When you try to be clever but fail miserably:
The court also found that lawmakers had tried to skirt the constitution by tailoring the wording of the legislation. The law’s plain wording appeared to affect an entire class of municipalities, but did so in way that ensured Asheville was the only member of this class.
The court also pointed out errors in legislators’ contention that the law would “ensure the availability of better water service at a lower cost.” The decision noted that several of the region’s municipalities do the same thing that Asheville was being criticized for doing – charging customers outside their territory higher rates than municipal customers. The decision specifically singled out Biltmore Forest, Black Mountain, Montreat, Weaverville, Woodfin and Hendersonville for this practice.
At the heart of this matter is the GOP's inability to approach a subject from a clinical standpoint. They feel compelled to create (or exaggerate) certain aspects of an issue, in an attempt to justify what they already want to do. We see it everywhere, but especially in their efforts to stifle any form of home rule by municipalities. HB2 is a classic case, wherein they create monsters to attack women and little children. And then there's the "unfair competition" approach to providing services like muni broadband. But those fictional narratives start to come apart in the cold reality of a courtroom, where evidence and consequences are closely scrutinized.
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