Out the door: Wright embarrassment another black eye for Dems

Just when you thought the remnants of the Rep. Jim Black scandal were behind North Carolina and we could all get back to life as usual, along comes Rep. Thomas Wright.

And no surprise, he is a former ally and longtime advocate of the disgraced former speaker of the house.

Wright, in the same vein as his “comrade in arms” Black, is being accused of misusing funds — taking money from his campaign account for personal use as well as a couple of other transgressions.

Now, nothing has been proven and past association with Black does not mean Wright is guilty of any wrongdoing, but Democrats certainly did not need another round of embarrassing scandal so close on the heels of all the others.

And now, to make the idiocy complete, Wright is forcing his fellow representatives in the House to throw him out, rather than to resign gracefully.

Great, another round of political manipulation to distract the state’s leaders from the job of making decisions for the benefit of all North Carolinians.

And more reason to add fuel to the fire that there just are not that many politicians you can trust anymore.

Maybe in the end Wright will be cleared of all wrongdoing. Or, maybe he will be the last of the Black associates to go through the justice system.

But no matter what, it is time for North Carolina voters to put their leaders on notice: Shady politics is not allowed here. The warning hasn’t worked so far, but maybe January will bring a new attitude.

We will just have to wait and see.

Published in Editorials on December 14, 2007 11:16 AM