They still don’t get it on Jones Street.

They still don’t get it on Main Street, either, if curiously mild editorials and lax media coverage of corruption in North Carolina are any indication.

Jim Black, certainly, was a powerful politician who disgraced himself and his state. But, in reality, federal investigators revealed that he was much less than that. He was a common crook, who lined his own pockets with dirty money in restrooms.

And, yes, as editorials have said, his downfall should serve as “a warning” to other legislators who might be tempted to stray from their mission of public service. It’s too late, they’ve more than strayed—they’ve been romping all over Creation. They just haven’t been caught—yet.

In the entire horror show that is state government, however, Black’s crime comprises one frame.

The big picture is that law-enforcement officers are investigating other targets in, or connected with, state government. Black’s lawyer said his client will sing for the prosecution. Prosecutors should be in for a lengthy concert.

Carolina Journal is among only a few newspapers that have been investigating widespread corruption in state government for a number of years. One chapter of the corruption was validated as Black’s allies, one by one, were marched into court. Yet Black was re-elected by voters, and, astonishingly, touted by his colleagues for another term as speaker of the House.

New chapters await examination. Multiple scandals involving other political elite have defied prosecution over the years because of their complexity. Of course, they were designed that way by masterful political puppeteers. Perhaps a little more time, with a hand from Black, will enable prosecutors to cut through the strings.

Following is a review of a few of my favorite puppet shows:

  • Back-door wheeling and dealing of important legislation, such as that of the biennial budget and the lottery. Behind-the-scenes lawmaking, in general, has trumped open government.
  • Appointments of cronies to powerful committees and state agencies has allowed state leaders to funnel money to pet, and personal, projects, rather than to public benefit.
  • Subversion of the N.C. Constitution has been so frequent that the courts are backlogged with lawsuits. Gov. Mike Easley, for example, raided the Highway Trust Fund and other earmarked funds as though they were his own personal bank accounts.
  • Use of the N.C. Department of Transportation as a toy for Senate Pro Tem Marc Basnight, Black, and other political elites. Now, DOT, led by Secretary Lyndo Tippett, has proved itself incapable of fulfilling its primary missions, such as building highways that won’t crumble as soon as they are opened, repairing old bridges before they collapse, constructing toll roads that have already been paid for, and running a ferry division without violating federal and state laws.
  • Communities across the state can’t afford Medicaid, yet the state’s Golden LEAF—which was created, ostensibly, to take care of such matters—throws hundreds of millions of dollars around to specious projects.

North Carolina is a sick state. Many of its leaders are infected with a sense of entitlement, a lack of ethics and morals, and contempt for the public they swore to serve.

Their statements just before and after Black’s appearance before a federal judge Feb. 15 were revealing. They praised his long service to the state, went to the courthouse in his support, and signed a card for him. This wasn’t innocent, laudable loyalty to a man who had misled them. They were eager, knowing cohorts in a government coup d’etat led by Black.

Easley himself said it was unfortunate that Black’s legacy might be his downfall, rather than his long service to the state.

They played the state’s citizens for chumps until the end, when the feds played the trump card and ended the game. Then they said they were shocked.

Give us a break.

Richard Wagner is the editor of Carolina Journal.