Opinion Roundup: Legislative slight-of-hand; cowardice; tossed smartphones and more

Thursday, Sept. 12, 2019 -- A round up of opinion, commentary and analysis on: legislative cowardice and budgets; tossing smart phones; storm relief; civil war museums; sifting through election results and more.

In Raleigh, a sad day for cherished principles of democracy (Wilmington Star-News) -- Republicans mark Patriots’ Day with contempt for representative government.

NC Republicans’ shameless theft of democracy (Durham Herald-Sun/Charlotte Observer) -- The verdict is now plain. North Carolina’s Republican legislative leaders — not actually leaders, but connivers — are beyond shame.

LATESHIA BEACHUM: Republicans vote to override a budget veto in half-empty Assembly during 9/11 remembrance (Washington Post reports) -- While most North Carolinians were remembering the lives lost on Sept. 11, 2001, the Republican leaders in the General Assembly took advantage of a half-empty House and voted to override the governor’s budget veto Wednesday morning. Gov. Roy Cooper said in a news conference that House Republicans called for a “surprise vote” while he and House members were honoring first responders on the anniversary of 9/11.

JENNIFER CALFAS: N.C. House GOP Overrides Budget Veto With Few Democrats Present (Wall Street Journal reports) -- Confusion erupted in N.C. when Republican lawmakers voted to override the Democratic governor’s veto of the state budget with only about half of the members of the state’s House of Representatives present.

'How dare you do this, Mr. Speaker': In surprise move, House overrides budget veto (WRAL-TV reports) -- In a surprise vote, the House overrode Gov. Roy Cooper's veto of the state budget in an early morning session Wednesday as some Democrats yelled at House Speaker Tim Moore from the floor.

Democrats cry 'cowardice' as GOP overrides NC budget veto (AP reports) -- Republicans in control of a nearly half-empty North Carolina House chamber on Wednesday held an unexpected vote to override Gov. Roy Cooper's veto of the state budget bill, prompting accusations of trickery and deception from Cooper and fellow Democrats.

KIRK ROSS: NC House votes to override budget veto as surprised Democrats cry foul (Carolina Public Press reports) -- Gov. Roy Cooper expresses outrage over “assault on democracy.” House Speaker Tim Moore rejects criticism, insists he followed the rules.

Senate has No plans to follow up on budget veto override this week (WRAL-TV reports) -- Senate leader says his chamber is "laser focused" on redistricting, won't deal with budget immediately after surprise House vote.

GINGER LIVINGSTON: Pitt County's Democratic legislators unhappy with veto override vote (Greenville Daily Reflector reports) -- The turmoil created by the surprise vote overriding the governor's veto of the state budget spilled over to Pitt County legislative delegation on Wednesday.

ROSE HOBAN: House budget override shrinks path to Medicaid expansion (N.C. Health News reports) -- The path for N.C. to extend health insurance benefits to low-income workers was always rough, but events at the legislature Wednesday made the path rockier.

House speaker says Medicaid expansion bill to move again (AP reports) -- A Republican version of a proposal to expand Medicaid to hundreds of thousands of additional working adults in North Carolina will get another look in the state House now that the chamber has voted to override Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper's budget veto.

ALEX GRANADOS: Gov. Cooper on veto override says ‘Republicans waged an assault on our democracy’ (EdNC reports) -- The murky fate of the education provisions in the state budget got a little clearer this morning when House Republicans held a surprise vote to override Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto and passed it 55-15. There are 120 members in the House, a large chunk of whom were absent.

DAWN VAUGHN, LAUREN HORSCH & PAUL SPECHT: NC House overrides budget veto in surprise vote with almost half of lawmakers absent (Durham Herald-Sun reports) -- Gov. Roy Cooper slams Republicans for holding the budget veto override vote while “the state was honoring” 9/11 victims and first responders.

PAUL SPECHT, DAWN VAUGHN & ADAM WAGNER: NC GOP rocked the legislature with a surprise vote. What exactly happened, and why? (Durham Herald-Sun reports) -- How a vote that had been on the calendar since July 9 became a surprise on Sept. 11.

Wilmington-area legislators spar over surprise N.C. budget vote (Wilmington Star-News reports) -- Rep. Butler: ‘You shall not do this to democracy in North Carolina’

Unprecedented? House's budget veto override vote almost defies comparison (WRAL-TV reports) -- "It's been known to be done this way," one former lawmaker said of votes without warning.

JOHN HINTON: Sen. Lowe apologizes after run-in with reporter  (Winston-Salem Journal reports) -- State Sen. Paul Lowe, D-Forsyth, apologized Wednesday afternoon for his actions after he confronted a reporter earlier in the day in the state Legislative Building in Raleigh.

NC senator apologizes after reporter says he was assaulted (AP reports) -- A North Carolina state senator has apologized after an online news reporter said the lawmaker assaulted him within the Legislative Building and threw his phone.

N.C.'s Disaster Relief Fund approaches $6 million (AP reports) -- Gov. Roy Cooper's office says donations to North Carolina's Disaster Relief Fund following Hurricane Florence have reached nearly $6 million.

Mayor seeks public input on planned Civil War history center (AP reports) -- The mayor of Fayetteville wants the public's input on a proposed Civil War history center.

JONATHAN MARTIN, RICHARD FAUSSET & MAGGIE HABERMAN: N.C. Election Shows How Political Lines Are Drawn. And They Are Fixed. (New York Times reports) -- The Republican candidate won Tuesday’s special election, with help from President Trump, but the chasm between voting groups has widened, a problem for both parties.

E.J. DIONNE: N.C.’s election results provide a thought experiment for 2020 (Washington Post column) -- President Trump’s tweeting of a “Trump 2024” meme should concentrate the minds of his opponents. So should the results of N.C.’s special congressional election Tuesday. Perhaps it’s a mistake to take the first too seriously. But it does underscore the utterly abnormal, chaotic, norm-breaking and corrupt nature of this administration. We have a leader who, like some of his dictator friends abroad, would love to be president for life. This means he will do everything he can to divide the country by sowing anxiety and intergroup hatred, something he did with gusto on the eve of the Tar Heel State’s balloting.

HENRY OLSEN: Special election is great news for Trump’s reelection chances (Washington Post column) -- Republican Dan Bishop’s narrow win in Tuesday’s redo election in North Carolina’s 9th Congressional District isn’t just good news for House Republicans. Despite Bishop’s small, two-percentage-point margin of victory, it’s a rare bit of positive news for President Trump’s reelection chances.

In wake of fraud scandal, voting by mail dropped by two-thirds in 9th District (WRAL-TV reports) -- The use of mail-in absentee ballots - the voting method at the heart of an election fraud scandal that triggered the do-over election in the 9th Congressional District - fell by more than two-thirds across the district, according to the latest data from the State Board of Elections.

NATALIE ANDREWS: Democrats, GOP Defend Performance in N.C. Special Election (Wall Street Journal reports) -- Both political parties found something to brag about after North Carolina’s special election, as Republicans celebrated victoryin a longtime GOP district and Democrats took the tight race as a sign they could hold the House in 2020.

Dan Bishop's Strategist: 'We Spent 75 To 80%' Of Resources In Eastern Counties (WFAE-FM reports) -- Jim Blaine, Dan Bishop’s chief strategist, decided not to focus on Mecklenburg and Union counties - even though they are home to more than 60% of the voters in the 9th Congressional District.

Tobacco farmers frantically trying to salvage Dorian-damaged crop (WRAL-TV reports) -- Hurricane Dorian's winds and rains ravaged farm fields across eastern North Carolina, and tobacco farmers are now working to salvage what they can of this year's crop.

LAUREN OHNESORGE: Golden LEAF Foundation names new president (Triangle Business Journal reports) -- The Golden LEAF Foundation has named Scott Hamilton as its third president, taking the place of Dan Gerlach, who left to serve as interim chancellor of East Carolina University. In a prepared statement, Hamilton, who has served as the executive director of the Appalachian Regional Commission since 2014, said he was “honored” to be selected for the position.