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Wednesday Roundup
posted at 2008-04-09 23:02 | Last modified 2008-04-10 08:25
"Idol"-ing
All three top presidential candidates were allegedly going to make appearances on tonight’s “Idol Gives Back.” After two and a half grueling hours, I never saw them. Did I miss it? What ever happened to seeking the "change" demographic?
I saw plenty of paid ads, though: Obama had three, Clinton one, Perdue one, Moore none.
Still no word on whether Obama has confirmed he’ll appear at the NC Dems/CBS April 27th debate. (Reuters’ John Whitesides says it might be over by then, anyway.) But event planners started releasing tickets today, regardless. More here.
Wright sentence
Thanks for all the feedback on last night’s entry about Wright’s sentencing, both in my inbox and at various cross-postings. (This is why I put these questions out there.) Since I got a lot of similar responses, I’ll just reply here.
Yes, their respective pleas could’ve had something to do with it.
Decker, who got the lightest sentence, pleaded guilty in federal court and cooperated, too.
Black, in the middle, pleaded guilty to a federal charge of accepting an illegal gratuity, but entered an Alford plea in state court. An SBI agent told me he hadn’t been terribly cooperative.
Wright, who got the longest sentence, pleaded not guilty. He didn’t cooperate, but then again, it doesn’t sound like there was an ongoing investigation to which he would’ve had much to offer. Defense attorney Doug Harris says as far as he knows, the state never offered Wright a plea deal. Wake ADA David Sherlin could neither confirm nor deny that.
Then there’s Black’s million-dollar fine. As one reader pointed out, even if you can afford a fine like that, it’s still gotta hurt. Does giving up a million dollars hurt as much as jail time? I wouldn’t be in a position to know.
And then there’s remorse. As I pointed out last night, both Black and Decker expressed profound regret for their actions. Wright didn’t. Then again, he’s still under the shadow of a second prosecution for campaign finance violations, so maybe he had reason not to admit guilt.
I think Charlotte’s Jack Betts explains it best: sentencing comes down to a constellation of factors which sometimes add up to decisions that don’t necessarily make much sense in relation to each other. His comments are here.
What strikes me isn't the disparity between federal and state courts, or plea deals, or skin color, or party. It's the fact that, as far as I can tell, our laws at both levels carry harsher sentences for lying to banks than to voters. Not to be pollyanna about it, but that just doesn't seem right. And it's not just a matter of moral intangibles, either. The folks who run the legislature get to decide how the state will spend about $20B every year. That's public money - and it's a lot more dough than the average loan officer controls.
Ratings
The NC Center for Public Policy Research released its effectiveness rankings for the 2007 legislature this week. They were supposed to be embargoed till Thurs AM, but since Dome decided to disregard the embargo, it’s a moot point. (Although as NCCPPR's Sam Watts says, that's still "better than being chilipunked.")
So…
Senate: No big surprises. Prez pro tem Marc Basnight still tops the list, as he has for years. The only real change in the top ten is a slight reshuffling between two budget chairs. Linda Garrou, who’s sticking around, is up one over Walter Dalton, who's leaving the Senate to run for Lt. Gov.
House: BIG changes, albeit largely in line with #1-ranked Joe Hackney’s rise to the Speakership.
Big ups: The Ds...
Melanie Wade Goodwin (D-Richmond) jumped 42, from 73rd last time to 31st this session.
Grier Martin (D-Wake) up 38, from 68th to 30th.
Pricey Harrison (D-Guilford) up 34, from 72nd to 38th.
...and the Rs
Minority leader Skip Stam jumped 32, breaking into the top 10 from 42nd last session.
Dale Folwell (R-Forsyth), up 31. He was 63rd last session, 32nd this time.
Big downs:
Thomas Wright (D-New Hanover), down 106 from 13th last session to rock-bottom 119th in 2007.
Beverly Earle (D-Meck), down 41 from 12th in the 2005 session to 50th this year.
Robert Grady (R-Onslow), down 31 from 49th last session to 80th this time.
Showing up: < 90%?
The NCCPPR survey also included attendance rankings.
Senate:
Best attendance: a five-way tie among Alamance Dem Tony Foriest, Wake Republican Neal Hunt, Durham Dem Floyd McKissick, Wake Republican Richard Stevens, and Nash Dem AB Swindell. All had 100%.
Worst: Meck Dem Malcolm Graham, present only 74% of the time. Second worst was Edgecombe Dem Clark Jenkins, and third worst was Wake Dem Janet Cowell.
House:
Best attendance: a 14-way (!!) tie for perfect attendance among eight Dems (Cotham, Crawford, England, Michaux, Owens, Tolson, R. Warren, and Yongue) and six Republicans (Allred, Blust, Cleveland, Dollar, Frye, Holloway).
Worst: a tie between Randolph Republican Harold Brubaker and Forsyth Dem Earline Parmon, both present only 77 percent of the time. Rounding out the bottom five: New Hanover Dem Thomas Wright, Yadkin Republican George Holmes, and Harnett Republican David Lewis.
Update : Fay-O's Paul Woolverton points out the attendance data isn't always 100% accurate - some lawmakers don't always request an excused absence, even when they could.
Comments? Drop me a line.
