Tom Campbell: It could happen again - don't let politicians enact their hateful agenda
Return with us now to those memorable days of 2016. The Carolina Panthers endured a disappointing loss in the Super Bowl. A January ice storm paralyzed parts of the state. Villanova’s Wildcats defeated the Carolina Tar Heels in the NCAA tournament in a buzzer-beater. New Congressional redistricting maps favored 10 Republicans to win, only because “we can’t make it 11.” Moral Monday protests began. Hurricane Matthew pummeled the southeast and wildfires ravaged the western part of our state. Gov. Pat McCrory, in the final year of his administration, was engaged in a fierce political election contest with Attorney General Roy Cooper to retain the governor’s office.
For the first time since Reconstruction, North Carolina was governed by Republicans beginning in 2012. The GOP had taken control of the legislature in 2011 and was initiating their conservative agenda, stymied by a Democratic governor with a veto stamp and a state supreme court dominated by Democrats. That changed in 2012, when former Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory was elected governor. This signaled the start of what we now know as the culture war.
Tom Campbell is a Hall of Fame North Carolina Broadcaster and columnist who has covered North Carolina public policy issues since 1965. His weekly half-hour TV program, “NC SPIN.” aired for 22 ½ years. Contact him at tomcamp@carolinabroadcasting.com.
