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gpearce
 
Administrator
Posts : 354
Location : Raleigh, NC
Gary Pearce
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Senate Democrats
A political constant for years in Raleigh has been Democratic dominance of the state Senate. Maybe not so much now.
Marc Basnight’s hold on the Senate has relied on a number of old Democratic bulls who kept their seats in tough districts. Now, one of them has announced he won’t run again: John Kerr. And there could be others: Charlie Albertson and R.C. Soles, to name two.
Basnight himself has had a tough year. He lost his wife to cancer. And fire, officially termed arson, burned down his restaurant. Now he faces a tough year of recruiting – or retaining – candidates and raising money.
Some Democrats brag that the North Carolina Senate has been majority Democratic longer than any legislative body in America. I don’t know if that’s right. But Basnight’s team did survive the 1994 Republican tide.
Next year is supposed to be a Democratic year. But Democrats are nervous that they could lose the Senate if they get a few bad breaks. Surprisingly, they seem more worried about the Senate than the House.
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Anonymous
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Maybe Basnight is facing another tough year. It's curious that neither local nor state investigators wish to comment much nor make records available to the press regarding the restaurant fire.
Do you know if the Feds have taken an interest in this case?
Claudia
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Jeffersonian Republican
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Arson? Somehow I missed that. Is the theory that this was some sort or extreme political retaliation or that it was an ''insurance fire'' like Jimmy Green, or just some nut who likes to see things burn?
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Buttpants
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"Now he faces a tough year of recruiting – or retaining – candidates and raising money."
Give me a break. The Democrats rigged the districts to protect their power, and they won't have any troubles raising money. Basnight had almost $200,000 on hand at the end of June, and I'm sure he has raised thousands more since the GA adjourned. Rand had more than $130,000 at the end of June. By contrast, Phil Berger, the Senate GOP leader, had less than $5,000 in his account.
Basnight may be losing sleep over some things, but losing control of the Senate isn't one of them.
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Anonymous
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Something really seems odd about this fire, and especially that the required reports were not filed. Does this smell like a coverup of something?
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Anonymous
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I'm no Basnight fan, but it was determined that an electrical wiring problem caused the fire at his restaurant.
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Anonymous
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Electrical wiring? Last report I believe was that a gas line was intentionally severed.
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Anonymous
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The key thing is that the law requires a report. No report has been filed, and the media hits a stone wall when they ask for it. What is going on?
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Anonymous
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Given Basnight's power and manner of doin' biz, I don't know if I want to be the one releasing reports.
Remember Danny Noe?
I'd look for FBI involvement.
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Anonymous
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Wasn't it the FBI that ended up nailing Jimmy Greene for arson?
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Anonymous
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This really gets interesting. In aarson investigations, they first look for two things, an ignition cource and an accelerant. In the more common unsophisticated arson casee, the accelerant is somethiing like someone gloshing around some gasoline. In this case, it seems highly sophisticated' the intential severing of a gas line. The ignition sources may have been similar rigging of the wiring. This arson does not sound like someone with a personal financial gain going out to burn their own property or someone with a bone to pick doing it themselves. It sounds like someone, either the porperty owner or someone with a beef with the property owner, going out and hiring a professional. It would absolutely rule out some oaf who justs want to see something burn. They don't hire professionals.
One of the first things that would be done in such an investigatoin would be to look at the property owner's insurance sitution. If he is woefully underinsured, it would probably show an absence of motive. If he is heavily insured, especially if he recently increased his coverage, it would make him a prime suspect.
They would also look for who might have had a beef with the property owner.
If this was someone who had a beef with the property owner, it was someone who had some strong criminal connections. Average folks don't have access to hiring professionals to burn someone else's building. One has to wonder what the property owner would be doing associating with such people to get into such a serious dispute that they resort to retaliatory arson.
Any way one slices this, there would be embarassments for a politician, and that undoubtedly is why the report is being illegally supressed.
Where is our news media to get to the bottom of this? The public has a right to know!
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Anonymous
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Or, going to motive, what if Basnight felt the need to create a diversion or market an appeal for sympathy?
I don't believe that the insurance coverage exceeded the cost to rebuild.
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Anonymous
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Of course, it's a cheaper remodel than if one had to do it the normal way, but that is not likely right at the beginning of busy season.
A more likely scenario is running afoul of some shady ''business associates'' who play even less nice than he does. That is also something that someones in politics would want to keep hidden.
It certainly looks like a professional ''torch'' was involved, for whatever reason.
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Patriot
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Location : Eastern NC
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Don't kid yourself Basnight has the power. I am sorry for anyone who has lost a loved one and that takes a little of the steam out of you but Basnight is no one to play around with.
The Republican senators bragged they would raise a million dollars to help new seantors win in 2004, it was a flop. Check the campaign finance reports and see how much was raised and spent. Basnight personally raised more money for the senatorial campaign than all the Rep senators combined, in 2004. Easley may be the governor but Mark Basnight runs the state as everyone on the political scene knows.
We haven't elected a Republican gov since 1992 and given the political climate we are not going to have a Rep gov in 2008. Moore or Perdue, flip a coin you will get the same leadership we have had in the past.
The primary will be the most important race for governor in 2008. The Dem who wins will go on to be the governor. This is why it is so important for people of NC to vote in the primary, registering as an unafiliated voter allows one to vote in either the Dem or Rep primary and if you want a conservative Dem there is one available.
Colonel Dennis Nielsen
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Anonymous
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You have to remember that Republicans almost took out the Basnight majority in 1994. Republicans won 24 seats. Ed Warren only held on to his Greenville-based district by his fingernails, and that only because RINO House member Zero Edwards actively worked for him. Edwards later came out of the closet and switched to Democrat after his years as a de facto Democrat caused his GOP primary loss in 1996.
If Warren had gone down, the GOP had a hold card - a Democrat senator willing to switch if it had ended up 25 to 25.
1994 would have been an even bigger earthquake in NC politics if the GOP had ended up with both the House and Senate.
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Anonymous
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Danny Noe? Wasn't he the guy who ended up with his hands tied behind his back and a plastic bag tied over his head, and the local authorities trying to say it was a ''suicide''????!!!!
Yeah, I guess local authorities who facilitate such a coverup would probably stonewall issued required reports on an arson as well.
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Anonymous
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The investigation of Danny Noe's death was conducted by the sheriff of Carteret County; he determined it was a suicide before the SBI lab had conducted any tests.
The SBI lab didn't even conduct tests until around a year later and only after, it would seem, Don Carrington informed them that he would like to visit them learn about their department policies and procedures and take a few pictures.
The sheriff, Ralph Thomas, lost the next election based primarily on this issue (many folks who had lived there most of their lives considered Thomas corrupt).
Some ferry division personnel from Carteret/Craven will tell you in their living rooms that Noe was murdered, at their jobs and in public, they will say he committed suicide.
Before Noe's death, he had been informing on what was going on with the Currituck Ferry debacle and found himself placed in a closet for an office, no phone, no computer, and no duties to perform.
The ferry was Sen Marc Basnight's baby and everyone from Lyndo Tippett down the chain knew what had to be done; but no one will point the finger at who ordered the dredging (disregarding required applications for permits that had once already been denied). Essentially, it was just 'understood' that the dredging was necessary although, according to Gaskill, there was no work order and neither Basnight nor Tippet (the dredging was done on a weekend w/three boats that 'accidently kicked out a well defined length/width/depth channel).
Federal prosecutors are appealing the sentencing of Jerry Gaskill, former Ferry Div Director, who was found guilty of ordering the dredging.
Noe's wife said that he did not commit suicide because he would not have let them drive him to it - that he wanted to see this through.
Carolina Journal and NC SPIN have carried the stories in some detail.
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Anonymous
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Has anyone ever read the sheriff reports on Danny Noe's death?
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Anonymous
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As time goes on, more of the rats are leaving the sinking ship.
Should be a certain GOP pickup in Gaston County.
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Anonymous
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I have not read the sheriff's reports, however, the new sheriff in Carteret won specifically on the Danny Noe issue and I bet if you were to ask for a copy it would not be hard to acquire.
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Anonymous
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The republicans in the NC Senate have no idea how to organize themselves or function so should they gain control, it would be a sad site.
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Anonymous
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Curious. Has that report on the arson at Basnight's restaurant ever emerged? What did it say? If not, what is the media doing to get it?
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Anonymous
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It is now July. Has anyone been able to come up with that report on the arson at Basnight's restaurant? Or is it still being covered up? If so, what are they trying to hide?
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