Realistically, do you think that NC's recent turn to the far right will negatively affect tourism and growth?

[7thgeneration]

What an odd question. I've lived in several different states, traveled to most of our states, and traveled to many other countries. I've discovered that, no matter where you find yourself, you will find people who are to the hard left, hard right and everything in between.

[JayJayCB]

I wouldn't say so. So many people seem to be blindly moving here regardless, judging by CD posts. Most won't settle in rural areas that will be more conservative, preferring areas like Research Triangle suburbs that'll be more liberal. This is a similar case in Georgia and Texas, tons of people are still moving to areas like Atlanta and Austin despite the conservative stance taken by the state governments. Tourism isn't a factor, I don't think people will look away from visiting NC because our government has taken a recent turn to the right.

[Charlotte485]

And the GA is now not allowing cities and towns to add bike lanes on roads that carry more than 20,000 vehicles if it takes away road from cars....

pathetic....

[NC-guy]

I think a better question is will the constant stream of new residents from other places and the growing tourism industry affect the politics of this state.

My answer is yes and we will return to a more moderate state politics even if it takes 5-10 more years.

[veganwriter]

Reading the replies, there's a lot going on underneath the surface of this discussion.
I'd like to throw in my .02 cents

Tourism.
What exactly is the impression North Carolina sends to people thinking of visiting the state?
What share of the tourist dollar is it attracting?
Does it even WANT more tourist??

When you're talking about tourism, you have to come to grips with travels and spends the MOST of the tourist dollars. So... are the Marketing as well as the politics attracting the bigger spenders... or repelling them?

Fewer adults are traveling with children.
Americans today are taking less vacation time than at any point in nearly 40 years, according to an October report for the U.S. Travel Association by Oxford Economics.

+ Young travelers now represent 20 per cent of international tourism
In 2012, $217 billion of the $1.088 trillion tourism "spend" worldwide came from young travelers
Wanting to get as much bang for their buck, people are traveling shorter distances. Mexico offers not only Yoga Retreats, but unique tasty cuisine, sun, sand, and ancient Maya civilization World Heritage sites. What does N.C. have to compare? There are plenty of alluring destinations for young backpackers ... so perhaps those need to be played up?

Senior Travelers. Young people aren't the only ones who like backpacking and the outdoors. AARP reports that Americans ages 50+ will make about four-to-five trips in 2015. "The idea of snowbirds, or travelers — mostly retirees — flocking to tropical destinations to escape winter, isn't new. But what may be more surprising is how active this age group will be throughout 2015."

Unfortunately, many people in this demographic are "Snow Birds" who escape the cold in search of warm locales during winter. So Florida and California ranked highest, but 1 in 10 mentioned their interest in popular entertainment locations, including Disney parks, New York City and Las Vegas. So, what has N.C. to offer younger and older tourists? I think there's a lot... but how are those attractive aspects of the State being marketed?

Now here's the minor aspect that the OP may have in mind when posting the thread... and here's the shocker

Regardless of age, without a doubt, one of the biggest, most free spending segments of tourism is the LGBT traveler. By 2013, the LGBT travel market was estimated at over $180 billion.

People go and spend their money where they feel safe and welcomed.
That's BIG MONEY.
One headline reads: "After Indiana Debacle, States Are Showing Off Their LGBT-Friendliness."
So states are now competing for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transsexual tourist dollars that used to primarily go to places like New York, Miami, and San Francisco.

The Republican Right is NOT ... in no way, "Centrist."
Nor is "Liberal" a sign post for "The Left."

Such thinking shows how far to the Right that American politics have swung in the past 30 years.
"Liberal" is the middle and Conservative is the Right and there is no more "Left."
The current Republican agenda puts N.C. politics not only to the right ... but to the far right.

North Carolina is a BEAUTIFUL state filled with parks, rivers and lakes for boating and fishing, as well as mountain trails for hiking and beaches for exploring. So perhaps voters need to keep this in mind what they have to lose by not protecting these natural resources.

FRACKING
People can get caught up with the rhetoric about, "breaking the dependence on 'foreign' oil."
People can lick their lips at short term stock profits ... or the idea of saving 20 a gallon at the oil pump... but as David Letterman pointing out:

Fresh water supplies already poisoned the drinking water in:

• The Delaware Water Gap
• The Hudson Valley
• Most of Pennsylvania
• Parts of Virginia
• Texas
• West Virginia
• Colorado
• New Mexico

What will farmers and ranchers give their animals? Will you eat fruit and vegetables grown with water that Gov. Pat McCrory has signed into law prohibiting even disclosing the dangerous chemicals contained within that water?

Who'll want to backpack, fish, or hike in that??
And narrow-minded Indiana showed the nation what not to do to attract tourism.
Indiana received letters from Levi's , Gap, and Apple, and outright divestitures such as Angie's List's cancellation of its planned $40 million expansion in Indianapolis.

So it's up to North Carolina.
Voters can continue to feed their egos and fears by PRETENDING they're all "pure" while their pockets continue to go hungry... or people can get wise and position the state to have some of those coins flow into the pockets and purses here.

Wasn't it last year that the report was published that out of the 15 US Cities Where Poverty Is Soaring Fastest... FOUR were right here in North Carolina??

Read more: 15 Cities Where Poverty Is Soaring - Business Insider