It’s Time for Basnight to Go

by Tom Campbell

December 11, 2002

Marc Basnight is all but assured of re-election to an unprecedented sixth term as President Pro Tem of the North Carolina State Senate. This is bad news for North Carolina for many reasons.

First and foremost it must be said that twelve years is too long for any leader to head the Senate, the House, or the Governor’s office. When one person dominates for so long new leaders don’t emerge and new ideas are neither sought nor heard. There is too much temptation for malfeasance, ineffectiveness, and little accountability.

Marc Basnight is too powerful. Absolute power corrupts absolutely, goes the old axiom and Marc Basnight is the poster child for that old saw. Behind that country-boy facade is an extremely bright, hard worker, make no mistake about that. He rose rapidly through the ranks of the Senate because he studied and learned while others partied and schmoozed. But he can be calculating and ruthless, as many former colleagues will testify. Having risen to the top through the support of benefactors like Walter Davis, Basnight grabbed power quickly.

Lobbyists, political action committees, and individuals wanting to ingratiate themselves to Basnight, as well as those who are afraid to cross him donate the maximum allowed amounts to his campaign warchest. He has used that money to virtually buy Senate seats. During the recent elections Basnight spent almost one million dollars helping elect his friends. Many Democratic Senators are bought and paid for. No way will they challenge him. Don’t believe it? Study their campaign finance reports and see where they get the big money to conduct their campaigns. They owe their seats to him. Those who aren’t bought know they won’t get anything they want by bucking Basnight. He can do whatever he wants, and he does.

Most of the other 49 Senators could stay at home. The Senate doesn’t even go through the charade of hearings and considerations. Most decisions are made behind closed doors by Basnight and a few others. There is no way the people’s business was supposed to be conducted this way. There is virtually no opportunity for meaningful input by others. Didn’t we fight a war back in the 1940’s to eliminate this same type of leadership?

Why hasn’t something been done before now? Everyone is afraid to cross Marc Basnight privately or publicly. He is the most powerful person in North Carolina government and he has shown he can be ruthless with that power. Forget the Governor, Basnight rules. This is the biggest disgrace in our State’s history and it is high time we get some Senators with enough backbone to do the right thing. It is time for Basnight to go.

"He is the most powerful person in North Carolina government and he has shown he can be ruthless with that power."

Since the inception of this website all those years ago I have been saying the above... it was true then and it's true now.

Basnight MUST go.

Some see it, and some don't.

You saw it.

Some not only don't, but won't.

megabite

A lot of locals here still think that because Basnight is from"here" he is of cousre watching out for us. So they continue to vote for him and he continues to build houses in Hatteras. (so I've been told by a local builder)

There is times when you have to take the bad along with the good.There is still a lot of us life long residense that still rember when this part of the State was like the read headed step child.We got squat while the centeral and western part of the state flurished.Personely I don't like what has happoned to this little village of mine (Hatteras).I wish it was still dirt roads and the only stranger you saw was a Drummer (salesman) but still I don't have any patience with these people that come in here and get there's and then gripe about others wonting the same or trying to make it like it was in Jersey.

http://www.obsentinel.com/articles/...itics/ferry.txt

Interesting article about plans to build a "dormitory" for the ferry workers and the newbies .

"Midgett cited noise, lighting and foot traffic and said that the housing "doesn't fit in" with surrounding developments"

I seem to remember the ferry being there prior to all the monster "cottages" but I could be wrong.

__________________
All right, brain. You don't like me and I don't like you, but let's just do this and I can get back to killing you with beer.

Midgette's remark reminds me of the time when I moved to that area back in the early 80's. Some one wanted to build low/modest cost housing in Kitty Hawk for the summer workers and people like my own family at that time. Of course it got shot down by the the big realtors which said that modest cost housing would likely draw lower income people which would mean that the town of Kitty Hawk would not get as much tax income from these type of people. I told my wife then that we were in the wrong kind of place to raise a family since money is the only thing that seem to be important for that area. Has anyone ever wondered why they don't allow mobile homes in most of Dare County? I thank God that I have a nice house and neighborhood but not everyone is able to afford what has taken me years to build. I know that I started off with a house trailer and that was all we could afford for several years.

If it was a Midgette from Midgette reality they must not have had the land sale.What does fit with the surrounding area's.Like the replica of a CG Station that was constructed in my neighbor hood.All the other homes were one story except for that.$550.000 look out taxes.

I grew up in Brunswick County, traditinally the poorest county in the state year after year. Talk about being the stepchild. Now it is like Dare, one of the fastest growing. Why? because it is a coastal county. There is waterfront.

None of that matters though. Truth is truth. If you depend on a ruthless and crooked politician to build you some bridges, you will pay. All of us will pay, and we are all paying today. Absolute power is not what a representative government is supposed to be about. And to support it in the self interest of your home county is wrong, period.

I find it interesting that many people will not support a rec license for fear that the monies will be wasted and abused. They cite a history of the NC government of waisting funds, then in the same breath hail Basinight, the most powerful man in all of NC politics.

I simply don't get it.

megabite

I'd vote for the ********** too if he was in my district.