This is really bad news. The redistricting map in North Carolina was particularly brutal to Democrats. Though they have a Democratic governor, Bev Perdue, she plays no formal role in the process, and the heavily Republican legislature gerrymandered the maps to within an inch of their life. A state that will be a swing state [...]

Federal regulators simply aren’t that interested in investigating foreclosure fraud and laying down the appropriate punishments. Tom Miller is too busy deflecting criticism about massive campaign contributions from the banking sector to run a proper state-based investigation. So it’s actually come down to the registers of deeds – the unassuming public servants working in county [...]

Given the reluctance for criminal prosecutions at the state and federal level over foreclosure fraud, whatever meaningful sanctions that result will have to come from the courts, or from investors seeking putbacks. And those will only be monetary, though they have the potential to be crippling. That has been true for some time. But there’s [...]

The Daily Show With Jon StewartMon – Thurs 11p / 10cForeclosure Crisiswww.thedailyshow.comDaily Show Full EpisodesPolitical HumorRally to Restore Sanity The system actually did work yesterday. Bank lobbyists managed to swiftly get an innocuous-seeming, confusing but potentially debilitating bill through Congress, and were about to get laws made that could stave off the worst hits to [...]

Roy Cooper, the Attorney General, has asked for a moratorium on foreclosures in North Carolina. “If mortgage companies are using potentially unlawful practices to push through foreclosures in North Carolina, that needs to stop,” Cooper said in a prepared statement. “Foreclosures have to happen when people don’t pay, but homeowners deserve a fair shot at [...]

It looks like the Atlantic Coast has, so far, dodged a bullet. Hurricane Earl passed by North Carolina’s Outer Banks last night and this morning, delivering a glancing blow. North Carolina Governor Bev Perdue reported no injuries from the tropical storm-force they saw. The path of the hurricane, which has degraded to a Category 2, [...]

The best-case scenario for Hurricane Earl was that it would move out to sea and only affect the eastern seaboard with rip currents and maybe a slight sprinkling of rain. But the storm appears to have pushed enough to the west to now threaten parts of the East Coast with much more than that. As [...]

Something I didn’t know about North Carolina elections is that the runoff for primary races where no candidate reaches 40% have to be asked for by the second-place finisher. Therefore, the ball is in Cal Cunningham’s court to call for a seven-week runoff which would take place on June 22. He has indicated that he [...]

I’ve been saying for a while now that the vaunted “accountability moment” that labor and Democratic allies will run against those in the caucus who voted against health care is a mirage. I don’t know how many examples people need. First the primary challenger to Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin was talked out of the race, then Jason [...]

The North Carolina Democratic Party has kicked off their campaign to defeat Sen. Richard Burr in November with a Web ad criticizing his votes on jobs and unemployment insurance. The graphics-heavy spot highlights several unforced errors from Burr over the last several weeks, including his statement that it is “impossible to get to the right [...]

Despite expected losses in 2010, Democrats have pickup opportunities in several Senate races, particularly if the economy recovers. One of those races is Richard Burr’s seat in North Carolina. Burr is a conservative back-bencher in a state that went for Barack Obama and kicked out conservative back-bencher Elizabeth Dole in 2008. While Burr leads in [...]