Shrimpers show us HOW IT’S DONE.

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It’s not unusual for Raleigh political hacks and politicians to ignore the outside-the-beltline crowd and cozy up to the crowd hanging around Raleigh with the fat bundles of cash.  The drive-by media does a horrible job of keeping us informed about the cash-trawling scoundrels dominating our state legislature. It’s all up to us.  If you don’t pay attention to the issues and what the Raleigh low-lifes are doing in regard to said issues, you’re likely to find yourself unemployed or in serious economic distress a short way down the road.

Hey, I know we elect them. One of the biggest problems we have is: How do you convince good people to put their lives on hold and go up there to serve? 

Most of these people run unopposed every two years.  Or they simply run over token opposition with campaign treasuries loaded with lobbyist cash.  And how do you get lobbyist cash?  You sell your soul, do what *leadership* tells you, and leave your friends and family back home flapping in the wind. 

Special-interest Raleigh has been trying for years to crush the state’s shrimping business.  In-state shrimping is not dominated by huge corporations with armies of lobbyists and oodles of cash to line pockets with.  We’re talking mostly about small, typically family-owned and operated, mom-and-pop shoe-string operations.  (The kind of people *conservatives* are supposed to be marching shoulder-to-shoulder with. )

The state senate (aka *Bergerville*) tried to launch another attack on shrimping recently with an amendment to an unrelated fishing regulation bill. Shrimpers did not just sit down and take it.  They mobilized.  HERE is how it went:

Bringing a parade of shrimp trucks to Jones Street, shrimpers from Eastern North Carolina made their presence known at the legislature to oppose a bill they say would effectively kill their industry.

“The presence was kind of amazing, having all those trucks yesterday, all these people the past few days, but the reason it’s so important for the consumer for the state of North Carolina to have access to fresh North Carolina seafood,” says Brent Fulcher with the NC Fisheries Association.

The North Carolina Senate approved the bill last Thursday and sent it back to the House.

House Bill 442, aimed at restoring other fish, also included language banning trawling within half a mile of the shoreline, something supporters argue would effectively end most local shrimp production.

“Most places you can’t drag because the bottom is hard and rocky, there’s not access to the shrimp when they migrate south, they’re normally right on the beach, less than an 8th a mile off in most cases.”

But after trawling for votes, in the end, getting some good news learning the bill wouldn’t move forward.

“Truth be known, we’re the most effective and most environmentally friendly trawl state in the United States,” he says.

The House decision effectively ends the bill this session, although it could be brought up again in the future.

Pay close attention to that last part.  The bill went to The Rules Committee, which is sort of a cooling-off zone like the dugout or bullpen in baseball.  A lot of time, bills go there to die.  But if a sudden surge of cash pops up — this legislation could pop back up like Frankenstein in a thunderstorm. 

If you don’t go to Raleigh to make your voice heard, the special interests will line all kinds of pockets while claiming they’re speaking for you.   That’s how rotten laws are regularly made. 

Unfortunately, we’ve come full circle in Raleigh to an environment not unlike the end of Democrat rule of that city — where cash is king, and we are all peasants.

There is a really good way to keep tabs on the legislature if traveling to Raleigh frequently is prohibitive for you.  Go to the General Assembly website’s home page:

 

 

 

 

 

You’ll see links on the right for bills in the House and Senate — bills with action by day, bills filed by day.  Take a look at each of them.  If you click on any of the four links, you’ll see something like this:

Click on the blue-colored bill title.

You’ll see a tally of the votes taken on the bill.  Click on the numbers in the AYE or NO column, and you can see how legislators came down on this version.

If you click on the most recent edition, you can see the actual text of the bill that was voted on.

If that’s not enough fun, there is a method for tracking how your legislator voted on specific things, and what your legislator is sponsoring and / or co-sponsoring.

Go back to the Home Page and — under the words *North Carolina General Assembly — click on the word House or Senate (depending on who you’re interested in).

Then, you get this page.

Click on Member List at the bottom center-left. That will lead you to a photo lineup of all of the chamber’s members.  Click on the one that interests you. You’ll get THIS:

Beneath the member’s name, you’ll see links for *Introduced bills* and *votes* (among others).  Click on the one you want, and you’re in business.

Remember —  stay informed and stay in their faces.  (Ask probing questions and call B-S if the need should arise.) They will absolutely lie to you and screw you over if you let them.

Far too many of them on Jones Street are just fine sitting around and waiting for five people to work out the details and tell everyone else how to vote.

The shrimpers have stayed in their faces.  They made it clear how many people out there are ready to drum up and support a primary opponent for someone who persists in attacking their lawful, legal way-of-life.  It’s a lesson for us all.