Opinion Roundup: Disavowing a disavowal, maps speak from the grave, Voter ID and more

Saturday, July 20, 2019 -- A round up of opinion, commentary and analysis on: Trump's disavowing a disavowal; ECU and its chanters; maps raise voice of a dead consultant; voter ID; contract controversy at DPI and more.

ANNIE KARNI: Trump’s Art of Disavowing a Disavowal (New York Times reports) -- After saying he was “not happy” with the “send her back” chant at his rally in North Carolina, President Trump reversed himself, just as he did in 2017 after the violence in Charlottesville, Va.

ALAN FRAM, DARLENE SUPERVILLE and JONATHAN LEMIRE: In reversal, Trump disavows criticism of chanting crowd (AP reports) -- President Donald Trump on Friday reversed his previous criticisms of a North Carolina campaign crowd that chanted "send her back" about a Somali-born congresswoman. Trump defended the rally-goers as "patriots" while again questioning the loyalty of four Democratic lawmakers of color. His comments marked a return to a pattern that has become familiar during controversies of his own making: Ignite a firestorm, backtrack from it, but then double down on his original, inflammatory position.

JASON BOYD: ECU officials send out statement after Trump campaign visit (WRAL-TV reports) -- East Carolina University officials issued a "message to the ECU community" on Friday in response to the campaign visit by President Donald Trump.

BRIAN MURPHY: ECU, site of ‘send her back’ chants, tries again to distance itself from Trump rally (McClatchy D.C. reports) -- East Carolina University distanced itself from President Donald Trump’s rally on its campus, sending a letter to the university community making it clear — once again — it did not “sponsor, host or endorse” the rally.

ECU acknowledges furor over rally chant (Greenville Daily Reflector reports) -- Feedback about President Donald Trump’s campaign rally at East Carolina University prompted campus leaders to reiterate that the institution’s role was limited to renting the venue.

DANA MILBANK: Republican lawmakers are behaving worse than Trump (Washington Post column) -- If only we could send them back. Republican lawmakers have long cut profiles in cowardice during the Trump presidency, but never before have the consequences of their leadership vacuum been as vivid. GOP legislators professed dismay when a crowd at President Trump’s North Carolina rally, riled by his attacks on a member of Congress who emigrated from Africa as a child, broke into a racist chant of “Send her back!”

GERALD SEIB: Race Remains the Great Unresolved Issue (Wall Street Journal column) -- The roiling controversy over President Trump’s tweet again shows that it is easier to highlight the country’s racial tensions than to heal them.

EMILY BADGER & NATE COHN: White Anxiety, and a President Ready to Address It (New York Times reports) -- Evidence of concern about demographic and cultural shifts is not new. What’s different is the willingness to politicize it openly.

JOHN HINTON: NC Democrats bash President Trump's controversial tweets while Republicans stay quiet (Winston-Salem Journal reports) -- President Donald Trump’s recent tweets and statements about four Democratic congresswomen have drawn the ire of local Democrats, but little response from local Republicans.

CHARLES DUNCAN: Did Trump pack 12,000 extra bodies into Minges at ECU? (Durham Herald-Sun reports) -- When Donald Trump’s campaign manager tweeted there were “over 20,000 here” from the coliseum in Greenville, the internet was quick to point out the capacity at the venue was less than 8,000.

First week over in N.C. gerrymandering trial (AP reports) -- Challengers of N.C. legislative districts say the computer files of a deceased Republican mapmaker show how GOP legislators approved boundary lines with illegal political bias.

BILLY CORRIHER: Can a racially gerrymandered legislature amend the N.C. constitution? (Facing South reports) --In February, Wake County Superior Court Judge Brian Collins agreed with the plaintiffs and ruled that the legislature "lost its claim to popular sovereignty" after the U.S. Supreme Court decision in 2017. Collins' ruling was limited to the two challenged amendments, which were approved by a very narrow margin. Since then, new evidence has emerged about the 2017 redistricting process from hard drives obtained from the daughter of deceased Republican redistricting expert Thomas Hofeller.

WILL DORAN: Dead GOP operative’s secret files on display in court (Durham Herald-Sun reports) -- Maps and charts from the formerly secret personal files of Thomas Hofeller, who drew the lines used to elect members of the state legislature, made an appearance in court. Maps being challenged as partisan gerrymanders in a trial were drawn by Hofeller in 2017, to replace a previous set of maps — also drawn by Hofeller — from 2011 that were overturned as unconstitutional due to racial gerrymandering. It was the first time Hofeller’s files had been seen by the general public. Leaders of the Republican-controlled legislature tried to keep the files from being used in the case or shown publicly, but the three-judge panel overseeing the case ruled earlier this month that the files are likely public records, and could be “necessary for the administration of justice in this case.”

Judges keep alive lawsuit against voter ID law (AP reports) -- N.C. judges are keeping alive a lawsuit that challenges the state's new photo voter identification law as discriminating against racial minorities, but the court won't stop IDs from being required in upcoming elections as the case grinds ahead.

ELIZABETH THOMPSON: Judges won’t block voter ID law for 2020, but lawsuit will continue (Durham Herald-Sun reports) -- A voter ID law can go forward for the 2020 presidential election, at least for now, despite arguments that it will hurt black voters.

TRAVIS FAIN: Voter ID lawsuit will go forward, but no preliminary injunction (WRAL-TV reports) -- Voter ID rules set to go into effect in 2020, but lawsuit to block them can continue, judges say.

LAURA LESLIE: NC lawmakers mull blocking cities, counties from regulating Airbnbs (WRAL-TV reports) -- Republican state House leaders are backing a measure to block cities and counties from regulating the use of residential properties as short-term rentals like Airbnbs.

MARK BOYLE: Bill could update training at schools to help students with seizures (WRAL-TV reports) -- A bill moving through the legislature could change the way school employees, teachers and staff are trained when it comes to students with seizures.

T. KEUNG HUI: Groups want investigation into how multi-million-dollar reading contract was awarded (Durham Herald-Sun reports) -- Advocacy groups are calling for a state investigation into how a multi-million-dollar contract was awarded that will change how the reading skills of North Carolina’s youngest students will be tested. State Superintendent Mark Johnson picked the computer-based Istation program for a three-year, $8.3 million contract to test K-3 students under the Read To Achieve program. But public records released so far show that Johnson overrode the recommendations from an evaluation committeethat he had formed that said the state should continue to use the Amplify mClass program.

CULLEN BROWDER: Battle over school testing company for NC students heats up (WRAL-TV reports) -- The battle continues over the state's shift to a new assessment tool for young readers as a parent advocacy group on Friday called for a deeper investigation into the bidding process.

Parent group speaks about school testing reform (WRAL-TV reports) -- NC Families For School Testing Reform, a parent advocacy group, is speaking to reporters about the state's reading assessment program.

KATE MURPHY: UNC System is undergoing leadership change. Could new chancellors be more like CEOs? (Durham Herald-Sun reports) -- When students return to campus next month, five of the 17 UNC System campuses will have either a new or interim chancellor at the helm. The system itself also is in search of a permanent leader, marking a significant time of transition for state universities. Harry Smith, chairman of the UNC Board of Governors, recognizes there’s been a lot of leadership change. But he said he and other board members see this as an opportunity to appoint university leaders who know how to successfully manage and grow a large business, manage its finances and make good long-term strategic decisions.

AARON THOMAS: High levels of E. coli remain in Neuse River (WRAL-TV reports) -- For the second week in a row, the Neuse River continues to show high levels of E. coli.

EMILY WILLIS: NC workers made the flag that astronauts planted on the moon in 1969, says town's mayor (Hickory Record reports) -- About 238,855 miles separate Earth from the moon, according to NASA. But a piece of Rhodhiss, N.C. has been on the moon’s surface for 50 years — at least according to town lore.

We still look longingly to the moon ... and far beyond (Wilmington Star-News) -- It seemed like the dawn of a new era 50 years ago when Neil Armstrong took that “one small step” onto the lunar surface, which he described as “fine and powdery.” Surely, there would soon be domed cities on the moon. Vice President Spiro Agnew talked of a manned mission to Mars by 2000, or within 10 years, or whenever. Instead, a big “meh”.