THE BURNED OVER DISTRICT

He was Speaker of the North Carolina House and a prime mover in getting the law passed but now that he is sitting 'fat and sassy' in the US Senate, Teabag Thom Tillis need not expect any negative consequences from the federal court ruling throwing out his baby.

The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday ruled North Carolina’s voter ID law is discriminatory, with justices saying it was designed and passed by state lawmakers with the intent of making it harder for African-Americans to vote. The law included provisions requiring photo IDs at the polls, shortened early voting periods and eliminated same-day voter registration.

The ruling is subject to appeal but comes just three months before the general election, meaning North Carolina officials will need to move quickly to get a stay in the case or the law will not be in effect Nov. 8.

Tillis, along with Republican N.C. Gov. Pat McCrory and others, has argued that the 2013 voter ID law serves to restore confidence in elections and guard against voting fraud, though state government records show cases of fraud are rare. Tillis’ office also noted Friday that several public opinion polls have shown that a majority of North Carolinians support the contested voter ID law.

Within hours of the Friday decision, Democratic candidates and liberal groups in North Carolina pounced on the court news, claiming a victory and saying the ruling proves GOP lawmakers intended to disenfranchise minority voters with the law.

Such a rebuke from a court, Rohde said, is damaging to the Republican brand and could influence how independents vote in North Carolina in November.

But Tillis himself – whose legacy as N.C. speaker of the House includes shepherding the contentious law through the Republican-controlled Legislature – isn’t on the ballot this year. He assumed office in the U.S. Senate in 2015 after defeating Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan.

A negative outcome for North Carolina’s voter ID law in the courts could give Tillis’ next challenger an opening to criticize him, Rohde said.

Already, one law Tillis championed in the state Legislature has been tossed out by the Supreme Court. Amendment One, a state constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, is no longer valid in North Carolina after the high court found such laws to be violations of the U.S. Constitution.

Tillis “was House speaker during a time in which many controversial laws passed,” said David McLennan, political science professor at Meredith College. “Both (the voter ID law and Amendment One) raise questions about Sen. Tillis’ support of civil rights, as well as his judgment in allowing legislation that he was warned might be ruled unconstitutional.”

No doubt about it, Teabag Thom Tillis is a real North Carolina Shitheel, but unless he experiences a stream of adverse rulings of his legislative actions until the next election, it is unlikely that voters will remember just how big a shit he really is.