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Lottery prospects up in air

Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2005 | 9:18 a.m.

RALEIGH, N.C. -- When the 2005 legislative session began seven months ago, House members agreed to a bipartisan power-sharing arrangement, while Senate Democrats approved rule changes to quash Republican dissent.

As the session drew to a close, the roles were reversed -- with potentially substantial consequences for the 2006 elections if they remain in place before the General Assembly finally goes home.

In the Senate, a coalition of Republicans and liberal Democrats keeps blocking a lottery from getting passed. If Senate Democratic leaders can't change one mind when they return this week to attempt to adjourn the session with the House, they and Gov. Mike Easley will be handed a startling defeat.

Andy Taylor, a North Carolina State University political science professor, said Democrats have failed so far in part because they didn't get behind a lottery bill early enough in the session. Easley should have taken his case on the lottery to the people to attempt to win over lottery opponents, he said.

"All the stars were aligned" for a lottery, Taylor said. "You can say a lot about it, but I think it was a failure of leadership."

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