NY Times: NCGOP recruited Tricia Cotham to run for NC House as a DEM
Some prominent NC Democrats have suspected Tricia Cotham’s switch from D to R was part of some ‘false-flag’ operation orchestrated by the Republicans. If The NY Times’ reporting is to be believed, those folks may have a point:
When Tricia Cotham, a former Democratic lawmaker, was considering another run for the North Carolina House of Representatives, she turned to a powerful party leader for advice. Then, when she jumped into the Democratic primary, she was encouraged by still other formidable allies.
She won the primary in a redrawn district near Charlotte, and then triumphed in the November general election by 18 percentage points, a victory that helped Democrats lock in enough seats to prevent, by a single vote, a Republican supermajority in the state House.
Except what was unusual — and not publicly known at the time — was that the influential people who had privately encouraged Ms. Cotham to run were Republicans, not Democrats. One was Tim Moore, the redoubtable Republican speaker of the state House. Another was John Bell, the Republican majority leader.
“I encouraged her to run because she was a really good member when she served before,” Mr. Bell recalled in an interview. […]
Really, Johnny? How so? She racked up a stellar liberal voting record during her previous tenure in the House. Even right up to her party switch. By observing her and monitoring her Twitter account, it’s pretty clear she’s not all that bright. She boasted on social media about hosting a fundraiser for a Texas politician championing Planned Parenthood’s baby-parts retail business. What was so good about her? Tell us.
MORE:
[…] Three months after Ms. Cotham took office in January, she delivered a mortal shock to Democrats and to abortion rights supporters: She switched parties, and then cast a decisive vote on May 3 to override a veto by the state’s Democratic governor and enact a 12-week limit on most abortions — North Carolina’s most restrictive abortion policy in 50 years.
Overnight, Ms. Cotham became a heroine to Republicans and anti-abortion advocates across the country, even as Democrats vilified her as a traitor whose unexpected party flip had changed health care policy in a politically purple state of more than 10 million people.[…]
So, she goes from being a good, down-the-line liberal hosting a Planned Parenthood fundraiser to voting for an abortion ban? That tells me she has little to no real moral or philosophical compass whatsoever. She’s a wet-the-finger-and-hold-it-in-the-air kind of girl.
MORE:
[…] In the North Carolina House, Tricia Cotham was re-elected to four full terms and became a progressive force, calling for higher taxes on the state’s wealthiest residents to help close budget gaps. She criticized charter schools. She fought against the so-called bathroom bill that required people to use restrooms in accordance with their birth gender.
She repeatedly railed against waiting periods for abortions, and speaking on the House floor in 2015, invoked her personal experience.
“Legislators, you do not hold shares in my body,” she said in a speech that has now become famous, “so stop trying to manipulate my mind.”
In 2016, Ms. Cotham chose to run for Congress, rather than for another term in the legislature, and was defeated.[…]
If the story from The NYT is to be believed then this is the kind of political bs stunt that turns my stomach. I cannot be the only person tired of the backroom wheeling and dealing and the dishonesty and political leaders with zero moral compass. Are there any folks with political ambitions that wish to serve instead of self-aggrandizing themselves?
Pure TRASH is the NYT , nothing but a democratic party propaganda apparatus PERIOD
They sell alot of them in Chapel Hill , which tells you all you need to know.
Whatever your political leaning, what she did was a bait and switch. You don’t throw a lifetime of one party dedication out the window after 3 months. She knew what she was going to do before stepping foot back in Raleigh. I can only 100% agree she has no moral or philosophical compass. It is time we had laws (local, state, and federal) that keep elected officials from switching parties after gaining office.