Is North Carolina a Sign for What’s Coming in Politics?

At Instapundit, "THE HORROR IS REPUBLICANS TREATING THEIR OPPONENTS LIKE DEMOCRATS DO."

North Carolina Republicans are moving to strip powers from Governor-elect Roy Cooper.

The background is here, at the Charlotte Observer, "Cooper pushes back against legislature’s move to limit his powers: Legislative Republicans clashed fiercely with Democratic Gov.-elect Roy Cooper Thursday as the House and Senate voted to sharply limit his appointment powers – and Cooper vowed to sue them.

Meet Obama's Radical Lawyers Suing North Carolina Over Transgender House Bill 2

From J. Christian Adams, at Pajamas, "These Are the Radical DOJ Lawyers Suing North Carolina Over Transgender Bathroom Use."

Hateful, terrible people.

'Let Me Finish': Bill O'Reilly and Kirsten Powers Tangler Over Gender Dysphoria (VIDEO)

Kirsten Powers says that a transgender girl (born anatomically male) is "not a boy who wants to be a girl. It's a person who was born with male genitalia who experiences life as a woman -- or, as a female..."

O'Reilly and Powers are going at it over the Charlotte Observer's editorial last week, "Taking the fear out of bathrooms.

Watch, via Fox News, "Transgender bathroom controversy continues: The O'Reilly Factor' reacts to a new editorial in The Charlotte Observer."

North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory Defends State's So-Called 'Bathroom Bill' (VIDEO)

Watch, at CNN, "North Carolina governor defends bathroom law."

And at the Charlotte Observer, "Feds enter HB2 case against North Carolina with solid record of victories: But so-called Title VII lawsuits can take years to resolve."

BONUS: From Kelsey Harkness, at the Daily Signal, "51 Families Sue Over Illinois High School’s Transgender Bathroom Policy."

The culture war's really coming to a head. Frankly, the GOP should run on culture issues and turn the left's moral degeneracy into a national referendum. We could see Houston writ large.

Transgender Hoax Crime in Durham, North Carolina (VIDEO)

Well, it's N.C.

Couldn't be a coincidence, or anything, considering the Tar Heel State's in the news all the time.

At ABC11 WTVD Durham, "CITY OF DURHAM REFUTES TRANSGENDER WOMAN'S CLAIMS" (via Blazing Cat Fur):

On Saturday, ABC11 showed [gender dysphoric Alexis] Adams the surveillance video of her walking out of the women's restroom alone and not by security. Adams response was, "They're not in the shot."

ABC11 showed Adams a different camera angle-this time of her walking out of the transit center with a man that does not appear to be a security guard. Adams response was, "I can't. I guess you just had to be there to witness it. The security did escort-ask me to leave the premises. They may not have dragged me out of the bathroom but they were there."

Adams says she is sticking by her story, and that no one has influenced her to come forward.

What's not clear is if the janitor said something to Adams inside the restroom. The video only shows Adams going in the restroom alone and walking out alone.

The city is asking people to call police if they saw something to support Adams' allegation...

There's video at the link.

Obama Administration Threatens North Carolina Over State's New 'Bathroom Law' (VIDEO)

The homo-fascist steamroller plows on.

At NYT, "North Carolina Law May Risk Federal Aid":

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is considering whether North Carolina’s new law on gay and transgender rights makes the state ineligible for billions of dollars in federal aid for schools, highways and housing, officials said Friday.

Cutting off any federal money — or even simply threatening to do so — would put major new pressure on North Carolina to repeal the law, which eliminated local protections for gay and transgender people and restricted which bathrooms transgender people can use. A loss of federal money could send the state into a budget crisis and jeopardize services that are central to daily life.

Although experts said such a drastic step was unlikely, at least immediately, the administration’s review puts North Carolina on notice that the new law could have financial consequences. Gov. Pat McCrory of North Carolina had assured residents that the law would not jeopardize federal money for education.

But the law also represents a test for the Obama administration, which has declared that the fight for gay and transgender rights is a continuation of the civil rights era. The North Carolina dispute forces the administration to decide how aggressively to fight on that principle.

The North Carolina law created a mandatory statewide anti-discrimination policy, but it did not include specific protections based on sexual orientation or gender identity. The law prohibits transgender people from using public bathrooms that do not match the sexes on their birth certificates.

Anthony Foxx, the secretary of transportation, first raised the prospect of a review of federal funding in public remarks on Tuesday in North Carolina. The Department of Transportation provides roughly $1 billion a year to North Carolina. The New York Times then asked other federal agencies whether they were conducting similar reviews.

A Department of Education spokeswoman, Dorie Nolt, said on Friday that her agency was also reviewing the North Carolina law “to determine any potential impact on the state’s federal education funding.” She added, “We will not hesitate to act if students’ civil rights are being violated.”

The agency said it provided $4.3 billion to North Carolina last year for kindergarten through 12th grade as well as colleges.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development said it was doing a similar evaluation. “We’re reviewing the effects of the law on HUD funding allocated for North Carolina,” said Cameron French, a department spokesman.

White House officials had no comment...

More.

And watch, "Video Message from North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory."

'Bathroom Battles' Erupt Over Transgender Issue

At WSJ:

RALEIGH, N. C.—A broad new law here requires transgender people to use the public bathroom corresponding to the gender on their birth certificate, a rebuke of a move by the state’s largest city and the latest skirmish in the “bathroom battles” popping up in statehouses and city halls.

North Carolina on Wednesday became the first state to enact legislation restricting access to sex-segregated facilities on the basis of sex assigned at birth, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. At least 13 other states are considering similar bills, according to the nonpartisan group.

Several big cities have moved in the opposite direction. Earlier this month, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio signed an executive order requiring city agencies to allow people to use the city’s 2,200 public restrooms based on their self-declared gender identity. Philadelphia recently required private businesses to use gender-neutral signs on single-occupancy bathrooms.

But Houston voters overwhelmingly rejected a ballot measure last year to extend nondiscrimination protections to gay and transgender people.

Ten states are considering “religious-freedom” laws, according to NCSL, which could allow businesses to refuse to work with gay couples on religious grounds. North Carolina approved a law last year allowing magistrates to opt out of performing same-sex marriages.

The flurry of proposals on LGBT issues could be a backlash to changes playing out in federal court, particularly the recent legalization of gay marriage, said Maxine Eichner, a professor at the University of North Carolina School of Law. But, she added, “The story with LGBT rights has been surprising—not in that there’s backlash given how quickly views on this issue have changed, but that there hasn’t been more backlash.”

The Republican National Committee, the Washington, D.C.-based group that sets the national Republican platform, is encouraging state legislatures to push back against what it describes as the Obama administration’s federal overreach on “gender identity politics,” particularly in schools.

The RNC adopted a resolution in February encouraging legislatures “to enact laws that protect student privacy and limit the use of restrooms, locker rooms and similar facilities to members of the sex to whom the facility is designated.”

The Republican-led North Carolina General Assembly passed the bathroom bill in an emergency session Wednesday night. The move came in response to an ordinance passed last month by the predominantly Democratic Charlotte City Council. State lawmakers debated, approved and had the signature of Republican Gov. Pat McCrory within 12 hours.

Civil-rights advocates say the fast track left no room for public debate and resulted in a mishmash that repeals local protections against discrimination based on race, national origin, sex and sexual orientation. These advocates say that means it puts at risk billions of dollars in federal Title IX funding, which goes to an array of public programs, including education, and prohibits discrimination...

More.

Plus, watch at ABC News, "Transgender Law Signed by NC Governor."

Donald Trump Talks About Bringing Jobs Back Home, With Sean Hannity in North Carolina (VIDEO)

It's a tall order, Trump's claim that he's going to turn things around in the U.S. economy by adopting aggressive trade protectionism. Still, he's resonating with the people like mad.

Here's the New York Times' report on Trump's trade agenda from last week, "On Trade, Donald Trump Breaks With 200 Years of Economic Orthodoxy."

And watch Trump below with Hannity last week in North Carolina. The crowd was overfill, and thousands were still lined-up outside the venue, unable to get in. This is becoming a phenomenon. His campaign's becoming a social movement, and I expect it's even bigger and more spectacular than what bits here and there indicate during mainstream television coverage. Something's happening with the great unwashed silent majority. It's really amazing.

Asheville, N.C.: The New, Hip Destination in the South?

I had no idea about Asheville when I visited a couple of years back, but I liked it.

And now here's this at WSJ, "Asheville: The South’s Insider Destination":

HENRY JAMES WASN’T much taken with Asheville, the small mountain town in the Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina. The novelist spent a week there in 1905 as a guest at Biltmore, George Vanderbilt’s 250-room French Renaissance home. “It is a strange gorgeous colossus,” he wrote to Edith Wharton, “in a vast void of desolation.”

But Mr. James is one of the few who’ve had an unkind word to say about Asheville, one of America’s oldest holiday towns. It was a favorite of the Gilded Age glitterati, including Ms. Wharton, who arrived at Biltmore not long after Mr. James and dispatched a more enthusiastic letter (referencing a popular painting of the day) about the “divine landscape, ‘under a roof of blue Ionian weather.’ ”

Staring out the window of my friend Hap Endler’s snug Cessna on an impromptu aerial tour of Asheville and the surrounding Blue Ridge Mountains, I found myself siding with Ms. Wharton. It was a pale blue September afternoon and we were flying over wave after wave of mountain tops covered in oak, maple and pine trees, a deep-green sea dappled in gold and red.

When we flew over Asheville, set squarely in the middle of the French Broad River Valley, I could see just a few tall buildings, most dating to the 1920s, sprout from the compact downtown. I could even make out the small, leafy squares where young buskers play their guitars and washboards on one corner, while a group of young homeless men panhandle for coffee on another. We were up too high to see the sign outside the Indian restaurant, Chai Pani, that reads “Namaste, Y’all,” but I knew that it was there: I’d seen it that morning on my way to the Early Girl Eatery, where a tattooed waiter in a cowboy shirt served me fried-green tomatoes over grits.

Hap and his wife, Julia Weatherford, live just outside of Asheville, in the town of Black Mountain. They’ve entertained me for years with stories about their colorful corner of Appalachia (where Julia, eager to dye her own yarn, bought a flock of sheep), but I had yet to see it for myself. Then, in September, Hap called to give me the latest. “Asheville is hopping. New breweries and restaurants are popping up like crazy and a bunch of hotels are under construction,” he said. Come on down. I’ll take you to President Obama’s favorite barbecue place.” How could I refuse?

Though the city and surrounding mountains have long been a top vacation destination for Southerners and have drawn luminaries from Albert Einstein to Willem de Kooning over the years, it’s only now starting to catch on with travelers outside of the South. A growing number of East and West Coasters are flying in to hike, fly fish and kayak and to lap up the beer (Asheville has 18 breweries and counting). They’re also coming for the restaurants, galleries and the music, all found in surprising abundance for a town smaller than Nantucket...

Hmm, maybe I'll plan a vacation out there with my wife. I stayed at the Grove Park Inn, which is quite famous, apparently.

Keep reading, in any case.

Appalachian State University: Radical Leftist Dorm Bulletin Board Targets Christian, White 'Privileged' Students

More leftist totalitarianism from the ideology of hate.

At Campus Reform, "App State dorm bulletin board shames 'privileged' students."

And a Christian student at the university, Laurel Littler, was attacked on social media for posting the photo below. See Fox & Friends, "Shaming Students - Dorm Fliers Attack Christians & Males - Trouble With Schools."

Kay Hagan Missed Armed Services Committee Hearing to Attend Fundraiser (VIDEO)

Alas, she's not as vulnerable as I had hoped. But God willing she'll still be dumped out on her ass by election day.

At Free Beacon, "Hagan Confirms Attending NYC Fundraiser Over Islamic State Hearing."

Will Photo of Kay Hagan Greeting President Obama Doom Her Bid for Second Term?

At USA Today, "Hagan greets Obama: The politics of a photo op in North Carolina."

Photo: Obama and Sens Kay Hagan, Richard Burr in Charlotte, NC via @AP_Images pic.twitter.com/zQrHsMUQYU

— Charles Dharapak (@Dharapak) August 26, 2014

She was bashing Obama just yesterday. It's hard out there for a Democrat.

Sen. Kay Hagan & Obama Tuesday in North Carolina.... http://t.co/KrMEZN9H6H

— CAROLYN ZORN (@zorn17) August 25, 2014

President Obama heads to North Carolina today. And Kay Hagan has to walk a tightrope. http://t.co/m2TQd8WJb7

— Post Politics (@postpolitics) August 26, 2014

New Poll Shows Hagan and Tillis Statistically Tied in #NCSEN

Most analysts have been crowing about how little effect the outside ads have been having on Kay Hagan's standing in the race. Although now, with the new survey from USA Today and Suffolk University, folks are going to have to come up with another deflection point for the left's epic Democrat Party fail.

And remember, Tillis is supposed to be an objectively bad candidate, having supposedly alienated North Carolinians with a take-no-prisoners conservative reform agenda as Speaker of the North Carolina House (remember "Moral Mondays"?). Well, I guess that argument's not holding much water anymore either.

I noted the race was tightening the other day, when we had the blatantly partisan Democrat Party survey out from Public Policy Polling. But USA Today has long run a very reputable series of public opinion polls. And now they've got #NCSEN deadlocked.

Here's the report, from Susan Page, "Poll: In a sour N.C. Senate race, it's all but a tie":

ICYMI: In a sour #NCSen race, it's all but a tie http://t.co/mI8tyX3sKA via @SusanPage pic.twitter.com/dGR0br6Smj
— USA TODAY Washington (@USATWashington) August 21, 2014

North Carolina Sen. Kay Hagan is all but tied with Republican challenger Thom Tillis in a midterm showdown likely to help determine control of the Senate, a USA TODAY/Suffolk University poll finds.

The Tar Heel State survey, which launches a series looking at key Senate and gubernatorial contests across the country this fall, shows an electorate that is feeling a bit better about the economy but decidedly negative toward politics. Voters are inclined to have an unfavorable view of each candidate and overwhelmingly disapprove of the legislative bodies in which they serve.

Hagan leads Tillis, the speaker of the North Carolina General Assembly, 45%-43%, an edge within the poll's margin of error of +/-4.4 percentage points. Libertarian candidate Sean Haugh could hold the balance: His supporters, 5% overall, disproportionately identify Tillis as their second choice.

The impact of the hard-fought campaign already has left some scars.

Frazier Manning, a 75-year-old retiree from Hope Mills who was among those surveyed, is voting for Tillis in large part because he's dismayed by Hagan, especially for her support of the Affordable Care Act. "She voted for it, but she won't respond to me about how she's going to fix it," he says. "I think he'll do more to repeal it and replace it." ...

North Carolina has been a Republican-leaning state but one Democrats increasingly see as competitive. Hagan, elected in 2008, is one of the GOP's prime targets in its effort to gain six seats and with it control of the Senate. After Tuesday's primary in Alaska, where Dan Sullivan won the Republican nomination to challenge Sen. Mark Begich, the most closely watched Senate races now are set. Sullivan and other establishment-backed contenders defeated Tea Party primary opponents, a development expected to boost GOP prospects in November.

The USA TODAY/Suffolk University poll of 500 likely voters, interviewed by landline and cellphone, was taken Saturday through Tuesday. Other recent statewide surveys also have shown a tight race. Tillis had a lead of 1.7 points in four surveys over the past month tracked by realclearpolitics.com.

More.

'American Idol' Star Clay Aiken Announce Congressional Bid in North Carolina

At Riehl World News, "Clay Aiken Running Against NC Rep. Renee Ellmers (R)."

And at the Charlotte News & Observer, "Clay Aiken makes it official: He will run for Congress."

He's knowledgeable and well spoken --- and he's running a classic "outsider insurgent" campaign against Congresswoman Ellmers. Should be interesting.