Opinion Roundup: The 'chant', budget battle continue, energy economy grows and more

Friday, July 19, 2019 -- A round up of opinion, commentary and analysis on: the racist chant heard round-the-world; continuing budget battles; Cooper's White House visit; the N.C. clean energy economy growth and more.

‘Send her back!’ chant: Tillis says Trump doesn’t control crowd, while Rep. Walker fears it will define GOP (Wasington Post reports) -- Sen. Thom Tillis and Rep. Mark Walker were in attendance at President Trump’s rally in N.C., where the crowd’s chant of “send her back!” targeting Somali-born Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) rang in the air unchallenged. Tillis defended the president, saying he had no control over the crowd and equating the event to a rock concert. Walker, a former pastor who has worked in refugee camps, called the chants offensive and said such rhetoric needs to stop before it defines the Republican Party.

ALAN FRAM & DARLENE SUPERVILLE: Trump falsely claims he tried to stop 'send her back!' chant (AP reports) -- President Donald Trump on Thursday chided his supporters who chanted “send her back” when he questioned the loyalty of a Somali-born congresswoman, joining widespread criticism of the campaign crowd’s cry and his Republican allies worried about political blowback from the angry scene. In a week that has corkscrewed daily with hostile exchanges over race and love of country , Trump also claimed he had tried to stop the chant at a reelection event Wednesday night in North Carolina — though video shows otherwise. The crowd’s “send her back” shouts resounded for 13 seconds as Trump made no attempt to interrupt them. He paused in his speech and surveyed the scene, taking in the uproar.

SALVADOR RIZZO: Trump falsely claims he tried to stop ‘Send her back!’ chants about Rep. Ilhan Omar (Washington Post Face Checker) -- President Donald Trump got this ball rolling with his tweets and remarks telling Omar and other lawmakers to “go back” to their countries. Video of the rally shows Trump did not try to stop the “Send her back!” chants about Omar. He stood passively onstage and waited for the chants to die down on their own before resuming his speech. Within seconds, he was back to criticizing Omar. Minutes later, he suggested again that Omar and other critics leave the United States.

LINDA QIU: Examining Trump's claims about Rep. Ilhan Omar (New York Times reports) -- President Trump’s attacks on Rep. Ilhan Omar, Democrat of Minnesota, have been the centerpiece of his political strategy in recent days, a tactic that led his supporters at a raucous rally in North Carolina on Wednesday to erupt into chants of “send her back.”

JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS, MAGGIE HABERMAN & MICHAEL CROWLEY: Trump Disavows ‘Send Her Back’ Chant as G.O.P. Frets Over Ugly Phrase (New York Times reports) -- Nervous Republicans, from senior members of Congress to his own daughter Ivanka, urged President Trump on Thursday to repudiate the “send her back” chant directed at a Somali-born congresswoman during his speech the night before at a rally in North Carolina, amid widespread fears that the rally had veered into territory that could hurt their party in 2020.

ASHLEY PARKER: Racist tweet became a rally chant in 3 days (Washington Post reports) -- President Trump may have aimed for deniability — but his supporters seemed to know what he meant in his comments about four congresswomen of color.

TOLUSE OLORUNNIPA: Trump backers’ new rally cry reverberates across a nation fraught with racial tension (Washington Post reports) -- The chant unleashed emotional responses from people across the country, with some outraged by and others supportive of the president’s latest polarizing act.

ALAN FRAM & DIARENE SUPERVILLE: Trump disavows 'sen her back!' chant as Omar stands defiant (AP reports) -- President Donald Trump has chided his supporters who chanted “send her back” when he questioned the loyalty of a Somali-born congresswoman, joining widespread criticism of the campaign crowd’s cry after Republicans warned about political blowback from the angry scene.

KAREN TUMULTY: Trump is building his reelection campaign on a foundation of racism (Washington Post column) -- Let’s give that hateful crowd of Trump supporters in Greenville, N.C., some credit here. With their chants of “send her back,” about a nonwhite member of Congress who happens to be an immigrant, they have laid bare the fact that President Trump is building his hopes for a second term on a foundation of racism.

DAVID MARIANISS: Racist chant is not what patriotism looks like. This is. (Washington Post column) -- The spectacle of men and women at President Trump’s rally in North Carolina on Wednesday chanting “ Send her back !” depressed me so much that I could only watch for 10 seconds before turning the channel to a baseball game for mental relief. To see the president intentionally provoke hateful cheers against Ilhan Omar, a Somali refugee, U.S. citizen and elected member of Congress, was a reminder to me that America has been through this too many times in too many ways.

KEVIN LIPTAK & LAURA LESLIE: TGrump claims he disavows 'send her back' chant despite remaining silent at NC rally (CNN/WRAL-TV reports) -- President Donald Trump claimed to be unhappy that the crowd at a Wednesday night rally in Greenville broke out into chants of "send her back" as he denigrated a Democratic congresswoman."I was not happy with it. I disagree with it. But again, I didn't say that, they did," Trump said. The chant was aimed at Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, who was born in Somalia but is a naturalized U.S. citizen. Omar is one of four liberal U.S. House members that Trump targeted in tweets over the weekend, telling them to "go back where you came from" – the other three all are native Americans – because of their criticism of his policies.

MICHAEL KRAUS: Trump’s N.C. Supporters Were Ready to Unload (Politico reports) -- Whatever President Donald Trump was planning to do at his rally, the crowd outside Minges Coliseum was ready for it and ready to ramp it up. More than three days after President Donald Trump triggered national outrage with tweets telling four Democratic congresswomen of color to “go back” to the countries “from which they came,” the feeling among the throng mustering in the sweltering heat at ECU was that the president had ample rope before he even came close to offending them.

CATHERINE LUCEY, LINDSAY WISE & MICHAEL BENDER: Trump Says He Disagrees With Rally’s ‘Send Her Back’ Chant (Wall Street Journal reports) -- UJnder pressure from Republican lawmakers and members of his own staff, President Trump said he disagreed with supporters who chanted “send her back” about a congresswoman born in Somalia, one of a quartet of freshman Democrats the president had singled out with a similar tweet.

Trump Has Regrets (Wall Street Journal) -- Donald Trump rarely admits a mistake, much less an overstatement, so we’ll take the regret he expressed Thursday at the chant of “send her back” during his Wednesday rally as the moral equivalent of an apology. Let’s hope his supporters get the message, and that Mr. Trump stops egging them on.

‘Send her back’: A dark reminder of who we are (Charlotte Observer) -- It happened in the first half of Wednesday’s speech. Donald Trump, our president, began to talk about Rep. Ilhan Omar, a Democrat from Minnesota who was among the four women of color he had attacked Sunday in a racist tweet. Everyone knew Trump would speak about the women at some point to the Greenville, North Carolina, crowd. Did we know what would come next? “Send her back.” The chant rose quickly from a handful of voices to a chorus of bigotry. It was a chilling moment. It was "lock her up" in a white hood. It was dispicable.

FERREL GUILLORY: Schools as instruments to fight intolerance and indifference (EdNC column) -- In my first year of high school, as I recall, a kindly, soft-spoken teacher monitored outdoors recess. When adolescent horse-play became too rowdy, he would admonish students with a suppressed chuckle and say, “Act like a white boy.” There were no black boys to take offense in that Catholic school in 1961. Desegregation would begin three years later. The teacher probably didn’t consider himself racist. Still, his admonishment flowed from the ubiquity of racial distinctions drawn in even casual conversations in the Jim Crow era. In outbursts on Twitter and on the White House lawn, President Trump has often brought racist tropes and stereotypes of the mid-20th Century into the public discourse of second decade of the 21st. In contrast to my former teacher, he speaks in incendiary anger rather than gentle rebuke.

City reacts to negative press about Trump rally (Greenville Daily Reflector reports) -- City leaders defended Greenville as a diverse, inclusive and compassionate community on Thursday in response to a growing wave of condemnation from all corners of the country prompted by chants of "send her back" during President Donald J. Trump’s rally at ECU’s Minges Coliseum.

Rally chant spark outrage; city leaders respond (Greenville Daily Reflector reports) -- City leaders defended Greenville as a diverse, inclusive and compassionate community on Thursday in response to a growing wave of condemnation from all corners of the country prompted by chants of "send her back" during President Donald J. Trump’s rally at ECU’s Minges Coliseum.

DAWN VAUGHN: Senate Republicans unite against Cooper, say budget is 'hostage' to Medicaid expansion (Durham Herald-Sun reports) -- Senate Republicans didn't like what Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper said about their leaders. They responded in a letter signed by all 29 Republican members of the state Senate, saying that Cooper is holding the budget hostage over Medicaid expansion. Talking to reporters after hosting a Medicaid expansion roundtable, Cooper said it was Republican leadership, not rank-and-file legislators, who are holding up budget negotiations. On Thursday, every Republican Senate member signed a letter to Cooper saying he "mischaracterized our body's budget position."

ALEX GRANADOS: Virtual charter school gets legislative approval to grow, but opponents push for a veto (EdNC/WRAL-TV reports) -- The Senate approved a bill that would, among other things, get rid of the enrollment cap on one of the state's two virtual charter schools and allow it to grow its population by 20 percent annually if it so chose.

NICK OCHSNER: GOP districts gain big with budget pork barrel projects (WBTV reports) -- The budget written by Republicans in the General Assembly includes millions of dollars in earmarks for local park projects and water and sewer infrastructure improvements in communities across the state. A study found nearly all of the earmarked money is slated to go to Republican districts if the current budget were to become law.

ELIZABETH FRIEND: Drug Dealers Could Face Murder Charges Under 'Death By Distribution' Law (WUNC-FM reports) -- A new state law creates harsher penalties for those who illegally sell drugs that result in a fatal overdose. Under the "death by distribution" law, drug dealers can be charged with second degree murder if someone overdoses on an illegal substance they've sold.

A state musuem for Wilmington? It could happen (Wilmington Star-News) -- Should the state take over the Cape Fear Museum? Under Senate Bill 525, a super-vague measure introduced by Sen. Jerry Tillman of Archdale, and quietly passed last month and signed into law, the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources is directed simply to “evaluate the feasibility of operating a museum in southeastern North Carolina” and report back.

ADAM WAGNER: During White House visit, Cooper pushes for hurricane relief funds to reach NC (Durham Herald-Sun reports) -- During a White House visit, Gov. Roy Cooper expressed concern to Trump administration officials about how long it is taking disaster relief grants to reach North Carolina, including a $168 million package that state officials have been awaiting for more than a year. "We know that there are hundreds of millions of dollars in federal money that have been appropriated, but we cannot access that money yet until a Federal Register is posted," Cooper said by phone Thursday shortly after leaving the meeting.

CULLEN BROWDER: Highway Patrol troopers transferred amid cheating investigation (WRAL-TV reports) -- At least five State Highway Patrol troopers have been transferred out of Wake County and into other divisions as patrol leaders investigate allegations of cheating during last month's promotions testing.

REV. WILLIAM BARBER: The racist history of tipping (Politico column) -- There’s a provision in the legislation to raise the minimum wage—eliminating the subminimum tipped wage—that corrects a wrong that goes much further back than the previous federal minimum wage increase. For workers regularly making more than $30 a month in tips, employers can currently pay as little as $2.13 an hour. That subminimum wage has been frozen at this level for decades. Should the Raise the Wage Act pass the House, it will mark the first time that either chamber of Congress has moved to eliminate the subminimum wage, which not only deepens economic inequalities but also happens to be a relic of slavery.

GARY ROBERTSON: GOP Rep. Grange enters 2020 governor's race (AP reports) -- A state legislator entered the 2020 Republican gubernatorial race Thursday, a decision that denies Lt. Gov. Dan Forest a cleared path to the GOP nomination after preparing for years for a bid.

Grange announces run for governor (Wilmington Star-News reports) -- State Rep. Holly Grange (R), who represents District 20 for northern and northeastern New Hanover County, announced her candidacy for governor

TRAVIS FAIN: GOP lawmaker running for governor (WRAL-TV reports) -- State Rep. Holly Grange jumped into the 2020 governor's race, announcing a long-rumored run and giving Republicans a second candidate.

JAY PRICE: When Marines fought ... Each Other (WUNC-FM reports) -- On a hot summer night 50 years ago, while other U.S. troops were fighting in Vietnam, dozens of Marines on Camp Lejeune were fighting each other in an explosion of racial violence.

JASON DEBRUYN: NC Farmers Get $105M To Offset Trade War Loss (WUNC-FM reports) -- The tariff war between The White House and Beijing has hurt N.C. farmers. Even farmers who support President Donald Trump's tactic on trade will say as much. Now, the federal government is trying to make impacted farmers whole.

KELLY HINCHCLIFFE: NC charter, private, home schools growing as traditional schools continue losing students (WRAL-TV reports) -- Enrollment in charter, private and home schools in North Carolina continues to rise. Meanwhile, traditional public schools' numbers have continued to fall, according to data posted by the state.

N.C. Clean energy sector growth 3.5%, to 110,000 jobs (WRAL-TV/TechWire reports) -- N.C. added some 3,700 clean tech energy jobs in 2018, increasing the industry sector’s employment total to some 110,000, according to a new report. The “clean vehicles sector” led the way, generating more than 1,000 jobs, a 19.5 percent jump from 2017, to a total of 7,200. And of the overall jobs total, some 25 percent are in rural areas. The report’s census of jobs” is more than double the total reported just weeks ago by the N.C. Sustainable Energy Association, which cited 43,000 jobs.

KRISTI STURGILL: ‘My friend died.’ County leaves homeless outside in extreme heat despite health risks (Charlotte Observer reports) -- Mecklenburg County hasn't opened a summer cooling center since 2012 despite high temperatures that have reached 100 degrees. Mecklenburg County manager Dena Diorio tells The Charlotte Observer that there just hasn't been a need, but the city's homeless residents say otherwise.

EMERY DALESIO: Duke Energy sued for 2014 coal ash spill environmental harm (AP reports) -- The federal, North Carolina and Virginia governments asked a court Thursday to declare the country's largest electricity company liable for environmental damage from a leak five years ago that left miles of a river shared by the two states coated in hazardous coal ash.

KIRK ROSS: Swamp No More: New Plan Ahead for Cpe Fear River (Coastal Review reports) -- No longer classified as a swamp, work is to begin on a new plan to address the lower Cape Fear River water quality problems that prompted the attempted regulatory end run.

NADIA RAMIAGAN: Business leaders gather in Charlotte to share climate-change perspectives (Public News Service reports) -- Storms, hurricanes, and flooding have cost cities around the country billions of dollars, and today in Charlotte, business leaders – and GOP Congressman Patrick McHenry of Cherryville – are meeting to talk about how climate change is impacting the finance and business community. Experts say real estate, infrastructure, and electric utilities sectors are especially vulnerable to rising sea levels, record-high temperatures and increasing extreme weather events.