Democrats Target Richard Burr's Senate Seat

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Some say politics is a blood sport. But in some ways, the history of one of North Carolina's U.S. Senate seats is more like a game of ping pong. John Locke Foundation president John Hood explains that every six years since 1974, the seat held by legendary Democrat Sam Ervin - and now held by Republican Richard Burr - has turned over. Hood assesses Burr's strengths and weaknesses in this year's race and profiles the three Democrats who want the Democratic nomination: Secretary of State Elaine Marshall, attorney Ken Lewis, and former state Sen. Cal Cunningham. Then we turn to the diffcult business of prioritizing policy issues and the spending and bureaucracy that goes with them. Most people believe taxpayers should fund police officers and new roads. What about arts? Specifically, should North Carolina taxpayers subsidize arts training at the UNC School of the Arts? A recent paper from the Pope Center for Higher Education Policy examines that topic. Report author Max Borders offered his assessment during a recent panel discussion. You'll hear from Borders, Pope Center President Jane Shaw, John Locke Foundation President John Hood, and J. Peder Zane, former Ideas columnist for The News & Observer. Next, we discuss talk of how to be more efficient with law enforcement activities in our state. Seventeen different North Carolina state government agencies conduct some sort of law enforcement function. State lawmakers want to know whether some of those agencies ought to be consolidated. Anne Bander of the Office of State Budget and Management offered legislators a recent progress report on efforts to study state law enforcement issues. You'll hear highlights from her presentation. That's followed by comments from Jonah Goldberg of National Review. Goldberg wrote his book Liberal Fascism long before Barack Obama became our 44th president. But Goldberg has seen many of his ideas vindicated in the first year of the Obama administration. Goldberg applies Liberal Fascism's main arguments to today's political debates. And finally, Carolina Journal Managing Editor Rick Henderson discusses the latest ruling in a public-records lawsuit filed by several media organizations - including Carolina Journal - over speculation that aides to former governor Mike Easley may have destroyed e-mail communications that are public records. Wake County Superior Court Judge Howard Manning recently ruled that four former Easley aides will be deposed in January. Attorney General Roy Cooper had asked the judge to throw out the suit but Manning didn't buy the AG's argument. Henderson gives the background on the suit and the e-mails.