Amazon in Charlotte? Only if they act like it's 1958.

Charlotte's put in its bid for Amazon's HQ2: lots of letters from Important and Famous People, and this video:




It's a good video. It makes an upbeat case for Charlotte.

It's too bad NC Republicans aren't on board with key points in the pitch.

The General Assembly- where they hold veto-proof majorities- has tried for years to take control of Charlotte/Douglas International Airport from Charlotte to a state agency they'd control; only federal opposition has stopped the power grab.

The General Assembly has also tried every way it can think of to hobble the growth of light rail everywhere in North Carolina, and Kenny Smith, the realtor running for mayor, opposes expanding it here, when the next line is set to run through the poor, minority-majority West Side.

And Smith despises diversity unless it involves as many white male Republicans on public payrolls as possible. He opposes all forms of civil rights anti-discrimination ordinances in Charlotte and says if any get passed on his watch, his veto pen will be in hand.

That's a potential problem, as QNotes reports:

As we saw with the HB2 boycotts, companies are less likely to do business in states that allow for discrimination against the LGBTQ community.

Since Smith has said the state should decide the issue, the Charlotte Observer‘s Steve Harrison asked the Republican if he would go to Raleigh to ask for LGBTQ protections if Amazon said it was a deal breaker in gaining its headquarters.

“I don’t think we want to re-litigate this issue, and I don’t think we want to put ourselves in a position where we’re going to tear everything down the rabbit hole,” Smith said. “I do think, and I stand by my statement, this issue should be resolved at the state or federal level. I think the folks in Raleigh, they need to figure out what to do.”

Republicans currently hold a supermajority in both the House and Senate.

He also noted that he received an email from former governor Pat McCrory telling him that if the transgender bathroom portion of the bill was taken out of the nondiscrimination ordinance, the state wouldn’t take action against it.

The moderator, WBTV’s Jamie Boll, seemingly dissatisfied with that response, pressed Smith.

“Just real quick, if it was a deal breaker for Amazon, would you go to Raleigh, or no?” he asked.

Smith laughed at that notion, saying, “I don’t see a scenario where that plays out.”

“I will work with our partners in Raleigh to make sure that we stand up for Charlotte, and that we always have the things that are best needed for Charlotte,” he concluded.

That's kind of an issue for Amazon, where LGBT employees are as common as Republicans in the General Assembly. Like, everywhere. In leadership positions. And even non-white ones.

And if Amazon calls Mayor Smith and says, "We want to come there but need the nondiscrimination law beefed up," all Kenny Smith will say is, "Go talk to the General Assembly."

Yeah. The one threatening to repass HB2.