Even if your name is Phil Berger.

The Eden Republican, who is arguably the most powerful elected official in the state, has backed down from a shameless ploy to force the authorization of more casino gambling in North Carolina by packaging it in a bill with Medicaid expansion.

The blowback from Democrats and from within his own party was so fierce that Berger retreated — not necessarily because he wanted to but because he had to. Medicaid expansion proponents rightly vilified Berger from even considering holding hostage the health insurance of hundreds of thousands of North Carolinians to a casino bill. And gambling opponents, regardless of their party, would not yield.

Among prominent Republicans who opposed authorizing the new casinos were Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page and former U.S. Rep. Mark Walker of Greensboro, who is running for governor.

Republicans usually vote in lockstep for what Berger wants. Not this time.

In a related development, WRAL reported last week that leaders in Rocky Mount and Nash County were briefed on plans for a proposed casino in Rocky Mount months before the idea was made public and signed non-disclosure agreements to keep them secret.

As if this unsavory business needed a fresh heap of dirt.

Whether there’s a deeper message in this rare rebuff of the Godfather of Jones Street, I wouldn’t bet on it.

Yes, in the results of a survey released Tuesday by Public Policy Polling, 60% of respondents in Berger’s reliably red home district opposed the opening of new casinos in the state, with only 28% in favor. And yes, the same survey found support among Republicans in Berger’s district for replacing him in the next election, with only 30% saying they were likely to vote for him.

But I’ll believe that when I see it.

At any rate, there won’t be four new casinos in the state, which Berger dearly wanted and still intends to push for in the future.

As for whether Berger feels humbled by this setback, well, kinda sorta.

On the on hand, he suggested that the people simply don’t know what’s good for them.

“It became crystal clear to me that the facts, the merit of the proposal was sort of beside the point in terms of what was being discussed,” Berger said.

On the other, he did seem to admit that perhaps the his-way-or-the highway approach needs some tweaking.

“I think the important thing was, and is, to have public discussion, and for people to have an opportunity to know that it’s something that’s being considered,” Berger said when announcing that he would give up on the casino-Medicaid mashup. “To the extent that that was not done, I think that could have prevented the bill from being successful.”

Though somewhere in that tossed salad of nouns and verbs there appears to be an iota of regret, a kinder, gentler Phil Berger apparently is not in the cards.

Remember, while the drama in Raleigh played out, Berger was still throwing his weight around in Guilford County, where town leaders have dropped their opposition to a proposed, 973-acre mixed-use project in Summerfield.

They had said no to developer David Couch, a longtime Summerfield resident, but quickly reversed that stance when Berger got involved.

The good news is Couch’s project would have a positive impact on Summerfield, and, in fact, all of Guilford County, because it would provide affordable housing. Couch also has said he would build water and sewer infrastructure for Summerfield, which seriously needs it.

The bad news is that this apparent resolution is a shotgun marriage.

The town leaders capitulated not because they suddenly saw the merits of Couch’s planned community, which would make for more efficient use of land and resources.

They backed down out of fear that Berger would de-annex the land with state legislation — that is, remove it from Summerfield’s town limits — an act of both bullying and meddling in local affairs that shouldn’t concern him.

He threatened. They blinked.

Berger, who, incidentally, has received $27,000 in campaign donations from Couch, made them an offer they couldn’t refuse.