Political Priorities on display this week
Concert tickets vs. illegal immigrants voting. Plus, period power and accountability.
A Gallup Poll from January 2023 showed the Americans thought government was the top issue facing the country. This week, the priorities of political parties nationally and in North Carolina arguably underscore that finding as still valid.
One party made a big deal out of suing a concert ticket distributor while another was blocking illegal immigrants from voting in U.S. elections.
On May 23, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the Department of Justice had filed a federal lawsuit against Live Nation Entertainment and its wholly owned subsidiary Ticketmaster.
"We allege that Live Nation has illegally monopolized markets across the live concert industry in the United States for far too long. It is time to break it up," said Garland during a press conference.
The civil antitrust lawsuit, filed in the Southern District of NY, alleges that Live Nation created a monopoly on live event ticket prices across the United States.
The lawsuit includes 30 state and district attorneys general, including NC.
NC Attorney General Josh Stein, who is running for governor, jumped on Garland's Live Nation news in an X post, announcing he was suing the ticket company for antitrust claims.
“Live Nation is using its monopoly power to force North Carolinians to pay more than they should for tickets to live events,” said Stein in a press release. “Tickets to shows are already expensive enough. I will not allow any company to use its monopoly power to charge people even more. That’s why I am bringing today’s action.”
While Garland was suing over concert tickets, Republicans in the House passed a measure to block illegal immigrants from voting in Washington, D.C. elections.
52 Democrats joined in voting with 210 Republicans to approve it while 143 voted the measure down.
Among the Democrats voting no were three from North Carolina; Reps. Alma Adams (NC-12), Valerie Foushee (NC-04), and Deborah Ross (NC-02).
Rep. Jeff Jackson, who is running against Rep. Dan Bishop to become NC's attorney general, did not vote.
Rep. Greg Murphy also did not vote; however that same day he had announced he was stepping away to have surgery for a tumor that had been located at the base of his skull.
Additionally, the NC General Assembly dropped two bills aimed at ending a state constitutional amendment that would only allow U.S. citizens to vote in elections.
HB 1073 Kidwell, Loftis, Sossamon and Pike (Primary Sponsors)
HB 1074 D. Hall, Moore, Bell and Gillespie (Primary Sponsors)
The bills appear to be identical and the latter, 1074, is likely to be the one to advance given the primary sponsors include House Speaker Tim Moore (R-Kings Mountain) and the man likely to succeed Moore as speaker, Rep. Destin Hall (R-Caldwell).
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In legislative news, women's menstrual products were the topic of a press conference held by Rep. Julie von Haefen (D-Wake) featuring the "Period Power Coalition," in celebration of "Period Poverty Awareness Week."
During the press conference, von Haefen said the bill she put forth was about "basic dignity," and referred to the topic as "menstrual equity work."
"Basic dignity and healthcare are not luxuries. They are fundamental rights. And no one should have to skip school because they cannot afford period products," said von Haefen. "We're here today to raise awareness about what period poverty is and to talk about the need for more state funding for period products in North Carolina schools."
von Haefen referred to "people who menstruate" instead of women and girls and stated, "Every month, approximately one in four people who menstruate can't afford enough products to meet their needs.
The press conference follows von Haefen filing a bill in April 2023 called the "Menstrual Equity for All Act."
The Act called for sales tax feminine hygiene products to be dropped and called for half a million from the General Fund to be given to the Department of Public Instruction for a Feminine Hygiene Products Grant Program.
Several bills similar to von Haefen's were also filed by Senate Democrats in 2023.
Top concerns in NC and across the country at the moment are the sustained high prices on basic items like groceries and gas, as well as crime and illegal immigration.
For the third year in a row, Gallup found inflation was the top concern of voters.
Fast food prices alone have surged 33% as of March of this year over the cost in 2019. Many have probably seen the chart from The Street breaking down the huge jumps in costs at top fast food chains.
But these items are not being addressed by the Biden administration or Democratic officials in most states. And the polling shows it.
In North Carolina, Governor Roy Cooper's focus has included calling a fake state of emergency over school choice. That state of emergency developed into a sustained campaign to dismantle scholarship funds for children to attend the school of their choice, with Cooper often calling the Opportunity Scholarship Program (OSP) a "scheme" and "scam" that benefits millionaires and takes money away from public schools.
The OPS program was opened up to all students in the state last year. Grants are given out through a tier system; Lowest income households and previous recipients get priority.
The NC Senate put out a bill addressing a funding gap in the OSP that will clear a 54,800 long backlog of applicants. The bill was sent to the House and Speaker Moore's office indicated they intend to act on it; however where the money will come from is up for debate and a conference committee will be convened on the matter.
The OSP applications surged this year, reaching 77,000 in the first round of awards that included 13,511 families in the lowest income tier (Tier 1) and close to 2,300 families in Tier 2, but not all families in that tier got one.
Mid-May data on the OSP shows applications now stand at 71,956.
Applicants by tier: Tier 1 - 13,866, Tier 2 - 18,781, Tier 3 - 26,652, Tier 4 - 12,657.
Award amounts by tier based on maximum family gross income:
Tier 1 $7,468, Tier 2 $6,722, Tier 3 $4,480, and Tier 4 $3,360.
Democrats in the General Assembly have joined Cooper in attacks on the OSP, with at least two bills filed that seek to end the scholarship program's funding.
Two Democrats, using their positions on the Government Operations Commission, sent letters to private schools demanding information under threat of criminal charges for not complying.
State statute does not give individual Commission members the power to write such letters.
Sens. Michael Garrett (D-Guilford) and Gladys Robinson (D-Guilford) authored and sent the letters.
Garrett sent letters to at least 15 private schools that receive Opportunity Scholarship money while Robinson sent letters to every pregnancy center affiliated with N.C. Pregnancy Care Fellowship.
On May 8, Robinson and a number of Democrats including Sen. Dan Blue, held a press conference claiming the Commission members individually do hold that power.
Since 2013, public funding for crisis pregnancy centers has risen significantly in North Carolina. For example, the Carolina pregnancy Care Fellowship received $300,000 in taxpayer money in 2016, and in our recent 2023 budget, it received 12.5 million for the biennium," Robinson said during the press conference. "That increased flow of taxpayer funds is despite the fact that the Carolina Pregnancy Care Fellowship has already misspent money on religious materials based on a previous investigation by DHHS. It is therefore incumbent upon us to know how these funds are being used and the effectiveness of taxpayers funds."
Robinson's claim about a DHHS investigation is likely referring to $50,000 spent on materials offered to those who visited clinics to pray over the issue of abortion. An abortion-linked advocacy website pretending to be a news outlet called "ReWire" wrote about the $50,000 issue back in 2019.
No such calls for accountability have historically been raised by NC Democrats for abortion providers, but they did defend the abortion group when lawmakers pulled state funding for Planned Parenthood in 2011. That same year former President Barack Obama hired a Planned Parenthood executive to run his NC reelection campaign.
Abortion is the number one issue for Democrats nationally and in North Carolina this election cycle. Planned Parenthood will be dropping $10 million into voter engagement campaigns in North Carolina.