RALEIGH — Having spent nearly 40 years analyzing and writing about North Carolina politics and public policy, I often find myself placing today’s challenges and controversies into historical context.

For example, did Republican lawmakers just draw the most extreme gerrymander in North Carolina history? When I heard Democrats make that claim last week, then saw it repeatedly endlessly on social media, I couldn’t help but chuckle. Past legislatures run by Democrats produced bizarrely contorted maps in the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s, only some of which were struck down by state or federal courts.

That’s not a defense of what the GOP-led General Assembly did. It’s merely a reminder that, given the same tools and political incentives, politicians of all parties are susceptible to the same tempta

See Full Page