CHARLOTTE, N. C. – North Carolina finds itself in the middle of a high-profile, far-reaching culture war battle, and it’s doubtful its leaders saw it coming.
Political opponents up and down the ballot take sides and issue statements, and a governor facing a tough re-election race has seen the nut-and-bolts economic issues he campaigned on as a practical moderate pushed aside as he is defined by a bill that legislates bathroom choice for transgender individuals, takes away the power of cities to enact their own nondiscrimination rules and the right to sue in state court.
The people of North Carolina can only wonder what comes next, as they sees the mantle of the more progressive Carolina usurped by its neighbor to the south, where Republican Gov. Nikki Haley has said her state has no need of its own version of House Bill 2. This despite the fact that three South Carolina cities have anti-discrimination ordinances similar to the one in Charlotte that Republican legislators insist triggered their actions. And by the way, Haley has offered a welcome mat to any business finding the North Carolina climate less than hospitable.
