare passed, federally, and covered most Americans. These 600,000 uninsured North Carolinians represent the working poor in North Carolina, people who fall into a gap between traditional Medicaid for the poor, and Obamacare coverage for regular workers who lack workplace coverage, otherwise, and who must pay a small premium. Medicaid expansion fills that gap, and covers the working poor, previously uninsured, for no premium.

Enacting Medicaid expansion in North Carolina arrives now after 10 years of delays, due to resistance from some sectors of the Republican party in the state. Medicaid expansion has long been a policy goal of Democratic Governor Roy Cooper.

Republicans in North Carolina deserve credit, however, for changing their minds and delivering on Medicaid expansion this year. It will come with the enactment of the state budget, which Medicaid expansion was tied to when it passed, separately, last Spring.

This Medicaid expansion represents a policy achievement in North Carolina this year, after a decade’s worth of effort, I would argue. Governor Cooper noted the timeline while criticizing the legislature for not acting sooner (News and Observer, Raleigh, NC, 9/22/2023, website article, newsobserver.com).

Republican state legislative leaders are rightly proud of their work this year. “…I think that’s an indication that this budget is a solid budget, something that’s good for the state of North Carolina,” said NC Senate leader Phil Berger, Republican, on Friday, following the budget’s passage in his chamber, as quoted in the News and Observer (Raleigh, NC, 9/23/2023, digital edition). Berger cited the $2 billion of funds for water and sewer projects statewide, as well as tax reductions and Medicaid expansion, all included in the budget, according to Dawn Baumgartner Vaughan, reporting for the News and Observer (Raleigh, NC, 9/23/2023, digital edition).

While the budget was working its way through final passage, another Republican representative praised it this way: “This budget is built on key investments in our state’s infrastructure, meeting our needs in health care, education, transportation, manufacturing, and tourism, just to name a few,” Rep. Donny Lambeth, Republican, was quoted as saying in the News and Observer (Raleigh, NC, 9/22/2023, digital edition).

The budget includes, also, an average of 7% raises for teachers, over two years, and raises for most state employees, as reported by Luciana Perez Uribe and Avi Bajpai in the News and Observer (Raleigh, NC, 9/22/2023, digital edition). In addition, the budget moves more appointment powers, for state boards and the judiciary, to the legislature, and away from Governor Cooper, in the executive branch, as reported on Spectrum News 1 (Raleigh, NC, 9/23/2023, Spectrum cable television news channel, 1 pm broadcast).

Governor Cooper has said that, despite the raises for teachers, the budget “shortchanges our schools… and prioritizes power grabs.” He warned that “many of its provisions will face legal action,” he was quoted as saying in the News and Observer (Raleigh, NC, 9/23/2023, digital edition).

istockphoto-532812141-1024x1024 — Raleigh, North Carolina — North Carolina Legislative Building on a clear, winter afternoon

Expanding casino gambling was not included in the budget, which spends roughly $30 billion of taxpayer money, according to the News and Observer (Raleigh, NC, 9/23/2023, digital edition; 9/20/2023, digital edition). Too many people, and their representatives in the state legislature, believed that casinos, even with the extra jobs in rural areas and extra revenue coming to state government; too many people felt that casinos were fundamentally inconsistent with their vision of a good, wholesome Southern culture.

That vision of an almost utopian Southern culture was laid out in the final chapter of William Faulkner’s classic Southern novel, The Sound and the Fury (1929). This chapter involved a Sunday service in a fictional Southern Protestant church. Needless to say, this vision did not include casino gambling.

I would point out, however, that video lottery terminals have long been a fixture of Southern cities in North Carolina. These are currently illegal and are continually being shut down. In addition to casinos, these would have been made legal, as well, according to the News and Observer (Raleigh, NC, 9/20/2023, digital edition).

Coming back to reality today in the South in North Carolina, there are currently two options available already, now, for North Carolinians to gamble, today. These casinos include slot machines, which work on-site via video. One option is the Cherokee casino in Cherokee, North Carolina, in the mountains in Western North Carolina. The second option is right across the state line in Danville, Virginia, in Southern Virginia. This second option is a Caesars casino that is already open and which serves many customer-gamblers driving from North Carolina across state lines to Danville, Virginia, according to a recent report on WRAL news (Raleigh, NC, reported from Danville, VA, NBC, Chan. 3 on Spectrum Cable television, Raleigh).

This NC budget merely failed to legalize and expand casino gambling beyond these two options, which already exist. I am in favor of legalizing casino gambling, since I believe it is a rewarding form of entertainment, mainly, for the casino customers. The house (casino) provides a thrill, which is the chance to win money for your bets, in exchange for your money, which are your losses to the house, in the main, predominant instance. Personally, I see nothing intrinsically wrong with this form of entertainment, primarily, except when customer-gamblers spend and/or lose too much money. That is called gambling irresponsibly. There should be telephone help lines available for all gamblers to teach responsible gaming, and to fight any gambling addiction. These lines should be open and available, from the state regulating authority, at all hours during casino open hours. This way, a potentially addicted gambler can call the state gambling help line, instead of betting and losing all of their money in an irresponsible bet. I am serious about this. Not everyone is taught how to gamble responsibly, and limit their losses, and some gamble irresponsibly, and harm themselves, financially, in the process. Along with legalization, regulation, and taxation, there should be support and education for how to gamble responsibly. This is called responsible gaming. It can be fun, although one usually does lose some money, in the process.

In any case, expanding gambling in North Carolina is not happening, at this time. I support expanding gambling options, beyond what already exist, although with requisite support and education to foster responsible gaming and to fight any kind of gambling addiction. In addition, I do not have a problem with leaving the gambling to the Native Americans in what amounts to a gambling monopoly inside the state. Glutting the market is not necessarily good business sense, especially when it comes to gambling.

On balance, I give credit to Republican legislative leaders in North Carolina, including House Speaker Tim Moore, Republican, and Senate leader Phil Berger, also a Republican, for enacting a new NC state budget, and for finally expanding Medicaid in North Carolina. The business of state government has been taken care of in North Carolina, although largely along Republican lines and vision.

Enacting Medicaid expansion in North Carolina represents the achievement of a longer-term policy goal of mostly Democrats, however, I would point out. Governor Roy Cooper, Democrat, deserves credit for allowing this achievement to take effect.

Although I would have preferred a new NC state budget that followed more of a Democratic vision, as expressed by Governor Cooper, Democrat, I applaud all state leaders in North Carolina, Democrat and Republican, for finishing the job, finally, and for taking care of the people’s business. Republican legislative leaders and the Democratic governor proved able to pass a new NC state budget, and more to the point, to expand Medicaid, finally.

For this, they deserve credit.

—Nicholas Patti

Wake Forest, NC

USA

Additional Sources:

This blog: post, 4/1/2023; post, 10/17/2022. Address: nickpattifeatures.com.

News and Observer, Raleigh, NC: 9/23/2023, digital edition; 9/22/2023, digital edition; 9/22/2023, website article, newsobserver.com; 9/20/2023, digital edition.

Spectrum News 1, Raleigh, NC, 9/23/2023, Channels 1, 14, Spectrum cable television.

WRAL news, WRAL, Raleigh, NC, 9/22/2023, NBC, Channel 3, Spectrum cable television.

WUNC, 91.5 FM, Chapel Hill, NC, 9/22/2023, NPR-affiliate, radio, broadcast and internet.

Medicaid Expansion in North Carolina: Will it Make a Difference?

by Nicholas Patti

April 1, 2023, Raleigh, NC—The big news this past week is that former President Donald Trump was indicted on criminal charges in New York City related to his hush money payments to porn actress Stormy Daniels in 2016. I consider the criminal case against him in New York City to be entirely garbage, although I will not spend more time discussing this issue. Instead, I will turn my focus to North Carolina, where Medicaid expansion was passed in an historic achievement for the governor, the legislature, and the working poor in this State. However, how much of a difference will this passage really make for the people of North Carolina, in terms of sheer numbers—how many people will now become eligible, how many people are on or off the rolls after all is said and done, for example? The numbers look promising, but not as dramatic as previously reported.

Last year, quoting newspaper sources in Raleigh, NC, on this blog, I estimated that roughly 500,000 people would benefit from Medicaid expansion in North Carolina (“The Mid-terms, Medicaid Expansion in North Carolina, and Other Issues,” Raleigh, NC, 10/17/2022, nickpattifeatures.com). Now, in 2023, at the time of passage by the NC State legislature, the NC Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) says the measure would insure roughly 600,000 additional people, according to Heidi Perez-Moreno and Kyle Ingram, reporting for the News and Observer (Raleigh, NC, 3/24/2023, print edition, p. 1A). That number is significant for the State of North Carolina.

There is a caveat, however. At this time, some hundreds of thousands of people stand to lose their Medicaid coverage in North Carolina. This unfortunate development comes from the end of a COVID-era policy in which the federal government temporarily increased funding for Medicaid. This funding and policy restriction ended March 31^st of this year. As a result, North Carolina will resume re-certifying people for Medicaid on an annual basis. The North Carolina DHHS expects around 300,000 people to lose their health care coverage or see a substantial reduction in benefits during the next year, according to Luciana Perez Uribe Guinassi, writing for the News and Observer (Raleigh, NC, 3/17/2023, digital edition).

Subtract 300,000 from 600,000. The number you end up with is 300,000 additional people gaining Medicaid coverage in North Carolina, taking into account both Medicaid expansion and the renewal of re-certifying people for the program, including new denials. 300,000 or so additional people receiving Medicaid benefits than in 2022 is significant. This number is less significant than 600,000 people, however. It represents only one-half the previously-projected impact of Medicaid expansion in North Carolina. All told, the new legislation, Medicaid expansion, still would make a difference. Without it, a total of 900,000 people would lack benefits, instead of a net gain of 300,000. There would be a net loss of 300,000, with another 600,000 remaining ineligible. Medicaid expansion still makes a difference in 2023, but with the new federal policy changes and funding cuts, Medicaid expansion will not result in a watershed of new, uninsured people gaining Medicaid health coverage for the first time. That said, 300,000 additional people receiving Medicaid benefits over the next year at a time of federal budget cuts, post-pandemic, is nothing to shake a stick at. I should note that Medicaid expansion in North Carolina comes with its own, additional federal funding to cover the difference, representing federal funding that North Carolina had previously been turning down, before Medicaid expansion.

If you are one of the additional 300,000 people who should receive Medicaid health benefits in North Carolina over the next year, consider yourself lucky. The North Carolina legislature and NC Governor Roy Cooper have your back. You are lucky that you do not count yourself one of the 900,000 people who would otherwise lose their benefits over the next year, or who would remain simply ineligible for the benefit, in the first place. Now, you should have health benefits. You will have access to Medicaid.

North Carolina State Capitol Building, Raleigh, NC, by JillLang, c. 2019, http://www.istockphoto.com

There is one more caveat to Medicaid expansion taking effect in North Carolina, however. NC legislators stipulated that it will not take effect until the 2023 state budget passes. This budget is due for this State in June of this year. Writing for the News and Observer (Raleigh, NC, 3/28/2023, digital edition), Dawn Baumgartner Vaughan makes an educated guess that, unlike in previous years, this year’s budget will pass without too much trouble, because Republicans in the legislature are very close to a veto-proof majority, and because the budget contains Medicaid expansion, which has long been a priority for Governor Roy Cooper, a Democrat.

Let us hope the 2023 budget passes without delays, and that Medicaid expansion in North Carolina becomes law, and takes effect.

It should be noted that Medicaid expansion has long been a policy priority of the Governor, Roy Cooper. Its passage represents a victory for him, politically, in particular. “With this bill, more uninsured North Carolinians can avoid financial ruin from unpaid medical bills,” Governor Cooper is quoted as saying in the News and Observer (Raleigh, NC, 3/28/2023, digital edition). “More rural hospitals will be able to stay open, with their jobs.”

Governor cooper continued: “Businesses won’t lose as many good workers to illness or to care for a sick family member,” he is quoted as saying. “…People will have access to more doctors, nurses and mental health professionals because there will be more people who can pay them. It’s clear that this legislation I’m signing today will have a positive effect for all working families, even if they don’t directly get Medicaid” (News and Observer, Raleigh, NC, 3/28/2023, digital edition).

75391-rac-ncae-convention255b1255d — Governor Roy Cooper, campaign file photo

After years of trying, lawmakers in North Carolina passed Medicaid expansion, finally. Republican legislative leaders in NC deserve credit, also, including NC House Speaker Tim Moore and NC Senate leader Phil Berger. The one who really deserves the most praise for seeing this legislation through, however, is Governor Roy Cooper, Democrat. This issue has been one of his policy priorities for several years.

Kudos, once again, to North Carolina elected officials for finally finishing this job. The working poor of North Carolina will thank them.

Now, make sure to pass the budget, so this Medicaid expansion can take effect.

—Nicholas Patti

Raleigh, NC

USA

Additional sources:

This blog: post, 10/17/2022.

News and Observer, Raleigh, NC: 3/28/2023, digital edition; 3/24-25/2023, print edition, pp. 1A, 7A, 10A; 3/23/2023, digital edition; 3/17/2023, digital edition; 3/16/2023, print edition, p. 3A; 3/12/2023, print edition, pp. 1A, 3A-7A, 18A.