LeeHaywood
And The Winner Is….
Phil Berger.
Were you expecting someone else? Let me explain. Like you, I am happy as a pig in slop with the re-election of the Orangeman as our next President. But unfortunately, we were handed a stunning defeat in the Council of State races. I believe there is plenty of blame to go around but the most important thing for us to do right now is to keep our dirty laundry off social media. No argument has ever been won on Facebook and this should be handled behind closed doors.
Also, although there may be a couple of recounts, it appears we have lost the super majority in the NC House of Representatives. This may not be as bad as everyone thinks in that a lot of the executive privileges that Cooper abused have already been stripped away. But not all of them, and it will be interesting to see how ultra-liberal Stein pushes the boundaries. Also, it might be Attorney General Jeff Jackson that we should be most worried about. We shall see.
Back to Berger. This past year he took some steps that ensured his re-election and cement his position as Senate Pro-Tem and the real Governor of NC. Here are a couple of examples.
He befriended and helped fund raise for Lt. Governor Mark Robinson. When I first heard this I couldn’t believe it but after some thought it made perfect sense. In real life the last thing Berger wants is a governor who might overshadow his authority. By helping Robinson he put forth the illusion to the grass roots that he is willing to help one of them, and therefore:
A) If Robinson wins, he can take some of the credit and have some influence with his newfound friend.
B) If Robinson loses, he claims that he tried to help but to no avail, but at least he is still there to combat the nasty Josh Stein. This will also be a fundraising bonanza for him, being a foil to Stein and utilizing the good versus evil dynamic.
Either way he wins.
But mostly he preemptively gerrymandered himself out of representing the town of Summerfield. He took this unusual step because of the backlash he would have received at the polls from more than half of its 11,000 residents. He had acquired their ire by bypassing the wishes of a majority of its citizens in order to accommodate a rich political donor. This donor had failed in his effort to amend the town’s development ordinances. So he wisely decided to friend the Senator. Never one to deny a friend, Berger personally pushed through the General Assembly a bill de-annexing an incredible 1,000 acres of land in the middle of town. When this developer’s plans come to fruition it will drastically change the rural landscape and ruin this conservative oasis in liberal Guilford County. Makes Marc Basnight look like a piker, doesn’t he?
In any event, I consider Phil Berger to be the big winner on November 5.
But there never really was any doubt, was there?
Lee Haywood is a franchise owner for Winzer USA, an MRO supply company based in Plano, TX. He services industrial and government accounts across NC. Lee and his wife Brenda reside in Summerfield, NC and have been married for 39 years. He was born on the cusp of Scorpio and Sagittarius. He is partial to the color red and his lucky number is 3.