Lawmakers in Raleigh, particularly those on the Republican side of the aisle, better heed what the Bible teaches about reaping what you sow.
Armed with a majority on their side, the likes of Senate leader Phil Berger and House Speaker Tim Moore think they are bulletproof, zigging and zagging through decisions in the wee hours of the morning like Batman on steroids, wielding power with a heavy and often unfair sword.
And they do it because they can. It doesn’t matter if it’s fair, if it makes sense, if has any semblance to the checks and balances that have for decades made this state and this country great.
The worst of those kind of power-grabs began last year when the General Assembly seized the historic responsibility of the state’s governors to appoint members of boards and commissions. And the most recent example will play out at the ballot box in November. Two of the constitutional amendments lawmakers are giving to voters to accept or reject deal firmly with their efforts to take even more power from the governor.
They see that as fine right now, since Roy Cooper is a Democratic governor, but you can bet if Democrats were in control and a Republican were governor, that side of the aisle would be up in arms, crying foul and quick to tell anyone who would listen that such goings on were without fairness, openness and due process.
And that’s where the reaping what you sow comes in.
Berger, Moore and the power-hungry portion of the Republicans in Raleigh are fine with the late night decisions, the power swipes and the maneuvering now, because it’s their slight of hand. But, as we have seen time and again, a change in power will occur and that will mean at some point those same folks will be begging morsels from the Democrats’ table.
We believe the vicious cycle should end. We were hoping it would happen under the Republican leadership, but instead we get sophomoric behavior and responses like the one Berger gave to The News & Observer when asked if lawmakers planned to take any more from Cooper.
“Does he still have any?” Berger (R-Eden) asked with a laugh.
“If you have any suggestions, let us know,” added Moore (R-Kings Mountain).
Does that sound like responsible adults? Hardly. It sounds, instead, like petulant children, intent on bullying their way through without a care about citizens, not party, but the men and women each is charged with representing.
Berger, Moore and a handful of other Republicans, much like some power-hungry Democrats have done in the past, are sowing cheerfully right now, but the reaping won’t be so much fun, we are sure.
In fact, it’s a sure bet that, as the Bible says in Proverbs 16:18, pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.