“I’m really sorry for what’s about to happen.”
by Tom Sullivan
As the saying goes, this is why we can't have nice things.
Perhaps you remember #JustOneLegislator from February? Freshman North Carolina state senator Jeff Jackson made national news when the Charlotte Democrat was the only legislator to show up for work in Raleigh after a snowstorm. Jackson took to Twitter to muse about all the things he was getting done as a legislature of one. His Tweets landed him on Buzzfeed and made him Rachel Maddow's Best New Thing in the World.
It turns out it really is a lot easier to get things done when Republican leaders stay home.
Jackson filed two bills in March meant to clean up some loopholes in existing laws, one concerning the definition of statutory rape and another regarding federal sex offenders. In Jackson's words, “low-hanging fruit.” No-brainer legislation with Republican co-sponsors. But the bills stalled in committee. One GOP legislator apologized, saying, “I’m really sorry for what’s about to happen.”
An editorial in the Charlotte Observer explains:
On Wednesday, Jackson’s fears were confirmed. The bills have both been added to the House abortion bill that would, among other things, extend the mandatory waiting period for abortions to 72 hours.
Why add two good bills on sex crimes to one bad and unrelated bill on abortion? Because now, when Democrats vote against the abortion bill, they’ll also be voting against tighter rules on sex offenders and statutory rapists. You can imagine the TV ads the next time one of those Democrats faces a Republican election challenge.
No one has a clue which Colonel Mustard did it, in the committee room, with the monkey wrench. As usual, Republican leaders won't say.
Since Jackson's bills have Republican support, and since the GOP holds supermajorities in both houses, Jackson's Republican co-sponsors will get their language passed regardless of how the Democrats vote. Perhaps the GOP leadership also wants to slap down the freshman Democrat for being uppity. These guys rarely do anything that is not at least a twofer.
This is not the first abortion restriction to advance since Pat McCrory won North Carolina's governorship in 2012. McCrory was blunt when asked in a debate what further abortion restrictions he would sign into law, answering, “None.” Then in July 2013, claiming, "This law does not further limit access," McCrory signed a bill that would "eliminate abortion coverage for public employees and individuals who have insurance through federal health care law's public exchanges ... ban sex-selective abortions and impose additional regulations on abortion clinics." Several clinics across the state shut their doors.
The 2013 bill was just a warmup. A final Senate vote on the newest abortion measure could come next week.