Raleigh , North Carolina ( CNN ) -- Washington no longer has a monopoly on bitter partisanship . Much of the nation 's political rancor has spread to statehouses across the country . And the weekly demonstrations outside the North Carolina legislature , dubbed `` Moral Mondays , '' are only the latest example . As they have for three months , liberal activists rallied once again on Monday outside the GOP-dominated statehouse to protest what they see as an aggressive and fast-moving conservative agenda . `` First the Great Recession . Now the Great Regression , '' read one protest sign . `` It 's about exposing what 's immoral and extreme , '' the Rev . William Barber II , a key Moral Monday leader , said . Republican leaders in the state just walk past the demonstrators and their posters . Ever since they won control of the legislature and the governor 's office for the first time in more than a century , they have repeatedly flexed their newfound muscle . Legislators ' secret abortion bill fuels # vaginamotorcycles . Just this year , Gov . Pat McCrory and GOP legislators have cut unemployment benefits , rejected the expansion of Medicaid under the new national health care law , and moved to change voting laws , to the chagrin of Democrats . On the same day of the latest Moral Monday protest , McCrory announced a deal to reduce state personal income and corporate taxes . Another check , Democrats complain , on the tea party checklist . In an interview with CNN , McCrory said , `` Frankly it 's pragmatic , systematic change that 's going to make North Carolina more competitive . '' McCrory brushed off criticisms from Democrats that he is only pushing a conservative agenda . `` I have stepped on toes in my first six months in office of the right and the left and the media , '' McCrory added . `` Maybe that means I 'm doing something right . '' Texas Senate OKs abortion restrictions bill . Democrats in the state , who lack any power to pass , sign , or reject laws for the first time anybody in the party can remember , feel that it 's only their toes that McCrory is stepping on . And they accuse the governor and the Republicans of trying to `` turn back the clock . '' `` Overall there tends to be a movement , as we would call it , backwards , '' Democratic state Sen. Ben Clark said . McCrory points to his record as mayor of Charlotte for 14 years as proof he can work with both Democrats and Republicans . But Democratic lawmakers are waiting for that bipartisan leadership to emerge in Raleigh . For progressives in a state that helped elect President Barack Obama in 2008 , the only recourse is to protest . Among the thousands of protesters at this week 's gathering , hundreds filed inside the legislative building for a show of force that ended with dozens of well-choreographed arrests . Gayle Ruedi , a veteran Moral Monday demonstrator who was arrested at a protest in May , said she traveled to Raleigh again , despite having her first court date this week . `` What they did with unemployment is wrong . What they did with Medicaid was wrong . ( And ) what they 're doing with abortion , '' Ruedi said . Last week , Republican lawmakers in the state House of Representatives approved new rules governing the practices of physicians who perform abortions . McCrory has indicated he will sign the guidelines into law , a move Democrats say would break a campaign promise to stay clear of any new abortion restrictions . `` Absolutely not , '' the governor said , insisting the new rules are only a necessary legal update to regulations already on the books . `` Absolutely , that 's a promise kept . '' The sudden partisan combat in Raleigh is seen as a test to the state 's reputation of both business-friendly and centrist leadership . `` I think there are people all over the place who say it does n't help to have this much disagreement , '' North Carolina State University political science professor Andy Taylor said . In light of the state 's 8.8 % unemployment rate , McCrory argues North Carolina needed a jolt of new ideas . `` They 're fighting to keep the status quo , '' the governor said of the demonstrators . Taylor says what 's happening in Raleigh is a continuation of the partisan battles that have moved from Washington to statehouse in Texas and Wisconsin where Republican governors have recently pushed through controversial abortion restrictions . As in Austin and Madison , the protests from liberals are having little effect on the legislative process . Several leaders of the Moral Monday movement said they may continue their weekly gatherings beyond the end of the legislative session , knowing full well they are having little direct impact on the laws passed in their state . Their focus is on next year 's elections . `` The one thing they do n't want to see is all of us coming together , '' Barber said . CNN 's Matt Hoye contributed to this report .
Republicans control N.C. state politics for first time in more than a century . Liberals have protested outside the statehouse every Monday for three months . Democrats accuse Republicans of `` turning back the clock '' with regressive agenda . Governor : Protesters are protecting status quo and that state needed new ideas .