Yesterday, in the wake of the tenth Moral Monday demonstration at the General Assembly building, the New York Times editorial board published a short piece called "The Decline of North Carolina". It is an excellent, if short and necessarily incomplete, summary of what is going on here; and well worth the read.
Every Monday since April, thousands of North Carolina residents have gathered at the State Capitol to protest the grotesque damage that a new Republican majority has been doing to a tradition of caring for the least fortunate.
That's the opening line of the editorial, and a great way to introduce a national audience to this latest example of Republican extremism, and to the growing movement against that extremism.
Here's a bit more from the editorial, which again is well worth the read ...
In January, after the election of Pat McCrory as governor, Republicans took control of both the executive and legislative branches for the first time since Reconstruction. Since then, state government has become a demolition derby, tearing down years of progress in public education, tax policy, racial equality in the courtroom and access to the ballot.
The cruelest decision by lawmakers went into effect last week: ending federal unemployment benefits for 70,000 residents. Another 100,000 will lose their checks in a few months.
I also saw that Amy Goodman included the Moral Monday protests in yesterday's
Democracy Now broadcast. As this movement is building in North Carolina, the national attention it is getting, and that it is bringing upon the actions of the Republican legislature and governor, is growing as well. This is, after all, not just a North Carolina story.
This is a part of the story that is unfolding in Texas, Wisconsin, Ohio, Michigan, and other states where the more extreme elements of the Republican party have gained power on the state level and are exacting laws that, to use the words of the Times editorial board, are doing grotesque damage; and where the people are standing up and pushing back. This is a national story, and a national movement. We are bringing awareness to the people of this country to what happens when Republicans are given power at the state level; and we are encouraging them to think a bit more deeply, and to take action.
For more on these protests, see today's diary by Leslie Salzillo and yesterday's diary by MsSpentyouth.
Thank you New York Times and Amy Goodman for increasing national attention; and thanks to everyone who is supporting this movement, if North Carolina, in Texas, in every state where folks are standing up and pushing back.