It is becoming increasingly likely that the North Carolina House of Representatives will hatch some sort of power-sharing arrangement between the 60 Republicans and 60 Democrats now seated in the chamber.
In five straight votes on Wednesday afternoon, neither Speaker Jim Black of Mecklenburg County, the Democratic nominee, nor Republican aspirant George Holmes of Yadkin was able to muster the 61 votes needed to assume the top job. Another Republican, Moore County’s Richard Morgan, leads a dissident faction of five GOP colleagues who appear to be in play as the House heads into an historic second day of voting for speaker (it took five votes to elect a speaker during a session just after the Civil War, but the election concluded in one day). A report on the AP wire tonight provides a useful summary of the day’s non-event.
There are many ways a power-sharing agreement could be forged. The House could have co-speakers who take turns holding the gavel and who share responsibility for appointing committees and leaders. Or members could decide to rotate the entire control of the chamber by determining periods of time during which each side controls the speakership. Or a bloc of one party could decide simply to vote with the other for speaker – Morgan bringing his contingent to Black, for example, or dissident Democrat Martin Nesbitt helping Homes – in exchange for committee postings or other concessions. Or they could dramatically reduce the power of the speaker over legislation, relegating it to little more than a ceremonial post. Or some combination of these options.
As I mingled with staffers, lawmakers, lobbyists, reporters, and others at the Legislative Building this afternoon, there was a lot of finger-pointing going around. Some were blaming Leo Daughtry for the standoff, because the Johnston County Republican had refused until yesterday to step aside in the internal GOP squabble. Some were blaming Jim Black for being willing to do almost anything, including compromising the integrity and philosophical core of his Democratic Party, in order to stay in power. Plenty of folks blamed the impasse squarely on Morgan, arguing that he was putting personal ambition or personal peeves above the interests of his party and state.
Sorry, but all of these suppositions missed the mark. If there is any one person responsible for the frustrating waste of time that was this first day of the 2003 session, it was none other than Rep. Michael Decker of Forsyth. It was his last-minute switch of party affiliations that determined the outcome today. Even if he had remained a Republican and voted for Black for speaker, many Democrats would have nonetheless been willing to accept the idea that the GOP had won the 2002 election, albeit barely, and thus the House should have a Republican speaker (though not necessarily the choice of the GOP caucus, naturally). Moreover, if Decker had made his party switch a month or two ago, there would have been time for the then-evenly divided parties to work out some kind of power sharing before convening the session.
But by switching parties, and doing so at the last minute, Decker made it impossible for either side to extricate itself from the situation gracefully. Black may have gained in the short run, but it is likely that the furious denunciation of Decker by his party, his constituents, and many of his longtime friends gave other wayward Republicans pause today as they contemplated making a deal with Black. While Democrats seem willing to take whatever they can get, and still can’t believe their good luck thus far, Republicans around the state are seething. If any other Republicans jump ship, a stiff primary challenge is guaranteed and reelection is placed in great doubt.
As recently as September, Decker told Winston-Salem radio station WSJS-AM that Speaker Black was a poor leader who had led the House into chaos and had helped lead the state into fiscal meltdown. Now, the 18-year veteran says that Black is the best man for the job. Perhaps that is debatable. It is obvious, however, who is not up to his job.
Hood is president of the John Locke Foundation and publisher of Carolina Journal.