I'm spending the afternoon at what has recently become my home-away-from-home, the N.C. General Assembly. Setting up housekeeping in one of the tiny booths of the Telephone Center here was never my intention, but when I shut that little door behind me, I'm safe from much of Teh Crazy that's been going on here for the past three months.
You've probably heard of Teh Crazy. Since January's swearing-in of our new Republican and Tea party legislators, we've been besieged with more than 600 bills so full of nuttiness that they make Pearson's Nut Goodies seem like a safer airline and classroom snack. A resolution to establish a state religion. A bill requiring elementary students to learn cursive writing. A two-year "waiting period," replete with mandatory counseling and mediation, to discourage divorce (and encourage what?). Permitting people to bring loaded weapons to church and to restaurants that serve alcohol. Eliminating oversight of publicly funded charter schools. Reneging on land deals that took decades of study and negotiation to create. Rezoning school board districts without even a census as a foundation, requiring some elected school board members to re-campaign halfway through their terms and allowing other members (guess which party?) to serve for six additional years without an election. Telling the Public Staff of the N.C. Utilities Commission that they cannot address issues of the public. Removing the state geologist from a task force on fracking. A significant tax penalty for parents of dependent college/university students who prefer to vote where they attend school rather than from their parents' addresses.
Yeah. It's been like that and I don't drink, so I'm hiding out in this telephone booth ensconced in the heart of the General Assembly building to catch you up a bit. Take a big squiggly orange breath and follow me through the rabbit hole.
One thing I've learned this week is that even if we disagree with a lawmaker on 99.9% of issues, there's likely at least one teeny thing we can agree on. In the case of Rep. Nelson Dollar (Republican, House District 36), I've been trying for more than a decade to find anything we could see eye-to-eye on. But lo and behold, Rep. Dollar and I agree that Gov. Pat McCrory's plan to privatize North Carolina's Medicaid program by forcing Medicaid users to choose from a list of for-profit HMOs is not good for North Carolina.
Sure, Rep. Dollar's reason for scorning the idea is that one of his favorite programs, Community Care of North Carolina, will be threatened by the for-profit medical giants Gov. McCrory wants to place in the field. But still, we got his attention in a room filled with corporate lobbyists by saying loudly, "Rep. Dollar, we have common ground when it comes to medical choices for Medicaid recipients." Two handshakes later, we had a meeting scheduled with the representative to discuss public safety and common-sense gun legislation. He's probably one of the lawmakers least likely to sponsor or support anything derived from common sense, but maybe an ego boost could get our foot in the door.
Sen. Tamara Barringer (Republican, Senate District 17) is brand-new to the General Assembly after winning her seat as a widely hailed "Tea Party patriot." She ran as a small-government proponent who wanted to trim state agencies, commissions, and task forces. But for more than a decade, the UNC professor was also a foster parent for children with severe medical challenges.
Our group of citizen lobbyists advocating common-sense gun reform has found common ground with Sen. Barringer on matters of child safety and health, as well as our shared focus on mental health and services for struggling families.
At first, it seemed a little tougher to find something to share with Sen. Austin Allran (Republican, Senate District 42). Last week, I explored the basis for "his" bill -- which, as it turns out, isn't really his bill but a bill drafted by a lobbyist at the ultra-conservative N.C. Family Policy Council.
Sen. Allran and his office aren't very happy with me right now. But one thing he and I can agree on is that the "Health Marriage" Act (ironic quotes added) he's sponsored is not even in the same universe as "ready for consideration." Not until he provides objective data on the intersect between domestic violence and the period around which a couple separates/divorces. Or until state and municipal law-enforcement agencies can weigh in on how frequently they are called in when domestic disputes are exploited as the basis for hostage standoffs and murders. Or until there are projections of how many low-income couples will be dissuaded from divorce because of the onerous financial burdens of paying for two years of mandatory counseling and mediation. Or until HIPAA guidelines are reviewed to determine whether it's a violation to provide documentation about a spouse's drug/alcohol additions coupled with refusal to seek treatment for such.
So it's not all bad news all the way down here in at the North Carolina General Assembly. Here in my little phone booth, where my electronic devices are charging and I'm enjoying a swig of cold water while tapping away, the crazy primal scream for a nonoperational repeal of the 20th and 21st centuries is less of a scream than a last gasp of relevance.