Editorial: Cuts to Stein's budget - partisan, foolish, spiteful

There’s a lot North Carolina’s legislative leaders could learn from the many civic groups and clubs that bring diverse business and community leaders together to work toward common goals to make their hometowns better places.

“Is it the truth? Is it fair to all concerned? Will it build good will and better friendships?  Will it be beneficial to all concerned?”

There’s no need to go far to find examples where legislative leaders like Phil Berger might have applied Rotary’s test and ended up serving the state better.

The cuts, which had not been publically discussed and were not in earlier House or Senate versions of the budget, appeared without explanation or justification in the slap-dash final budget that was shoved through the legislature during the final hours of the current session.

It is likely half the lawyers in the agency most responsible for protecting North Carolinians from violent and white-collar criminals, fraud, scammers and polluters will be out of work as a result of the draconian cuts.

So, taking the Rotary’s test – how about those four questions, Sen. Berger?

What do you have against Stein? That he’s a Democrat? That he is an Ivy League grad?  That you don’t like his father, a noted activist lawyer?  Doesn’t belong to the right clubs? You don’t like his voting record in the Senate?

You have not hurt Josh Stein. You have hurt thousands of North Carolina citizens.

Get with the program and get off your partisan podium Sen. Berger. When the General Assembly comes back into session on Aug. 3, one of the top priorities needs to be fully restoring the Department of Justice budget.