Podcast
The Bottom Line from NC Newsline
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Every weekday, NC Newsline editor and veteran North Carolina policy observer Rob Schofield offers a 60-second take on the key policy issues that impact North Carolinians.
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NC conservative group embarrasses with fawning treatment of pardoned insurrectionist
Feb 5, 202500:01:04Tap to summarizeTrump Supporters Hold "Stop The Steal" Rally In DC Amid Ratification Of Presidential Election. (Photo: Getty Images/Brent Stirton) As 82nd Airborne veteran Scott Peoples put it in a recent op-ed for NC Newsline, President Trump’s decision to pardon participants in the deadly January 6, 2021 insurrection — even those who violently assaulted police officers — was a low point in the history of the American presidency. Even many conservative Trump supporters were appalled. Sadly, however, one prominent conservative voice in North Carolina — a group that calls itself independent and libertarian — has thrown in with the rioters. In a fawning article in its newsletter, the Carolina Journal, the Raleigh-based John Locke Foundation, allowed one of the violent leaders of the assault — a North Carolina man who was later arrested for driving while impaired while on pre-trial release and found to be transporting an assault rifle and 60 rounds of ammunition — to portray himself as a victim and defender of quote “freedom.” The bottom line: The insurrectionists who violently invaded our Capitol were not heroes but criminals. And as with Trump’s pardons, those who promote their lies and delusions help undermine all of our freedoms. For NC Newsline, I’m Rob Schofield.
Transcribe →Stein, lawmakers should move quickly to tie off the work of Rebuild NC
Feb 4, 202500:01:05Tap to summarizePryor Gibson, interim director of ReBuild NC, testifies in front of North Carolina lawmakers on the state of the hurricane homebuilding program on Jan. 30, 2025. (Photo: Galen Bacharier/NC Newsline) One of Gov. Josh Stein’s best actions since taking office was to make rebuilding hurricane ravaged western North Carolina a top priority, and putting a new office with new leaders in charge. Unfortunately, as NC Newsline reported repeatedly in recent years, the state’s previous disaster recovery office — known as NCORR or Rebuild NC — chalked up a mostly abysmal record in responding to Hurricanes Matthew and Florence. Last week, Rebuild NC boss Pryor Gibson told state lawmakers his agency needs a new infusion of more than two hundred million dollars to complete work on hundreds of homes that, maddeningly, remain unrepaired after nearly a decade. Not surprisingly, lawmakers were angered and let Gibson know. Unfortunately, they have little choice but to provide the funds. The bottom line: Rebuild NC’s disaster response work has, itself, been a disaster. Gov. Stein and lawmakers should provide the necessary funds and then see that it quickly completes its work and stays the heck out of western North Carolina. After that, they should see that the agency is disbanded as soon as possible. For NC Newsline, I’m Rob Schofield.
Transcribe →GOP Supreme Court candidate remains in hiding while assaulting our democracy
Feb 3, 202500:01:05Tap to summarizeCourt of Appeals Judge Jefferson Griffin (File photo) Court of Appeals Judge Jefferson Griffin is seeking one of the most important and powerful public offices in North Carolina — a seat on the state Supreme Court. He’s also taken the extraordinary step of trying to overturn the election he lost for that seat last November by having more than 60,000 ballots thrown out. Thanks to his actions, North Carolina is once again in a negative national spotlight. And yet, despite having unleashed an enormous controversy that many nonpartisan experts say poses a serious threat to the sanctity of U.S. elections, and indeed, our democracy itself, Griffin is nowhere to be seen or found. Unlike the opponent who defeated him, incumbent Justice Allison Riggs, who has addressed Griffin’s actions openly and publicly, Griffin has remained in the shadows, hiding behind the excuse that he can’t discuss the controversy while it’s in litigation. And that in a word, is baloney. The bottom line: Judge Griffin is attempting an unprecedented action to disenfranchise 60,000 of his fellow citizens. The least he could do is have the guts to stand behind it in public. For NC Newsline, I’m Rob Schofield.
Transcribe →Trump: irresponsibly playing games with people’s lives and livelihoods
Jan 31, 202500:01:05Tap to summarizePresident Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House on Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images) Throughout 2024, Democrats and many Republicans warned that if Donald Trump got back in the White House, he would debase the presidency by seeking personal vengeance on enemies, empowering unqualified toadies to lead important public agencies, and issuing half-baked edicts that ignored established law and common sense. Now, after less than two weeks since his inauguration, these fears are being realized. The latest unlawful and irresponsible act: Trump’s crudely drafted order (later rescinded) that would have frozen federal spending on trillions of dollars in grants and loans. North Carolina stood to lose billions. Not only are these funds essential to thousands of core public functions — from emergency relief to cancer research — they fund tens of thousands of jobs and play a huge role in our economy. The bottom line: Donald Trump may act as if it’s the case, but leading the U.S. government is different than being the boss of a seedy and predatory casino. In the freeze order and other similar acts, Trump is callously and recklessly endangering the lives and livelihoods of millions. For NC Newsline, I’m Rob Schofield.
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