Now it gets interesting. Everyone wants to know who gave Michael Decker $50,000 and other goodies to switch to the Demo side in 2003. The N&O muses:

Plenty of clues point to state House Speaker Jim Black as the pancake-house mystery man who gave former Republican Rep. Michael Decker a major infusion of cash in exchange for helping Democrats stay in power.
Decker’s plea agreement Tuesday on a corruption charge answered some questions about why a Jesse Helms-style conservative would enrage fellow Republicans to help Democrats retain control of the state House in 2003. But it also raised one: Who was the unidentified House Democrat who prosecutors said gave Decker $50,000 for his switch? …

…Decker’s lawyer, David Freedman of Winston-Salem, said the $50,000 deal was made at a Salisbury IHOP, a location midway between their districts. And, while not confirming that Black was the mystery man, he noted a Winston-Salem Journal report in March that Black and Decker made the deal for Decker’s vote at the restaurant just off Interstate 85.

With any conspiracy the key question is, who benefits? Pretty obvious answer there. Been pretty obvious for three and a half years now.

All of Jim Black’s serial defenders in Charlotte — and you know who you are — have to be feeling awfully stupid this morning. Either that, or these folks are so proud that they have denied the obvious long enough to win millions in goodies for Uptown.