North Carolina’s GOP congressional representatives have determined that when it comes to a showdown between state and federal authorities, the state clearly has the upper hand. Based on that sound assessment of game theory, all 10 Republican members have given the Department of Education until Friday to provide them “immediate assurances” that the Tar Heel State will suffer no monetary penalty for violating federal civil rights law as determined by the Department of Justice. In essence, they’re saying, we demand that you decline to punish our state’s bigotry, reports Caitlin MacNeal:
"We request that you provide us with immediate assurances that you are not directing or otherwise condoning any efforts of your agency to curtail federal funds designated for North Carolina based on a perceived violation of law that was passed by Congress," the GOP members wrote, demanding a response from King by Friday. […]
"As Members of Congress from North Carolina, we are deeply troubled by the threat that the Department of Education would withhold federal funding from North Carolina in response to the enforcement of House Bill 2," they wrote. "We strongly believe that any move to withhold federal funding from North Carolina is without legal merit and an unprecedented overreach by the federal government."
Yes, we’re troubled, but not enough to re-examine the law because you guys, with all that voodoo justice and discrimination stuff, are clearly in the wrong.
The members used the term “executive fiat” to describe the Justice Department’s view that the law qualifies as sex discrimination based on Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972.
You gotta hand it to ‘em—this is really diplomacy at its finest. In the midst of a dispute over whether your state has violated federal law, go ahead and antagonize federal authorities, by all means, since they control the purse strings.