What did Greg Lindberg want from Dan Forest?
Real Facts NC seeking records from Department of Insurance, Lt. Governor Dan Forest that could provide crucial insight into ties to Greg Lindberg, bribery scandal
Real Facts NC filed requests with the NC Department of Insurance and the Lieutenant Governor’s office Thursday seeking records of contact with Greg Lindberg and other indicted individuals, and public figures with known relationships to Lindberg and his network in the bribery scandal rocking the NCGOP.
The group is specifically seeking all correspondence between both departments and Robin Hayes, Greg Lindberg, John Gray, and John Palermo, the four men indicted on bribery charges, as well as correspondence between both departments and Rep. Mark Walker, mentioned in the indictment as “Public Official A.” Real Facts is also seeking correspondence between the departments and former Sen. Wes Meredith (R-Cumberland) who took nearly $40,000 from Lindberg and immediately filed a bill backed by Lindberg’s Eli Global.
Read MorePat McCrory’s “Second Chance” Sweeps Previous Attempt at Teaching Under the Rug
According to his admissions on conservative talk radio, Pat McCrory may be getting the opportunity to avenge a rejection he’s carried since high school.
In early February, former Governor Pat McCrory began a fellowship with the UNC Institute of Politics, where he will be hosting a not-for-credit leadership seminar-lecture series. For the record, this series is neither for credit nor a formal academic class hosted in any part of the university’s curriculum, but rather a not-for-credit series hosted by a student group. On his podcast, he announced his not-for-credit series, titled “Hard Lessons of Leadership: An Insider’s Look That You Won’t Read In A Textbook,” and divulged the topics and titles for each module. He then mentioned multiple times that he was very thankful for this position because as a high school graduate, he was rejected from UNC-Chapel Hill and is now very excited to have his “second chance” to attend and teach his not-for-credit seminar.
Read MoreMark Johnson on School Nutrition: A Close Reading
A few days ago, Superintendent of public instruction Mark Johnson sent out the mailer below on school nutrition. School nutrition remains a critical battleground as students and families battle food insecurity amidst stagnating wages and continual budget cuts in North Carolina.
Real Facts previously documented how Johnson used the NC public schools email list as his personal blog. Now, it seems that Johnson has moved to glossy mailers as a medium for his vacuous nutrition advice. Below, find an annotated version of Johnson’s note.
Read MoreVideo: Lt. Gov. Dan Forest knows a lot about how to commit voter fraud
In a video presumably produced in the Lt. Governors office donor-funded TV studio, Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Forest explains a "theoretical" method for committing voter fraud, "just for fun."
The video, posted to Facebook by the Republican Council of State Caucus, goes into explicit detail about a plan that Forest claims liberal groups might use to steal votes. Under the guise of advocating in favor of a voter ID constitutional amendment on the ballot this fall, Forest lays out a specific plan to rig the election.
The Republican Council of State Caucus was founded by Forest as a fundraising arm for Republican members of the Council of State, but has only one other member, Superintendent Mark Johnson, despite there being four other Republicans on the Council of State.
It is no surprise that other Republicans are distancing themselves from the polarizing Forest and Johnson. In addition to endorsing this method of rigging elections, the pair have ties to the abusive Word of Faith church and a controversial network of charter schools . Johnson's new chief of staff, a Forest donor, once criticized public schools for "milking the federal government" for free and reduced lunch which is concerning for the person running the state's public school system.
Forest will likely earn the Republican nomination to challenge Governor Roy Cooper in 2020 and Mark Johnson has hinted he wants the Lt. Governorship, no doubt to follow in Forest's footsteps. Now they have laid out a plan to get ahead in 2020.
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Video: Dan Forest says the NCGA has done a “great job” drawing maps that have been ruled unconstitutional four times and counting
Forest, during a Facebook Live he hosted on Wednesday, commended the “great job” the General Assembly has done drawing maps.
“The General Assembly has done a great job complying with the rules of the courts to draw these districts.”
Not quite
- 2011 Legislative districts: ruled unconstitutional racial gerrymanders by the United States Supreme Court in 2017
- 2016 Congressional districts: struck down by a panel of federal judges this week as a partisan gerrymander
- 2015 Wake County Commission districts: struck down by the 4th Circuit in 2016
- 2015 Greensboro City Council districts: struck down by Federal Middle District in 2017
Pat McCrory's downward spiral. Rejected by voters, academia and the Trump Administration.
Pat McCrory is still coping with his loss last year to Roy Cooper. He recently told WRAL that it has been a “tough transition to leave a job he loved.”
In less than a year, the voters of North Carolina rejected him, academia rejected him, and the Trump administration rejected him.
Even the Trump family wedding planner got a job overseeing “billions of federal dollars as the head of the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s New York and New Jersey office.” That has got to hurt.
What’s worse is his successor has been busy as a member of Donald Trump’s Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis, working to solve a crisis with an administration McCrory has been so eager to join.
With his employment prospects bleak, McCrory has now decided to torment all of us with a Carolina Comeback that no one asked for, saying "I'd be foolish not to reconsider coming back.”
Attention starved McCrory wants his old job back
GOP circles have been buzzing for weeks with speculation about who might run for Governor in 2020. The leading names so far have been Dan Forest and Thom Tillis. Others think Phil Berger is interested in the job. But in the last month, former governor Pat McCrory is making waves.
Conservative bloggers have noticed the former governor's increased social media presence.
Last week while making an appearance at a pro-am golf tournament in Wilmington, McCrory teased that he’ll take a larger public role soon. “I’m going to have some input in the near future about what’s working and what’s not working,” he told WWAY.
And when asked about running again in a UNC-TV interview, Pat McCrory did not tamp down speculation. “A lot of my grassroots supporters would like me to run again. And I’ve told them that I will consider it at the right time.”
Is Thom Tillis running for governor?
An out-of-state PAC is pitting all-but-announced gubernatorial candidate Dan Forest against U.S. Senator Thom Tillis in paid Facebook ads. The intent of the Florida-based Principled Leadership Fund PAC is unclear. But what is clear is that conservative circles are talking about Tillis making a run for Governor in 2020—only two and a half years into his first term. Being in Washington doesn’t seem to be all Sen. Thom Tillis thought it would be.
Phil Berger 2020?
Senate Leader Phil Berger could be eyeing a change in job title in 2020. Berger was first elected to the State Senate in 2000. He became Senate Minority Leader in 2004 and President Pro Tem in 2010. Could he be looking to rise to a new level in 2020? It certainly seems like Berger could be laying the groundwork for the next statewide election.
Via @ncpolmail
Dan Forest openly coveting the Governor’s Mansion
It’s no secret that Lt. Gov. Dan Forest wants to be Governor. At a local GOP event in Craven County, he all but made it official. According to the New Bern Sun Journal on February 28, Forest “predicted that, in four years, he would be governor.”
This week Forest told Tim Boyum, “I’d love to be governor someday.”
He may be the first Republican to openly talk about a 2020 bid for Governor, but he won’t be the last.
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